Teaching a child to read at a young age gives him a valuable start in life. Reading is the basic part of education and a child's reading ability will influence his school success greatly. Learning difficulties, many of which begin from poor reading skills, can damage a school child's confidence and affect his future achievement. Young children are programmed to learn and they can learn better with encouragement. Ten to twenty minutes of reading a day still leaves plenty of time for play. Many parents are concerned that learning to read is too challenging a task for a pre-school child, but they should also remember that most children learn to speak by the time they are 3. Learning a language is probably the single most challenging task any individual can undertake, yet children do it without formal instruction, achieving the fluency much better than adult language students. There is a window of opportunity in terms of IQ development, which is most open during a child's early years. A scientific study, carried out by Dr. Peter Huttenlocher at the University of Chicago, showed that the number of connectors, called synapses , between the nerve endings in a newborn baby's brain is similar to the number in the average adult brain. These synapses increase rapidly during early childhood. By 12-24 months a child's brain has about 50% more synapses than the average adult brain. After that the synapses which are not in use begin to atrophy . For most people, from age 16, the number remains steady. It begins to drop again as we move into our golden years. Doing intellectual activities at a young age, such as learning to read, can stimulate and preserve these connectors in the brain resulting in a long-term beneficial effect on IQ development. Another notable study is probably the Milwaukee project. This study took a group of babies, all of whose mothers had low IQs, and gave them special training for seven hours a day, five days a week, until they started first grade. By the age of 6 these children had an average IQ 30... At the end of this passage the author advises   _  . A) parents not to get angry too often B) children to enjoy reading as early as possible C) children not to wear out their parents' patience D) parents to get their children to take an online program
D
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Today was my high school reunion. I was the most remarkable student for all the wrong reasons. I was born with some birth defects and learning disabilities. I overcame them, but it was hard. While working blue-collar jobs, I lived in my car for a few years. On a cold winter night several years ago, I met Dr. X in the emergency room. He was a former classmate of mine, and we pretended not to know one another. He discovered I was living in my car and heard some of my stories. Then he arranged for me to be admitted to the hospital for a day so I could get warmed up and recover. When I left the hospital, I found a $100 bill in the gas tank door of my van  . I'm sure it was from him. I now have a home of my own and I'm doing OK, considering everything. When I sent my reservation and check to the reunion committee, it was returned uncashed with a $50 bill along with a note saying "Please don't come." I guess my classmates are more closed-minded than I thought they would be. I was hoping age would change them but my wish turned out to be nothing but a joke. In addition to the reservation return, I have also seen a few forwarded emails _ my attempts to find out about the event. I hope none of those people were blessed with a child with learning or physical issues. I guess people never change on some things. Thankfully, I have found nicer, caringpeople along my journey in life, and for that I'd like to thank all of the kind people in the world. What made the author the most remarkable student? A) Living in his own car. B) His physical problems. C) Providing wrong reasons. D) His efforts to help others.
B
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After an absence of thirty years, I decided to visit my old school again. I had expected to find changes, but not a completely different building. As I walked up the school drive, I wondered for a moment if I had come to the right address. The dirty red brick houses had been swept away. In its place stood a bright, modern block. A huge expanse of glass extended   across the face of the building, and in front, there was a well-kept lawn   where previously there had been "an untidy gravel   yard". I was pleased to find that it was bread time and that the children were all in the playground. This would enable me to meet some members of staff . On entering the building, I was surprised to hear loud laughter coming from what appeared to be the masters' common room. I could not help remembering the teachers in my time, all dressed in black gowns   and high collars  . And above all, I recalled Mr Garston whom we had nicknamed "Mr Ghastly", the headmaster who had iron discipline  on staff and pupils alike. I knocked at the common room door and was welcomed by a smiling young man who introduced himself to me as the headmaster. He was dressed casually in a sports jacket, and his cheerful manner, quickly dispelled   the image of Mr Ghastly. After I had explained who I was, the headmaster presented me to the teachers all of whom were a little younger than himself, and said he would take me round the school. Here the biggest surprise of all was _  me. Gone were the heavy desks of old with their deeply carved names; gone too, were the dark classrooms with their ink stained, dark brown walls, and their raised platforms for the teachers. The rooms now were painted in bright colors, and the children, far from sitting straight in their places, seemed almost free to do as they liked. I looked with envy  as I remembered how, as a child, I had looked at the blackboard hardly daring to whisper to my neighbor. Which of the following statements is NOT true? A) He had expected that the school had completely changed. B) In the writer's time, all the teachers were dressed in black gowns and high collars. C) There was a well-kept lawn in their school when he visited it. D) An untidy gravel yard had disappeared.
A
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Here's this week's list of four open jobs throughout the local area. Whether you're unemployed and need a job or you are just _ of the one you have, Roswell Patch wants to help. We know new jobs can be hard to come by these days, which is why we'll try to post a selection of jobs we've found in the area on the site each week. Happy hunting! Part-time Spanish Instructor-World Language Institute, Inc. - Roswell. World Language Institute, Inc. in Roswell is currently hiring a part-time, native-speaking Spanish instructor. Applicants must be able to pass a background check and drive a 15-passenger bus to pick up students from several schools, from 2 p. m. - 6 p. m. Monday-Friday. The position pays $ 10 per hour. More information about the job is available online. Experienced Servers - Chili's - Alpharetta Chili's in Alpharetta is seeking experienced servers to add to its team. Qualifications will include being clean and neat and having great attitude and customer service skills. The pay is $ 2.13, plus tips. Stop by the store to fill out an application. More information about this position is available online. Registered Nurse-North Fulton Regional Hospital-Roswell North Fulton Regional Hospital is looking for a RN/Registered Nurse to fill a 12-hour night shift. Applicants must be registered and previous hospital experience is preferred. More information about the position is available online. Software Engineer-ControlScan-Alpharetta ControlScan in Alpharetta is hiring a software engineer. Applicants should have five or more years of relevant experience, as well as advanced knowledge of computer technology. Pay is commensurate with experience. More information about the position can be found online. Who will mainly work at night? A) Robert, hired by ControlScan. B) John, hired by World Language Institute. Inc. C) Jane, hired by North Fulton Regional Hospital. D) Sally, hired by Chili's.

C
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