Students at Empire High School started class with no text books－but it wasn’t because of money problems.
Instead, the school gave iBooks－laptop computersto each of its 340 students, becoming one of the first US public schools to stop printed textbooks.
School officials believe that the electronic materials will make students enjoy learning more. Empire High Schoolwas designed to have a textbook-free environment.
Students at Empire High School get the materials over the school’s Internet network. The school has a central control system that limits what can be downloaded(下载) at the school.
“Students can hand in homework online. We have a web program that helps to check if you copy from others,” the headmaster Baker said.
In addition to offering up-to-date information, teachers can make the lessons more enjoyable. For example, lessons in history can include links to a person’s daily life, his ideas, his discovery, and so on.
Social studies teacher Jeremy Gypton said the change was easier than expected. Gypton said he assigned reading based on websites, used online groups and message boards to keep the students connected. And he also asked them to comment（评论）on each other’s work.
Julian Tarazon, a new student, said that it was kind of hard at first, because you had to put things in folders(文件夹). But after a couple of days, you got used to it. Another student Morgan Northcutt said the computer system had made it easier to do homework.
The school isn’t completely paperless, however. It has a library, and students can read books in it.
“We’re not trying to get rid of books,” Baker said. “We love books.”
小题1:The students at Empire High School will study in class without ___________ this year.
A．text messages
B．printed textbooks
C．reading materials
D．electric machines小题2:The teachers at Empire High School began to use iBooks because they___________.
A．had money problems
B．had limited network
C．wanted to improve their teaching
D．wanted a web program小题3:A central control system can help to control __________.
A．how much to download
B．what to download
C．how to download
D．why to download小题4:The underlined word “assigned” probably means “___________”.
A．说明
B．完成
C．转让
D．布置小题5:The biggest advantage of the homework online is that___________.
A．students can do it anytime
B．information online is available
C．there is a lot of reading based on websites
D．it provides a platform for students to share ideas小题6: The best title of the passage might be “___________”.
A．High School uses iBooks instead of textbooks
B．Don’t try to get rid of books
C．Learning without textbooks is harder
D．Doing homework online
