Qidong Middle School Homework Book--Grade 8 English (Upper) PEP Edition (Latest Revision)

Author: Wang Sheng (Editor-in-Chief), Xue Shuihong (Associate Editor-in-Chief)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features:
Qidong High School, founded in 1928 in Qidong City, Jiangsu Province, is one of the first national model high schools and is renowned as "North Shanghai" due to its location in the Yangtze River Delta, where it enjoys the charm of rivers and seas. After eighty years of growth, it has become a first-class modern school in China with significant international influence, and its name is celebrated across the nation. Qidong High School currently has 99 teaching classes and over 5,600 students. It boasts a strong faculty, including 1 Ph.D., 24 master's degree holders, 3 provincial young and middle-aged experts, nearly 100 senior and advanced-level teachers, as well as a large number of provincial and municipal subject leaders and core teaching staff. The school is equipped with first-class laboratories, libraries, gyms, art halls, observatories, science museums, and multimedia and distance education networks, meeting students' needs for reading, training, and individual development. In recent years, the school has continuously strengthened exchanges and cooperation with other provinces and internationally, establishing 4 branch schools. For many years, Qidong High School has adhered to the educational philosophy of "developing individual talents, promoting comprehensive development, and laying a foundation for lifelong learning," actively implementing quality education with remarkable results. Through long-term educational practice, the school has gradually formed a distinctive educational style: "human-centered, moral education first, solidifying foundational knowledge, and fostering individuality"; a guiding principle: "everything for the students, for all students, and for the sake of all students"; and a key strategy: "scientific education and research-driven school development." Following the educational approach of "comprehensive education and cultivating specialized talents," the school is advancing step by step, further enhancing its reputation. A group of distinguished teachers and subject leaders at Qidong High School, in addition to their teaching duties, diligently strengthen educational research and the study of middle and high school examination questions, establishing their own question banks and achieving excellent teaching outcomes.
To sincerely express gratitude to sister schools across the country and meet the aspirations of educators and students, at the kind invitation of the renowned and authoritative scientific publisher (Longmen Bookstore), our school has organized dozens of senior and advanced-level teachers and top coaches from the frontline of education. Combining years of teaching experience, especially since the "3+X" new college entrance examination reform and the new curriculum reform, we have meticulously planned and compiled this scientific and practical "Qidong High School Homework Series." This marks the first formal collaboration between Qidong High School and a national-level publisher, and we have specially authorized Longmen Bookstore to exclusively use our registered "Qidong High School" trademark for the publication. The collaboration between Qidong High School and Longmen Bookstore in launching this series reflects our school's teaching practices and experience in nurturing top students and addressing learning gaps. It is pure and authentic, and we are confident that it will be favored by a broad readership.
For this edition of the "Qidong High School Homework Series," we have made careful revisions. The revisions are based on the new Teaching Syllabus, Examination Guidelines, and Curriculum Standards, and the design of the series incorporates innovative features, including sub-sections such as [Preview Homework], [Classroom Homework], [After-School Homework], and [Innovative Homework]. Additionally, we have boldly innovated in the creation of homework questions, reflecting a fresh sense of the times with new themes, structures, contexts, question formats, and open-ended explorations. This aims to align with the trends of the new round of curriculum, teaching, and examination reforms, making it more suitable for students in different regions, schools, and learning levels. It not only reinforces foundational knowledge but also enhances learning and exam-taking skills.
During the revision process, we have fully emphasized the following guiding principles and features:
1. Layered and Progressive Question Structure: The questions are designed to cater to the teaching realities of underdeveloped regions in central and western China and the diverse needs of teachers and students regarding "homework." Each question is labeled with hollow letters (A, B, C) at the beginning to indicate its approximate difficulty level, facilitating differentiated instruction and improving the efficiency of homework practice.
2. Practical and Effective Lesson-Based Design: Unlike traditional teaching aids, this series is designed lesson by lesson, aligning with classroom use. It is practical, effective, and highly operational. It integrates thinking into practice, focusing on solving the questions students should tackle in each lesson, both in and out of class.
3. Detailed and Standardized Explanations: The answers are thoroughly analyzed and explained, highlighting key knowledge points and basic methods, while also imparting problem-solving techniques. This addresses both "how to solve" and "how to think about solving" the problems, making it widely applicable. Additionally, each homework assignment is marked with a time limit and scoring criteria, enabling students to work independently and improve their practice quality more effectively. Thus, this series can also be considered a self-assessment tool for students' learning abilities.
4. Innovative and Extraordinary Educational Philosophy: The compilation fully reflects the requirements of the new round of curriculum and teaching reforms, embodying the educational philosophy of the new curriculum. It showcases extraordinary thinking. The selection of questions follows the principle of combining "originality and classics," with a focus on developing "ability-based, open-ended, applied, and comprehensive" questions. Each subject's homework series includes a certain number of newly created original questions by the authors.
From the perspective of the "three exams" (syllabus, examination points, and actual exam questions), this series of "Qidong High School Homework" can be reviewed as an excellent supplementary material for students in junior and senior high school, guiding them in learning, practice, and exams.
During the writing and revision of this series, despite our efforts to review every chapter and question, and despite repeated proofreading over several months, some errors and omissions may still exist. We sincerely welcome feedback from our readers to help us make timely corrections.
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