作者：樊瑄
【Abstract】This paper explores the functions of 21st Century， used as reading materials in senior high classrooms，， which are refreshing and can draw students’ attention automatically， proving that the newspaper is beneficial and effective in high school English classes.
【Key words】21st Century； High School； English； Functions
【作者簡介】樊瑄，四川 泸州天立学校。
1.Introduction
Reading and writing skills are the keys to learn English well. However， the present textbook can’t satisfy the demands while the criteria of assessment is set ridiculously strict. Teenage students like fresh news. Therefore， using newspapers in class is one suitable approach. Studying the features of 21st Century could deepen our understanding of the teaching material.
2. The Functions of 21st Century
It is strongly believed that 21st Century can arouse students’ interest， improve their reading and writing， and increase the efficiency.
A. Supplying Abundant and Attractive Contents to Arouse Students’ Interest
21st Century sets up varieties of columns， like Our World， Campus Trends， Culture Leisure， Learning With Us and so on. Especially， the Your Words sector in Campus Trends provides a topic at the end for further discussion， which can raise students’ awareness of debate and express their views with self-confidence. The diversified columns surely suit teenagers’ taste.
Similarly， the columns draw students’ attention imperceptibly. Students also prefer something easy to understand. And 21st Century is the one. There will be key words of the passage in the title and several related pictures beside the article. Compared with other newspapers， it not only provides the interesting background of the incident， but also gives others’ opinions and comments. Necessarily， it attracts students and broadens their horizon by all these well-designed contents.
B. Providing Plentiful Reading Materials to Improve Students’ Reading and Writing Skills
21st Century offers plentiful current news which are related to our life. It gives us an opportunity to think about things from multiple perspectives. The most importantly， this newspaper has the advantage of vivid and easy-understanding language， and concise grammar affinage. There are large amount of standard vocabulary； grammar and sentence patterns are suitable and acceptable with a little bit challenge. Therefore， this accumulation of language points and challenges which we practice in daily classes will help students to develop reading and writing skills in the long run.
