There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it or how much priority it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling?
If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher’s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “play safe”. He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: “This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is illegible.” It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil’s technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child’s ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation to seek improvement.
1. Teachers differ in their opinions about ________.
2. The expression “play safe” probably means “________”.
3. Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that ________.
4. The writer seems to think that the teacher’s judgment on that sensitive piece of writing is ________.
5. The major point discussed in the passage is ________.
问题1选项
A.the difficulties in teaching spelling
B.the role of spelling in general language development
C.the complexities of the basic writing skills
D.the necessity of teaching spelling
问题2选项
A.to write carefully
B.to do as teachers say
C.to use dictionaries frequently
D.to avoid using words one is not sure of
问题3选项
A.students will be able to express their ideas more freely
B.teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes
C.students will have more confidence in writing
D.students will learn to be independent of teachers
问题4选项
A.reasonable
B.unfair
C.foolish
D.careless
问题5选项
A.the importance of developing writing skills
B.the correct way of making compositions
C.the complexities of spelling
D.the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition
第1题:B
第2题:D
第3题:A
第4题:B
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
Teachers differ in their opinions about ________. 老师们对________有不同的看法。
A. the difficulties in teaching spelling A. 教拼写的困难
B. the role of spelling in general language development B. 拼写在一般语言发展中的地位
C. the complexities of the basic writing skills C. 基本写作技巧的复杂性
D. the necessity of teaching spelling D. 教拼写的必要性
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干中信息词differ in their opinions定位到第一段第三句,该处讲到“关于拼写在一般语言发展(general language development)和写作能力中有多重要的地位(how much priority),老师们的观点截然不同”,可知老师对拼写在一般语言发展中的地位有不同的看法,因此B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“教拼写的困难”:文中没有提到教拼写的困难,属于无中生有;
C选项“基本写作技巧的复杂性”:对应第一段最后一句,该句讲到“问题是,怎样鼓励一个孩子在写作时(in writing)自由自信地表达自己,而不被拼写的复杂(complexities of spelling)所捆缚。”,这里指的是拼写的复杂,而不是写作技巧的复杂,属于张冠李戴;
D选项“教拼写的必要性”:对应第一段第二句,该处讲到“没有一所学校(No school)忽视拼写(ignored spelling),或者认为它是一项不重要(considered it unimportant)的基本技能”,可知老师都认为教拼写很有必要,属于反向干扰。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The expression “play safe” probably means “________”. “play safe”这个短语的意思可能是“________”。
A. to write carefully A. 仔细地写
B. to do as teachers say B. 按照老师说的去做
C. to use dictionaries frequently C. 经常使用字典
D. to avoid using words one is not sure of D. 避免使用不确定的词
【考查点】词汇推断题。
【解题思路】根据题干中信息词play safe定位到第二段第一句,该处讲到“聪明的孩子很可能会谨慎行事(play safe)”,结合该段第二句,讲到“倾向于只写拼写范围内(within his spelling range)的单词,避免使用冒险的语言。”,这里范围内的单词指的是自己确定的单词,因此D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“仔细地写”:文中没有提到,属于无中生有;
B选项“按照老师说的去做”:对应第二段第一句,该处讲到“如果(If)拼写成为老师感兴趣的唯一焦点(only focal point)”,这里没有提到老师要求学生用词保守,反而在该段最后一句提到“老师经常鼓励学生尽早使用字典,注重内容而不是技能(content rather than technical ability)。”,可知这不是老师要求的,反而是老师不希望的,属于反向干扰;
C选项“经常使用字典”:对应第五段最后一句,该处讲到“老师经常鼓励学生尽早使用字典(dictionaries)”,使用字典不是谨慎行事,反而是帮助探索和尝试的方式,属于反向干扰。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that ________. 老师鼓励使用字典,以便________。
A. students will be able to express their ideas more freely A. 学生将能够更自由地表达他们的想法
B. teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes B. 老师在纠正错误时会少些麻烦
C. students will have more confidence in writing C. 学生在写作中会更有信心
D. students will learn to be independent of teachers D. 学生将学会独立于老师
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干中信息词encourage the use of dictionaries定位到第二段最后一句,该处讲到“这就是为什么老师经常鼓励学生尽早使用字典(encourage the early use of dictionaries)的原因”,以及第一段最后一句“问题是,怎样鼓励一个孩子在写作时自由自信地表达自己(express himself freely)。”,第一段最后一句引出第二段的内容,第二段在讲如何鼓励孩子自由自信地表达自己,因此A选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“老师在纠正错误时会少些麻烦”:对应第三段“这篇文章太糟糕了!拼写错误太多(spelling errors)。”,作者举出这个例子不是为了表达用了字典就会减少拼写错误,从而让老师在批改作业时不那么麻烦,而是要表达除了注重错误的地方,更要注重孩子表达的思想,而且文中没有提到使用字典后,老师在批改作业时会少些麻烦,属于偷换概念;
C选项“学生在写作中会更有信心”:对应第一段最后一句“鼓励一个孩子在写作时自由自信地(confidently)表达自己(express himself)”,使用字典解决的不是信心方面的问题,文中没有提到学生在使用字典后就会在写作中更有信心,属于偷换概念;
D选项“学生将学会独立于老师”:文中没有提到学生独立于老师,属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The writer seems to think that the teacher’s judgment on that sensitive piece of writing is ________. 作者似乎认为老师对那篇生动的文章的看法非常________。
A. reasonable A. 合乎情理
B. unfair B. 不公正
C. foolish C. 愚蠢
D. careless D. 淡漠
【考查点】观点态度题。
【解题思路】根据题干中信息词teacher’s judgment定位到第三段第三句,该处讲到“但这也反映了老师的悲哀(sad),因为他没有朗读这篇文章,这篇文章中有一些优美的表达(beautiful expressions),表达了孩子们的深刻情感(deep feelings)……他失望的表现会推动孩子寻求改进(seek improvement)。”,而这里的改进是以符合老师要求的改变,失去了孩子的文章原有的珍贵特点,作者想要表达的是这种做法不可取,不正确,因此B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“合乎情理”:对应第三段第一句,该处讲到“有一次,当我读到一篇生动的文章的评语时,我感到很震惊(shocked)。”,可知作者并不认为这个评语是合乎情理的,属于反向干扰;
C选项“愚蠢”:作者不赞同老师的做法,但不至于认为这到了愚蠢的地步,属于推理过度;
D选项“淡漠”:作者对此感到吃惊,不是没有什么看法和态度,属于反向干扰。
第5题:
【选项释义】
The major point discussed in the passage is ________. 本文讨论的主要观点是________。
A. the importance of developing writing skills A. 提高写作能力的重要性
B. the correct way of making compositions B. 正确的写作方法
C. the complexities of spelling C. 拼写的复杂性
D. the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition D. 拼写和作文内容之间的关系
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】第一段中心句提出问题,即“怎样鼓励一个孩子在写作(writing)时自由自信地表达自己,而不被拼写(spelling)的复杂所捆缚。”,第二段给出解决办法,即“老师经常鼓励学生尽早使用字典,注重内容而不是技能(content rather than technical ability)。”,最后一段举出反例进行批评,即“老师的悲哀(sad),因为他没有朗读这篇文章,这篇文章中有一些优美的表达,表达了孩子们的深刻情感。”,点出这位老师注重拼写却忽视了内容,表达出内容很重要。综上所述,这篇文章以拼写和作文内容为中心,讨论了两者之间的关系,因此D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“提高写作能力的重要性”:文中没有提到提高写作能力的重要性,属于无中生有;
B选项“正确的写作方法”:文章没有提到正确的写作方法,写作要怎样写才是正确的,属于无中生有;
C选项“拼写的复杂性”:文章有提到,但不足以概括全文,属于以偏概全。