There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in

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There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have ever taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority (优先) 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 (复杂性) of spelling.
If spelling becomes the only focal (焦点的) 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 terrible.” 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 (动机) to seek improvement.
小题1:Teachers are different in their opinions about _________.

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

小题2: The underlined expression “play safe” probably means ________.

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

小题3:Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that ____________.

A．students will be able to express their ideas more freely

B．students will have more confidence in writing

C．students will have less trouble in correcting mistakes

D．students will learn to be independent of teachers

小题4:The author seems to think that the teacher’s judgment on that sensitive piece of writing is __________.

A．unfair

B．reasonable

C．foolish

D．careless

小题5:The major point discussed in the passage is ___________.

A．the importance of developing writing skills

B．the complexities of spelling

C．the correct way of marking compositions

D．the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition

答案

小题1:B
小题1:D
小题1:A
小题1:A
小题1:D

解析

小题1:细节题。本题需要回答教师们在对待学生作文问题上的意见分歧表现在哪一方面。文章第一段的第三句话说明教师们的分歧在于如何进行单词拼写教学，以及拼写教学与培养学生全面的语言能力和写作能力上哪个更具优先考虑权。由此可见选项B“(教师们的分歧在于)拼写在全面培养学生语言发展能力上的作用”为正确答案。
小题1:词汇题。本题需要从play safe这一词组所出现的上下文中推断出它的意义。文章中指出如果教师只关注拼写，聪明的孩子很有可能就会play safe以迎合老师的心理。学生是怎样play safe的呢接下来的一句话作了解释“He will tend to write only words within his spelling range，choosing to avoid adventurous language”，学生就会只使用自己会拼写的单词，而放弃冒险使用一些自己没有把握的单词。因此选项D“避免使用自己没有把握的单词”为正确答案。
小题1:文章第二段提到“That’s why teachers．．．technical ability”，说明教师鼓励学生用字典是为了让他们在表达自己的想法时不再受拼写的限制，因此[A]“学生能够更加自由的表达他们的思想”是正确答案。
小题1:细节题：从最后一段的句子：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.可知作者认为老师这么做是不公平的。选A
小题1:主旨题：整篇文章是围绕拼写和写作的关系。选D

举一反三

Astronauts aboard the space station celebrated a space first on Wednesday by drinking water that had been recycled from their urine(尿), sweat and water got from air. They said "cheers," clicked drinking bags and toasted NASA workers on the ground.
The urine recycling system is needed for astronaut stations on the moon and Mars. It also will have NASA money because it won’t have to ship up as much water to the station by space shuttles or cargo rockets. Besides, it’s important as the space station is about to expand from three people living on board to six.
The recycling system had been brought up to the space station last November by space shuttles Endeavour, but it couldn’t be used until samples(样品) were tested back on earth. So when it came time to actually drink up, NASA made a big deal of it. The three-man crew stood holding their drinks and congratulated engineers in two NASA centres that worked on the system.
“This is something that had been the stuff of science fiction,” American astronaut Michael Barratt said before taking a small mouthful. “The taste is worth trying.”
The new system takes the combined urine of the crew from the toilet, moves it to a big tank, where the water is boiled off, and the vapor(水蒸气) is collected. The rest of the urine is thrown away. Then the water vapor is mixed with water from air, and then it goes through filters (过滤器). When six crew members are aboard it can make about six gallons from urine in about six hours.
“Some people may find the idea of drinking recycled urine distasteful, but it is also done on earth, but with a lot longer time between urine and the tap,” said Marybeth Edeen, the space station’s national lab manager.
The technology NASA developed for this system has already been used for quick water purification after the 2004 Asian tsunami.
小题1: According to the text, the recycling system is important because ___________.

A．it makes traveling to the moon for the average person possible

B．with it NASA won’t need to ship any water up the space station

C．it can help meet the need for more water after the crew is expanded

D．it protects the environment in space by reducing the amount of waste

小题2:What’s the RIGHT time order of the following events?
a. The samples of the recycled water were tested on earth.
b. Astronauts celebrated the space first of making water from urine
c. The recycling system was brought up to the space station.
d. The technology for the system was used to quickly purify water.

A．a, d, c, b

B．a, c, b, d

C．d, a, c, b

D．d, c, a, b

小题3:From Para. 5 we can know ____________.

A．the theory behind the recycling system	B．the effect of the recycling system
C．the process of recycling urine	D．an opinion on recycling urine

小题4:What did Edeen say about recycled urine and the recycling system?

A．The taste of recycled urine is not as good as that of common water.

B．The recycling system has made a science fiction story come true.

C．The idea of drinking recycled urine makes astronauts feel unpleasant.

D．It takes a longer time on earth to make water from urine than in space.

小题5:What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Research of NASA Has Made Great Progress.

B．New Technology Is Used in the Space Station.

C．Drink up: Space Station Recycles Urine to Water.

D．Good News: Water Recycled from Urine Tastes Good

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Speaking in his first National Day Rally speech on 15 August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien said Singapore’s education system was set for more reforms in the years ahead, particularly for the primary and secondary education．Read the summary of his thoughts on education below．
For a start, the Government is prepared to send and additional 3,000 teachers to Singapore schools, cut the courses of study even further and change the way the mother tongue, especially Chinese, is taught．But, for the changes to be successful, parents need to help．
Singapore has a devoted group of teachers and principals and quite a few of them are outstanding, but the Republic’s schools can be even better．To help the schools make a jump in quality, the Government plans that within the next 6 years, it will send 1,000 more teachers to primary schools, 1,400 to secondary schools and 550 more to junior colleges．Each school would decide how to use its extra teachers．Some may want to make classes smaller so students get more individual attentions while others may have new teachers assist more senior teachers, but the overall goal is to give teachers the time and space to come up with ways to bring out the best in their students．
More teachers must not mean more homework, however．In fact, the Prime Minister wants to see the courses cut down so that there is less pressure on the students．Good grades are important but they should not be the only goal students have．PM Lee is convinced that “we must teach less so that our children can learn more．”
Another change will be in the teaching of the mother tongue so that students can become more fluent．The key is to teach Chinese as a living language not just an academic subject like Latin．Therefore, the focus should be on speaking and reading the language．To do this, there must be an environment outside the classroom that is contributing to strengthening the Chinese lessons．
小题1:The text is mainly about in Singapore．

A．the education reform	B．adding more teachers
C．the mother tongue	D．ways of teaching

小题2:The general goal of using extra teachers is to ．

A．make classes smaller	B．assist more senior teachers
C．teach more	D．help teachers improve teaching quality

小题3:PM Lee holds that the students should ．

A．do more homework	B．give up higher grades
C．study more courses	D．be given more time to learn more

小题4:The key to teaching Chinese well is to ．

A．make it academic	B．have a creative environment
C．give more Chinese lessons	D．encourage speaking and reading a lot

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Children lie on couches or sit on floors, nearly hypnotized(迷住) by all kinds of messages coming from the television. This scene has become all too familiar. Increasingly, young children are adopting a watching-TV lifestyle, at s stage in life when activity is important to their growth. Furthermore, family time is being destroyed by too much TV time. Here are some facts you need to know:
*Research shows that children spend between five and six hours per day watching TV, and they go to bed before having any communication with other family members.
*Time spent in front of a screen is reducing the amount of time children spend sleeping.
*The more time a youth spends in front of a screen, the more likely he or she is to be overweight.
Experts(专家) offer the following advice to parents on how to stop their children from becoming addicted to television:
*Do not put a TV in a child’s bedroom.
*Make meal time, family time -----turn off the TV during a family meal time. Better yet, remove the TV from the eating area.
*Make TV time active time by doing simple exercise during advertisement breaks.
*Help your kids be clever TV watchers by teaching them to recognize a sales trick in advertisements(广告).
*Create family memories by planning fun activities instead of always watching TV with your family.
*_______. Limit your own TV watching to less than two hours per day. The best way to learn is to follow; this is especially true for children.
小题1:Which fact is not mentioned(提到) as a result of watching TV in this passage?

A．Family time has been destroyed.

B．Children who watch too much TV are often overweight.

C．Children spend less time sleeping because of watching TV.

D．Children’s study can be badly influenced if they watch too much TV.

小题2:Which of the following is one piece of advice given in this passage?

A．Parents should teach children to judge TV advertisements.

B．TV should be removed from homes that have children.

C．The family should watch TV together while eating.

D．Parents should not allow children to watch TV.

小题3:The sentence in the blank in the last advice should be “_______”.

A．Be a good role model	B．Limit children’s TV time
C．TV time should not be over 2 hours.	D．Watching too much TV is bad for children

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The temperature is rising again in the Arctic. The sea ice area has dropped to one of the lowest levels on record， climate scientists reported last week.
“The new Arctic Report Card tells a story of widespread and continued effects of a warming Arctic，” said Jackie Richter-Menge of the US’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.
“This isn’t just a climatological (气候学的) effect. It impacts the people that live there，” she added.
Scientists concerned about global warming focus on the Arctic because that is a region where the effects are expected to be felt first， and that has been the case in recent years.
There was a slowdown in Arctic warming in 2009， but in the first half of 2010 warming was near a record pace. The monthly readings were over 4 degrees Celsius above normal in northern Canada， according to the report card. The report card was prepared by 69 researchers in eight countries.
Researchers said last winter’s big snow storms that struck some Northern countries were tied to higher Arctic temperatures.
“Normally the cold air is bottled up in the Arctic，” said Jim Overland of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “But last December and February， winds that normally blow west to east across the Arctic were instead bringing the colder air south，” he said.
“As we lose more sea ice... warming in the atmosphere can create more of these winter storms，” Overland said.
There is a powerful connection between ice cover and air temperatures， Richter-Menge explained. When temperatures warm， ice melts. When ice melts it shows darker surfaces underneath ， which absorb more heat. “That， in turn， causes more melting and on the cycle goes，” she said.
In September the Arctic sea ice extent was the third smallest in the last 30 years， added Don Perovich of the US Army Laboratory. He said the three smallest ice covers have occurred in the last four years.
小题1:Scientists care so much about the warming in the Arctic region because 　　　　.

A．the climate in the Arctic doesn’t change much

B．global warming effects are most serious in the Arctic region

C．there has been a major decrease of Arctic warming in recent years

D．by studying the region they can make predictions about the future impact of global warming

小题2:. Which of the following shows that the Arctic is getting warmer？
A. The surface of the sea ice in Arctic is getting darker and darker.
B. The Arctic sea ice extent has disappeared over the last 30 years.
C. The sea ice extent has increased to one of the highest levels on record.

小题3: What does the underlined word “cycle” refer to？

A．Ice giving off heat when it melts.

B．Higher temperatures bringing more storms.

C．The cause and the result of the melting.

D．The life of the people living in the Arctic getting worse.

小题4: According to researchers what led to big snow storms attacking some Northern countries last winter？

A．Higher Arctic temperatures.

B．The melting ice.

C．The cold wind blowing west to east.

D．Cold air bottled up in the Arctic.

小题5: What is the main point of the article？

A．Last winter’s big snow-storms.

B．Winds in the Arctic region.

C．Arctic warming and its possible effects.

D．Changes to the life of people living in the Arctic.

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People with bigger brains ftend to score higher on standardized tests of intelligence， according to new study findings.
However， the study author Dr Michael A.McDaniel of the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond emphasized that these findings represent a general trend， and people with small heads should not automatically believe they are less intelligent. For instance， Albert Einstein’s brain was “not particularly large”， McDaniel noted. “There’s some relationship between brain size and intelligence on the average， but there’s plenty of room for exceptions，” he said.
Interest in the relationship between brain size and intelligence grew in the1830s， when German anatomist(解剖学家) Frederich Tiedmann wrote that he believed there was “an unquestionable connection between the size of the brain and the mental energy displayed by the individual man”. Since that statement， scientists have conducted numerous studies to determine if Tiedmann’s assertion was， in fact， correct. Most studies have looked into the link between head size and intelligence. More recently， however， researchers have published additional studies on brain size and intelligence， measured using MRI scan(核磁共振成像扫描).
For his study， McDaniel analyzed more than 20 studies that looked into the relationship between brain size and intelligence in a total of 1,530 people. The studies showed that on the average， people with larger brain volume tended to be more intelligent. The relationship between brain volume and intelligence was stronger in women than men， and in adults than in children. McDaniel notes in the journal Intelligence.
McDaniel is not sure why the relationship was stronger for adults and women. “Other research has shown that women， on the average， tend to have smaller brains than men， but score just as well—if not higher—in tests of intelligence，” he said.
McDaniel insisted that the relationship between brain size and intelligence is not a “perfect” one. “One can certainly find lots of examples of smaller-sized people who are highly intelligent，” he said， “But， on the average， the relationship holds.”
小题1:. What does the text mainly talk about？

A．MRI scans are applied to intelligence.

B．On the average， a bigger brain means higher IQ.

C．Dr McDaniel did well in his intelligence study.

D．Scientists are interested in Tiedmann’s idea.

小题2: By mentioning Albert Einstein， the writer wants to show　　　　.

A．Albert Einstein was intelligent

B．the result of intelligence test was false

C．being hard working is more important than intelligence

D．brain size doesn’t necessarily decide the level of intelligence

小题3: The underlined word “assertion” in Para. 3 probably means “　　　　”.
A. experiment B. statement C proof D. demand
小题4: After Frederich Tiedmann wrote his article，　　　　.

A．many scientists agreed with him

B．numerous studies have failed to prove his idea

C．MRI scan became popularly used

D．lots of researchers were interested in the connections between head size and intelligence

小题5: According to the text， Dr McDaniel’s study　　　　.

A．proves Tiedmann’s idea was completely true

B．shows women are smarter than men

C．involves many studies and a lot of people

D．explains why people with smaller brains are clever

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