Testing has taken the place of teaching in most public schools. Pretests, drills, tests, and retests. They know that the best way to read a textbook is to look at the questions at the end of the chapter and then read the text quickly for the answers. I believe that my daughter Erica, who gets excellent marks, has never read a chapter of any of her school textbooks all the way through. And teachers are often heard to say proudly and openly that they teach to the test.
Teaching to the test is a curious phenomenon(现象). Instead of deciding what skills students ought to learn, helping students learn them, and then using some methods of assessment(评价) to discover whether students have mastered the skills, teachers are encouraged to teach the students in the opposite way. First one looks at a test. Then one chooses the skills needed not to master reading, but to do well in the test. Finally, the test skills are taught.
The ability to read or write might suggest the ability to do reasonably well on standardized tests. However, neither reading nor writing develops simply through being taught to take tests. We must be careful to avoid mistaking preparations for a test of a skill with the acquisition(习得)of that skill. Too many discussions of basic skills make this misunderstanding because people are tested rather than concerned with the nature and quality of what is taught.
Recently, many schools have faced what could be called the crisis of comprehension or, in simple words, the phenomenon of students with grammar skills still being unable to understand what they read. These students are quite good at test taking and filling in workbooks. However, they have little or no experience reading or thinking, and talking about what they read. They know the details but can’t see or understand the whole. They are taught to be so concerned with grades that they have no time to think about meaning, and reread things if necessary. The author mentions Erica’s performance in her study in order to show_________.
A.her cleverness in test taking | B.the good way to take tests |
C.the improper way of teaching | D.the best way to read textbooks |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The teachers are curious about teaching to the test. |
B.Skills in general are not only useless but often mislead students. |
C.Ability to read and write has nothing to do with ability to do well in tests. |
D.Preparations for a test of a skill do not mean the acquisition of that skill. |
In the author’s opinion, __________.
A.some good methods of assessment should take the place of tests |
B.more attention should be paid to the nature and quality of what is taught |
C.students should not be concerned with grades but do more reading and thinking |
D.students needn’t learn grammar skills because they are useless for understanding |
By “crisis of comprehension” (in Paragraph 4) the author means many students ______.
A.are too much concerned with grades |
B.fail to understand the real goal of education |
C.lack proper practice in grammar drills |
D.do well on tests but can’t understand what they read |
A Language Programme for Teenagers
Welcome to Teenagers Abroad! We invite you to join us on an amazing journey of language learning.
Our Courses
Regardless of your choice of course, you'll develop your language ability both quickly and effectively.
Our Standard Course guarantees a significant increase in your confidence in a foreign language, with focused teaching in all 4 skill areas----speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Our Intensive Course builds on our Standard Course, with 10 additional lessons per week, guaranteeing the fastest possible language learning (see table below).
Course Type |
Days |
Number of Lesson |
Course Timetab le |
Standard Course |
Mon-Fri |
20 lessons |
9:00-12:30 |
Intensive Course |
Mon-Fri |
20 lessons |
9:00-12:30 |
10 lessons |
13:00-14:30 |
Evaluation
Students are placed into classes according to their current language skills. The majority of them take on online language test before starting their programme. However, if this is not available, students sit the exam on the first Monday of their course.
Learning materials are provided to students throughout their course, and there will never be more than 15 participants in each class.
Arrivals and Transfer
Our programme offers the full package-students are take good care of from the start through to the very end. They are collected from the airport upon arrival and brought to their accommodation in comfort. We require the student's full details at least 4 weeks in advance.
Meals/Allergies( 过敏 )/Special Dietary Requirements
Students are provided with breakfast, dinner and either a cooked or packed lunch(which consists of a sandwich, a drink and a dessert). Snacks outside of mealtimes may be purchased by the student individually.
We ask that you let us know of any allergies or dietary requirements as well as information about any medicines you take. Depending on the type of allergies and/ or dietary requirements, an extra charge may be made for providing special food.
36. How does Intensive Course differ from Standard Course?
A. |
It is less effective |
B. |
It focuses on speaking |
C. |
It includes extra lessons |
D. |
It give you confidence |
37. When can a student attend Standard Course?
A. |
13:00-14:30 Monday |
B. |
9:00-12:30 Tuesday |
C. |
13:00-14:30 Friday |
D. |
9:00-12:30 Saturday |
38. Before starting their programme, students are expected to _____.
A. |
take a language test |
B. |
have an online interview |
C. |
prepare learning materials |
D. |
report their language levels |
39. With the full package, the programme organizer is supposed to_____.
A. |
inform students of their full flight details |
B. |
look after students throughout the programme |
C. |
offer students free sightseeing trips |
D. |
collect students' luggage in advance |
40. Which of the following may require an extra payment?
A. |
Cooked dinner. |
B. |
Mealtime dessert. |
C. |
Packed lunch. |
D. |
Special diet. |
A new collection of photos brings an unsuccessful Antarctic voyage back to life.
Frank Hurley's pictures would be outstanding----undoubtedly first-rate photo-journalism---if they had been made last week. In fact, they were shot from 1914 through 1916, most of them after a disastrous shipwreck(海滩), by a cameraman who had no reasonable expectation of survival. Many of the images were stored in an ice chest, under freezing water, in the damaged wooden ship.
The ship was the Endurance, a small, tight, Norwegian-built three-master that was intended to take Sir Ernest Shackleton and a small crew of seamen and scientists, 27 men in all, to the southernmost shore of Antarctica's Weddell Sea. From that point Shackleton wanted to force a passage by dog sled(雪橇) across the continent. The journey was intended to achieve more than what Captain Robert Falcon Scott had done. Captain Scott had reached the South Pole early in 1912 but had died with his four companions on the march back.
As writer Caroline Alexander makes clear in her forceful and well-researched story The Endurance, adventuring was even then a thoroughly commercial effort. Scott's last journey, completed as be lay in a tent dying of cold and hunger, caught the world's imagination, and a film made in his honor drew crowds. Shackleton, a onetime British merchant-navy officer who had got to within 100 miles of the South Pole in 1908, started a business before his 1914 voyage to make money from movie and still photography. Frank Hurley, a confident and gifted Australian photographer who knew the Antarctic, was hired to make the images, most of which have never before been published.
13. What do we know about the photos taken by Hurley?
A. |
They were made last week |
B. |
They showed undersea sceneries |
C. |
They were found by a cameraman |
D. |
They recorded a disastrous adventure |
14. Who reached the South Pole first according to the text?
A. |
Frank Hurley |
B. |
Ernest Shackleton |
C. |
Robert Falcon Scott |
D. |
Caroline Alexander |
15. What does Alexander think was the purpose of the 1914 voyage?
A. |
Artistic creation |
B. |
Scientific research |
C. |
Money making |
D. |
Treasure hunting |
Reading can be a social activity. Think of the people who belong to book groups. They choose books to read and then meet to discuss them. Now, the website BookCrossing.comturns the page on the traditional idea of a book group.
Members go on the site and register the books they own and would like to share. BookCrossing provides an identification number to stick inside the book. Then the person leaves it in a public place, hoping that the book will have an adventure, traveling far and wide with each new reader who finds it.
Bruce Pederson, the managing director of BookCrossing, says, "The two things that change your life are the people you meet and books you read. BookCrossing combines both."
Members leave books on park benches and buses, in train stations and coffee shops. Whoever finds their book will go to the site and record where they found it.
People who find a book can also leave a journal entry describing what they thought of it. E-mails are then sent to the BookCrossing to keep them updated about where their books have been found. Bruce peterson says the idea is for people not to be selfish by keeping a book to gather dust on a shelf at home.
BookCrossing is part of a trend among people who want to get back to the "real" and not the virtual(虚拟). The site now has more than one million members in more than one hundred thirty-five countries.
9. Why does the author mention book groups in the first paragraph?
A. |
To explain what they are. |
B. |
To introduce BookCrossing. |
C. |
To stress the importance of reading. |
D. |
To encourage readers to share their ideas. |
10. What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 2refer to?
A. |
The book. |
B. |
An adventure. |
C. |
A public place. |
D. |
The identification number. |
11. What will a BookCrosser do with a book after reading it?
A. |
Meet other readers to discuss it. |
B. |
Keep it safe in his bookcase. |
C. |
Pass it on to another reader. |
D. |
Mail it back to its owner. |
12. What is the best title for the text?
A. |
Online Reading: A Virtual Tour |
B. |
Electronic Books: A new Trend |
C. |
A Book Group Brings Tradition Back |
D. |
A Website Links People through Books |
Five years ago, when I taught art at a school in Seattle, I used Tinkertoys as a test at the beginning of a term to find out something about my students. I put a small set of Tinkertoys in front of each student, and said:"Make something out of the Tinkertoys. You have 45 minutes today - and 45minutes each day for the rest of the week."
A few students hesitated to start. They waited to see the rest of the class would do. Several others checked the instructions and made something according to one of the model plans provided. Another group built something out of their own imaginations.
Once I had a boy who worked experimentally with Tinkertoys in his free time. His constructions filled a shelf in the art classroom and a good part of his bedroom at home. I was delighted at the presence of such a student. Here was an exceptionally creative mind at work. His presence meant that I had an unexpected teaching assistant in class whose creativity would infect(感染) other students.
Encouraging this kind of thinking has a downside . I ran the risk of losing those students who had a different style of thinking. Without fail one would declare, "But I'm just not creative."
"Do you dream at night when you're asleep?"
"Oh, sure."
"So tell me one of your most interesting dreams." The student would tell something wildly imaginative. Flying in the sky or in a time machine or growing three heads. "That's pretty creative. Who does that for you?"
"Nobody. I do it."
"Really-at night, when you're asleep?"
"Sure."
"Try doing it in the daytime, in class, okay?"
5. The teacher used Tinkertoys in class in order to ________?
A. |
know more about the students |
B. |
make the lessons more exciting |
C. |
raise the students' interest in art |
D. |
teach the students about toy design |
6. What do we know about the boy mentioned in Paragraph 3?
A. |
He liked to help his teacher. |
B. |
He preferred to study alone. |
C. |
He was active in class. |
D. |
He was imaginative. |
7. What does the underlined word "downside" in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. |
Mistake. |
B. |
Drawback. |
C. |
Difficulty. |
D. |
Burden. |
8. Why did the teacher ask the students to talk about their dreams?
A. |
To help them to see their creativity. |
B. |
To find out about their sleeping habits. |
C. |
To help them to improve their memory. |
D. |
To find out about their ways of thinking. |
What's On?
Electric Underground
7.30pm-1.00am Free at the Cyclops Theatre
Do you know who's playing in your area? We're bringing you an evening of live rock and pop music from the best local bands. Are you interested in becoming a musician and getting a recording contract(合同)? If so, come early to the talk at 7.30pm by Jules Skye, a successful record producer. He's going to talk about how you can find the right person to produce you music.
Gee Whizz
8.30pm-10.30pm Comedy at Kaleidoscope
Come and see Gee Whizz perform. He's the funniest stand-up comedian on the comedy scene. This joyful show will please everyone, from the youngest to the oldest. Gee Whizz really knows how to make you laugh! Our bar is open from 7.00pm for drinks and snacks(快餐).
Simon's Workshop
5.00pm-7.30pm Wednesdays at Victoria Stage
This is a good chance for anyone who wants to learn how to do comedy. The workshop looks at every kind of comedy, and practices many different ways of making people laugh. Simon is a comedian and actor who has 10 years' experience of teaching comedy. His workshops are exciting and fun. An evening with Simon will give you the confidence to be funny.
Charlotte Stone
8.00pm-11.00pm Pizza World
Fine food with beautiful jazz music; this is a great evening out. Charlotte Stone will perform songs from her new best-selling CD, with James Pickering on the piano. The menu is Italian, with excellent meat and fresh fish, pizzas and pasta(面食). Book early to get a table. Our bar is open all day, and serves cocktails, coffee, beer, and white wine.
Who can help you if you want to have your music produced?
A. |
Jules Skye. |
B. |
Gee Whizz. |
C. |
Charlotte Stone. |
D. |
James Pickering. |
2. At which place can people of different ages enjoy a good laugh?
A. |
The Cyclops Theatre |
B. |
Kaleidoscope |
C. |
Victoria Stage |
D. |
Pizza World |
3. What do we know about Simon's Workshop?
A. |
It requires membership status. |
B. |
It lasts three hours each time. |
C. |
It is run by a comedy club. |
D. |
It is held every Wednesday. |
4. When will Charlotte Stone perform her songs?
A. |
5.00pm-7.30pm. |
B. |
7.30pm-1.00am. |
C. |
8.00pm-11.00pm. |
D. |
8.30pm-10.30pm. |