Is there any evidence that the standard of English as a foreign language has improved in the years since the Second World War? Naturally, as it is the world language, more and mere people are taught it and use it. But do they speak it or write it or understand it better than their patents’ or grandparents’ generations?
Have standards declined? There is no objective way of answering this question. Tests of the traditional sort — compositions, precis writing, and so on — have always been subjective, so they cannot be used to judge whether people have got better or not over the years. But so-called objective tests are useless as a measure of progress too. They have not been used consistently (一贯的) in the same “concentration” over the period they have been in use, so there is no way of comparing exams “now” and “then”. Moreover, usually in the form of multiple choice questions, they do not, by and large, test the things that really count in mastering a language. Even comprehension is a partly “creative” activity in real life, as we have to think of possible meanings for ourselves rather than have them suggested for us from outside. And people can be trained in the techniques of multiple choice, while others fail the tests because they have been led astray (离开正道) precisely by their “suggestive” nature, so they are not really objective at all. We are left with only personal impression to go on.
My own is that, if anything, standards have declined somewhat in the last thirty or forty years, despite all the new theories, tools and techniques that have been developed. I am not alone in this judgment. In Sweden, for instance, Professors Johannes Hedberg and Gustav Korlen, two of the most experienced workers in the field; have on several occasions drawn attention to the lack of progress in the teaching of foreign languages since the late fifties. Yet Sweden is a sophisticated (先进的) society with extremely high educational and academic standards, and very concerned not to be cut off from the rest of the world. If such a country cannot achieve advances in the study of foreign languages, it is unlikely that many, if any, others have done so.
Japan is another community where remarkably little progress has been made in the learning of English. It is probably as important for Japan as for Sweden to master that language, and there is much academic effort put into linguistic (语言学的) research of various kinds. Yet the average standard of language learning is abysmally low, particularly for such a highly literate and educated society. This is no doubt in part the result of a vicious circle (恶性循环): many of the professors of English at Japanese universities are themselves incapable of speaking or writing or even understanding the language well.
1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the author?
A.Multiple choice questions are objective because people cannot be trained any techniques.
B.Sweden emphasizes the teaching of English without paying attention to other countries.
C.We have to depend on our own impression to judge the English standards.
D.Compositions are useful to test people’s English ability because people have to write out their viewpoints.
2.The so-called objective tests cannot be used as a measure of progress because _______.
A.the people who design the tests are changing constantly
B.the tests do not always focus on the same thing
C.the way of scoring is not scientific
D.they contain too many reading comprehension questions
3.The author’s attitude towards present English standards is _______.
A.negative B.indifferent (漠不关心的)
C.sympathetic D.positive
Stephen Glenn is a famous American research scientist who has made several very important medical breakthroughs. Many people were dying to know the secrets to his fantastic achievements. To reveal the mystery, a newspaper reporter interviewed him asking why he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others?
Having assumed to hear wording like innate curiosity for science or hard work, the reporter was surprised to have him respond that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about four years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk form the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor, a real sea of milk!
When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of shouting at him, giving him a lecture or chastising him, she said. “Stephen, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge pond of milk. Well, the damage has already been done Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”
Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “You know, Stephen. whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel or a mop. Which do you prefer?” He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk.
His mother then said, “You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let's go out in the back yard and till the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if be grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!
This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment doesn't work, we usually learn something valuable from it.
Wouldn‘t it be great if all parents would respond the way Stephen's mother responded to him?
1.According to the passage, a newspaper interviewed Stephen Glenn in order to _______ .
A.persuade him to treat some dying patients B.find out his differences with ordinary people
C.hear about his opinions about medical science D.know about why he was so successful
2.According to the passage, the underlined word “chastising” means _______.
A.pursuing B.punishing C.praising D.educating
3.What ordinary mothers can learn from Stephen's mother is that _______.
A.never put milk bottle where little kids can get hold of
B.appreciation of kids’ behaviours is important to their growth
C.mothers should teach kids to learn from their own mistakes
D.kids should learn to become scientists from childhood.
Mike frowned at his calendar and then picked up his guitar. His band had been together for five months. Everyone said they were fantastic but they still had not been blessed with a paying job.
The three guys had become acquainted in band class, and organizing a group had been Mike’s idea. Mike played the guitar and acted as leader. John was on drums and James was on the saxophone. The three got together just for fun and named their group Playday.
But when some fans praised their talent, they decided to turn fun into profit. To make themselves known, Playday volunteered to entertain at parties. They played for free at school get-togethers. Mike loved the applause! He felt like a superstar. They practiced hard and discussed young musicians who had vaulted into prominence.
“The Jackson Five were kids,” John said. “Michael shot to fame like a rocket!” He exclaimed. “We can do it!” Mike encouraged the group.
After months of keeping Spirits high, Mike was tired. They haven’t seen even a cent. Let alone making a killing. Everyone was in low spirits. They decided to break up after one final volunteer job. The next day, they were to perform for patients at the Children’s Hospital where Mike’s mother worked as a nurse.
The next day the three young guys set up in the hospital lobby, and the nurses brought in the audience. As Playday began its number, Mike could feel their lack of spirit. Then Mike spotted one patient sitting limply in her wheelchair. Her expression was vacant, but when music filled the room, this rag doll came to life. She sat up straight, and the light that shone in her eyes lighted up something in Mike. He felt the thrill he’d been missing. As Mike’s playing caught fire, James and John gained energy. Soon, Playday was rocking as never before.
After the performance, the three guys spent time with the patients. Mike spoke to the girl who had encouraged him to play so well. “Wouldn’t it feel great to be rich and famous?” she asked, eyes still bright. “Will you be a rock star?” “Probably not,” Mike answered. “But I’ll never give up my music. I felt like the big time playing for you!”
1.The underlined phrase “had vaulted into prominence” most likely means .
A.had grown into adults B.had made a promise
C.had played The Jackson Five D.had become successful
2.The members of Playboy were tired and depressed because they _______.
A.had no offer of a paying performance B.competed cruelly with other bands
C.called an end to the band D.performed at the Children's Hospital
3.While performing at the Children's Hospital, Mike became inspired because _______.
A.his guitar caught fire B.a girl took him as a rock star
C.a patient was much cheered up D.a toy doll suddenly became alive
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Mike, John and James got to know each other as they were relatives.
B.They planned to make money when they had a big fan base.
C.Their wonderful performance at Children’s Hospital cured the girl of her disease.
D.Mike found out the enjoyment of volunteer performance after playing at the hospital.
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks with the proper forms of the given worlds to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct.
Having nothing to write about is, perhaps, the greatest fear of a student about to begin an essay for an IELTS or TOEFL test. However, critical thinking isn’t such a difficult skill to master. In fact, many of you will have already used this valuable skill in your life.
Suppose one of your friends recommends a movie by saying ,“It’s a really wonderful movie and definitely worth 1. (watch).”,Instead of simply taking the recommendation, you may ask the question“Why is it wonderful?”By doing this you are thinking critically. A more professional term to define this process 2. (call) identifying ambiguity, which is regarded as the key stage in thinking critically.
Let’s look at following examples from IELTS Writing Task.
Detailed description of crimes on newspaper and TV have consequence for society, so this kind of information should be restricted in the media. To what extend do you agree or disagree with this statement.
To think critically, the fist thing 3. (consider) isn’t whether you agree or not. You should instead try to clarify the words “detailed description of crimes” by asking yourself 4. these details might be. Then you should come up with a list like this :
1.Investigating the target victim before the crime
2.Measures to avoid 5. (track)by the police
3.Bloody crime scenes.....
After that ,it won’t be hard for us to groups these details, leading eventually to two paragraphs: some disclosure of information may allow people to protect themselves from crime. However,it is not appropriate for many other details 6. (release)to the general public.
Practice identifying ambiguity when you write the essay.Your work will definitely leave a good impression on your teachers.
The famous American inventor Thomas Alva Edison once claimed that genius was one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration(汗水). Now, it seems, there is scientific evidence to _______ his claim. The idea that geniuses such as Shakespeare, Mozart, and Picasso possessed certain inborn talents is a false belief, according to a study by a British psychologist and his colleagues.
After examining outstanding performance in the arts and sports, these researchers concluded that _______ is determined by opportunity, encouragement, training, motivation, self-confidence, and — most important of all —_______ Even people who were not thought to be _______ with any special talent could, after having received training, reach levels _______ considered attainable (可获得的) only by gifted individuals. Talent is a false belief, and it is time that people got rid of it, they said.
This theory — a dramatic _______ with traditional beliefs — has been _______ by academics worldwide. In fact, studies of accomplished artists and mathematicians, and top tennis players and swimmers, have reported few early signs of _______ in these people before any parental encouragement. No case has been found of anyone reaching the highest levels of achievement without _______ himself or herself to thousands of hours of serious training. Even those who are believed to be exceptionally talented — whether in music, mathematics, chess, or sports — have needed lengthy periods of instruction and practice to achieve their highest level of success. The persistent false belief that some people reach high levels of performance without spending numerous hours practicing __________ much to the fact that their practice is usually outside the casual observer’s view, stated one scientist.
The importance of practice has been noticed in athletics. For instance, differences in the composition of certain muscles were once thought to be __________ predictors of athletic performance. However, the differences in the proportion of certain muscle fibers(组织) that are __________ for success in long-distance running are largely the result of extended practice in running.
“What makes a genius then?” one may ask. __________ , there is no clear answer. What is known, however, is that nurture is at least as important as nature? __________, a supportive environment will do far more for a child’s prospects of success than any inborn gifts. This is a message that most of us will find __________ — even if we haven’t won the gene lottery, our fate is still in our own hands.
1.A.make B.challenge C.support D.dismiss
2.A.excellence B.harmony C.negotiation D.response
3.A.education B.practice C.fortune D.character
4.A.satisfied B.concerned C.decorated D.gifted
5.A.preciously B.practically C.previously D.primarily
6.A.break B.association C.partnership D.relief
7.A.doubted B.concluded C.mentioned D.applauded
8.A.accomplishment B.treasure C.diligence D.inspiration
9.A.adapting B.attaching C.linking D.devoting
10.A.carries B.leaves C.owes D.connects
11.A.creative B.reliable C.natural D.active
12.A.essential B.suitable C.possible D.feasible
13.A.Unlikely B.Similarly C.Hopefully D.Unfortunately
14.A.To sum up B.In other words C.For example D.In addition
15.A.misleading B.puzzling C.comforting D.amusing
Mother Teresa _______ great contribution to the world peace, _______ she was awarded the Nobel Price in 1979.
A.might have made, because B.must have made, for
C.could have make, since D.should have make, as
