Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. 90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting.But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One study published this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10 15 minutes a day, and then other teachers who basically teach it for 60 to 70 minutes a day — which really for handwriting is pretty much.
Many adults remember learning that way — by copying letters over and over again. Today’ s thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself.Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all, that is why we write.
Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility,_which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency — writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop up until high school.
But not everyone masters these skills. Teachers commonly report that about onefourth of their kids have poor handwriting. Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs.
But Steve Graham at Vanderbilt says word processing is rarely done in elementary school, especially in the early years. American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive, which connects the letters. But guess what we learned from a spokeswoman for the College Board, which administers the SAT college admission test. More than 75 percent of students choose to print their essay on the test rather than write in cursive.
1.We can learn ________ from Paragraph 1.
A. teaching handwriting is a basic requirement in teaching job
B. most teachers prefer to teach handwriting
C. teachers spend little time in teaching handwriting
D. a keyboard has taken the place of the handwriting entirely
2.Which of the following is WRONG for traditional handwriting in the USA?
A. The students are taught by practicing a long period.
B. The letters are repeated many times.
C. Handwriting includes two skills.
D. To write in cursive is taught first.
3.The underlined word “legibility” in Paragraph 3 means ________.
A. easy to read B. complex C. unexpected D. unreadable
4.The best title for the passage is ________.
A. How to improve handwriting in school
B. Right or wrong: the death of handwriting
C. Handwriting involves two skills
D. Handwriting lessons are on the way out
5.The author’ s attitude towards whether still to learn handwriting in school is________.
A. negative B. objective C. critical D. optimistic
Can you believe your eyes? A recent experiment suggests that the answer to that question may depend on your age.
Martin Doherty, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, led the team of scientists. In this experiment, Doherty and his team tested the perception(观察力) of some people, using pictures of some orange circles. The researchers showed the same pictures to two groups of people. The first group included 151 children aged 4 to 10, and the second group included 24 adults aged 18 to 25.
The first group of pictures showed two circles alone on a white background. One of the circles was larger than the other, and these people were asked to identify the larger one. Four-year-olds identified the correct circle 79 percent of the time. Adults identified the correct circle 95 percent of the time.
Next, both groups were shown a picture where the orange circles, again of different sizes, were surrounded by gray circles. Here’s where the trick lies in. In some of the pictures, the smaller orange circle was surrounded by even smaller gray circles — making the orange circle appear larger than the other orange circle, which was the real larger one. And the larger orange circle was surrounded by even bigger gray circles — so it appeared to be smaller than the real smaller orange circle.
When young children aged 4 to 6 looked at these tricky pictures, they weren’t fooled—they were still able to find the bigger circle with roughly the same accuracy as before. Older children and adults, on the other hand, did not do as well. Older children often identified the smaller circle as the larger one, and adults got it wrong most of the time.
As children get older, Doherty said, their brains may develop the ability to identify visual context. In other words, they will begin to process the whole picture at once: the tricky gray circles, as well as the orange circle in the middle. As a result, they’re more likely to fall for this kind of visual trick.
1.Doherty and his team of scientists did an experiment to evaluate .
A. children’s and adults’ eye-sight
B. people’s ability to see accurately
C. children’s and adults’ brains
D. the influence of people’s age
2.When asked to find the larger circle，________.
A. children at 6 got it wrong 79 % of the time with no gray ones around
B. only adults over 18 got it right 95% of the time with gray ones around
C. children at 4 got it right about 79 % of the time with gray ones around
D. adults got it right most of the time with gray ones around
3. According to the passage, we can know that________.
A. a smaller orange circle appears bigger on a white background
B. an orange circle appears bigger than a gray one of the same size
C. a circle surrounded by other circles looks bigger than its real size
D. a circle surrounded by bigger ones looks smaller than its real size
4.Visual context may work when children get older than________.
A. 4 B. 6 C. 10 D. 18
5.Why are younger children not fooled?
A. Because they are smarter than older children and adults.
B. Because older people are influenced by their experience.
C. Because people’s eyes become weaker as they grow older.
D. Because their brain can hardly notice related things together.
Can you imagine traveling to work in a one – man submarine? Some scientists believe that some day one – man submarines will be as many as automobiles are today．A famous French driver says, “One day soon, men will walk on the ocean floor as they do on the street!” Perhaps during your lifetime people will travel, and live in the sea．
If human beings want to live in the ocean, many human problems will need to be studied first.
Some of these problems, similar to those of living in outer space, are pressure, lack of oxygen and weightlessness. Many questions are still unanswered．For example, can our blood make itself fit for underwater surroundings? What will happen to our muscle if we live in the water very long? Scientists are looking for answers．
Perhaps in the future man will live in the sea, away from the crowded and noisy cities on land．Then sea has plenty of space, not only for floating living buildings and parks, but also for storing supplies and for underwater travel．
Some scientists believe that ocean living will benefit man in more than physical ways. In the freedom and beauty of the deep sea, man may find new sources of joy．
1.What can we do if we live in the ocean? ( )
A．We can have plenty of oxygen．
B．We can be fit to live in the water very well．
C．We needn’t worry about things like weightlessness．
D．We can travel and work in the sea．
2.Why do some people hope to leave cities to live in the sea? Because_____． ( )
A．people think they can live crowdedly in the sea
B．people wish to go the quiet seafloor to travel for several days
C．people want to break away from the crowded and noisy cities where they live now
D．only in this way can people get rid of noise pollution
3.In what ways could ocean living be helpful for man? ( )
A．People can swim freely as much as possible．
B．People can be interested in the new pleasure there isn’t anywhere else．
C．The sea can supply people with enough foods and other things, so people needn’t work．
D．People can go boating and go to the park as often as possible．
4.Which of the following is the similar problem as that of living in outer space? ( )
A．We are short of oxygen．
B．We are not familiar with the underwater surrounding．
C．We may die of weightlessness．
D．We can finds new joys．
5.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? ( )
A．The scientists have not solved the problem of weightlessness underwater．
B．The scientists have solved the problem of weightlessness when man live in space．
C．Some scientists believe that ocean living will benefit man in no more than physical ways．
D．Sea has plenty of space only for floating living buildings and parks．
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner. 36 woman was my mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but my work had made 37 impossible to visit her very often. That night I called to 38 her to go out for dinner.“What’s wrong? Are you 39 ?”she asked. “I thought that it would be 40 to spend some time with you. Just the two of us,”I answered. She thought about it 41 moment, and agreed.
That Friday after work, 42 I drove to pick her up, I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I 43 that, she, too, seemed to be 44 about our date. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to 45 her last wedding anniversary.
We went to a restaurant that, 46 not elegant, was very nice and cozy. When I read the menu, Mom sat there 47 at me. A nostalgic(怀旧的)smile was 48 her lips. During the dinner, we had a(an) 49 conversation—nothing special but catching up on(了解)recent events of each other’s life.
A few days 50 , my mother died of a heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do 51 for her. Sometime later, I received an envelope with a note 52 “You will never know what that night meant to me. I’m looking forward to the 53 dinner. I love you, Son.”
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time“I LOVE YOU”. Nothing in life is more important than your 54 . Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be 55 till“some other time”.
1.A. Another B. This other C. Other D. Others
2.A. this B. that C. one D. it
3.A. force B. order C. advise D. invite
4. A. happy B. good C. well D. bad
5.A. glad B. pleasant C. interesting D. pleased
6.A. at the B. for a C. in a D. for the
7.A. until B. after C. as D. since
8.A. noticed B. observed C. watched D. heard
9.A. confused B. calm C. nervous D. easy
10.A. congratulate B. celebrate C. memorize D. honor
11.A. though B. even C. but D. yet
12.A. glancing B. staring C. glaring D. smiling
13.A. in B. beyond C. above D. on
14. A. deep B. curious C. agreeable D. short
15.A. later B. after C. before D. ago
16.A. anything B. everything C. nothing D. something
17.A. writing B. saying C. speaking D. telling
18.A. first B. second C. last D. next
19.A. mother B. wife C. family D. work
20.A. put off B. taken over C. cut off D. picked up
You will _______ your health if you work so hard，eat a little food and sleep badly．
A．fail B．improve C．help D．endanger
My brother，______ his classmates often made fun a few years ago，is now studying in England．
A．of whom B．who C．about whom D．whom
