Question

    A recent documentary produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has caused a stir in China and in the UK.

The documentary, titled Are Our Kids Tough Enough? focuses on five Chinese teachers who are sent to teach 50 UK teens at a school in Hampshire.

The teachers instruct the students for a month. The pupils are then tested, and the results are compared to the ones of those who have continued in the regular UK education system. The idea is to see if the Chinese method improves academic performance.

The Chinese teachers use their own teaching methods but receive strong resistance from the students. A clip from the documentary online shows some problems, with Chinese teachers calling their students lazy and lacking in discipline, while the students say the high pressure and harsh teachers are driving them crazy.

This has aroused a new debate in both China and the UK, with some arguing the teenagers need more regulation and discipline. Others say Chinese methods encourage rote learning (死记硬背) instead of independent thinking. For instance, Chinese language teachers should do more than pass on knowledge about words and characters. They should inspire students, helping them feel the sentiment from Chinese literature. This is a higher level of teaching.

Yang Dongping, dean of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, says, “The Chinese teaching methods are designed to strictly train the majority. Foreign teaching methods, however, are more natural and relaxing, and designed to inspire students’ interest in learning. Education methods are based on culture. That is why a successful education method in one place may not work that well when simply ‘transplanted’ into another place.”

Yang Dongping says, “The documentary does reflect some problems rooted in traditional Chinese teaching methods. Nobel prize winner, Yang Zhenning, gave a very fair comment on this issue. He said the Chinese-style education method works for most ordinary qualified students effectively, helping them reach high standards. However, it may weaken the training for high-potential outstanding students.”

1.Why are five Chinese teachers sent to teach 50 UK teens?

A. To test the intelligence of the UK teens.

B. To help the school improve their teaching efficiency.

C. To do some practical research into the UK education system.

D. To test the effectiveness of Chinese teaching methods.

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “harsh” in the fourth paragraph?

A. Extremely strict B. Quite friendly

C. Rather cold D. Very attractive

3.According to Yang Dongping, Chinese teaching methods ______.

A. fit all countries B. could be improved

C. are the best in the world D. are not as good as British methods

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍了一部关于教学方法的纪录片在中英两国引起了不小的关注——五名中国老师被派去教英国学生，结果学生很不适应，这说明教学方法是以文化为基础的，在一个国家取得成功的教学方法在另一个国家不一定奏效。

1.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“The idea is to see if the Chinese method improves academic performance.”可知，五名中国老师被派去教英国学生是为了检验中国教学方法的成效，故D项正确。

2.词义猜测题。根据画线词前的“Chinese teachers calling their students lazy and lacking in discipline, while the students say the high pressure and”可知，中国老师说学生懒惰和缺乏纪律性，学生则说是压力太大和严厉的老师让他们发狂，由此可知画线词词义为“严厉的”，故A项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“The Chinese teaching methods are designed to strictly train the majority. Foreign teaching methods, however, are more natural and relaxing, and designed to inspire students’ interest in learning. Education methods are based on culture.”可知，杨东平认为，中国的教学方法侧重于严格要求，而英国的教学方法更为自然和轻松，旨在激发学生的学习兴趣，教学方法是以文化为基础的，由此可知，杨东平认为中国的教学方法有待改进。