Question

    I was in my third year of teaching creative writing at a high school in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence from class the day before.

I had seen Mikey himself writing the note at his desk. Most parental-excuse notes（请假条） I received were penned by my students. If I were to deal with them, I’d be busy 24 hours a day.

The forged excuse notes made a large pile, with writing that ranged from imaginative to crazy. The writers of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually dull: “Peter was late because the alarm clock didn’t go off.”

Isn’t it remarkable, I thought, how the students complained and said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject? But when they produced excuse notes, they were brilliant.

So one day I typed out a dozen excuse notes and gave them to my classes. I said, “They’re supposed to be written by parents, but actually they are not. True, Mikey?” The students looked at me nervously.

“Now, this will be the first class to study the art of the excuse note---the first class, ever, to practice writing them. You’re so lucky to have a teacher like me who has taken your best writing and turned it into a subject worthy of study.”

Everyone smiled as I went on, “You used your imaginations. So try more now. Today I’d like you to write ‘An Excuse Note from Adam to God’ or ‘An Excuse Note from Eve to God’.” Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. For the first time ever I saw students so careful in their writing that they had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.

The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. The headmaster entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said, “I’d like you to see me in my office.”

When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, “I just want to tell you that that lesson, that task, whatever the hell you were doing, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you.”

1.What did the author do with the students found dishonest?

A.He reported them to the headmaster.

B.He lectured（训诫）them hard on honesty.

C.He had them take notes before lunch.

D.He helped improve their writing skills.

2.The underlined word “forged” in the third paragraph means       .

A.former B.copied

C.false D.honest

3.The author found that compared with the true excuse notes, the produced ones by the students were usually       .

A.less imaginative B.more impressive

C.loss lively D.more serious

4.The author had the students practice writing excuse notes so that students could learn       .

A.the importance of being honest B.how to write excuse notes skillfully

C.the value of creative writing D.how to be creative in writing

5.What did the headmaster think of the author’s way of teaching?

A.Effective. B.Difficult

C.Misleading. D.Reasonable.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.D

5.A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。作者让不能来上学的学生写请假条交给他，结果作者收到了大多数号称父母写的请假条。这些伪造的假条有些极富想象力，有些则愚不可及。于是作者就通过教学生如何写请假条，给学生上了一节效果很好的课。

1.细节理解题。根据第六段中的the first class, ever, to practice writing them. 可知这是有史以来第一节练习写假条的课。故选D项。

2.词义猜测题。根据第三段中The writers of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually dull.那些笔记的作者没有意识到诚实的借口笔记通常是枯燥的。所以家长写的和孩子写的是不一样的。可知forged意为“伪造的，假的”。故选C项。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段中The forged excuse notes made a large pile, with writing that ranged from imaginative to crazy. 伪造的借口便条堆成一大堆，上面的文字从富有想象力的到疯狂的都有。可知，作者发现，与真实的假条事由相比，学生们写的假条通常更令人印象深刻。故选B项。

4.细节理解题。根据第一段中I was in my third year of teaching creative writing at a high school in New York.那是我在纽约一所高中教创意写作的第三年。和第七段中的You used your imaginations.可知老师教了学生怎么有创造性地写作并且鼓励学生运用自己的想象力去写作，因此学生们能有创造性地写作了。故选D项。

5.推理判断题。根据最后一段中的I just want to tell you that that lesson, that task, whatever the hell you were doing, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you.我只想告诉你，那节课，那个任务，不管你当时在做什么，都非常棒。那些孩子的写作水平有大学水准了。谢谢你。可知校长认为作者的方式是有效的。故选A项。