Question

    Reading instruction in the classroom is a key concern for all teachers and there are many ways to go about it. However, is our determination to achieve excellence in reading skills in our children killing their love and enjoyment of a good book?

In my work with parents, I am frequently asked the best ways to encourage reluctant readers to be engaged with books. Parents report that their children return home from school with no inclination to pick up a book and read.

Any eager reader will gladly talk about the joy with a good book to read away the hours on a cold, rainy afternoon. Reading a good book is one of life’s greatest pleasures. We need to share these experiences with our children in order to assist them in developing into strong readers. But the use of boring, mass-produced home reading texts in children’s early years at school can be seen as the beginning of this negative cycle.

As children progress through their schooling life, there are many other instances of learning reading skills that don’t help reading development. Frequently, teachers feel the pressure to give their students “just enough” in terms of reading strategies to be able to achieve the test, which leaves little time to focus on reading for pleasure.

Kelly Gallagher, a high school teacher, outlines the term “Readicide” in his book. He says it’s: the systematic killing of the love of reading, often worsened by foolish, boring practices found in schools.

Recent research shows that many teachers tend to follow the traditional literacy practices that they have experienced in their own education, which can often have negative intentions for their students.

While teaching children key concepts for analyzing and evaluating texts is important, the manner in which it is done and time that is spent on this can lead to unexpected results. Schools aren’t to blame when it comes to not arresting students’ lack of interest in reading, but they have an important role to play in fostering reading enjoyment.

1.What does the underlined word “inclination” mean?

A.Energy B.Task

C.Intention D.Requirement

2.What does the term “Readicide” refer to?

A.To develop reading habits B.To read for pleasure

C.To learn reading skills D.To kill a love for books

3.According to the text, teachers at school ______.

A.focus on teaching reading strategies

B.ignore key concepts for analyzing texts

C.are to blame for students’ poor reading

D.fail to follow the traditional reading practices

4.What might be suitable title for the text?

A.Reading books is to experience pleasure

B.Learning to love books is even more important

C.Teaching reading helps reluctant readers

D.Getting pleasure from books makes capable readers

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇议论文。课堂阅读教学是所有教师关注的焦点问题，有许多方法可以解决这一问题。然而，我们在孩子阅读技巧上追求卓越的决心是否扼杀了他们对一本好书的热爱和享受呢？作者针对这一话题展开了论述。

1.词义猜测题。根据第二段第一句话In my work with parents, I am frequently asked the best ways to encourage reluctant readers to be engaged with books.(在我与父母的工作中，我经常被问到鼓励不情愿的读者读书的最佳方法)计划线词所在句Parents report that their children return home from school with no inclination to pick up a book and read.可推知，该句意为“父母们报告说，他们的孩子放学回家后，没有拿起一本书看的意思”。由此推知，划线词意为“倾向，爱好”。故选C。

2.词义猜测题。根据倒数第三段中的He says it’s: the systematic killing of the love of reading, often worsened by foolish, boring practices found in schools.可知，他说：这是对阅读爱好的系统性扼杀，而在学校里发现的愚蠢、无聊的行为往往会使这种扼杀进一步恶化。由此可知，“Readicide”一词指的是扼杀对书籍爱好。故选D。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段中的Frequently, teachers feel the pressure to give their students “just enough” in terms of reading strategies to be able to achieve the test, which leaves little time to focus on reading for pleasure.可知，老师们经常会感到压力，要求他们在阅读策略上给学生“刚刚好”的分数，以使他们能够通过考试，这样一来，他们就几乎没有时间把注意力放在娱乐阅读上了。由此可知，教师在学校里主要注重阅读策略的教学。故选A。

4.主旨大意题。根据第一段中的However, is our determination to achieve excellence in reading skills in our children killing their love and enjoyment of a good book?(然而，我们在孩子阅读技巧上追求卓越的决心是否扼杀了他们对一本好书的热爱和享受呢？)及第三段中的We need to share these experiences with our children in order to assist them in developing into strong readers.(我们需要与孩子们分享这些经验，以帮助他们成长为强大的读者)可知，本文主要论述了教会孩子们热爱阅读的重要性。由此可知，B项Learning to love books is even more important(学会爱书是更重要的)适合做本文标题。故选B。