Question

    As a children's author and former English teacher, Abi Elphinstone has spent almost all of her life surrounded by the written word. Now an ambassador for the charity Coram Beanstalk, Ms Elphinstone plays a key role in championing the importance of literacy (读写能力）and the role played by its volunteers.

The charity has teamed up with the i (a British newspaper) to increase the number of its helpers, which it sends into schools to give children aged 3 to 13 who have fallen behind with their reading or are at risk of doing so support with their reading.

“I think there is an absolute need to reach kids who don't have access to books,” she said. “Just reading for 10 minutes a day improves a child’s achievement at school. Books show children the world is big and varied and full of wonder.”

And Ms Elphinstone knows first-hand how tricky reading is from her own experience. “In class when the teacher said 'could you read aloud', the words would jump all over the page and I’d stumble （结巴）and lose so much confidence,” she said. “That was difficult. Until way after leaving school, I just assumed I needed to put in a lot more work than other people to finish an essay or process information.”

Nowadays she thinks one of the biggest challenges is the competition books face from screens, which are being used by children for everything from videos and games to social media.

“There's so much demand on their time and it’s such an easy, quick-fix demand,” she said. “It's immediate satisfaction. Screens are loud and books whisper with quieter magic, but I think the effects are transformative and they are longer lasting than a Screen.”

This is where she thinks Coram Beanstalk can help, both with reading and also making children Feel valued.

1.Why did Coram Beanstalk work with the i ?

A.To advertise its ambassador.

B.To find more book donators.

C.To attract more people to volunteer.

D.To help increase the newspaper's subscription.

2.What is the goal of Coram Beanstalk?

A.To teach children English.

B.To encourage reading in children.

C.To inspire children to write books.

D.To improve children's social skills.

3.Which of the following Ms Elphinstone's school experience?

A.She had limited access to books.

B.She could hardly finish reading a book.

C.She was afraid of reading loudly in public.

D.She seldom handed in her class essay on time.

4.What's Ms Elphinstone's opinion on screens?

A.They affect children in a quict way.

B.They have a short-term effect on children.

C.They offer children easy access to books.

D.They bring children transformative change.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了Ms Elphinstone是慈善机构Coram Beanstok的大使，她在倡导读写能力的重要性及其志愿者扮演的角色方面发挥着关键作用。该慈善机构已与英国报纸《i》合作，吸引更多的人来做志愿者，将志愿者派到学校，帮助那些在阅读方面落后或有可能落后的3至13岁儿童帮助他们阅读。

1.

细节理解题。根据文章第二段中The charity has teamed up with the i (a British newspaper) to increase the number of its helpers, which it sends into schools to give children aged 3 to 13 who have fallen behind with their reading or are at risk of doing so support with their reading.该慈善机构已经与i(一家英国报纸)合作，目的是吸引更多的人来做志愿者，将这些志愿者送到学校，为阅读落后或面临阅读落后风险的3至13岁的儿童提供阅读支持。由此可知，Coram Beanstalk与i合作的目的是为了吸引更多的人来做志愿者。故选C。

2.

推理判断题。根据文章第三段中“I think there is an absolute need to reach kids who don't have access to books,” she said. “Just reading for 10 minutes a day improves a child’s achievement at school. Books show children the world is big and varied and full of wonder.” “我认为绝对有必要帮助那些无法接触到书籍的孩子，”她说。“每天只读10分钟就能提高孩子在学校的成绩。书本告诉孩子们，世界是大而多样的，充满了奇妙。根据Abi Elphinstone所说的话可知，这个慈善机构Coram Beanstalk的目标是鼓励孩子多阅读。故选B。

3.

细节理解题。根据文章第四段中“In class when the teacher said 'could you read aloud', the words would jump all over the page and I’d stumble （结巴）and lose so much confidence,”“在课堂上，当老师说‘你能大声朗读吗’时，单词就会跳到整页纸上，我就会结结巴巴，失去信心”。由此可知，Ms Elphinstone曾经在学校时害怕在大众面前大声读书。故选C。

4.

推理判断题。根据文章倒数第二段中Screens are loud and books whisper with quieter magic, but I think the effects are transformative and they are longer lasting than a Screen.” 屏幕发出的声音很响，书本发出的声音有更安静的魔力，但我认为这种效果是变革性的，而且比屏幕阅读的影响更持久。由此判断出，Ms Elphinstone认为屏幕对孩子产生影响的时间较短。故选B。