Question

    Last week, Education Secretary Arne Duncan declared war on paper textbooks. “Over the next few years,” he said in a speech at the National Press Club, “textbooks should be abandoned.” In their place would come a variety of digital-learning technologies, like e-readers and multi-media websites.

Such technologies certainly have their place. But Secretary Duncan is threatening to light a fire to a tried-and-true technology—good old paper—that has been the foundation for one of the great educational systems on the planet. And while e-readers and multi-media websites may seem appealing, the idea of replacing an effective learning platform with a widely hyped (炒作) but still unproven one is extremely dangerous.

An expert on reading, Maryanne Wolf, has recently begun studying the effects of digital reading on learning, and so far the results are mixed. She worries that Internet reading, in particular, could be such a source of distractions(分散注意力) for students that they may cancel out most other potential benefits of a Web-linked, e-learning environment and while it's true that the high-tech industry has sponsored substantial amounts of research on the potential benefits of Web-based learning, not enough time has passed for longitudinal(纵向的) studies to demonstrate the full effects.

In addition, digital-reading advocates claim that lightweight e-books benefit students' backs and save schools money. But the rolling backpack seems to have solved the weight problem, and the shocking costs to outfit every student with an e-reader, provide technical support and pay for regular software updates promise to make the e-textbook a very pricey choice.

As both a teacher who uses paper textbooks and a student of urban history, I can't help but wonder what parallels exist between my own field and this sudden, wholesale abandonment of the technology of paper.

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A.Multi-media websites and good old paper are kinds of digital-learning technologies.

B.Digital learning technologies will replace the paper textbooks sooner or later.

C.E-readers and multi-media websites are learning methods that are proved effective.

D.A tried-and-true technology is paper textbooks, long used in educational system.

2.What is the drawback of paper textbooks according to the passage?

A.Their weight. B.Their price.

C.Their content. D.Their appearance.

3.What worries Maryanne Wolf is that ________.

A.paper learning can provide more potential benefits

B.students may not focus on learning by digital reading

C.digital reading can't provide potential benefits for users

D.the results of digital reading effects are understandable

4.What is the author's attitude towards digital-learning?

A.Disapproving. B.Supportive.

C.Positive. D.Objective.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇议论文，上周Arne Duncan宣布要废除纸质书本，要求学生使用电子书。文章对此观点进行了讨论，列举了电子书和纸质书的好处及缺点，也介绍了不同的人对此问题的看法。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段第二句“. But Secretary Duncan is threatening to light a fire to a tried-and-true technology—good old paper—that has been the foundation for one of the great educational systems on the planet.”可知“a tried-and-true technology”就是指纸质教科书good old paper。故D项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段第二句“But the rolling backpack seems to have solved the weight problem, and the shocking costs to outfit every student with an e-reader, provide technical support and pay for regular software updates promise to make the e-textbook a very pricey choice.”可知虽然使用电子书似乎解决了孩子们使用纸质书带来的书包过重的问题，但是经常更新电子书也给学生带来了经济问题。文章里提及纸质书的问题是它们的重量问题，故A项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段第二句“She worries that Internet reading, in particular, could be such a source of distractions(分散注意力) for students that they may cancel out most other potential benefits of a Web-linked…”可知Maryanne Wolf担心电子书会让学生分散注意力。故B项正确。

4.观点态度题。本文是一篇议论文，上周Arne Duncan宣布要废除纸质书本，要求学生使用电子书。文章对此观点进行了讨论，列举了电子书和纸质书的好处及缺点，也介绍了不同的人对此问题的看法。作者并没有发表个人观点，只是客观叙述他人观点。故D项正确。