Question

    “A blue whale's heart is as big as a Volkswagen Beetle(大众甲壳虫),” I told a group of wide-eyed, open-mouthed second-graders. “It is so big that you could walk around inside of it.” Then I asked a big question-“Why does a blue whale have such a big heart?”—and let the adventure begin.

I was bringing SOLE to my classroom-the Self-Organized Learning Environment.

My students began their investigations and, after 40 minutes, they shared their discoveries.

“Blue whales can call to each other over almost a thousand miles.” said Heavenly. “They need a big heart to talk to each other.”

“They swim all over the world,” said Ki'ara. “So they need a big heart to be their motor.”

“They swim together in pairs.” said Amare. “So they need huge hearts to care for each other.”

“Yeah,” said Isaac. “That's true. It takes a huge heart to care for somebody.”

“Hmmm,” I said. “How can we have big hearts for each other instead of small hearts?”

Then the students made a list of it.

I was teaching compassion—to model ways we can care for each other and other living things. This SOLE lesson took a beautiful turn when Amaze connected the heart of the blue whale to community and to caring.

Perri Klass, in a brief essay for the New York Times titled “Understanding How Children Develop Compassion”, writes about the importance of modeling compassion to children so those things are part of their experience long before they know the word.

Around my school, however, nine out of 10 families live in a destructive poverty that makes it difficult to model compassion, to nurture community and caring. My students often come to school knowing more about the survival of the fittest than the survival of the kindest. Yet here were my 7 and 8-year-olds working together in a community, talking about caring for each other and exploring ways we can have big hearts instead of small hearts for each other.

On that day, the blue whale and the second-graders modeled compassion for all of us. This SOLE lesson brought heart to my classroom.

1.How did the students get the answer in the SOLE class?

A.By looking at a blue whale. B.By finding the answer themselves.

C.By questioning each other. D.By taking a dangerous a trip.

2.What was the list made by the students about?

A.The ways to care for each other. B.The ways to learn from each other.

C.The disadvantages of having small hearts. D.The importance of having big hearts.

3.What does the underlined part “the survival of the fittest” imply?

A.The students were used to SOLE lessons. B.The students were mostly from poor families.

C.The students had too much to do at school. D.The students were fond of working together.

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A.SOLE Lessons-a Way to Care for Each Other

B.Discoveries about a Blue Whale's Heart

C.How Blue Whales Taught Children about Compassion

D.How Children Learned Science in SOLE Lessons

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。作者在课堂上提出蓝鲸有一颗博大的心，让孩子们探究和讨论蓝鲸为什么有一颗博大的心，从而教会孩子们树立同情心。

1.

细节理解题。根据第三段My students began their investigations and, after 40 minutes, they shared their discoveries.可知我的学生开始了他们的调查，40分钟后，他们分享了他们的发现。由此可知，学生们在SOLE课堂上，通过独立寻找答案得到了答案。故选B。

2.

推理判断题。根据第八段中“How can we have big hearts for each other instead of small hearts?” (“我们怎么能用大的心代替小的心呢？”)以及倒数第四段中I was teaching compassion—to model ways we can care for each other and other living things.可知我教的是我们如何关爱他人，关爱其他生物。由此可推知，学生们列的清单是关于关心彼此的方法。故选A。

3.

推理判断题。根据划线短语上文Around my school, however, nine out of 10 families live in a destructive poverty that makes it difficult to model compassion, to nurture community and caring.可知然而，在我的学校周围，十分之九的家庭生活在极度贫困之中，这使得人们很难树立同情心、培养社区和关爱他人的榜样。由此可推知，划线部分暗示着学生大多来自贫困家庭。故选B。

4.

主旨大意题。根据最后一段On that day, the blue whale and the second-graders modeled compassion for all of us. This SOLE lesson brought heart to my classroom.可知在那一天，蓝鲸和二年级学生对我们所有人树立了同情的榜样。这唯一的一课给我的课堂带来了欢乐。结合文章记叙了作者在课堂上提出蓝鲸有一颗博大的心，让孩子们探究和讨论蓝鲸为什么有一颗博大的心，从而教会孩子们树立同情心。由此可知，C选项“蓝鲸如何教导孩子们同情”最符合文章标题。故选C。