Question

17．A report released this month found that grouping children by ability is on the rise again--teaching students in groups of similar ability has improved achievement for fast and slow learners alike--and who wouldn't want bright kids to be able to move ahead，or strugglers to get the help they need？
But for most kids，labels （标签） applied early in life tend to stick，even if they are wrong．
Sorting school children by ability has long been controversial．In some countries，especially in Asia，school-wide tracking （分流） remains normal．Children are tested and placed in different schools that direct them toward professional or vocational careers．Movement between the tracks is rare．
School-wide tracking decreased in U．S．schools in the 1960s and'70s．It never died out，though．Sorting students into separate tracks for math at about junior high school age continues to be common，and other forms of tracking persist as well．
Unlike tracking，which means sorting students into separate classrooms，ability grouping happens within classrooms．When done according to the latest research，it has proven to promote achievement．
Ability grouping is changeable and temporary．Within classrooms，students might be divided into different learning groups dealing with materials of different levels．Any students who master concepts can move upward between groups，and the student groups might look different from subject to subject and unit to unit．For instance，a student who stands out in language arts might be at an average or slower level in math．A student who flies through multiplication tables might need extra help with fractions．Students who lag in reading can be pulled out of the classroom in small groups for practice with a tutor until their reading improves．
Research shows ability grouping within classes has more positive benefits than tracking．However，that must be weighed against the challenges involved．In many regular classrooms，the differences between student ability levels are very big．That presents challenges for teachers and low-performing students to constantly compare themselves with students who seem to fly through school with ease．
The rigid ability groups and tracking of the past are still with us in many schools．Likely，labels are applied with more caution than in the bad old days when some teachers  gave reading groups not-so-secret code names like"Bluebirds"，"Robins"，"Crows"and"Buzzards"．But kids still know．

58．Why is grouping children by ability becoming popular again？C
A．Because most teachers do not like slower learners．
B．Because grouping children should be done early in life．
C．Because it is academically beneficial to different learners．
D．Because fast learners can move ahead without teachers'help．
59．By saying"Movement between the tracks is rare．"（Para.3），the writer really meansD．
A．tracking children is normal in Asia
B．school-wide tracking has decreased in US
C．professional and vocational careers are unrelated
D．sorted students can hardly change schools
60．The examples in Paragraph 6are used mainly to illustrateB．
A．a good language learner promises to be good at maths
B．a student might join different groups for different courses
C．ability grouping benefits gifted students more than slow ones
D．ability grouping presents no challenge for those slow students
61．What might be the challenge in regular classrooms for teachers？A
A．Students'different levels．
B．Students'low performance．
C．Constant self-comparison．
D．Application of not-so-secret code．

Answer 1

分析 本文属于说明文阅读，作者通过这篇文章向我们说明了如今很多学校依然根据学生的能力对他们进行不同的分组，这虽然对他们的学习有益，但是这种分组却一直存在争议，作者在文中讨论了这样分组的好处以及缺点．

解答 58．C  细节理解题，根据第五段Unlike tracking，which means sorting students into separate classrooms，ability grouping happens within classrooms．When done according to the latest research，it has proven to promote achievement．可知学生根据他们的能力分组再次流行是因为它在学术上对不同能力的学习者是有益的，故选C．
59．D  推理判断题，根据第三段Children are tested and placed in different schools that direct them toward professional or vocational careers．Movement between the tracks is rare．可知作者说"Movement between the tracks is rare．"是为了告诉我们给学生排序几乎不能改变学校，故选D．
60．B  细节理解题，根据第六段For instance，a student who stands out in language arts might be at an average or slower level in math．A student who flies through multiplication tables might need extra help with fractions．Students who lag in reading can be pulled out of the classroom in small groups for practice with a tutor until their reading improves．所提出的例子可知一个学生可能会加入不同的小组来学习不同的课程，故选B．
61．A  细节理解题，根据倒数第二段In many regular classrooms，the differences between student ability levels are very big．That presents challenges for teachers and low-performing students to constantly compare themselves with students who seem to fly through school with ease．可知教师在普通课堂上的挑战是学生能力水平之间的很大的差异，故选A．

点评 考查学生的细节理解和推理判断能力．做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确选择．在做推理判断题时不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．