Does handwriting have a practical use today? Do we really need it? Many educators say yes．

Handwriting is important because research shows that when children are taught how to do it，they are also being taught how to learn and how to express themselves．Students with fluent（流畅的）handwriting produce better homework and get higher grades，a new study by Professor Steve Graham shows．

Handwriting is a basic skill of learning，expert Emily Knapton says．She believes，“When kids have trouble with handwriting，it affects all their subjects．Spelling becomes a problem；maths becomes a problem，too．Both of the subjects will be much easier for these kids to learn if their handwriting is improved．”

Fluency and speed of handwriting are very important．Graham's study has also shown that from kindergarten（幼儿园）through the fourth grade，kids think and write at the same time．If they have to struggle to remember how to spell the words，their ability to express themselves will suffer．Stephen Pevely，a professor of education says，“From the writing speed of primary school students，we can know the quality and quantity of their writing in middle school．”

Predictions of handwriting's end didn't begin with the computer；they date back to the introduction of the Remington typewriter in 1873．But for at least a generation（一代人），handwriting has seemed much less important．Now，supported by new research，educators are trying to bring back its special importance into the classroom．

1．Many educators agree that handwriting ________ today．

A．is not necessary                       B．is unimportant

C．has a practical use                       D．is useless

2．Graham's study shows that students with fluent handwriting probably have ________．

A．lower grades                           B．worse homework and grades

C．good reading skills                        D．better homework and grades

3．When a student has good handwriting，his spelling and maths will be ________．

A．much easier        B．much harder      C．great fun          D．a problem

4．The underlined word "suffer" in the passage means “________”．

A．be strongly influenced                        B．be deeply moved

C．be badly affected                         D．be seriously hurt

5．Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．Kids' handwriting has a good effect on their learning．

B．Handwriting helps improve kids' performance in all their subjects．

C．Students should try to improve the fluency of their handwriting．

D．Handwriting came to an end after the typewriter appeared．

As a teacher，I think it is right to tell my students to write about their true feelings and real experiences．I always taught my students how to learn by experience．And I also found that it helped me a lot to get on well with the students．

    One day after explaining a tex，I asked my students to write a passage about their families．I encouraged them to write about their real experiences with their closest family members．All the students wrote quite well but the best one of them was written by a little girl．She was Hao Fang．I was deeply moved by her story．In her passage，she said her father had died years before and her mother had to work hard to support the family．Many times she had seen her mother work deep into night but never seen tears on her face．She also wrote that she needed to stay strong and she would do the best to give her mother an easier life in the future．Like her mother, Hao Fang also worked hard at her lessons and she was really good at any of them．I don’t know anything about her unlucky family till then．She always appeared happy and never showed that she needed anyone’s help．

    In order to make her an example to the class．I read this passage to the class．When I finished reading it，I found my throat choked and my students’ eyes full of tears．After class nearly all my other students crowded around Hao Fang and gave their money to help this girl．We knew her family needed money very much．Many students decided to offer her more help．To tell the truth，I was really proud of my students．

    But to my surprise，this student of mine didn’t express her thanks to her classmates and left school without even telling me the next day．I was puzzled about this．

    Was it right to tell her sad story to the class? Why did she refuse to accept the donation? These questions crowded my mind．

1．The teacher mentioned in the article always __________．

    A．made the students feel sad

    B．asked the students to make up stories

    C．helped the students learn from the real life

2．Hao Fang wrote about her family’s hard life in order to______．

   A．tell her real experiences

   B．show how strong she was

   C．ask her classmates for money

3．The underlined“choked”means________ in Chinese．

  A．哽咽                B．激动             C．疼痛

4．By reading the article，we know that Hao Fang__________．

  A．appreciated the donation

  B．was frustrated at her hard life

  C．wanted to improve her family’s life by working hard

5．We can learn from the article that __________．

  A．the ways of helping people should be well chosen

  B．it’s wrong to ask students to tell their real experiences

  C．donating money to the poor is the only better way to help them

New rules and behaviour standards (行为规范) for middle school students have come out. The middle school is going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The best students won’t only have high marks. They will also be kids who don’t smoke, drink or dye (染) their hair. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else’s work on an exam? Don’t do it again! That’s not something that an honest student should do. If you have played computer games for two hours in your room, don’t tell your parents you have done homework.
Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird Loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate it? You should join! That way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them. When more people work together, it is more fun for everyone.
Have you fought with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. Try to think of others, not only yourself.
Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Maybe you’ll discover Earth II someday. Don’t look down on new ideas. Everyone’s ideas are important. You should welcome them because new ideas make life better for everyone.
Protect yourself. Has someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don’t let it happen to you. If you have to go home late, you should let your parents know.
Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the Internet aren’t good for kids, do try to look at Web pages that aren’t good for you. You can use the Web for fun or homework. Can’t you find any good Web sites for children? Here are some: http://kinds.eastday.com / http://www.chinakids.net.com / http://www.cyenct.com

1. 1.

   The new school rules will help kids by telling them __________.

   1. A.
      how they can study well
   2. B.
      what is right and what is wrong
   3. C.
      what they should do at school
   4. D.
      how they can protect themselves
2. 2.

   According to the passage, we know that students should __________.

   1. A.
      learn how to be a good basketball player
   2. B.
      discover if people could live on the moon
   3. C.
      know how to love animals and other people
   4. D.
      tell their parents they have copied other students’ work
3. 3.

   When you have to go home late, you need to tell __________.

   1. A.
      your teacher
   2. B.
      your parents
   3. C.
      your classmates
   4. D.
      your teammate
4. 4.

   The underlined word “Web” in the passage means “__________”.

   1. A.
      格式
   2. B.
      程序
   3. C.
      作品
   4. D.
      网络
5. 5.

   The best title for this passage is __________.

   1. A.
      Care for others
   2. B.
      Be top students
   3. C.
      Do more at school
   4. D.
      Use the Internet

New rules and behaviour standards (行为规范) for middle school students have come out. The middle school is going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The best students won’t only have high marks. They will also be kids who don’t smoke, drink or dye (染) their hair. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else’s work on an exam? Don’t do it again! That’s not something that an honest student should do. If you have played computer games for two hours in your room, don’t tell your parents you have done homework.
Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird Loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate it? You should join! That way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them. When more people work together, it is more fun for everyone.
Have you fought with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. Try to think of others, not only yourself.
Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Maybe you’ll discover Earth II someday. Don’t look down on new ideas. Everyone’s ideas are important. You should welcome them because new ideas make life better for everyone.
Protect yourself. Has someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don’t let it happen to you. If you have to go home late, you should let your parents know.
Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the Internet aren’t good for kids, do try to look at Web pages that aren’t good for you. You can use the Web for fun or homework. Can’t you find any good Web sites for children? Here are some: http://kinds.eastday.com / http://www.chinakids.net.com / http://www.cyenct.com
【小题1】The new school rules will help kids by telling them __________.