This brief book is aimed at high school students, but speaks to anyone learning at any stage of life．

       Its formal, serious style closely matches its content, a school-masterly book on schooling．The author, W．H．Armstrong, starts with the basics: reading and writing．In his opinion, reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page; it means taking in the information, digesting it and incorporating it into oneself just as one digests a sandwich and makes it a part of himself．The goal is to bring the information back to life, not just to treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees．Reading and writing cannot be completely separated from each other; in fact, the aim of reading is to express the information you have got from the text．I’ve seen it again and again：some-one who can’t express an idea after reading a text is just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all．

Only a third of the book remains after that discussion, which Armstrong devotes to specific tips for studying languages, math, science and history．He generally handles these topics thoroughly and equally, except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit too much passion regarding history to his students, that was a hundred times more than my history teachers ever got across．To my disappointment, in this part of the book he ignores the arts．As a matter of fact, they demand all the concentration and study that math and science do, though the study differs slightly in kind．Although it’s commonly believed that the arts can only be naturally acquired, actually, learning the arts is no more natural than learning French or mathematics．

My other comment is that the text aged．The first edition apparently dates to the 1960s—none of the references seem newer than the late 1950s．As a result, the discussion misses the entire computer age．

These are small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion．I recommend it to any student and any teacher, including the self-taught student．

1.According to Armstrong, the goal of reading is to________

A．gain knowledge and expand one’s view

B．understand the meaning between the lines

C．express ideas based on what one has read

D．get information and keep it alive in memory

2.What is a shortcoming of Armstrong’s work according to the author?

A．Some ideas are slightly contradictory

B．There is too much discussion on studying science

C．The style is too serious

D．It lacks new information

3.This Passage can be classified as________．

A．an advertisement        B．a book review

C．a feature story    D．A news report

4.Which of the following words can best describe the author’s attitude towards the book________

A．positive           B．neutral         C．negative        D．objective

 

1.I had a very happy day today because we had no school though it is Tuesday today. I played football with my friends on the playground in our school. Then we had a big dinner with a lot of our friends.

2.Today was a special day. After the bell rang for the lesson, we all sat up straight, waiting for our maths teacher. Today in former years we would place something on the top of the door so that when someone entered, it would fall onto that person. But this year, we put nothing on the top of the door. But as our maths teacher was entering, we all shouted “Take care”. The teacher got a surprise and raised his head but saw nothing. We all laughed and said “April fool”.

3.Early this morning I got up and woke up my sister Jane. Together we went from door to door to call on my friends. It was a day for us to play. We gathered on the square of the town with our New Year’s gift. We exchanged our gifts and played all kinds of games on the square. How happy we were!

4.This evening we had a Halloween party in the open. We were all dressed in witch’s outfit and wore masks. We sang and danced happily. We couldn’t figure out who was who though we were all such close friends or neighbors.

5.Today I gave a kiss to the girl I love most in front of all my classmates. I didn’t say anything before. But today I was brave enough to kiss her on the face with my classmates and my history teacher near at hand.

A．Near Year’s Day

It falls on the first day of the year. The year should begin happily, they say, so that it will end happily. And on the first morning of the New Year, children in Scotland, Wales and the English border countries rise early so that they may make the round of their friends and neighbors. “On January 1^st,” writes a 13-year-old Scottish girl, “I always go New Year’s Gifting with my sister and friends, about four of us. I get up about 7 o’clock and call for my friends and go round the houses and farms.”

B．Shrove Tuesday

For centuries Shrove Tuesday has been a day of high festival for apprentices (学徒) and schoolchildren. It has been a day of feasting, and cock fighting, a day for football , and rowdiness (吵闹). And it is pleasing to find that it is still a special day for children in some parts of England, where “Pancake Day (薄煎饼日),” as they call it, is kept as a school holiday.

C．Kissing Friday

A teacher writing to the Yorkshire Post tells how after Ash Wednesday, comes Kissing Friday. A few days ago, when she arrived at a country school and was taking a mixed class of 13-year-old children in country dancing, she saw the leading boy suddenly lean across and kiss his partner, who showed no sign of embarrassment. When, as teacher, she expressed her surprise, the boy said, “It’s all right, Miss. You see, it’s Kissing Friday”. And he explained that on Friday following Shrove Tuesday any boy had the right to kiss any girl without being resisted.

D．April Fool’s Day

The first day of April ranks amongst the most joyous days in the juvenile (青少年) calendar. It is a day when you hoax (愚弄) friends of yours with jokes like sending them to the shop for some pigeon’s milk, or telling them to dig a hole because the dog has died; when they come back and ask where the dead dog is, you say “April fool” and laugh at them.

E. May Day

On the first of May, in country districts, young maidens (少女) rise early and go out into the dawn, as they have done for centuries, to wash their faces in the May dew (露水). In Somerset children call this “kissing the dew”. In most places, the girls do so to ensure that they shall have a beautiful complexion (肤色) for the rest of the year.

F. Halloween

It falls on October 31. Many children attend Halloween parties. “The best thing about the party is that you should go in fancy dress, ” says a girl. The most popular dress is a Witch’s outfit, or something to do with lucky charms. It is said that one of the luckiest things at a Halloween party is for a person to come in with a lump (块) of coal.

 

This brief book is aimed at high school students, but speaks to anyone learning at any stage of life．

    Its formal, serious style closely matches its content, a school-masterly book on schooling．The author, W．H．Armstrong, starts with the basics: reading and writing．In his opinion, reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page; it means taking in the information, digesting it and incorporating it into oneself just as digests a sandwich and makes it a part of himself．The goal is to bring the information back to life, not just to treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees．Reading and writing cannot be completely separated from each other; in fact, the aim of reading is to express the information you have got from the text．I’ve seen it again and again: someone who can’t express an idea after reading a text is just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all．

Only a third of the book remains after that discussion, which Armstrong devotes to specific tips for studying languages, math, science and history．He generally handles these topics thoroughly(透彻地) and equally, except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit too much passion(激情) regarding history．Well, he was a history teacher — if conveyed only a tenth of his passion to his students, that was a hundred times more than my history teachers ever got across．To my disappointment, in this part of the book he ignores the arts．As a matter of fact, they demand all the concentration and study that math and science do, though the study differs slightly in kind．Although it’s commonly believed that the arts can only be naturally acquired, actually, learning the arts is no more natural than learning French or mathematics．

My other comment is that the text aged．The first edition apparently dates to the 1960s — none of the references(参考文献)seem newer than the late 1950s．As a result, the discussion misses the entire computer age．

These are small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion．I recommend it to any student and any teacher, including the self-taught student．

According to Armstrong, the goal of reading is to________．

A．gain knowledge and expand one’s view        

B．understand the meaning between the lines

C．express ideas based on what one has read             

D．get information and keep it alive in memory

The author of the passage insists that learning the arts_________．

A．requires great efforts           B．demands real passion

C．is less natural than learning maths       D．is as natural as learning a language

What is a shortcoming of Armstrong’s work according to the author?

A．Some ideas are slightly contradictory．

B．There is too much discussion on studying science．

C．The style is too serious．

D．It lacks new information．

This passage can be classified as________．

A．an advertisement            B．a book review        

C．a feature story                   D．a news report

D
This brief book is aimed at high school students , but speaks to anyone learning at any stage of life.
Its formal ,serious style closely matches its content ,a school-masterly book on schooling .The author , W .H . Armstrong ,starts with the basics : reading and writing . In his opinion , reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page ; it means taking in the information, digesting it and incorporating it into oneself just as one digests a sandwich and makes it a part of himself .The goal is to bring the information back to life , not just to treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees . Reading and writing cannot be completely separated from each other ; in fact ,the aim of reading is to express the information you have got from the text .I’ve seen it again and again ：someone who can’t express an idea after reading a text is just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all.
Only a third of the book remains after that discussion, which Armstrong devotes to specific tips for studying languages, math, science and history. He generally handles these topics thoroughly and equally, except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit too much passion regarding history. Well, he was a history teacher---if conveyed only a tenth of his passion to his students, that was a hundred times more than my history teachers ever got across .To my disappointment, in this part of the book he ignores the arts. As a matter of fact, they demand all the concentration and study that math and science do, though the study differs slightly in kind. Although it’s commonly believed that the arts can only be naturally acquired ,actually ,learning the arts is no more natural than learning French or mathematics.
My other comment is that the text aged. The first edition apparently dates to the 1960s—none of the references(参考文献)seem newer than the late 1950s. As a result, the discussion misses the entire computer age.
These are small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion. I recommend it to any student and any teacher, including the self-taught student.
【小题1】According to Armstrong, the goal of reading is to________.

A．gain knowledge and expand one’s view

B．understand the meaning between the lines

C．express ideas based on what one has read

D．get information and keep it alive in memory

【小题2】The author of the passage insists that learning the arts_________.

A．requires great efforts

B．demands real passion

C．is less natural than learning math

D．is as natural as learning a language

【小题3】 What is a shortcoming of Armstrong’s work according to the author?

A．Some ideas are slightly contradictory.

B．There is too much discussion on studying science.

C．The style is too serious.

D．It lacks new information.

【小题4】This passage can be classified as________.

A．an advertisement

B．a book review

C．a feature story

D．A news report

Students and Technology in the Classroom

　　I love my blackberry—it’s my little connection to the larger world that can go anywhere with me. I also love my laptop computer，as it holds all of my writing and thoughts. Despite this love of technology, I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices(设备) and truly communicate with others.

　　On occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers. My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas. Because I want students to thoroughly study the material and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule —no laptop, iPads, phones, etc. When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy.

　　Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology. There’s a bit of truth to that. Some students assume that I am anti-technology. There’s no truth in that at all. I love technology and try to keep up with it so I can relate to my students.

　　The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversions and truly engage complex ideas. Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas. I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas. I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course material and the class discussion.

　　I’ve been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create. Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they learn at a level that helps them keep the course material beyond the classroom.

　　I’m not saying that I won’t ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear a really good reason for the change, I’m sticking to my plan. A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up.

1.Some of the students in the history class were unhappy with____

A．the course material                      B．the author’s class regulations

C．discussion topics                        D．others’ misuse of technology

2.The underlined word “engage ”in para.4 probably means ____

A．explore           B．accept            C．change           D．reject

3.According to the author, the use of technology in the classroom may ____

A．keep students from doing independent thinking

B．encourage students to have in-depth conversations

C．help students to better understand complex themes

D．affect students’ concentration on course evaluation

4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author ____

A．is quite stubborn

B．will give up teaching history

C．values technology-free dialogues in his class

D．will change his teaching plan soon