Testing has taken the place of teaching in most public schools. Pretests, drills, tests, and retests. They know that the best way to read a textbook is to look at the questions at the end of the chapter and then read the text quickly for the answers. I believe that my daughter Erica, who gets excellent marks, has never read a chapter of any of her school textbooks all the way through. And teachers are often heard to say proudly and openly that they teach to the test.

Teaching to the test is a curious phenomenon（现象）. Instead of deciding what skills students ought to learn, helping students learn them, and then using some methods of assessment（评价） to discover whether students have mastered the skills, teachers are encouraged to teach the students in the opposite way. First one looks at a test. Then one chooses the skills needed not to master reading, but to do well in the test. Finally, the test skills are taught.

The ability to read or write might suggest the ability to do reasonably well on standardized tests. However, neither reading nor writing develops simply through being taught to take tests. We must be careful to avoid mistaking preparations for a test of a skill with the acquisition（习得）of that skill. Too many discussions of basic skills make this misunderstanding because people are tested rather than concerned with the nature and quality of what is taught.

Recently, many schools have faced what could be called the crisis of comprehension or, in simple words, the phenomenon of students with grammar skills still being unable to understand what they read. These students are quite good at test taking and filling in workbooks. However, they have little or no experience reading or thinking, and talking about what they read. They know the details but can’t see or understand the whole. They are taught to be so concerned with grades that they have no time to think about meaning, and reread things if necessary.

The author mentions Erica’s performance in her study in order to show_________.

A. her cleverness in test taking                          B. the good way to take tests

C. the improper way of teaching                        D. the best way to read textbooks

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The teachers are curious about teaching to the test.

B. Skills in general are not only useless but often mislead students.

C. Ability to read and write has nothing to do with ability to do well in tests.

D. Preparations for a test of a skill do not mean the acquisition of that skill.

In the author’s opinion, __________.

A. some good methods of assessment should take the place of tests

B. more attention should be paid to the nature and quality of what is taught

C. students should not be concerned with grades but do more reading and thinking

D. students needn’t learn grammar skills because they are useless for understanding

By “crisis of comprehension” (in Paragraph 4) the author means many students ______.

A. are too much concerned with grades

B. fail to understand the real goal of education

C. lack proper practice in grammar drills

D. do well on tests but can’t understand what they read

Testing has taken the place of teaching in most public schools. Pretests, drills, tests, and retests. They know that the best way to read a textbook is to look at the questions at the end of the chapter and then read the text quickly for the answers. I believe that my daughter Erica, who gets excellent marks, has never read a chapter of any of her school textbooks all the way through. And teachers are often heard to say proudly and openly that they teach to the test.

Teaching to the test is a curious phenomenon（现象）. Instead of deciding what skills students ought to learn, helping students learn them, and then using some methods of assessment（评价） to discover whether students have mastered the skills, teachers are encouraged to teach the students in the opposite way. First one looks at a test. Then one chooses the skills needed not to master reading, but to do well in the test. Finally, the test skills are taught.

The ability to read or write might suggest the ability to do reasonably well on standardized tests. However, neither reading nor writing develops simply through being taught to take tests. We must be careful to avoid mistaking preparations for a test of a skill with the acquisition（习得）of that skill. Too many discussions of basic skills make this misunderstanding because people are tested rather than concerned with the nature and quality of what is taught.

Recently, many schools have faced what could be called the crisis of comprehension or, in simple words, the phenomenon of students with grammar skills still being unable to understand what they read. These students are quite good at test taking and filling in workbooks. However, they have little or no experience reading or thinking, and talking about what they read. They know the details but can’t see or understand the whole. They are taught to be so concerned with grades that they have no time to think about meaning, and reread things if necessary.

1. The author mentions Erica’s performance in her study in order to show_________.

A．her cleverness in test taking	B．the good way to take tests
C．the improper way of teaching	D．the best way to read textbooks

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The teachers are curious about teaching to the test.

B．Skills in general are not only useless but often mislead students.

C．Ability to read and write has nothing to do with ability to do well in tests.

D．Preparations for a test of a skill do not mean the acquisition of that skill.

3. In the author’s opinion, __________.

A．some good methods of assessment should take the place of tests

B．more attention should be paid to the nature and quality of what is taught

C．students should not be concerned with grades but do more reading and thinking

D．students needn’t learn grammar skills because they are useless for understanding

4.By “crisis of comprehension” (in Paragraph 4) the author means many students ______.

A．are too much concerned with grades

B．fail to understand the real goal of education

C．lack proper practice in grammar drills

D．do well on tests but can’t understand what they read

 

Anne felt nervous ____ she gave a speech in front of so many students.

A．for the first time

B．at the first time

C．the first time

D．at first

 

I wish there would be a way to describe China in simple terms but that’s impossible. For the most part Chinese people are friendly, easy-going and optimistic. They are curious and unusually patient and they are also the hardest-working people I have ever met.

In China, family is everything. In my English classes when the students were asked what they would do if they only had a few hours to live, most students told me how they would spend their last few hours with their families and parents. Many times the subjects in the classes center on families and friends. I teach many students a year, talking to them freely.

The cost of living here is very low compared with that of the US. The city of Xiang Fan I live in isn’t large and I live better. Non-imported(非出口的) foods are very cheap, so are clothing and articles of everyday use. The cost of public transportation is very low, too. Chinese value education. However, it is reported that many children can’t afford the expenses of schooling and are forced to leave school in some poor area in China. But they organized Project Hope many years age. It creates conditions for the poor children to go back to school. In my opinion, Project Hope is of great importance to the development of the rural education.

When we read news of China in the west, rarely, if ever, will we see anything mentioned of the positive changes China has gone through. While it is true that economic miracles have not reached many areas of China, but we also have the same problems.

When I am asked which country I consider better. China or the US, my answer has always been the same, “We are not worse or better than each other, we are only different.”

1.What does the author think of Chinese people?

A. He thinks most Chinese people hardly work.

B. He thinks most Chinese people are proud.

C. He praises most Chinese people a lot.

D. He dislikes most Chinese people.

2.What is the author doing in China?

A. He is visiting the places of interest.

B. He is teaching English in a school.

C. He is studying in a college.

D. He is on business.

3.What are not cheap in China in the author’s opinion?

A. Clothes and shoes made in China.        B. Local foods

C. Public transportation tickets.            D. Imported foods

4.We can infer from the passage that the author thinks________.

A. the westerners have got to know China well

B. China’s economic miracles have appeared everywhere

C. the progress of China is seldom reported in the US

D. the education in rural areas is never cared about in China

5.In the author’s eyes,________.

A. China is different from the US

B. China is better than the US

C. Americans are richer than Chinese

D. China bears great similarities to the US

 

 

. —You ought to have learnt all these sentences by heart.

   —     , but I forgot everything when I was asked to recite them in front of so many students.

A. So I ought to                  B. So I did                   C. So I must               D. So did I