Question

【题目】There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority it must be given over in general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling?

If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher's interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to "play safe". He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That's why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.

I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: "This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is illegible." It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil's technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child's deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation to seek improvement.

【1】Teachers differ in their opinions about ________.

A. the difficulties in teaching spelling

B. the necessity of teaching spelling

C. the complexities of the basic writing skills

D. the role of spelling in general language development

【2】The expression "play safe" probably means “_______”.

A. to write carefully

B. to avoid using words one is not sure of

C. to do as teachers say

D. to use dictionaries frequently

【3】Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that ______.

A. teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes

B. students will have more confidence in writing

C. students will be able to express their ideas more freely

D. students will learn to be independent of teachers

【4】The major point discussed in the passage is ________.

A. the relationship between spelling and content of a composition

B. the importance of developing writhing skills

C. the correct way of marking compositions

D. the complexities of spelling

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】C

【4】A

【解析】试题分析:本文主要讲了拼写和写作的关系。

【1】D考查细节理解。本题需要回答教师们在对待学生作文问题上的意见分歧表现在哪一方面。文章第一段的第三句话说明教师们的分歧在于如何进行单词拼写教学，以及拼写教学与培养学生全面的语言能力和写作能力上哪个更具优先考虑权。由此可见选项D“(教师们的分歧在于)拼写在全面培养学生语言发展能力上的作用”为正确答案，故选D。

【2】B考查推理判断。本题需要从play safe这一词组所出现的上下文中推断出它的意义。文章中指出如果教师只关注拼写，聪明的孩子很有可能就会play safe以迎合老师的心理。学生是怎样play safe的呢接下来的一句话作了解释“He will tend to write only words within his spelling range，choosing to avoid adventurous language”，学生就会只使用自己会拼写的单词，而放弃冒险使用一些自己没有把握的单词。因此选项B“避免使用自己没有把握的单词”为正确答案，故选B。

【3】C考查推理判断。文章第二段提到“That’s why teachers．．．technical ability”，说明教师鼓励学生用字典是为了让他们在表达自己的想法时不再受拼写的限制，因此C选项“学生能够更加自由的表达他们的思想”是正确答案，故选C。

【4】A考查主旨要义。整篇文章是围绕拼写和写作的关系，故选A。