Question

 In a class this past December,after I wrote some directions on the board for students about their final examination,one young woman quickly took a picture of the board using her smart phone. When I looked in her direction,she apologized ：“Sorry. Was it wrong to take a picture?”

  “I can’t read my own handwriting,” the young woman explained. “It’s best if I take a picture of your writing so I can understand the notes. ”

  That remark started a class-wide conversation about taking a picture instead of taking notes. For those in the phototaking camp,motivations extended beyond their inability to comprehend their own handwriting. Some took pictures of notes because they knew their phone was a safe place to store material. They might lose paper,they reasoned,but they wouldn’t lose their phones. Some took photos because they wanted to record exactly the manner in which I had noted information on the board. Others told me that during class they liked to be able to listen to the discussion attentively.

  Yet the use of cameras as note takers,though it may be convenient,does raise significant questions for the classroom. Is a picture an effective replacement for the process of note-taking?

  Instructors encourage students to take notes because the act of doing so is more than merely recording necessary information—it helps prepare the way for understanding. Encouraging students to take notes may be an old-fashioned instructional method,but a method having a long history doesn’t mean it’s out of date. Writing things down engages a student’s brain in listening,visual,and kinesthetic (动觉的) learning—a view supported by a longstanding research. The act of writing down information enables a person to begin committing it to memory,and to process and combine it,establishing the building blocks of learning new concepts.

Taking a picture does indeed record the information,but it deletes some of the necessary mental engagement that taking notes employs. So can the two be equally effective?

  I’m not sure how to measure the effectiveness of either method. For now,I allow students to take notes however they see fit—handwritten or photographed—because I figure that some notes,no matter the method of note-taking,are better than none.

(   ) 1. The woman apologized in the class because she    

   A. took a picture of the board

   B. missed the teacher’s directions

   C. had the bad handwriting

   D. disturbed other students’ learning

(   ) 2. Students refuse to take notes by hand because    

   A. they are unable to take notes

   B. they are more likely to lose notes

   C. they are interested in using their phones

   D. they have a good memory of teachers’ instructions

(   ) 3. According to the passage,taking notes by hand    

   A. requires students to think independently

   B. is unsuitable for students to learn new ideas

   C. helps students actively participate in learning

   D. proves to be an old and useless learning method

(   ) 4. What’s the author’s opinion towards taking notes by phone?

   A. Supportive.

   B. Neutral.

   C. Doubtful.

   D. Disapproving.

Answer 1

[文章大意]这篇文章主要讲了用手记笔记能帮助学生积极地参与学习。

1. A细节理解题。根据"".one young woman quickly took a picture of the board using her smart phone. When I looked in her direction,she apologized: Sorry. Was it wrong to take a picture?'"可知，这位女士道歉是因为她对着黑板照了一张照片。

2. B细节理解题。根据"Some took pictures of notes because they knew their phone was a safe place to store material. They might lose paper,they reasoned,but they wouldn't lose their phones."可知，学生拒绝记笔记是因为他们更可能会丢掉笔记。

3. C细节理解题。根据"Instructors encourage students to take notes because the act of doing so is more than merely record?ing necessary information―it helps prepare the way for un-derstanding."可知，用手记笔记能帮助学生积极地参与学习。

4. B观点态度题。通过阅读文章可知，作者对于用手机记笔记的观点是中立的。