Question

【题目】 Few people doubt the value of developing students' thinking skills. A focus on critical thinking is common in education. In the Australian Curriculum, critical thinking and creative thinking are known as “general capabilities”. The US has a similar focus through their “common core".

Many approaches to developing critical thinking are based on Philosophy for Children. One strategy that has a large impact on students' ability to analyse and evaluate arguments is argument mapping, in which a student's reasoning can be visually displayed by capturing the inferential pathway from assumption to conclusion. This type of argument-based intellectual engagement can show high outcomes in terms of the quality of thinking in any classroom. Research also shows deliberate attention to the practice of reasoning in the context of our everyday lives can be significantly improved through targeted teaching.

Teachers at one high school in Australia, who have much training in critical thinking teaching methods, developed a task that asked students to determine Australia's greatest sports person. Students needed to construct their own criteria for greatness. To do so, they had to analyze the Australian sporting context, create possible evaluative standards, explain and justify why some standards would be more acceptable than others and apply these to their candidates. They then needed to argue their case with their classmates to develop criteria that were solid, defensible, widely applicable and produced a choice that seized significant and relevant aspects of Australian sport.

Researchers looking at the gains made in a single term of teaching critical thinking with argument mapping said the critical thinking gains measured are close to those that could be expected to result from three years of undergraduate education. Students who are taught to think well also do better on subject-based exams and standardized tests than those who do not.

In terms of developing 21st century skills, which includes setting up students for lifelong learning, teaching critical thinking should be core business.

【1】Which of the following can explain the underlined word “capturing" in Paragraph 2?

A.Describing.B.Attracting.C.Designing.D.Blocking.

【2】What’s the purpose of Paragraph 3?

A.To construct the criteria for being great.

B.To acknowledge the teachers' outcomes.

C.To present how to teach critical thinking.

D.To emphasize the importance of reasoning.

【3】What is the author's attitude toward teaching critical thinking?

A.Objective.B.Supportive.C.Doubtful.D.Cautious.

【4】What does this text imply?

A.Teaching methods should vary among schools.

B.Research on education deserves more attention.

C.Critical thinking should be valued in education.

D.Concepts of critical thinking aren't well received.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】B

【4】C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章通过阐述批判性思维的研究依据，结合澳大利亚的批判性思维在教育中的应用结果，最终得出结论：在发展21世纪的技能(包括培养终身学习)方面，教授批判性思维应该是核心业务。

【1】词义猜测题。结合题干，可以定位文章中的句子。第二段第二句 One strategy that has a large impact on students' ability to analyse and evaluate arguments is argument mapping, in which a student's reasoning can be visually displayed by capturing the inferential pathway from assumption to conclusion. 对学生分析和评估论点的能力有很大影响的一个策略是论点映射，通过从假设到结论的推理路径，学生的推理可以直观地显示出来。根据本句中mapping绘制……地图，可以看成，学生的推理能力是通过从假设到结论的描述直观地显示出来。因而句中capture应该是描述的意思。故选A项。

【2】写作目的题。结合本段第一句Teachers at one high school in Australia, who have much training in critical thinking teaching methods, developed a task that asked students to determine Australia's greatest sports person. Students needed to construct their own criteria for greatness. 澳大利亚一所高中的教师，在批判性思维教学方法方面受过很多训练，他们开发了一项任务，要求学生们选出澳大利亚最伟大的运动员。 学生们需要建立自己的标准来衡量自己的成就。再结合随后的句子：To do so, they had to analyze the Australian sporting context, create possible evaluative standards, explain and justify why some standards would be more acceptable than others and apply these to their candidates. They then needed to argue their case with their classmates to develop criteria that were solid, defensible, widely applicable and produced a choice that seized significant and relevant aspects of Australian sport.为此，他们必须分析澳大利亚的体育背景，制定可能的评估标准，解释并证明为什么有些标准比其他标准更容易被接受，并将这些标准应用到他们的候选人身上。 然后，他们需要与同学辩论，制定可靠、可辩护、广泛适用的标准，并产生一个抓住了澳大利亚体育的重要和相关方面的选择。可以看出，本段主要讲的就是批判性思维在教育中的具体实施方法。选项C符合题意，故选C项。

【3】写作态度题。根据最后一段In terms of developing 21st century skills, which includes setting up students for lifelong learning, teaching critical thinking should be core business.就培养21世纪的技能(包括培养终身学习学生)而言，教授批判性思维应该是核心业务。可以看出，作者对与批判性思维在教育中的作用是肯定的，选项B符合题意。故选B项。

【4】推理判断题。结合全文内容，批判性思维对发展学生思维的价值是有重要意义的，再根据最后一段In terms of developing 21st century skills, which includes setting up students for lifelong learning, teaching critical thinking should be core business.就培养21世纪的技能(包括培养终身学习学生)而言，教授批判性思维应该是核心业务。可以得出，本文主要讲述在教育上应该重视批判性思维对学生能力发展的意义。故选C项。