XX. Short Answer Questions Read the following passage(s) carefully and give brief
answers to the questions. A writer
asked some children what they thought about their schools, their
teachers, and the subjects taught. Here are some of their ideas and
opinions.
Stephen, 13 "Now, do you
all understand?" asks the old math master impatiently. Silence!
"Right then, get on with pages 22 to 26." The heads bend down and
pens begin to move. A few poor boys, still not understanding, sit
waiting anxiously for the bell. Others glance at the clock every
few minutes. The bell goes and the nervous feeling breaks; everyone
hurriedly packs his books and begins easy breathing again. The
master walks out and the next walks in. Another forty dull
minutes…
I go to a grammar school and this is a fairly correct description
of what a lot of the lessons are like. All this is wrong.
Angela, 13 Schools
should be made better and made into a place all children like to go
to and a place where you go because you want to go. Subjects should
be made more exciting instead of sitting in a desk reading or
half-listening to a teacher going on and on about a particular
thing. I would like to be doing things, finding what I can do and
what I can't do; not just talking about, e.g., a diary farm, but
talking to the people who work there and trying to milk a cow by
myself.
Lyne, 15 The fault
with a lot of schools today is that teachers are not prepared to
listen. There is a teacher at our school who is very eager about
discussions until somebody makes a point which she is unable to
explain, and she gets angry and tells us to sit down. I think
that's the method of most teachers today. They don't mind
discussing various topics as long as it ends up with them being
able to prove a point to you and not the other way.
Words: 182
1. What is the whole passage
about?
The whole passage is about
students' ideas and opinions about their school, teachers or class
activities.
2. How does Stephen feel about his
math teacher?
He doesn't think his math teacher
is good. He thinks that his teaching is dull and
uninteresting.
3. Why does Stephen repeat his
teacher's words?
He repeats his teacher's exact
words to show that his class is very dull.
4. What does Angela suggest about
teaching?
Angela suggests that teachers may
change their teachings by taking students out of the classroom to
some place where students can also talk and do
something.
5. What does Lyne say about some
teachers?
They are not prepared to listen
to students, which is a fault of the
school.
XXI. Reading Comprehension Directions: Read the following passage(s) carefully and do
the multiple-choice questions. Passage 1 A boy
between the ages of 6 and 14 still admires his mother and has
plenty to learn from her. But his
interests are changing - he is becoming more interested in what men
have to offer. A boy knows he is turning into a man. He has to
learn from a man to complete his development. The father's
job is to step in over time. If there is no father around, then the
child depends more on finding other men - at school, for example.
Yet men are leaving teaching, especially in primary schools. This
is a problem. They
insisted, too, that they needed lots of extra support. Throughout
primary school years and into high school, boys should spend a lot
of time with their fathers and mothers, getting their help,
learning how to do things and enjoying their company. With regard
to feelings, at this stage the father is more important. The boy is
ready to learn from his father and listens to what he has to say.
Often he will take more notice of his father. It's enough to drive
a mother wild! Now is a
good time for a father to do "little" things: playing in the yard
on summer evenings, going for walks, telling stories about life,
telling him about his own youth, working on hobbies or sports
together for the enjoyment of doing it. This is the time when good
memories are laid down that will be healthy to your son, and you,
for years to come. Although
every boy is different, it's common for boys at this age to get a
little argumentative(好争论的), restless and moody(闹情绪). It's not that
they are turning bad - just that they are being born into a new
self and birth always means struggle. I believe
this is the age when we fail teenagers the most. In our society all
we offer those in the middle teens is "more of the same": more
school. So it's little wonder that problems
arise.
Words: 348
1. According to the passage a boy
needs the help of _________ to develop well.
A. his mother only
B. his father only
C. neither his mother nor
his father
D. both his mother and
father
2. One problem for a boy's development
is that ________.
A. there are fewer men
teaching in primary schools
B. there are fewer women
teaching in primary schools
C. the boy's interests
are changing
D. the boy wants to act
as a man
3. The good time for a father to have
an influence on his son is ________.
A. when the boy is
14
B. when the boy is at
primary school
C. from about age 6 to
the 14th birthday
D. since the boy was
born
4. By the middle teens boys argue
often with their parents. This means ________.
A. they are turning
bad
B. they are turning
good
C. they are being born
into a new self
D. they are rebelling
against their parents
5. The main idea of this passage is
that ________.
A. fathers play an equal
role in raising boys
B. mothers should feel
comfortable when their sons' interests are changing.
C. without fathers
mothers can raise good men
D. fathers should stay
with their sons as much as possible
Passage 2
The
years from 14 until the early 20s are for becoming an adult, for
separating from parents. This is the time when a son develops a
life which is quite separate from the
family. He has
teachers you hardly know, experiences you never hear about and
challenges that you cannot help him with. There have to be others
to act as a bridge, and this is what mentors(良师益友)do. We should
not leave youngsters in a group of friends at this age without
adult care. But a mentor is more than a teacher: A mentor is
special to the child and the child is special to the mentor. Teeenagers
suffer badly if their parents have fewer friends. I know this from
experience. When my parents moved to Australia, they were already
shy people and became even shyer once we were here. They never
found a group or friendship circle into which we teenagers could
enter bit by bit. As a result, when my sister and I hit the middle
of the teen years, we had to break out into the big world all of a
sudden. If there are
no mentors around, a young man will fall into a lot of troubles in
growing up. Teenagers at this age have so many either-or choices
and decisions - about sex, job choices or drugs and alcohol.
If Mom and Dad keep spending time with them, teenagers will keep
talking to them about these things. But there will be a need to
talk to other adults, too. One study
showed that just one good adult friend outside the family was a
"good anchor" for the teenager. The worst
thing we can do with teenagers is to leave them alone. This is why
we need the help of really great teachers and youth workers at this
age.
Words: 311
1. A boy gets separated from his
family ________.
A. by the middle of the
teens
B. at 20
C. after 20
D. from 14 until the
early 20s
2. The one who is to act as a good
bridge for a fifteen year old is ________.
A. a mentor
B. a school teacher
C. the father
D. the
mother
3. The author and his sister had a
hard time stepping into the outside world because ________.
A. their parents had lots
of friends
B. their parents had
fewer friends
C. their parents did not
allow them to choose their mentors by themselves
D. their parents went to
live in Australia
4. In the last sentence of Paragraph 4
the phrase "break out into" means ________.
A. disturb
B. begin suddenly
C. enter
D.
open
5. Which of the following sentences is
true according to the passage?
A. Parents should let
teenagers choose their mentors themselves.
B. Those in the middle
teens are fully ready for the outside world.
C. Spending time with
teenagers may keep them away from bad things such as drugs and
alcohol.
D. Teenagers suffer only
when they have no mentors.
XXII. Paragraph Writing Directions: Write a short time sequence paragraph in no
less than 50 words based on the topic given.