The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand—a system of rapid handwriting, and now it’s threatening to finish off handwriting as a whole. When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2012, just 15% of the most1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive(草写字母). The rest? Block letters.
And those college hopefuls are just the first edge of a wave of US students who no longer get much handwriting instructions in the primary grades, frequently 10 minutes a day or less. As a result, more and more students struggle to read and write cursive.
At Keene Mill Elementary School in Springfield, all their poems and stories are typed. Children in Fairfax County schools are taught keyboarding beginning in kindergarten. Older students who never mastered handwriting say it doesn’t affect their grades.
There are those who say the culture is at a crossing, turning from the written word to the typed one. If handwriting becomes a lost form of communication, does it matter?
It was at University Virginia that researchers recently discovered a previously unknown poem by Robert, written in his unique script. Handwritten documents are more valuable to researchers, historians say, because their authenticity(真实性) can be confirmed. Students also find them more fascinating.
The loss of handwriting also may be a cognitive(认知的) opportunity missed. Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better—a lifelong benefit.
It doesn’t take much to teach better handwriting skills. At some schools in Prince George’s County, elementary school students use a program called Handwriting Without Tears for 15 minutes a day. They learn the correct formation of manuscript letters through second grade, and cursive letters in third grade.
There are always going to be some kids who struggle with handwriting because of their particular neurological(神经系统的) writing, learning issues or poor motor skills. Educators often point to this factor in support of keyboarding.What is the author concerned about after 2012 Sat exams?
| A．Keyboarding. | B．Shorthand. | C．Handwriting. | D．Block letters. |
A poem by Robert mentioned in the passage is used to ____________.
| A．prove how valuable handwriting is |
| B．explain what a famous poet he is |
| C．show how unique his poem is |
| D．stress how fascinating the documents are |
The example of Handwriting Without Tears helps to argue that _____________.
| A．the schools are responsible for the loss of handwriting |
| B．the loss of handwriting is a cognitive opportunity missed |
| C．it doesn’t take much to teach better handwriting skills |
| D．the culture is turning from the written word to the typed one |
According to the author, when is a perfect time to learn handwriting?
| A．Kindergarten. | B．Primary school. |
| C．High school. | D．College. |
What is the author’s attitude towards this debate?
| A．Devotion. | B．Encouragement. | C．Critical. | D．Objective. |
四、阅读理解（15小题，计30分）
There are probably no other two museums in the world that share such a similar name. In Chinese, they are both called Gugong. In English, the one in Taipei is named the "National Palace Museum". The other one is in Chinese mainland--the Palace Museum standing inside the Forbidden City (紫禁城) in Beijing.
The name suggests the two museums are connected, and soon they may be. The "National Palace Museum" has a collection of more than 650,000 pieces of ancient Chinese artwork, making it one of the largest in the world. Most of the collection is made up of high quality art collected by China's ancient emperors.
After years of waiting, people from the Chinese mainland could soon get a look at the relics (文物)that were once housed in Beijing' s Palace Museum.
In late February, the mainland agreed to lend 29 Qing Dynasty relics from the Palace Museum to Taiwan to display in October. They hope the favor will be returned. It is reported that the second half of the swap(交换)might happen within the next three to five years.
Chinese citizens are already drawing up lists of relics they'd most like to see in a mainland exhibition. These include the jade cabbage(翡翠玉白菜), the Dongpo look-alike stone(东坡肉形石)and the other half of the Song Dynasty painting Riverside Sceneat Qingming Festival. Half of it has hung in Taipei since 1949; the other half can be seen in Beijing.
45. Which is right about the "National Palace Museum"?
A. The "National Palace Museum" stands inside the Forbidden City in Beijing.
B. It is the largest museum in the world.
C. All the collection in it is made up of high quality art collected by China's ancient emperors.
D. There is the jade cabbage and the Dongpo look-alike stone in it.
46. The underlined sentence "They hope the favor will be returned. "means ________.
A. it's hoped that Taiwan will have some of its relics appear in a mainland exhibition
B. they hope Taiwan will return their favourite relics
C. the mainland hope some relics once housed in Beijing' s Palace Museum will be returned
D. it's hoped that the "National Palace Museum" and the Palace Museum will become one
47. According to the passage, which is right about the painting Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival ?
A. It was painted in Qing Dynasty.
B. In 1949 the whole painting once hung in Taipei.
C. The two halves of the painting were not drawn by the same person.
D. It's likely that half of the painting hangin
g in Taipei was once housed in Beijing's Palace Museum.
Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of all the colleges and universities in the United States. Yale, Princeton, and Columbia were opened soon after Harvard. In the early years, these schools were much alike. Only young men could go to college. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, and Greek. Little was known about science then. When the students graduated, most of them became ministers or teachers.
In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers could receive their training (训练) in Harvard’s law school. In 1825, besides Latin and Greek, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German. Soon it began teaching American history.
As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects. Students were allowed to choose the subjects that interested them.
Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. Most of them are made up of smaller schools that deal with special fields of learning. There’s so much to learn that one kind of school can’t offer it all.
1. The oldest university in the US is ______.
A. Yale B. Harvard C. Princeton D. Columbia
2. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Those colleges and universities were the same.
B. People, young or old, might study in the colleges.
C. Students studied only some languages and science.
D. When the students finished their school, they all became lawyers or teachers.
3. As knowledge increased, colleges began to teach ______.
A. everything that was known
B. law and something about medicine
C. many new subjects
D. the subjects that interested students
4. On the whole, the passage is about ______.
A. how to start a university
B. the world-famous colleges in America
C. how colleges have changed
D. what kinds of lessons each college teaches
5. From the passage, we can infer____
A. Harvard is the oldest university in the world.
B. Befoe 1825, besides Latin and Greek, other modern languages were taught in Harvard.
C. Today, most universities only deal with special fields of learning.
D. In the early years, young women couldn’t go to college in the US.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It is in the Himalayan Mountains between Nepal and China, and it is 8 900 meters high. Sir Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay from Nepal were the first people ever to climb Mount Everest. They climbed it in 1953. Men from several different countries climbed it after that.
Jumko Tabei, a Japanese from Hokkaido, was the first woman to make this difficult climb. A Tokyo newspaper television organized the climb in 1975. They chose fifteen women from mountaineering (登山) clubs to go to Nepal. The group climbed for several days. Then there was an avalanche (雪崩). The heavy ice and snow injured ten of the women. They had to stop climbing, the other five women continued.
Only Ms. Tabei was able to climbing the last 70 meters. She was standing on the top of the world. She was the first woman there.
Ms. Tabei was 35 years old at the time. She is 1 meter 50 centimeters and weighs 42 kilograms. She says that she is an ordinary housewife. She started climbing mountains in 1960. She climbed every mountain in Japan. Then she climbed Mount Annapurna, another high mountain in the Himalayas. Finally she climbed the world’s highest mountain.
When she reached the top, she thought, “I’m at the top and I’m glad that I’m at the top.” Then she climbed back down the mountain.
1. Ms. Tabei was great because _________.
A. she was the first one ever to climb Mount Everest
B. she had climbed every mountain in Japan
C. she was the first woman that climbed the world’s highest mountain
D. she had climbed many mountains though she was small and young
2. “The heavy ice and snow injured ten of the women.” The word “injured” means ________.
A. killed B. hurt C. buried D. froze
3. Which of the following is true?
A.None of the group reached the top of Mount Everest.
B. Ms. Tabei was one of the other five women who reached the top of Mount Everest.
C. The other five women reached the top of Mount Everest but Ms. Tabei was the first one.
D. Ms. Tabei was the only one of the group who reached the top of Mount Everest.
4. Ms. Tabei had practiced climbing for _________ years.
A. fifteen B. twenty-two C. thirteen D. ten
5.What’s the main idea of the passage ?
A. The highest mountain in the world.
B. The first woman to set foot on the highest mountain in the world.
C. How to climb the highest mountain in the world.
D. The exploration to the highest mountain in the world.
第三部分：阅读理解（每题２分，共３０分）
Maria is a very fast runner. She has won many races put on by the factory in Russia where she works. She was asked how she was able to stay in such good shape（体型）. This was her answer.
“I’m in shape because of the way I spend my day. It begins at 5:30 in the morning. I jump out of bed to cook for my husband and iron（熨衣服） the clothes. Then I have to start running to work on time.
“I rush with a large bag in one hand and my four-year-old baby in the other. First， I stop at the school, hand my baby to the teachers, and then rush to work. After work I run back to the school to pick up my baby and then run to the market. Then I run home to start cooking supper-and then it takes time to feed them and get them all to bed. Then I start doing the washing so I can iron in the morning.
“My husband is soft because I have made life easy for him. He doesn’t hurry to and from work，and I have the table set when he gets home. He eats， puts on the television, sits down and reads the newspaper. And that’s why I’m in such good shape—and my husband isn’t.”
1.Maria is in good shape mainly because she ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿.
A. goes to exercise classes B. runs so much every day
C. has won many races D. is a Russian
2.Maria gets up at 5:30 in the morning because ＿＿＿＿＿＿.
A. her children wake her
B. she has so much to do before she goes to work
C. she likes getting up early
D. her husband wakes her
3.After work, Maria usually＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿.
A. goes on with her work B. takes her baby to school
C. irons the clothes D. cooks supper
4.Which of the following is TRUE about Maria’s hus band?
A. He’s a badtempered man.
B. He always goes to work in a hurry.
C. He isn’t in good shape.
D. He cooks breakfast by himself.
5.Which of the statements is right ?
A. Maria is an American woman.
B. Maria won many races put on by the CLUB in Russia.
C. Maria has to hurry to do something every day.
D. Maria and his husand care about each other.
C
43. What is Kelly Chan going to do?
A. To hold a concert. B. To go on a diet. C. To watch a game. D. To make a dress.
44. According to the news the player from ________ won the tennis match on Saturday.
A. Russia B. Japan C. South Korea D. America
45.The medical group from America said last week that _________.
A. America has too many good athletes B. children shouldn’t have too many soft drinks
C. schools should organize more picnics D. most parents in America have health problem
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