Question

What do college teachers think of high school English teachers’English teaching? And how should we see it? Let’s read the following.

A teacher from a community college addressed a sympathetic audience. Heads nodded in agreement when he said, “High school English teachers are not doing their jobs.” He described how weak his students were—all high school graduates who can use language only at a Grade 9 level.

My topic is not standards nor its decline（降低）. What the speaker was really saying is that he is no longer young; he has been teaching for sixteen years, and is able to think and speak like a mature adult.

My point is that the frequent complaint of one generation about the one immediately following is natural. It is also human nature to look for the reasons for our dissatisfaction. Before English became a school subject in the late nineteenth century, it was difficult to find the target of the blame for language deficiencies（缺陷）. But since then, English teachers have been under constant attack.

The complainers think they have hit upon an original idea. As their own command of the language improves, they notice that young people do not have this same ability. Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect. To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults, the language of the young always seems inadequate.

Since this concern about the decline and fall of the English language is not seen as a generational phenomenon but rather as something new and peculiar(特有的) to today’s young people, it naturally follows that today’s English teachers cannot be doing their jobs.

1.The speaker believed that ________.

A. he was an excellent language teacher because he had been teaching English for sixteen years

B. the younger generation was as likely as not worse at language than the older generation 

C. high school English teachers should be responsible for their students’ poor command of English

D. The fact that the students didn’t work hard enough contributed to their poor command of English

2. In the author’s opinion, the speaker ________.

A. had exaggerated (夸大) the language problems of the students  

B. was right in saying English teachers were not doing their jobs       

C. gave a correct judgment of the English level of the students

D. thought and spoke in a wise and responsible way

3.What can we conclude from the passage?

A. Language learning and improving needs time and effort.

B. The author disagrees with the speaker over the standard of English at Grade 9 level. 

C. It is reasonable to include English as one of the high school subjects.

D. The English language teaching is by no means an easy job for college teachers.

4.The author’s attitude towards the speaker’s remarks is ________.

A. neutral（中立的）   B. critical

C. positive    D. compromising(妥协的)

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.A

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：针对目前大学生英语能力下降这一现象，有些人把责任归咎到高中教师身上，认为他们没有尽到职责。在文中作者对此进行了剖析，批判了这一观点，指出语言的学习是需要时间和努力的一个长期过程，学生能力差只不过是成年人在用自己多年培养出的能力标准来衡量学生的水平。

1.C。细节理解题。从文章第二段大学老师的抱怨“High school English teachers are not doing their jobs.”可以推断得知他们认为学生英语能力差是老师的失职造成的，所以C选项正确。

2.A推理判断题。根据文章倒数第二段Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume。。。 To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults, the language of the young always seems inadequate.可知作者指出抱怨者忽略了他们是在用自己多年培养形成的能力在来衡量学生们的能力水平，由此推断作者暗含的意思是这些抱怨的人夸大了学生所存在的问题。故A选项正确。

3.A推理判断题。从文章倒数第二段Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years,可知语言的培养需要时间和努力，所以A选项正确。

4.B推理判断题。A中立的；B批判的；C积极的；D妥协的。从文章字里行间可以看出作者是不赞同抱怨者的说的话，尤其在文章最后一段作者指出“既然他们不把英语水平的下降看做一代人的现象的话，那么很自然就有了对高中教师的这种抱怨”。由此可知B选项正确。

考点：考查教育类短文阅读。