Question

Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. 90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting. But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One study published this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10-15 minutes a day, and then other teachers who basically teach it for 60 to 70 minutes a day --which really for handwriting is pretty much.

Many adults remember learning that way--by copying letters over and over again. Today’s thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself. Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all, that is why we write.

Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility, which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency --writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop up until high school.

But not everyone masters these skills. Teachers commonly report that about one fourth of their kids have poor handwriting. Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs.

But Steve Graham at Vanderbilt says word processing is rarely done in elementary school, especially in the early years. American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive, which connects the letters. But guess what we learned from a spokeswoman for the College Board, which administers the SAT college admission test. More than 75 percent of students choose to print their essay on the test rather than write in cursive.

1.We can learn ________ from Paragraph 1.

A. teaching handwriting is a basic requirement in teaching job

B. most teachers prefer to teach handwriting

C. teachers spend little time in teaching handwriting

D. a keyboard has taken the place of the handwriting entirely

2.Which of the following is WRONG for traditional handwriting in the USA?

A. The students are taught by practicing a long period.

B. The letters are repeated many times.

C. Handwriting includes two skills.

D. To write in cursive is taught first.

3.The underlined word “legibility” in Paragraph 3 means ________.

A. easy to read   B. complex

C. unexpected    D. unreadable

4.The best title for the passage is ________.

A. How to improve handwriting in school

B. Right or wrong: the death of handwriting

C. Handwriting involves two skills

D. Handwriting lessons are on the way out

5.The author’ s attitude towards whether still to learn handwriting in school is________.

A.negative     B. objective

C. critical    D. optimistic

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.A

4.B

5.B

【解析】

试题分析：文章讲述了科技对传统的冲击。随着电脑和手机的普及，人们在日常生活已经很少会用手写字，然而，这种现象是好事还是坏事呢？有的老师被要求给学生上写字课，有的老师没有准备教学生写字课。

1.90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting. ...other teachers who basically teach it for 60 to 70 minutes a day --which really for handwriting is pretty much”可知，学校要求教师教学生写字，故选A。

2.American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive”可知，美国的孩子首先学习写印刷体，然后学习写连笔字，故选D。

3.which means forming the letters so they can be read”可知，划线词的意思是，组织字母的不同结构使它们能够被认读，D的意思是“不可读的”，与句意相反，故选A。

4. In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. ...90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting. ...about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting.”可知，在电脑普及的时代，人们倾向于认为写字已经过时了。有的学校要求老师教写字课，有的老师没有教写字课的准备。文章主要讲的是手写的习惯逐渐消失是否是一个好的现象，故选B。

5.Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. ...Some teachers are teaching handwriting...other teachers who basically teach it”可知，作者只是客观地描述了写字的习惯正在被人们淡忘这一现象，有的人支持教学生写字，有的反对，A消极的；B客观的；C批评的；D乐观的，故选B。

考点：教育类短文阅读