Question

Pushy parents and teachers who “hothouse” the under-5s risk causing damage to the children’s long term development, a leading education expert said.

       Lilian Katz, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois, said that four-year-olds engaged in reading and writing went on to perform worse academiclly than those engaged in imaginative learning. They scored higher in tests at the age of 5, but children whose first year at school was stimulating outstripped them four years later.

   The findings suggest that the government's structured approach to early years' learning could be storing up problems for children. They also raise serious questions about the plan for all children to be able to read by the age of 6.

   In many countries formal teaching does not start until children are 6 or 7 and have improved their social and manual skills. Children start learning to read and write at 6 in the United States. France and Germany , and at 7 in Finland and Sweden.

   Professor Katz said that in many schools the courses were "boring children to tears". Much academic teaching required children to learn by memorizing pieces of information out of context, she said. Teaching in reception class should instead allow children to develop their intellect by exploring their environments and asking questions.

   "Research suggests the benefits of formal academic insturction for four- and five-year-olds seem to be promising when they are tested early, but considerably less so in the long term. When these children are followed over a period of three or more years, those who had early experience in more intellectually engaging curricula were more likely to do well in school than their peers, who had received early academic instruction." She avocates teaching children through first-hand experience and play, in mixed-aged classes. This can include puppet shows, drawing or running a pretend shop in the classroom.

1．According to the passage, those who “hothouse” the under-5s would probably _________.

       A. prefer a lot of interaction and stimulation while teaching

       B. teach in a lively way to motivate kids’ interest

       C. push the kids to memorize pieces of information

       D. care about the kids’ physical development

2．What does the underlined word “ outstripped” in Paragraph 2 mean?

       A. did better than                                B. looked down upon

       C. caught up with                                      D. performed worse than

3．According to Lilian Katz, the government’s structured approach to early-years learning ______.

       A. is necessary for improving children’s reading and writing ability

       B. needs to be improved to develop children’s academicability

       C. will cause problems to children in their future learning

       D. has more advantages than disadvantages

4．The message the author wants to deliver through the passage is that formal teaching _______.

       A. can start at different times in different countries.

       B. should not be started too early

       C. is best carried out in Finland and Sweden

       D. should include teaching children social and manual skills

5．Which of the following is NOT the opinion of Lilian Katz?

       A. Children should be taught through first-hand experience.

       B. Learning in a mixed-age class is good for children.

       C. Running a shop can help children get good marks.

       D. Puppet shows and drawing are useful easy in teaching children.

Answer 1

1--5   CACBC   

解析:

本文屬于教育類文章。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)過(guò)早接受正規(guī)教育雖然能使兒童在開(kāi)始時(shí)學(xué)業(yè)優(yōu)秀，但對(duì)其以后的發(fā)展會(huì)造成很多問(wèn)題。

1．C  細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文章第一段說(shuō)明這種教育模式會(huì)對(duì)五歲以下的兒童的長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)發(fā)展造成危害，而從第五段“….. required children to learn by memorizing pieces of information out of context…..”可知，這種教育模式是側(cè)重于死記硬背。

2．A  詞義猜測(cè)題。由第一段及第二段中的第一句可知五歲前接受讀寫(xiě)訓(xùn)練的孩子在四年后成績(jī)不如那些曾經(jīng)在一年級(jí)接受過(guò)啟發(fā)性教育的同齡人。

3．C  細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第三段可知政府的固定教育法會(huì)給孩子將來(lái)的發(fā)展留下許多隱患。

4．B  推理判斷題。從第四段我們可知孩子在六、七歲以后，社交技能和動(dòng)手技能才得到發(fā)展，所以正確的做法是讓學(xué)生在探究環(huán)境中和提問(wèn)的過(guò)程中開(kāi)發(fā)智力，而不是過(guò)過(guò)多的正規(guī)教育要求學(xué)生死記硬背很多東西（第五段），因此說(shuō)明了過(guò)早實(shí)施正規(guī)教育對(duì)孩子沒(méi)有益處。

5．C  細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從文章最后一段的最后兩句“She advocates teaching children through…., include puppet shows…”可知A、B和D三項(xiàng)是Lilian Katz所贊成的，C項(xiàng)意思與原文有偏差。