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 to 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.

61．We can learn that ________ from Paragraph 1.

A. teachers spend little time in teaching handwriting

B. most teachers prefer to teach handwriting

C. teaching handwriting is a basic requirement in teaching job

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

62．Which of the following is WRONG about traditional handwriting in the USA?

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

B. To write in cursive is taught first.

C. Handwriting includes two skills.

D. The letters are repeated many times.

63．The underlined word “l(fā)egibility” in Paragraph 3 means ________.

A.   unexpected      B.   unreadable      C. easy to read      D. complex

64．The best title for the passage is ________.

A. Right or wrong: the death of handwriting

B. How to improve handwriting in school

C. Handwriting lessons are on the way out

D. Handwriting involves two skills

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

A. negative           B. objective          C. critical        D. optimistic

RUICHANG, Jiangxi - A magnitude-4.6 earthquake briefly disrupted life in an eastern China region but no casualties or major destructions have been reported since the quake struck on late Saturday, local officials said Sunday.

Business and farming resumed in the town of Henglishan, Jiangxi Province, near the epicenter, by Sunday afternoon. Although cracks were found on the walls of several houses, no houses collapsed during the tremor that struck at 11:20 pm Saturday.

"We have checked and found little damage to the houses of the village's 487 households," said Nie Xunzhan, a top official of the village of Guanghui near Ruichang. "There are cracks on the walls but all houses remain safe to stay in."

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the quake's epicenter was traced at a depth of 17 km. Twenty-three aftershocks, with the largest measuring 2.8 degrees, were recorded within two hours after the major tremor.

The quake was felt in the provincial capital of Nanchang, about 130 km southeast to the city of Ruichang.

56. What damage did the earthquake do to the area reported?

     A. several houses collapsed.     

B. some cracks were found on the wall of several houses.

   C. many people died.              

D. some houses were not safe to stay in.

57. What does the underlined word “tremor” in Para.2 mean?

   A. an involuntary vibration             B. shaking or trembling  

C. a small earthquake                        D. pain

58. According to the passage, which description is not true?

   A. Business and farming didn’t resume until Sunday evening.

B. Nanchang could feel the quake.

   C. all houses remain safe to stay in.

   D. The town of Henlishan is near the epicenter.

59. What does the report mainly tell us?

   A. An earthquake struck Ruichang on late Saturday

   B. No houses were damaged by the earthquake

   C. All was resumed after the earthquake.

D. An quake causes limited damage to East China town。

60. What can you infer from the passage?

   A. An earthquake struck Nanchang.

B. Ruichang is a city in the charge of Nanchang.

   C. The number of the aftershocks may be more than 23.

   D. There was little damage to the houses of the village of Guanghui.

Jones, a hardworking blacksmith, used to work all day in his shop. So hard working was he that at times he would make the sparks fly from his   36   .

The son of Mr. Smith, a rich    37 , would come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself   38  how the tradesman worked.

"Young man, why don't you    39  your hand to learn to make shoe tacks,  40    it is only to pass the time?" said the blacksmith. "   41    knows, one day, it may be of use to you."

The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little    42   he found that he was becoming very   43   and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.

Old Mr. Smith died and the son    44   the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to    45   residence in another country. It so    46   that in this village there were numerous shoemakers who were spending a lot of money 47    tacks for their shoes and even  48  when they paid high prices they were  49  able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers' shoes.

Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to  50  his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a  51  with the shoemakers. He told them that he  52   make the tacks if they could help him to  53  a workshop. The shoemakers were  54   willing to do so. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.

"How funny it seems," he used to say, "even making tacks can bring a  55  . My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches."

36．A. hand            B．finger            C. gun               D．hammer

37．A. classmate       B. neighbor               C. blacksmith         D．workmate

38．A. observing             B. noticing          C. watching         D．finding

39．A．put            B．raise            C．tie               D．try

40．A．even if        B．whether or not      C．only if             D．in that

41．A．He              B．Somebody      C．Who             D．Nobody         

42．A．a(chǎn)dvice         B．practice        C．knowledge            D．training       

43．A．serious         B．caution          C．devoted              D．skilled         

44．A.on account of    B．regardless of    C．instead of             D．in need of

45．A．take in         B．take up          C．take off               D．take on

46．A．occurred       B．took place      C．happened             D．a(chǎn)ppeared

47．A．selling          B．buying             C．making          D．promoting

48．A．a(chǎn)t times         B．a(chǎn)t a time        C．a(chǎn)t one time     D．a(chǎn)t the time

49．A．never          B．ever             C．often           D．not always

50．A．eat             B．cook             C．earn            D．make

51．A．living            B．bargain          C．mistake         D．sense

52．A．would                 B．used to          C．should          D．dared

53．A．set down       B．set out          C．set up           D．set to

54．A．much too       B．too much       C．only too              D．not too

55．A．fortune         B．fame             C．profit          D．welcome

More than one ____ the people heart and soul.

A、official has served              B、officials have served

C、official has served for       D、officials have served for

We should be able to do the job for you quickly, ____ you give us all the necessary information.

A. in case        B. provided that     C. or else          D. as if

On AIDS Day, the minister of Health Department demanded that the problems _______ paid special attention to.

A. refered to being                     B. referred to be 

C. referring to be                               D. should refer to be

 On Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Green went to the market, __________ some bananas and visited her cousin.

A．buying           B．bought        C．to buy         D．buy

 ______ in the regulations that you _______ other people the password of your e-mail account.

 A. What is required, wouldn’t tell               B. As requires, shouldn’t tell

 C. It is required, not tell                             D. It requires, shouldn’t tell

Will you ________ the driving and give me a spell when we reach Madison?

 A. take on        B. take up     C. take over    D. take back

--- She joined a football team last fall and was recently made captain.

--- Never _____ she’d ever have that much energy.

 A. I had thought                       B. I would have thought   

C. could I have thought            D. will I have thought