Question

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(草寫字母). 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(真實(shí)性) can be confirmed. Students also find them more fascinating.

The loss of handwriting also may be  a cognitive(認(rèn)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(神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)的) writing, learning issues or poor motor skills. Educators often point to this factor in support of keyboarding.

1. What is the author concerned about after 2012 Sat exams?

A. Keyboarding.      B. Shorthand.

C. Handwriting.     D. Block letters.

2. 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

3. 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

4.According to the author, when is a perfect time to learn handwriting?

A. Kindergarten.                 B. Primary school.

C. High school.                  D. College.

5.What is the author’s attitude towards this debate?

A. Devotion.       B. Encouragement.

C. Critical.       D. Objective.

 

Answer 1

1.C

2.A

3.C

4.B

5.D

【解析】

試題分析: 本文揭示了一個(gè)社會(huì)現(xiàn)象，越來越多的學(xué)生不擅長手寫，而只會(huì)用電腦打字。這種從手寫文字轉(zhuǎn)向打字文字的轉(zhuǎn)變究竟是好事還是壞事呢？在本文中作者講述了研究人員對(duì)此的看法。他們認(rèn)為用手寫字在鑒定真實(shí)性方面有著很大的價(jià)值，而且還可以鍛煉人的神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)和運(yùn)動(dòng)系統(tǒng)。

1.C細(xì)節(jié)理解題。在文章首段作者提出了The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand—a system of rapid handwriting, and now it’s threatening to finish off handwriting as a whole.，表示了對(duì)手寫草書幾乎被打字機(jī)取代的擔(dān)憂，選C。

2.A推理判斷題。作者在文中表示出了對(duì)手寫字幾乎要被電腦打字取代的憂慮，然后講述手寫字的重要性，作者提出羅伯特的詩Handwritten documents are more valuable to researchers, historians say, because their authenticity(真實(shí)性) can be confirmed. 由此判斷這首詩的提出是為了證實(shí)手寫字的價(jià)值，因?yàn)樗鼈兊恼鎸?shí)性可以得到證實(shí)，故選A。

3.推理判斷題。在文章倒數(shù)第二段作者首先提出It doesn’t take much to teach better handwriting skills.然后列舉了Handwriting Without Tears的例子，由此判斷例子的提出是為了證實(shí)前面的論點(diǎn)，選C。

4.B推理判斷題。作者在文章倒數(shù)第三段提出Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better，然后在倒數(shù)第二段elementary school students use a program以小學(xué)生為例來進(jìn)行論證觀點(diǎn)，由此推斷學(xué)習(xí)書法的最好時(shí)間是在小學(xué)期間，選B。

5.推理判斷題。在文章中作者沒有出現(xiàn)表示自己態(tài)度觀點(diǎn)的詞，只是列舉事實(shí)和例子來進(jìn)行客觀敘述，由此判斷答案選D。

考點(diǎn)：考查社會(huì)教育類短文閱讀