阅读理解。
There is a common belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I
have taught in has ever considered spelling unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, quite
different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority (优先) it must be given over general language
development and writing ability. The problem is how to encourage a child to express himself freely in
writing without holding him back with spelling.
If spelling becomes the only point of his teacher's interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to "play
safe". He will write only words within his spelling range. That's why teachers often encourage the early
use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: "This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling mistakes." It may have been a sharp criticism of
the pupils' technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad thing for the teacher who had omitted (略过)
to read the composition, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child's deep feelings. The
teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the mistakes, but if his priority had centered on the child's
ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more hope to
seek improvement.
1. Teachers differ in their opinions about __ .
A. the difficulties in teaching spelling
B. the necessity of teaching spelling
C. the importance of the basic writing skills
D. the role of spelling in general language development
2. The expression "play safe" probably means ____.
A. to write carefully
B. to avoid using words one is not sure of
C. to use dictionaries frequently
D. to do as teachers say
3. Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that____.
A. students will be able to express their ideas more freely.
B. teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes.
C. students will have more trust in writing.
D. students will learn to spell words correctly.
4. The writer seems to think that the teacher's judgment on that sensitive piece of writing is____.
A. reasonable
B. unfair
C. foolish
D. careless
5. The main idea of the passage is _______.
A. the importance of developing writing skills
B. the importance of spelling
C. the correct way of marking composition
D. the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition
