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 (范围). 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(批评) 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.
小题1:The expression “play safe” probably means ____.
A．to write carefully
B．to do as teachers say
C．to use dictionaries frequently
D．to avoid using words one is not sure of小题2: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小题3:The writer seems to think that the teacher’s judgement on that sensitive piece of writing is____.
A．reasonable
B．unfair
C．foolish
D．careless小题4:The major point discussed in 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
小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:D
题目分析：这篇文章主要讲了一篇作文的拼写与文章内容之间的关系。
小题1:根据He will write only words within his spelling range (范围).故选D。
小题2:根据The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely in writing without holding him back with spelling.以及That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.故答案应为A。
小题3:根据It may have been a sharp criticism(批评) 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.故选B。
小题4:通过全文以及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.故选D。
点评：1、加强整体意识，把握文章的主要内容。在阅读的时候可给段落标上序号，并给重要的句子和关键词做上记号，尤其是各段中心句，为答题提供更快捷更多的信息源。2、审清题干，发觉和把握试题中有效的提示性信息，确认命题的角度、阅读范围和答题方式。3、定位阅读，强化对应意识。同时要注意原文利用和自我加工相结合。