Testing has taken the place of teaching in most public schools. Pretests, drills, tests, and retests. They know that the best way to read a textbook is to look at the questions at the end of the chapter and then read the text quickly for the answers. I believe that my daughter Erica, who gets excellent marks, has never read a chapter of any of her school textbooks all the way through. And teachers are often heard to say proudly and openly that they teach to the test. Teaching to the test is a curious phenomenon . Instead of deciding what skills students ought to learn, helping students learn them, and then using some methods of assessment  to discover whether students have mastered the skills, teachers are encouraged to teach the students in the opposite way. First one looks at a test. Then one chooses the skills needed not to master reading, but to do well in the test. Finally, the test skills are taught. The ability to read or write might suggest the ability to do reasonably well on standardized tests. However, neither reading nor writing develops simply through being taught to take tests. We must be careful to avoid mistaking preparations for a test of a skill with the acquisition of that skill. Too many discussions of basic skills make this misunderstanding because people are tested rather than concerned with the nature and quality of what is taught. Recently, many schools have faced what could be called the crisis of comprehension or, in simple words, the phenomenon of students with grammar skills still being unable to understand what they read. These students are quite good at test taking and filling in workbooks. However, they have little or no experience reading or thinking, and talking about what they read. They know the details but can't see or understand the whole. They are taught to be so concerned with grades that they have no time to think about meaning, and reread things if necessary. In the author's opinion,   _  . A) some good methods of assessment should take the place of tests B) more attention should be paid to the nature and quality of what is taught C) students should not be concerned with grades but do more reading and thinking D) students needn't learn grammar skills because they are useless for understanding
B


Most Chinese people these days know what it is like to have an "English teacher", since almost all pupils study English from their third year. Usually that first English teacher will be a young and lovely lady in primary school. But my first English teacher is _ . Looking back, I can see that, when I was only a little girl, he created an English environment by providing me with flashcards,fun English- language toys and even dolls which can sing English songs! My interest in English had certainly been awakened   when I began to learn English at school. Just imagine, he went a step further and asked me to learn New Concept English by myself! I was puzzled and even angry. I could not understand why a father could be so strict with his little girl. All the same, he never gave up and he gently insisted that I follow through with his idea. At first, I read stories with tears and I actually hated them because they were too difficult for me. In the end, I came to love the funny stories and, to be honest, my father was always there with a helping hand. I am sure that my English would never have got so far without his support. And that's why my father is not only my first English teacher but also my lifelong teacher. He is one who awoke my interest, and who gave me much confidence . What would be the best title for the passage? A) How I learned English at school B) My father---my first and lifelong English teacher C) The relationship between my father and me D) I've made progress in English learning
B


Q: As the population of the planet increases, so does the number of homes, businesses, parking lots, schools, airports and roadways. All these structures use electricity and need to be lighted. Humans demand these lights. They want their homes more comfortable and they want their streets safe. The problem is that researchers are finding that all the light is having a negative effect on humans and wildlife as well. Less than 10 years ago I drove to a thinly populated section of my town, lay down in the middle of the road and watched an attractive meteor shower  . The area was short of homes, street lights and traffic. If I did that today, I wouldn't be able to see the meteor shower as well. Due to the increase in street lights, I would surely be run over by a car. Nowadays scientists are finding light pollution can be almost as bad as carbon dioxide pollution. If you've ever taken a flight at night, the view is beautiful, but you must remember that all the light you see wastes electricity. The crew of the space shuttles see an even bigger picture of how extensive the wasted electricity is worldwide. One of the saddest parts of light pollution is that most of it is unnecessary and most of the outdoor light that we use is wasted. One only needs to look at a row of street lights to see how much of the light shines upwards and lights the sky; a total waste of electricity. Additionally, somewhere electricity needs to be produced, and the production of electricity creates pollution by releasing greenhouse gases. This affects the air we breathe and our quality of life. Scientists are also studying the effects of light pollution on wildlife. Thousands of birds die each year when they crash into highly lighted buildings, as they become puzzled by the light. It has been long known that tiny baby sea turtles become lost and follow lights on the shore instead of heading towards the sea. Fortunately, light pollution is one of the easiest sources of pollution that can be corrected without a negative effect. Following some... What can be inferred from the text? A) We are almost at a loss how to deal with light pollution. B) Global warming results in light pollution in some way. C) Astronauts can't see clearly in space nowadays. D) Some animals use natural light to direct their movements.
A: D


(Q).
Planet English is the world's leading interactive multimedia software package for English language teaching and learning. For Students Planet English uses the latest in multimedia and information technology to support students who wish to learn English for international communication. Planet English is an exciting, high-tech, interactive way of learning English. It contains more than 40 hours of video and audio recordings, over 2,500 0riginal graphics, 3,000 interactive screens and 80 different activity types including real time student voice recordings. For Teachers Planet English is more than just a computer program. It includes a package of resources to complement any Eng-lish language teaching programme. Teachers can easily integrate Planet English with classroom activities using the detailed Teacher's Manual  and Student Workbooks. Teachers can also manage the learning experience for students using the unique Planet English Courseware Management System (CMS). The CMS allows teachers to tailor courses to their syllabus  and to students' needs by "mapping" content for classes or individuals. Activities and exercises that are relevant to the center's syllabus are then delivered to students in the appropriate lesson, ensuring students "navigate" to the right area of the programme of each lesson. For Educational Managers Planet English is the world's leading Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) program. It allows English language teaching centers to enhance the educational quality of teaching programmes, improve learning outcomes and provide professional development for teaching staff. Implementing  Planet English allows English language teaching centers to maximize the benefits of computor hardware because it provides teachers and learners with an easy-to-use and highly productive CALL resource. Planet English, as described in the passage,  _  . A) is attractive to students because it combines English learning with computer games B) is popular with the teachers because they can manage the learning experience with the help of CMS C) is designed for the educational managers to evaluate the teaching staff D) is provided to students, teachers and managers for free
(A).

B