2014年考研英语试题及答案阅读理解八

　　There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, vastly 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 and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling?

　　If spelling become the only focal point of his teacher's interest, clearly a bright child will be likely toplay safe. He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. 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 errors and technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation(动力)to seek improvement.

　　71. Teachers are different in their opinions about　　　.

　　A)　the necessity of teaching spelling

　　B)　the role of spelling in general language development

　　C)　the way of teaching spelling

　　D)　the complexities of the basic writing skills

　　72. As used in the second paragraph, the expressionplay safemost probably means　　　.

　　A)to spell correctly

　　B)to write smoothly

　　C)to avoid using words one is not sure of

　　D)to use dictionaries frequently

　　73. Teachers encourage the students to use dictionaries so that　　　　.

　　A)students will be able to write more freely

　　B)students will be more skillful in writing

　　C)students will be more confident in writing

　　D)students will be independent enough

　　74. The author's tone is　　　　.

　　A)　ironic

　　C) satirical

　　B) practical

　　D) critical

　　75. This passage mainly discusses　　　　.

　　A)the necessity of spelling

　　B)the role of developing writing skills

　　C)the complexities of spelling

　　D)the relationship between spelling and the content of writing

　　　Passage 16

　　Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea. People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.

　　Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.

　　At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea. Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added. She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did, so they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.

　　At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess (公爵夫人) found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her gettinga sinking feelingas she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.

　　76. Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?

　　A)The Britons got expensive tea from India.

　　B)Tea reached Britain from Holland.

　　C)The Britons were the first people in Europe who drank tea.

　　D)It was not until the 17th century that the Britons had tea.

　　77. This passage mainly discusses　　　　　.

　　A)the history of tea drinking in Britain

　　B) how tea became a popular drink in Britain

　　C)how the Britons got the habit of drinking tea

　　D)how tea-time was born

　　78. Tea became a popular drink in Britain　　　　　.

　　A)in eighteenth century

　　B)in sixteenth century

　　C)in seventeenth century

　　D)in the late seventeenth century

　　79. People in Europe began to drink tea with milk because　　　　　.

　　A)it tasted like milk

　　B) it tasted more pleasant

　　C)it became a popular drink

　　D)Madame de Sevinge was such a lady with great social influence that people tried to copy the way she drank tea

　　80. We may infer from the passage that the habit of drinking tea in Britain was mostly due to the influence of　　　　　.

　　A)a famous French lady

　　B)the ancient Chinese

　　C)the upper social class

　　D)people in Holland