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.

1. Teachers are different in their opinions about　.

A)　the necessity of teaching spellingB)　the role of spelling in general language development

C)　the way of teaching spelling

D)　the complexities of the basic writing skills

2. 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

3. 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

4. The author’s tone is.

A)　ironic

C) satirical

B) practical

D) critical

5. 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

参考答案：1.B　2.C　3.C　4.D　5.D