问题详情：
Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain's best loved story makers whose book War Horse is taught in school. He made a speech at Book Trust Annual Lecture. When talking about tests, he said that too much testing in schools was taking the joy out of reading for children because it destroyed their confidence and resulted in feelings of shame and disappointment.
Mr. Morpurgo said testing was "supposed to encourage" all children, whether they passed or not, but his was not the case. "When you fail, it brings a sense of worthlessness. It separates you from those who have passed, rocks confidence, and destroys hopes and dreams." For children who pass, they can have the opportunity to receive the great cultural and material benefits of our society through developing an enjoyment of for children who fail, they are made to feel that the world of books, stories and ideas is not for them, and they are not clever enough to join that world. It is not the world they belong to, and it is shut off from them forever.
As the president of Book Trust, Mr. Morpurgo also criticized schools for taking the wonder of stories and playfulness of language. Schools have been teaching reading by turning stories into a series of comprehension and grammar tests, because they insist that measurable（可量化的） outcomes and results are the be-all and end-all of the education process. But blaming （责备）governments or schools is passing the buck --- it is a society as a whole that is responsible for whether its children succeed or fail in education, and everyone should make an effort to ensure that reading itself is a pleasure experience for all children.
Mr. Morpurgo, who was a primary teacher before becoming a writer, wants to see a “story time” introduces in every primary school, when stories are read aloud, at the end of each day. His Book Trust lecture called on schools and the governmemt to keep libriries open, for parents to read to their children every night, etc. “Story time” would be a special time with no testing or teaching. “Let the children go home dreaming of the story, reliving it, wonder… All the rest will come later. Once the seed is sown, the fore is lit, children will want to learn. So give them the love of story first; the rest will follow.”
Diana Gerald, the co-worker of Book Trust, said, “Reading isn’t a tick-list of books. That need to have been read;nor is it just a skill to be learned then put aside. The ability of reading and writing can, and should be tested; reading for pleasure needs to be valued and seen more like exercise-do it as regularly as you can, make it fun and red together whenever possible for maximum benefits.”
1. What does the expression “passing the buck” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Valuable. B. Irresponsible.
C. Unnecessary. D. Harmful.
2. According to the passage, what should children do at their “story time”?
A. Enjoy reading. B. Prepare for tests.
C. Practise writing stories. D. Tick their book lists.
3. Which of the following is Mr. Morpurgo’s suggestion?
A. Test should be canceled in schools.
B. Children should join the Book Trust.
C. Reading for pleasure should be encouraged.
D. The government should build more libraries.
4. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Mr. Morpurgo hopes to become a primary teacher.
B. Children who are tested can’t get the joy from reading.
C. Mr. Morpurgo wants his book War Horse to be read often in schools.
D. Chilrdren who fail in tests probably won’t explore the wonder of stories.
【回答】
1. B 2. A 3. C 4. D
知识点：人物传记 故事阅读类
题型：阅读理解
国文精选馆
