单选题 We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. It is rather unreal to grade people just according to their intellectual ability without taking into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade to children!
Besides, we are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their learning ability. We also emphasize personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching is important to all these aspects of learning.
In our classrooms, we work in various ways. Working in groups, the pupils get the opportunity to learn to cooperate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.
Sometimes the pupils work in pairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments, and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is appropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently.

单选题 What does the author mean by "held back" (Line 1, Para. 1) according to the passage?

A. Made to remain in the same classes.
B. Forced to study in the lower classes.
C. Drawn to their studies.
D. Prevented from advancing.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】词汇题。hold back意为“阻止、拉某人后腿”。

单选题 The author argues that a teacher's chief concern should be the development of the student's ______.

A. personal qualities and social skills
B. total personality
C. learning ability and communicative skills
D. intellectual ability

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】细节题。参见第二段第一句Besides…their learning ability，句意为“除此之外，我们应全面发展学生能力，而不仅是他们的学习能力”。虽然A、C和D项在文中都提到了，但根据文章意思，教师的主要任务应该是开发学生的total personality。

单选题 There are many disadvantages of grading pupils according to their intellectual ability EXCEPT ______.

A. it does not consider the fact that children develop at different rates
B. it can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright children
C. it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade to pupils
D. it also values personal qualities and social skills

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】细节题。题目要找出非分级制的弊端的选项。A、B和C项都是文中提到的分级制的弊端，因此不能选。

单选题 Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the third paragraph?

A. Group work gives pupils the opportunity to learn to work together with others.
B. Pupils also learn to develop their reasoning abilities.
C. Group work provides pupils with the opportunity to learn to be capable organizers.
D. Pupils also learn how to participate in teaching activities.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】细节题。参见第三段，本文未提到D项的内容，所以是正确答案。

单选题 The author's purpose of writing this passage is to ______.

A. argue for teaching bright and not-so-bright pupils in the same class
B. recommend pair work and group work for classroom activities
C. offer advice on the proper use of the library
D. emphasize the importance of appropriate formal classroom teaching

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】主旨题。本文主要谈的是反对分级制的理由，因此A项为正确答案。