单选题
The latest bad news is that reading and writing scores on the SAT have once again declined. The language competence of high schoolers fell steeply in the 1970s and has never recovered. This is very worrisome, because the best single measure of the overall quality of our primaries and secondary schools is the average verbal score of 17-year-olds. This score correlates with the ability to learn new things readily, to communicate with others and to hold down a job. It also predicts future income. The most credible analyses have shown that the chief causes are vast curricular changes, especially in the critical early grades. In the decades before the Great Verbal Decline, a content-rich elementary school experience evolved into a content-light, skills-based, test-centered approach. Cognitive psychologists agree that early childhood language learning (ages 2 to 10) is critical to later verbal competence, not just because of the remarkable linguistic plasticity of young minds, but also because of the so-called Matthew Effect. The name comes from a passage in the Scriptures: "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Those who are language-poor in early childhood get relatively poorer, and fall further behind, while the verbally rich get richer. The origin of this cruel truth lies in the nature of word learning. The more words you already know, the faster you acquire new words. This sounds like an invitation to vocabulary study for tots, but that's been tried and it's not effective. Most of the word meanings we know are acquired indirectly, by intuitively guessing new meanings as we understand the overall gist of what we are hearing or reading. The Matthew Effect in language can be restated this way: "To those who understand the gist shall be given new word meanings, but to those who do not there shall ensue boredom and frustration." Clearly the key is to make sure that from kindergarten on, every student, from the start, understands the gist of what is heard or read. If preschoolers and kindergartners are offered substantial and coherent lessons concerning the human and natural worlds, then the results show up five years or so later in significantly improved verbal scores. By staying on a subject long enough to make all young children familiar with it, the gist becomes understood by all and word learning speeds up. This is especially important for low-income children, who come to school with smaller vocabularies and rely on school to impart the knowledge base affluent children take for granted. Current reform strategies focus on testing, improving teacher quality and other changes. Attention to these structural issues has led to improvements in the best public schools. But it is not enough.
单选题
The drop in verbal scores on the SAT is worrisome because A. students' reading and writing ability affects their future development. B. it shows the schools, inability to meet the national requirements. C. it reveals young people's negative attitude towards verbal study. D. it will lead to a short supply of talents in the labor market.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干定位至第一段。该段第三句指出读写分数下降现象令人担忧。因为17岁学生的读写分数是衡量小学、初中总体语言素质的最佳标准(the best single measure of the over all quality of our primary and secondary schools)，即SAT读写部分成绩的下降标志着学生总体语言能力的下降，而第四、五句接着指出这一能力关系到人学习新知、与人沟通以及保住一份工作的能力，它甚至还预示着未来的收入It also predicts future income)。由此可知，正是由于读写能力对其他诸多能力发展的重要影响，才使得学生们读写分数的下降令人担忧，故A项为正确答案。
单选题
Which of the following is the reason for the falling verbal competence? A. Children's lack of language learning ability. B. Fewer courses on reading and writing in school. C. The shift of curricular focus from content to skills. D. Heavy pressure caused by numerous tests.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干定位至第二段。该段第一句明确指出，导致这种状况最主要的原因是课程设置的变化(the chief causes are vast curricular changes)，尤其是在关键的低年级时期(in the critical early grades)，紧接着第二句具体说明了这种变化：小学阶段的教学模式从注重内容(content-rich elementary school experience)逐渐演变成内容为辅技能为主，并以考试为中心(content-light, skill-based, test-centered approach)。由此可知，课程从注重内容到注重技能的转变是导致学生读写能力下降的主要原因，故C项为答案。
单选题
According to Paragraphs 3 and 4, the Mathew Effect in language A. only applies to adults, language learning process. B. encourages people to learn from babies in word study. C. introduces a new approach to language study. D. emphasizes that words should be learned in context.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干定位至第三段和第四段。第三段第一句指出了“马太效应”的一般意义：强者恒强，弱者恒弱。接着第三段的最后一句指出，在语言习得方面，那些在幼儿时期语言能力差的人会越来越差，而强的人则会越来越强。第四段第四句则指出，人们所掌握的大多数单词的意思是在我们理解了所听到或看到内容的大意之后，通过猜测词义而习得的。第四段的最后一句则总结道，如果将“马太效应”应用到语言学习中，那么我们可以将其理解为“凡是能够理解(所听、所读内容的)主旨要义的人，就会习得新词(those who understand the gist shall be given new word meanings)；凡是不理解的人，就只有感到枯燥与沮丧(those who do not there shall ensue boredom and frustration)”。由此可知，语言学习中的“马太效应”强调在语境中学习新词汇，D项与题目相符，为正确答案。
单选题
The implication of Mathew Effect in language is that A. children should be trained to understand the content. B. teachers should make everything understandable for students. C. teachers should focus on one topic in language teaching. D. children's family background determines their verbal ability.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。根据题干定位至第五段。第五段第一句指出，语言学习的关键在于确保幼儿园开始，每个学生就要领会所听、所读内容的主旨要义(the key is to make sure that...understands the gist of what is heard or read)。紧接着第二句说明具体做法是“应为学龄前和幼儿园的孩子提供大量与人类社会和自然界密切相关且成体系的内容”(preschoolers and kinder gartners are offered substantial and coherent lessons concerning the human and natural worlds)。由此可推知，“马太效应”使人们认识到，对主旨大意的理解在语言学习中至关重要，A项与原文相符，故为正确答案。
单选题
Which of the following is the best title for the text? A. Mathew Effect in Language Learning B. How to Stop the Drop in Verbal Scores C. Try to Understand the Gist D. Don't Overlook Your Verbal Scores