Unit 3　　

本套试卷分为第Ⅰ卷(选择题)和第Ⅱ卷(非选择题)两部分。第Ⅰ卷60分，第Ⅱ卷40分，共100分。考试时间90分钟。

第Ⅰ卷　(选择题　共60分)

Ⅰ.阅读理解(共两节；满分40分)

第一节(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)

Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. 90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting. But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One study published this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10～15 minutes a day, and then other teachers basically teach it for 60 to 70 minutes a day—which really for handwriting is pretty much.

Many adults remember learning handwriting that way—by copying letters over and over again. Today's thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself. Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all, that is why we write.

Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility, which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency—writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop up until high school.

But not everyone masters these skills. Teachers commonly report that about one fourth of their kids have poor handwriting. Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs.