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A school where 60% of pupils speak English as a second language has equipped electronic translators for every child so they can communicate with teachers. Manor Park Primary in Birmingham, which has 384 pupils, is the first school in Britain to provide translators for all of its children and to make the tools a part of every lesson.
The technology can allow teachers to type messages to pupils which are then translated into the 19 native tongues of children, with no English. Another 11 languages are spoken by pupils who have some English. In Britain, with figures showing that one in six primary pupils speaks a different language at home — double the number ten years ago — the technology could soon become popular in many more schools.
Talking Tutor can translate English into many languages including Polish, Urdu and Chinese. The teacher types a message into a computer and it then reads the message out to the pupils in their native tongues. The pupils type the answer which is read to the teacher by Talking Tutor. Headmaster Jason Smith said the software had transformed his school and given staff the opportunity to communicate with children. The school pays ￡700 a year for the software. The software, developed by EMAS UK, cost more than ￡2.5 million to produce.
Dawn Holt, a teacher at the school, admitted she had struggled in the past to communicate with pupils who had recently arrived in Britain. But some say giving pupils the translators could be “damaging and dangerous”．“Surely it would be better to give all these teenagers an intensive course in English，” said Nick Seaton, a father.“My boy says teachers are spending more time using the computer than teaching. He came home last week and said he felt pushed aside.”
语篇解读：学校里60%的学生的母语不是英语，教师怎么上课、怎么和学生交流呢？一种新发明的电脑软件能帮助解决这个问题。
1．What is the name of the electronic translator?
A．Talking Tutor. B．EMAS UK.
C．Nick Seaton D．Dawn Holt.
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据文章第三段第一句可知，该软件的名称为Talking Tutor。
2．Manor Park Primary decided to use electronic translators in order to ________.
A．help the pupils to learn English well in a short time
B．make the teachers and the students understand each other
C．let the students master foreign languages quickly
D．attract more and more pupils to the school
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据文章第一段第一句可知，该校配备这个软件的目的是帮助师生更好地交流。
3．From the text we can infer that ________.
A．EMAS UK can't make a lot of money from the software
B．more and more pupils begin to choose to study in Britain
C．there are many schools which have already used the software
D．the teachers had no difficulty talking with the students before
解析：选B 推理判断题。根据第二段第三句可知，在英国，有六分之一的小学生的母语不是英语，这一比例是十年前的两倍。由此可以推知，越来越多的国外的小学生选择到英国去上学。
4．Why do some people say giving pupils the translators could be “damaging and dangerous”？
A．Because the students will pay more money to the school.
B．Because the students won't get enough care from the teachers.
C．Because the students can't use the translators properly.
D．Because the students won't speak to the teachers any more.
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据文章最后一段最后两句可知，其原因在于这会导致老师把过多的时间用在电脑操作上，学生感觉老师不够关心自己。
