Part IV Cloze (15 minutes)

　　Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D) on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage.

　　It's an annual back-to-school routine. One morning you wave goodbye, and that__71__evening you're burning the late-night oil in sympathy. In the race to improve educational standards,__72__are throwing the books at kids. __73__elementary school students are complaining of homework__74__. What's a well-meaning parent to do?

　　As hard as__75__may be, sit back and chill, experts advise. Though you've got to get them to do it,__76__helping too much, or even examining__77__too carefully, you may keep them__78__doing it by themselves. "I wouldn't advise a parent to check every__79__assignment," says psychologist John Rosemond, author of Ending the Tough Homework. "There's a__80__of appreciation for trial and error. Let your children__81__the grade they deserve."

　　Many experts believe parents should gently look over the work of younger children and ask them to rethink their__82__. But "you don't want them to feel it has to be__83__," she says.

　　That's not to say parents should__84__homework-first, they should monitor how much homework their kids__85__. Thirty minutes a day in the early elementary years and an hour in__86__four, five, and six is standard, says Rosemond. For junior-high students it should be"__87__more than an hour and a half," and two for high-school students. If your child__88__has more homework than this, you may want to check__89__other parents and then talk to the teacher about__90__assignments.

　　71. A) veryB) exactC) rightD) usual

　　72. A) officialsB) parents

　　C) experts D) schools

　　73. A) Also B) EvenC) ThenD) However

　　74. A) fatigueB) confusion

　　C) duty D) puzzle

　　75. A) thereB) weC) theyD) it

　　76. A) viaB) underC) byD) for

　　77. A) questions B) answers

　　C) standards D) rules

　　78. A) off B) without

　　C) beyond D) from

　　79. A) singleB) pieceC) pageD) other

　　80. A) dropB) shortC) cutD) lack

　　81. A) acquireB) earn

　　C) gatherD) reach

　　82. A) exercisesB) defects

　　C) mistakesD) tests

　　83. A) perfectB) better

　　C) unusualD) complete

　　84. A) forgetB) refuseC) missD) ignore

　　85. A) haveB) prepare

　　C) makeD) perform

　　86. A) classesB) groups

　　C) grades D) terms

　　87. A) aboutB) noC) muchD) few

　　88. A) previouslyB) rarely

　　C) merely D) consistently

　　89. A) withB) inC) outD) up

　　90. A) finishing B) lowering

　　C) reducingD) declining

　　[文章大意]

　　这篇短文主要讲家长应如何正确对待孩子的家庭作业负担.由于竞争激烈,学生的作业负担普遍较重,以致于孩子们不得不开夜车,连低年级的小学生都感到做作业很累.针对这种情况,专家建议,家长应让孩子们独立完成作业,并允许孩子们做作业时出错.当然,这并不是说,家长可以忽视孩子的作业.专家认为,家长应当查看孩子的作业量是否适当,如果孩子们的负担过重,就应当与学校联系,请老师为学生减负.

　　[试题解析]

　　71. A)."that very evening"意为"就在那天晚上",very在这里是形容词,用于加强语气,意为"正是那一个,正是的".例如:I'll go this very minute. (=at once) 我这就去./ They say he died in that very bed. 他们说他就死在那张床上.因此,正确答案为选项A).

　　72. D).从全文意思来看,学生的家庭作业是学校老师布置的.因此,正确答案为选项D).

　　73. B).此句意思是:甚至连低年级的小学生都感到做作业很累.根据句意,正确答案为选项B).

　　74. A).根据句意(见上题),正确答案为选项A.fatigue意为"疲劳,疲倦".

　　75. D)."as hard as it may be"为固定搭配,意为"尽可能努力地",在句中作状语.例如:They save paper as much as it may be. 他们尽量节省纸张.因此,正确答案为选项D).句中的"sit back and chill"从字面上来看,意为"冷眼旁观".这句话为第二段的主题句,全句意为:专家建议家长尽可以冷眼旁观.也就是说家长应让孩子们独立完成作业,并允许孩子们做作业时出错.

　　76. C).根据句意,本题正确答案为选项C)by.选项A)via意为"途经",不符合句意.

　　77. B).家长检查孩子的作业,大多是看答案如何.因此,正确答案为选项B).

　　78. D)."keep sb. from doing sth."为固定搭配,意为"阻止某人做某事".根据上下文意思,正确答案为选项D).

　　79. A).空格所在的句子意为:我不想建议家长检查孩子的每一样作业.single 用于表示强调.

　　80. D).从上下文来看,空格处应填入意为"缺乏"的名词.因此,正确答案为选项D)lack.选项B)short与介词of连用,虽也可表示"缺乏"之意,但它是形容词,不符合此句的结构要求.

　　81. B).本题四个选项中,只有"earn the grade"为正确搭配,意为"取得分数".

　　82. C).家长在检查了孩子的作业后,通常都要求孩子特别注意并重新思考出错的地方.所以,正确答案为选项C)mistakes.

　　83. A).根据第二段中专家所提出的要允许孩子们做作业时出错的建议,本题正确答案为选项A)perfect.

　　84. D).从上下文来看,此句意为:这并不是说,家长可以忽视家庭作业.因此,正确答案为选项D)ignore.

　　85. A).此句意为:首先,家长应当知道他们的孩子有多少作业.因此,正确答案为选项A)have.

　　86. C).此句中"early elementary years"是指小学低年级,与此相对应,空格后的"four, five, and six"应是指"四、五、六"年级.因此,正确答案为选项C)grades.

　　87. B).上文讲到小学生的家庭作业量宜为半小时到一小时,下文讲到高中生的家庭作业量宜为两小时.由此推断,初中生的家庭作业量不宜超过一个半小时.因此,正确答案为选项B)no.no more than意为"不超过,只有".

　　88. D).从空格前后文来看,空格处应填入一个表示"一直,一贯"之意的副词.因此,正确答案为选项D)consistently.

　　89. A).此句意为:如果孩子们的负担过重,就可以与别的家长核实一下,然后再请老师为学生减负.所以,正确答案为选项A).check with sb. 意为"与某人核对".

　　90. C).根据句意(见上题),正确答案为选项C)reducing.

　　(文/陆剑; 英语通大学英语四级考试版2004年第4期;版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)