There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority（优先）it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities（复杂）of spelling.
If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher’s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “play safe”. He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: “ This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is illegible（难以辨认的）.” It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil’s technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child’s ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation（动力）to seek improvement.
小题1:Teachers are different in their opinions about ___________.
| A．the difficulties in teaching spelling |
| B．the role of spelling in general language development |
| C．the complexities of the basic writing skills |
| D．the necessity of teaching spelling |
小题2: The expression “play safe” probably means ____________.
| A．to write carefully | B．to do as the teachers say |
| C．to use dictionaries frequently | D．to avoid using words one is not sure of |
小题3: Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that___________.
| A．students will be able to express their ideas more freely |
| B．students will have more confidence in writing |
| C．teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes |
| D．students will learn to be independent of teachers |
小题4: The writer seems to think that the teacher’s judgment on that sensitive piece of writing is____________.
| A．unfair | B．reasonable | C．foolish | D．careless |
小题5:The major point discussed in the passage is_____________.
| A．the importance of developing writing skills |
| B．the complexities of spelling |
| C．the correct way of marking compositions |
| D．the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition |
