BECOMING INDEPENDENT

Bài 1. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the

correct answer to each of the questions.

ARE TRADITIONAL WAYS OF LEARNING THE BEST?

Read about some alternative schools of thought…

One school in Hampshire, UK, offers 24-hour teaching. The children can decide when or

if they come to school. The school is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., for 364 days a year

and provides online teaching throughout the night. The idea is that pupils don't have to

come to school and they can decide when they want to study. Cheryl Heron, the head

teacher, said “Some students learn better at night. Some students learn better in the

morning.” Cheryl believes that if children are bored, they will not come to school. “Why

must teaching only be conducted in a classroom? You can teach a child without him ever

coming to school.”

Steiner schools encourage creativity and free thinking so children can study art, music

and gardening as well as science and history. They don’t have to learn to read and write

at an early age. At some Steiner schools the teachers can’t use textbooks. They talk to the

children, who learn by listening. Every morning the children have to go to special music

and movement classes called “eurhythmy”, which help them learn to concentrate. Very

young children learn foreign languages through music and song. Another difference from

traditional schools is that at Steiner schools you don't have to do any tests or exams.

A child learning music with the Suzuki method has to start as young as possible. Even

two-year-old children can learn to play difficult pieces of classical music, often on the

violin. They do this by watching and listening. They learn by copying, just like they

learn their mother tongue. The child has to join in, but doesn't have to get it right. “They

soon learn that they mustn't stop every time they make a mistake. They just carry on,”

said one Suzuki trainer. The children have to practise for hours every day and they give

performances once a week, so they learn quickly. “The parents must be involved too,”

said the trainer, “or it just doesn't work.”

Question 1: Which of the following is NOT true about 24-hour teaching?

A. Students can come to school from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

B. Students can study online at night.

C. Students can choose the time to study.

D. Some students need to study in the morning and some need to study at night.

Question 2: According to Cheryl Heron, teaching ____.

A. should happen throughout the night

B. is not necessarily carried out in class

C. is for children who will not come to school

D. must be around the year

Question 3: Steiner schools don't ____.

A. encourage children's creativity and free thinking

B. allow teachers to teach things out of textbooks

C. teach reading and writing to young children

D. teach music to children

Question 4: Which of the following is TRUE about Steiner schools?

A. They are different from traditional schools.

B. Young children are not taught foreign languages.

C. Students must concentrate on music.

D. Students have to do exams and tests

Question 5: Which of the following is the most suitable title for the third paragraph?

A. Traditional ways of teaching

B. 24-hour teaching

C. Learn by listening

D. Starting young

Question 6: Students learning music with Suzuki method ____.

A. must learn difficult music .

B. like to learn their mother tongue

C. stop when they make mistakes

D. start at an early age

Question 7: The word “this” in paragraph 3 refers to ____.

A. starting as young as possible

B. the violin

C. playing difficult pieces of music

D. learning their mother tongue

Question 8: The word “involved” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ____.

A. engaged

B. encouraging

C. accepting

D. rejecting