PassageOne
Questions 46 to 50 arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
Forthousandsofyears, peoplehaveknownthatthebestwaytounderstandaconceptistoexplainittosomeoneelse. "Whileweteach, welearn," saidRomanphilosopherSeneca. Nowscientistsarebringingthisancientwisdomup-to-date. They'redocumentingwhyteachingissuchafruitfulwaytolearn, anddesigninginnovativewaysforyoungpeopletoengageininstruction.
Researchershavefoundthatstudentswhosignuptotutorothersworkhardertounderstandthematerial, recallitmoreaccuratelyandapplyitmoreeffectively. Studentteachersscorehigheronteststhanpupilswho'relearningonlyfortheirownsake. Buthowcanchildren, stilllearningthemselves, teachothers? Oneanswer: Theycantutoryoungerkids. Somestudieshavefoundthatfirst-bornchildrenaremoreintelligentthantheirlater-bornsiblings (兄弟姐妹). ThissuggeststheirhigherIQsresultfromthetimetheyspendteachingtheirsiblings. Noweducatorsareexperimentingwithwaystoapplythismodeltoacademicsubjects. Theyengagecollegeundergraduatestoteachcomputersciencetohighschoolstudents, whointurninstructmiddleschoolstudentsonthetopic.
Butthemostcutting-edgetoolunderdevelopmentisthe "teachableagent"—acomputerizedcharacterwholearns, tries, makesmistakesandasksquestionsjustlikeareal-worldpupil. Computerscientistshavecreatedananimated (动画的) figurecalledBetty'sBrain, whohasbeen "taught" aboutenvironmentalsciencebyhundredsofmiddleschoolstudents. StudentteachersaremotivatedtohelpBettymastercertainmaterials. Whilepreparingtoteach, theyorganizetheirknowledgeandimprovetheirownunderstanding. Andastheyexplaintheinformationtoit, theyidentifyproblemsintheirownthinking.
Feedbackfromtheteachableagentsfurtherenhancesthetutors'learning. Theagents'questionscompelstudenttutorstothinkandexplainthematerialsindifferentways, andwatchingtheagentsolveproblemsallowsthemtoseetheirknowledgeputintoaction.
Aboveall, it'stheemotionsoneexperiencesinteachingthatfacilitatelearning. Studenttutorsfeelupsetwhentheirteachableagentsfail, buthappywhenthesevirtualpupilssucceedastheyderiveprideandsatisfactionfromsomeoneelse'saccomplishment.
46. Whatareresearchersrediscoveringthroughtheirstudies?
A.Seneca'sthinkingisstillapplicabletoday.
B.Betterlearnerswillbecomebetterteachers.
C.Humanintelligencetendstogrowwithage.
D.Philosophicalthinkingimprovesinstruction.
47. WhatdowelearnaboutBetty'sBrain?
A.Itisacharacterinapopularanimation.
B.Itisateachingtoolunderdevelopment.
C.Itisacutting-edgeappindigitalgames.
D.Itisatutorforcomputersciencestudents.
48. Howdoesteachingothersbenefitstudenttutors?
A.Itmakesthemawareofwhattheyarestrongat.
B.Itmotivatesthemtotrynovelwaysofteaching.
C.Ithelpsthemlearntheiracademicsubjectsbetter.
D.Itenablesthemtobetterunderstandtheirteachers.
49. Whatdostudentsdototeachtheirteachableagents?
A.Theymotivatethemtothinkindependently.
B.Theyaskthemtodesigntheirownquestions.
C.Theyencouragethemtogivepromptfeedback.
D.Theyusevariouswaystoexplainthematerials.
50. Whatisthekeyfactorthateasesstudenttutors'learning?
A.Theirsenseofresponsibility.
B.Theiremotionalinvolvement.
C.Thelearningstrategyacquired.
D.Theteachingexperiencegained.