花体字书写重返加州学校

Handwriting Returns in California Schools

慢速 | 四级（高考）| 554词 | 5min45s

刘立军 供稿

Part I. QUESTIONS

Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

Q1. How old are the children in California required to learn cursive handwriting starting this year?

A. Three to six years old.

B. Six to twelve years old.

C. Ten to fifteen years old.

D. Twelve to eighteen years old.

Q2. Who signed Assembly Bill 446 into law?

A. A local mayor.

B. A federal judge.

C. A school principal.

D. A state governor.

Q3. Which statement best represents Pamela Keller’s view on teaching cursive?

A. It is unnecessary and outdated.

B. It is challenging but rewarding for students.

C. It should be optional for students.

D. It only benefits older students.

Q4. What does the reaction “It’s cursive!” from a student during a school library visit imply about the effects of learning cursive?

A. It reflects a sense of achievement and recognition.

B. It suggests an inability to recognize cursive writing.

C. It indicates confusion about historical documents.

D. It shows a preference for other forms of writing.

Q5. What is the primary reason behind the reintroduction of cursive handwriting in the educational system according to the text?

A. To preserve traditional writing styles.

B. To improve students’ artistic abilities.

C. To enhance brain development and related skills.

D. To ensure compliance with federal education standards.

Part II. TRANSCRIPT

Handwriting Returns in California Schools

(Q1) Starting this year, six-to-twelve-year olds in California will be required to learn cursive handwriting. The return to handwriting comes after many years in which typing on computer keyboards was taught and handwriting was pushed aside. Cursive is a kind of handwriting in which all the letters in a word are connected to each other.  

cursive handwriting 英文花体

Assembly Bill 446 requires that handwriting be taught to 2.6 million Californian students in grades one through six. And it requires cursive lessons in grades three and above. (Q2) Former elementary school teacher Sharon Quirk-Silva supported the bill and California Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law in October.

(Q5) Experts say learning cursive improves brain development, reading skills, and hand movement. Some educators also find value in teaching children to read historic documents and family letters from past generations.

Pamela Keller teaches grades four to six at Orangethorpe Elementary School in Fullerton about 50 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles. She said she was already teaching cursive before the law took effect on January 1. (Q3) Some children complain about the difficulty, but Keller has a ready answer: “We tell them, well, it’s going to make you smarter, it’s going to make some connections in your brain, and it’s going to help you move to the next level. And then they get excited because students want to be smarter. They want to learn,” Keller said.

(Q4) During a recent visit to the school library, Keller said one student got excited seeing an image of the U.S. Constitution, written in 1787, saying, “It’s cursive!” Several of Keller’s students say the subject was difficult, like the letter Z, but they enjoyed it anyways.

“I love it, because I just feel it’s fancier to write, and it’s fun to learn new letters,” said Sophie Guardia, a 9-year-old in the fourth grade. In teacher Nancy Karcher’s class, her third-grade students said, “It’s fun,” “Now I can read my mom’s writing,” and “It’s for my secrets.”

As computers and smart devices grew in popularity, cursive writing was pushed aside. In 2010, the national Common Core education standards were published to help students prepare for university. Cursive was left out. “They stopped teaching kids how to form any letters at all. Teacher colleges are not preparing teachers to teach handwriting,” said Kathleen Wright. She is the founder of the Handwriting Collective, a nonprofit group.

But cursive is coming back. California became the 22nd U.S. state to require cursive handwriting and the 14th to pass a cursive teaching bill since 2014, said Lauren Gendill. She is a researcher at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Five states have introduced cursive bills so far in 2024.

legislature n. 立法机关

Leslie Zoroya is project director for reading language arts at the Los Angeles County Office of Education. (Q5) She said research has shown that learning cursive supports several linked skills that improve childhood development. Zoroya said, “You’re using different neural networks when you’re doing cursive rather than printing. And so, it’s creating those pathways in your brain.”

neural adj. 神经的；神经系统的

Zoroya said she got the idea from former California Governor Jerry Brown. California’s teaching standards always had cursive writing goals, but Quirk-Silva said cursive was not always taught and was weakening. She said, “The hope of the legislation is that by the time students leave sixth grade, they would be able to read and write it.”

Part III. KEY

Q1. B. 细节题。文本提到：“Starting this year, six-to-twelve-year olds in California will be required to learn cursive handwriting.” 意为：“从今年开始，加利福尼亚州六到十二岁的孩子们将被要求学习花体字书写。” 因此答案为B。

Q2. D. 细节题。文章中提到：“Former elementary school teacher Sharon Quirk-Silva supported the bill and California Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law in October.” 意为：“前小学教师Sharon Quirk-Silva支持该提案，加州州长Gavin Newsom在十月将其签署成法。” 因此答案为D。

Q3. B. 细节题。文本提到：“Some children complain about the difficulty, but Keller has a ready answer: ‘We tell them, well, it’s going to make you smarter...’” 意为：“一些孩子抱怨这很困难，但Keller有准备好的回答：‘我们告诉他们，好吧，这将使你更聪明……’” 因此，可知Keller认为教授花体字书写虽然具有挑战性，但对学生有益。因此答案为B。

Q4. A. 推理题。文本描述了“During a recent visit to the school library, Keller said one student got excited seeing an image of the U.S. Constitution, written in 1787, saying, ‘It’s cursive!’”，即在学校图书馆参观期间，一个学生看到美国宪法的花体字书写时兴奋地说：“这是花体字书写！”， 这反映了学生因为能够识别并理解花体字而感到成就和认可。因此答案为A。

Q5. C. 主旨题。文本中提到“Experts say learning cursive improves brain development, reading skills, and hand movement.”以及“She said research has shown that learning cursive supports several linked skills that improve childhood development”，意为：“专家表示，学习花体字书写有助于促进大脑发育、提升阅读技能以及手部运动能力。”和“她说，研究表明学习花体字书写有助于培养多种相关技能，从而促进儿童成长。” 也就是说，重新引入花体字书写是为了促进大脑发展和相关技能。因此答案为C。

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