Which one of the following is NOT the reason for an overall lack of teaching Darwin's theory?A．Teaching of creationism diminishes teaching of evolution.B．Teachers are not required to teach Darwin's theory.C．teachers often leave out the teaching of evoluti

Defending the Theory of Evolution Still Seems Needed

Judith S. Weis, a biology professor who serves as president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is leading a nationwide effort to "defend" the theory of evolution. Weis leads the effort in the face of what the institute views as opposition and indifference from school boards and government entities.

The Institute believes that the teaching of evolution in America is being diminished by the teaching of creationism as well as by an overall lack of teaching Darwin's theory in high school. "There's nothing that requires schools to teach evolution. Sometimes teachers in high schools just leave it out. However from the point of view of biologists, evolution is the central theory of biology upon which everything is based," said Weis. "Unfortunately, teaching evolution has become a political issue in many parts of the country and AIBS, as a representative of biologists, wanted to be a major force speaking out in favor of its teaching. "

Weis said the institute is working together with the American Geological Institute and the National Association of Biology Teachers and its 80-plus member organizations to address" the political and legislative threats to teaching evolution. In states challenging its teaching, the institute responds by sending letters to school boards and state legislatures, by providing testimony at public meetings and by notifying members and affiliated organizations. AIBS, with more than 80 member societies and 250,000 members, has established an email system enabling scientists and teachers in each state, and member societies, to keep each other informed about threats to the teaching of evolution.

Darwin's theory of evolution holds that living things change and adapt to their environment and that present-day species ( including human beings) are descended from earlier species through modification by natural selection. The theory has been accepted by scientists for nearly 100 years, Weis said, and has been refined, extended and strengthened over the years by findings in paleontology and developmental biology. Discoveries in genetics, molecular biology and genomics—all of which provide significant benefits for human health—would not be possible without the underlying knowledge of evolution. And, Weis adds, "modem molecular biology and genomics have increased our understanding of how evolution works." Nonetheless, evolution remains a politically, if not scientifically, controversial issue.

Weis said that this year alone, seven states have had either local or statewide efforts to water down the teaching of evolution, or "balance" it with the teaching of creationism—a religious belief that different species were created separately by a higher power, such as God. "Rarely does anyone now use the word ' creationism, ' because that's too obvious," Weis said. "The current terminology is ' intelligent design. ' "

According to the first paragraph, which of the following statements about the theory or evolution is true?

A．Government entities support AIBS's effort to defend the theory of evolution.

B．School boards oppose AIBS's effort to defend the theory of evolution.

C．AIBS and school boards advocate the teaching of the theory of evolution.

D．The theory of evolution and that of creationism co-exist peacefully in schools.

The overall goal of the book is to help bridge the gap between research and teaching.()

Schools in the U.S. generally do not have a specific teaching plan for teachers to follow, and they certainly don’t have a set of textbooks that are taught by all school districts throughout the country. That’s why textbooks vary greatly from school to school, and from teacher to teacher even though they are all teaching the same subject in the same grade. Some schools provide books to use, but teachers do not strictly follow them. They only use them as a reference, and enjoy pointing out mistakes and wrong information given in the books. They often share their own points of view with their students. Teaching like this has many advantages. Teachers can bring out their expertise, fully elaborating their most familiar areas. Students are more interested in what they are studying. Also this flexible teaching style. benefits students in the development of critical thinking skills and the ability to apply them. On the other hand teaching like this also has many drawbacks. It causes uneven study levels. It is even more so among different schools and districts. Students in the same grade do not usually have a thorough understanding of a subject taught in the same school year. The teacher for the following year would have to spend a lot of time finding out what the students already know or do not know in the subject before starting his/her own teaching plan. Some parts may be repeated, resulting in waste of time; and other parts may not be covered at all.

Exams in American schools are much less rigid than those in China. Teaching is flexible, so are exams. Even if you memorized the whole textbook, it might not be of much help in the exams. My Chinese friend envied me for nothaving to worry about the competition for attending the best schools by takingendless exams.

(1) What are advantages of the flexible teaching style?

A、It benefits students in the development of critical thinking skills.

B、Teachers can bring out their expertise.

C、Students may have freedom in study.

D、Both A and B.

(2) The flexible teaching style. ______.

A、may cause troubles to the teacher for the following year.

B、usually helps students to have a thorough understanding of a subject

C、makes the exam easy.

D、may save teachers’time

(3) The word drawbacks (paragraph 2) means______.

A、mistakes

B、difficulties

C、disadvantages

D、troubles

(4) From the passage we are told American teachers______.

A、have to follow a specific teaching plan.

B、dislike pointing out mistakes and wrong information given in the books.

C、teaching the same subject may use different textbooks.

D、strictly follow books provided by schools.

(5) This article is mainly about ______.

A、the advantages and disadvantages of the flexible teaching style

B、American schools

C、American teachers

D、teaching methods in American schools

Which is not the reason for the startling of the visiting teacher in an Asian country?

A、The students were too noisy and naughty.

B、The art teacher was too strict.

C、The teaching methods were very different from the ways of teaching in her own country.

D、She feels uncomfortable in the new place.

此题为判断题(对，错)。