In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In th

In ancient times the mostimportant examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancientGreece and Rome, testing usually was made up of saying poetry aloud and givingspeeches.

In the European universities ofthe Middle Ages, students who were working for advanced degrees had to discussquestions in their field of study with people who had made a special study ofthe subject. This custom exists today as part of the process of testingcandidates(应试者) for the doctor’s degree.

Generally, however, modernexaminations are written. The written examination, where all students aretested on the same questions, was probably not known until the nineteenthcentury. Perhaps it came into existence with the great increase in populationand the development of modern industry. A room full of candidates for a stateexamination timed exactly by electric clocks and carefully watched over bymanagers, looks like a group of workers at an automobile factory. Certainly,during examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines.

One type of test is sometimescalled an “objective” test. It is intended to deal with facts, not personalopinions. To make up an objective test, the teacher writes a series ofquestions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each questionthe teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look likeanswers to students who have not learned the material properly.

1.The main idea of ParagraphThree is that ___________ .

  A. workers now takeexaminations       B. the population has grown

  C. there are only writtenexams today     D. examinations are now written and timed

2.The kind of exams wherestudents must select answers are ___________ .

  A.objective        B.personal        C.spoken       D. written

3.Modern industry must havedeveloped ____________ .

  A. around the 19thcentury            B .before the Middle Ages

  C. in Greece orRome                D.machines to take tests

4.It may be concluded thattesting __________ .

  A. should test onlyopinions           B. shouldalways be written

C. is given only infactories           D. haschanged since the Middle Ages

试题答案

【答案】

1.D

2.A

3.A

4.D

【解析】略