Choose the best answer for each o f the follozving questions ac cor di Jig to the text.Choosing Not to Go to College1.True,going to college for four years can be an enriching，eye-opening experience. True, a bachelor's degree is still an asset if you're trying to make it in America. It's also a must for many creme de la creme careers.2.But not all kids are cut out for college, despite the expectations of their parents or teachers. And, especially in the brave new world of the 21st century, not all kids need to go to college right after high school — or succeed, says J. Michael Farr, America's Top Jobs for People Four-Year Degree.3."The mythology here is that everybody has to go to college to do well. Not true," says Farr. "This generation is a little bit better off than ours. But there are so many more options. It s more complex now."4.A boom economy coupled with dramatic changes in technology has created entirely new jobs and expanded opportunities in age-old professions. Many of these occupations — from computer programmers and Web page designers to chefs and police officers — don't require a bachelor's degree. Neither do many good jobs in the arts, crafts, skilled trades, construction. service industry,science, and health fields. Such jobs include： aircraft mechanic, cardiovascular1 technologist, electronic technician, law clerk,registered nurse,sales rep,secretary, travel agent...the list goes on.5.Jenna Norvell, 21, is now full of career ideas thanks to a ten-month cosmetology, program she attended this year [2000] at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis.She paid $9,865 for tuition and about $ 6,000 more in expenses, including rent for a one-bedroom apartment she shared with another student. Although Norvell got lots of career leads from salon recruiters at a career fair hosted by the institute, she didn't meet any from California — where she wants to live. So she plans to find a job out West on her own, perhaps in television or maybe doing makeup for fashion shows. Or selling cosmetics. Or managing a salon."You'd be surprised how many occupations there are in this field," says Norvell.6.High school students often don't understand there are so many options available to them, says Farr."That's a shame. People who are interested in various things really can earn a decent living even if they don't want to go to college."7.It's still true that people with more education, on average, earn more money. But 28 per cent of workers without a four-year degree earn more than the average worker with a bachelor's degree, according :o Harlow G. Unger, author of But What if I Don't Want to Go to College? a guide to educational alternatives to college. And more and more computer-savvy young people are skipping college to join the high-tech revolution as computer network engineers9 Internet entrepreneurs，and game designers.8.Don't get the wrong idea. This doesn't mean you can waltz right into a great job straight out of high school with no skills, training, or effort. To get a good job without a four-year degree, you still must have at least a solid high school education. "Even if you think you're not going to college, you still need to pay attentionsays Farr. "You need to know how to be part of a team, how to communicate effectively verbally 9 how to learn."9.And chances are, you will need training after high school through some form of alternative career education. Only four of the fastest growing occupations in the United States require a four-year degree or more, says Unger. But many of the others — home health aides, building maintenance» teaching aides — require post-high-school training.10.Which vocational education and training you'll need — and the cost — depends upon the vocation you choose. Public community colleges offer some of the best vocational training, often specializing in areas such as the graphic arts, hotel and restaurant management, and building trades, according to Unger. Fulltime tuition averages $ 1,200 a year, although the range from state-to-state is $ 600 to $3,500. Vocational training at technical institutes will be costlier. Private junior colleges average $7,000 a year, according to Unger. Tuition for private-for-profit trade schools that usually specialize in one field, such as hair-styling or auto mechanics, varies widely, and Unger warns students to be wary of unethical operators.11.Not just any vocational education or training will do. The trick is to find reputable, high-quality programs and to avoid con artists and dead-end programs, advises Unger. Look for programs that are accredited , offer in-depth academic and vocational instruction, teach real skills for real jobs,provide hands-on work experience, help students in job-hunting,and are linked to potential employers.12.Too often, Unger argues, parents push their reluctant children to go to college. Many drop out. "We are forcing hundreds of thousands of kids to go to college and they clearly do not want to be there," he says.13.What about high school graduates who don't want college and don't know what to do next? Start by visiting your school guidance office or library to thumb through The Occupational Outlook Handbook published every two years by the U.S. Labor Department. It offers nuts-and-bolts descriptions of jobs and the training required.14.Think about what interests you — sports, music, gardening, whatever — and what jobs let you pursue that interest, advises Unger. Visit people who do these jobs. Ask questions.15.For example, a high school graduate who loves animals might find a great job grooming dogs in a kennel. But she may outgrow the grooming job. That day, she may decide to go to college to become a veterinarian. "A lot of kids who say they don't want to go to college wind up going anyway, lateron," says Unger.8.When you are looking for an institution to get vocational training,you should look for all of the following aspects except that ______.

Choose the best answer for each o f the follozving questions ac cor di Jig to the text.Choosing Not to Go to College1.True,going to college for four years can be an enriching，eye-opening experience. True, a bachelor's degree is still an asset if you're trying to make it in America. It's also a must for many creme de la creme careers.2.But not all kids are cut out for college, despite the expectations of their parents or teachers. And, especially in the brave new world of the 21st century, not all kids need to go to college right after high school — or succeed, says J. Michael Farr, America's Top Jobs for People Four-Year Degree.3."The mythology here is that everybody has to go to college to do well. Not true," says Farr. "This generation is a little bit better off than ours. But there are so many more options. It s more complex now."4.A boom economy coupled with dramatic changes in technology has created entirely new jobs and expanded opportunities in age-old professions. Many of these occupations — from computer programmers and Web page designers to chefs and police officers — don't require a bachelor's degree. Neither do many good jobs in the arts, crafts, skilled trades, construction. service industry,science, and health fields. Such jobs include： aircraft mechanic, cardiovascular1 technologist, electronic technician, law clerk,registered nurse,sales rep,secretary, travel agent...the list goes on.5.Jenna Norvell, 21, is now full of career ideas thanks to a ten-month cosmetology, program she attended this year [2000] at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis.She paid $9,865 for tuition and about $ 6,000 more in expenses, including rent for a one-bedroom apartment she shared with another student. Although Norvell got lots of career leads from salon recruiters at a career fair hosted by the institute, she didn't meet any from California — where she wants to live. So she plans to find a job out West on her own, perhaps in television or maybe doing makeup for fashion shows. Or selling cosmetics. Or managing a salon."You'd be surprised how many occupations there are in this field," says Norvell.6.High school students often don't understand there are so many options available to them, says Farr."That's a shame. People who are interested in various things really can earn a decent living even if they don't want to go to college."7.It's still true that people with more education, on average, earn more money. But 28 per cent of workers without a four-year degree earn more than the average worker with a bachelor's degree, according :o Harlow G. Unger, author of But What if I Don't Want to Go to College? a guide to educational alternatives to college. And more and more computer-savvy young people are skipping college to join the high-tech revolution as computer network engineers9 Internet entrepreneurs，and game designers.8.Don't get the wrong idea. This doesn't mean you can waltz right into a great job straight out of high school with no skills, training, or effort. To get a good job without a four-year degree, you still must have at least a solid high school education. "Even if you think you're not going to college, you still need to pay attentionsays Farr. "You need to know how to be part of a team, how to communicate effectively verbally 9 how to learn."9.And chances are, you will need training after high school through some form of alternative career education. Only four of the fastest growing occupations in the United States require a four-year degree or more, says Unger. But many of the others — home health aides, building maintenance» teaching aides — require post-high-school training.10.Which vocational education and training you'll need — and the cost — depends upon the vocation you choose. Public community colleges offer some of the best vocational training, often specializing in areas such as the graphic arts, hotel and restaurant management, and building trades, according to Unger. Fulltime tuition averages $ 1,200 a year, although the range from state-to-state is $ 600 to $3,500. Vocational training at technical institutes will be costlier. Private junior colleges average $7,000 a year, according to Unger. Tuition for private-for-profit trade schools that usually specialize in one field, such as hair-styling or auto mechanics, varies widely, and Unger warns students to be wary of unethical operators.11.Not just any vocational education or training will do. The trick is to find reputable, high-quality programs and to avoid con artists and dead-end programs, advises Unger. Look for programs that are accredited , offer in-depth academic and vocational instruction, teach real skills for real jobs,provide hands-on work experience, help students in job-hunting,and are linked to potential employers.12.Too often, Unger argues, parents push their reluctant children to go to college. Many drop out. "We are forcing hundreds of thousands of kids to go to college and they clearly do not want to be there," he says.13.What about high school graduates who don't want college and don't know what to do next? Start by visiting your school guidance office or library to thumb through The Occupational Outlook Handbook published every two years by the U.S. Labor Department. It offers nuts-and-bolts descriptions of jobs and the training required.14.Think about what interests you — sports, music, gardening, whatever — and what jobs let you pursue that interest, advises Unger. Visit people who do these jobs. Ask questions.15.For example, a high school graduate who loves animals might find a great job grooming dogs in a kennel. But she may outgrow the grooming job. That day, she may decide to go to college to become a veterinarian. "A lot of kids who say they don't want to go to college wind up going anyway, lateron," says Unger.9.The first step high school graduates can do is ______.

Choose the best answer for each o f the follozving questions ac cor di Jig to the text.Choosing Not to Go to College1.True,going to college for four years can be an enriching，eye-opening experience. True, a bachelor's degree is still an asset if you're trying to make it in America. It's also a must for many creme de la creme careers.2.But not all kids are cut out for college, despite the expectations of their parents or teachers. And, especially in the brave new world of the 21st century, not all kids need to go to college right after high school — or succeed, says J. Michael Farr, America's Top Jobs for People Four-Year Degree.3."The mythology here is that everybody has to go to college to do well. Not true," says Farr. "This generation is a little bit better off than ours. But there are so many more options. It s more complex now."4.A boom economy coupled with dramatic changes in technology has created entirely new jobs and expanded opportunities in age-old professions. Many of these occupations — from computer programmers and Web page designers to chefs and police officers — don't require a bachelor's degree. Neither do many good jobs in the arts, crafts, skilled trades, construction. service industry,science, and health fields. Such jobs include： aircraft mechanic, cardiovascular1 technologist, electronic technician, law clerk,registered nurse,sales rep,secretary, travel agent...the list goes on.5.Jenna Norvell, 21, is now full of career ideas thanks to a ten-month cosmetology, program she attended this year [2000] at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis.She paid $9,865 for tuition and about $ 6,000 more in expenses, including rent for a one-bedroom apartment she shared with another student. Although Norvell got lots of career leads from salon recruiters at a career fair hosted by the institute, she didn't meet any from California — where she wants to live. So she plans to find a job out West on her own, perhaps in television or maybe doing makeup for fashion shows. Or selling cosmetics. Or managing a salon."You'd be surprised how many occupations there are in this field," says Norvell.6.High school students often don't understand there are so many options available to them, says Farr."That's a shame. People who are interested in various things really can earn a decent living even if they don't want to go to college."7.It's still true that people with more education, on average, earn more money. But 28 per cent of workers without a four-year degree earn more than the average worker with a bachelor's degree, according :o Harlow G. Unger, author of But What if I Don't Want to Go to College? a guide to educational alternatives to college. And more and more computer-savvy young people are skipping college to join the high-tech revolution as computer network engineers9 Internet entrepreneurs，and game designers.8.Don't get the wrong idea. This doesn't mean you can waltz right into a great job straight out of high school with no skills, training, or effort. To get a good job without a four-year degree, you still must have at least a solid high school education. "Even if you think you're not going to college, you still need to pay attentionsays Farr. "You need to know how to be part of a team, how to communicate effectively verbally 9 how to learn."9.And chances are, you will need training after high school through some form of alternative career education. Only four of the fastest growing occupations in the United States require a four-year degree or more, says Unger. But many of the others — home health aides, building maintenance» teaching aides — require post-high-school training.10.Which vocational education and training you'll need — and the cost — depends upon the vocation you choose. Public community colleges offer some of the best vocational training, often specializing in areas such as the graphic arts, hotel and restaurant management, and building trades, according to Unger. Fulltime tuition averages $ 1,200 a year, although the range from state-to-state is $ 600 to $3,500. Vocational training at technical institutes will be costlier. Private junior colleges average $7,000 a year, according to Unger. Tuition for private-for-profit trade schools that usually specialize in one field, such as hair-styling or auto mechanics, varies widely, and Unger warns students to be wary of unethical operators.11.Not just any vocational education or training will do. The trick is to find reputable, high-quality programs and to avoid con artists and dead-end programs, advises Unger. Look for programs that are accredited , offer in-depth academic and vocational instruction, teach real skills for real jobs,provide hands-on work experience, help students in job-hunting,and are linked to potential employers.12.Too often, Unger argues, parents push their reluctant children to go to college. Many drop out. "We are forcing hundreds of thousands of kids to go to college and they clearly do not want to be there," he says.13.What about high school graduates who don't want college and don't know what to do next? Start by visiting your school guidance office or library to thumb through The Occupational Outlook Handbook published every two years by the U.S. Labor Department. It offers nuts-and-bolts descriptions of jobs and the training required.14.Think about what interests you — sports, music, gardening, whatever — and what jobs let you pursue that interest, advises Unger. Visit people who do these jobs. Ask questions.15.For example, a high school graduate who loves animals might find a great job grooming dogs in a kennel. But she may outgrow the grooming job. That day, she may decide to go to college to become a veterinarian. "A lot of kids who say they don't want to go to college wind up going anyway, lateron," says Unger.10.The point implied in the last paragraph is that ______.

Choose the best answer for each of the following questions according to the text.Computers Cannot Teach Children Basic Skills1.Computers should be in the schools.They have the potential to accomplish great things. With the right software, they could help make science tangible or teach neglected topics like art and music.They could help students form a concrete idea of society by displaying onscreen a version of the city in which they live — a picture that tracks real life moment by moment.2.In practice, however, computers make our worst educational nightmares come true. While we bemoan the decline of literacy,computers discount words in favor of pictures and pictures in favor of video. While we fret about the decreasing cogency of public debate, computers dismiss linear argument and promote fast, shallow romps across the information landscape. While we worry about basic skills, we allow into the classroom software that will do a student's arithmetic or correct his spelling.3.Take multimedia. The idea of multimedia is to combine text, sound and pictures in a single package that you browse on screen.You don't just read Shakespeare； you watch actors performing, listen to songs, view Elizabethan buildings. What's wrong with that? By offering children candy-coated books, multimedia is guaranteed to sour them on unsweetened reading. It makes the printed page look even more boring than it used to look. Sure, books will be available in the classroom, too — but they'll have all the appeal of a dusty piano to a teen who has a Walkman handy.4.So what if the little nippers don't read? If they're watching Olivier instead, what do they lose? The text,the written word along with all of its attendant pleasures. Besides, a book is more portable than a computer, has a higher-resolution display, can be written on and dog-eared and is comparatively dirt cheap.5.Hypermedia,multimedia's comrade in the struggle for a brave new classroom, is just as troubling. It's a way of presenting documents on screen without imposing a linear start-to-finish order. Disembodied, paragraphs are linked by theme； after reading one about the First World War, for example, you might be able to choose another about the technology of battleships, or the life of Woodrow Wilson, or hemlines in the 20s.This is another cute idea that is good in minor ways and terrible in major ones. Teaching children to understand the orderly unfolding of a plot or a logical argument is a crucial part of education. Authors don't merely agglomerate paragraphs； they work hard to make the narrative read a certain way, prove a particular point. To turn a book or a document into hypertext is to invite readers to ignore exactly what counts — the story.6.The real problem, again, is the accentuation of already bad hab its. Dynamiting documents into disjointed paragraphs is one more expression of the sorry fact that sustained'argument is not our style. If you're a newspaper or magazine editor and your readership is dwindling,what's the solution? Shorter pieces. If you're a politician and you want to get elected, what do you need? Tasty sound bites. Logical presentation be damned.7.Another software species, "allow me" programs, is not much better. These programs correct spelling and, by applying canned grammatical and stylistic rules, fix prose. In terms of promoting basic skills, though, they have all the virtues of a pocket calculator.8.In Kentucky, as the Wall Street Journal reported, students in grades K-3 are mixed together regardless of age in a relaxed environment. It works great, the Journal says. Yes, scores on computation tests have dropped 10 per cent at one school, but not to worry： "Drilling addition and subtraction in an age of calculators is a waste of time." the principal reassures us. Meanwhile, a Japanese educator informs University of Wisconsin mathematician Richard Akey that in his country,"calculators are not used in elementary or junior high school because the primary emphasis is on helping students develop their mental abilities." No wonder Japanese kids blow the pants off American kids in math. Do we really think "drilling addition and subtraction in an age of calculators is a waste of time"? If we do, then "drilling reading in an age of multimedia is a waste of time" can t be far behind.9.Prose-correcting programs are also a little ghoulish Jike asking a computer for tips on improving your personality. On the other hand. I ran this viewpoint through a spell-checker, so how can I ban the use of such programs in schools? Because to misspell is human； to have no idea of correct spelling is to be semiliterate".10.There's no denying that computers have the potential to perform inspiring feats in the classroom. If we are ever to see that potential realized, however, we ought to agree on three conditions. First, there should be a completely new crop of children's software. Most of today's offerings show no imagination. There are hundreds of similar readings and geography and arithmetic programs, but almost nothing on electricity or physics or architecture. Also, they abuse the technical capacities of new media to glitz up old forms instead of creating new ones. Why not build a time-travel program that gives kids a feel for how history is structured by zooming you backward? A spectrum, program that lets users twirl a frequency knob to see what happens?11.Second, computers should be used only during recess or relaxation periods. Treat them as fillips, not as surrogate teachers. When I was in school in the 60s, we all loved educational films. When we saw a movie in class, everybody won： teachers didn't have to teach, and pupils didn't have to learn. I suspect that classroom computers are popular today for the same reasons.12.Most important, educators should learn what parents and most teachers already know： you cannot teach a child anything unless you look him in the face. We should not forget what computers are. Like books — better in some ways, worse in others — they are devices that help children mobilize their own resources and learn for themselves. The computer s potential to do good is modestly greater than a book's in some areas. Its potential to do harm is vastly greater, across the board.1.Which of the following is NOT an accusation of the use of computers in teaching children by the author?

Choose the best answer for each of the following questions according to the text.Computers Cannot Teach Children Basic Skills1.Computers should be in the schools.They have the potential to accomplish great things. With the right software, they could help make science tangible or teach neglected topics like art and music.They could help students form a concrete idea of society by displaying onscreen a version of the city in which they live — a picture that tracks real life moment by moment.2.In practice, however, computers make our worst educational nightmares come true. While we bemoan the decline of literacy,computers discount words in favor of pictures and pictures in favor of video. While we fret about the decreasing cogency of public debate, computers dismiss linear argument and promote fast, shallow romps across the information landscape. While we worry about basic skills, we allow into the classroom software that will do a student's arithmetic or correct his spelling.3.Take multimedia. The idea of multimedia is to combine text, sound and pictures in a single package that you browse on screen.You don't just read Shakespeare； you watch actors performing, listen to songs, view Elizabethan buildings. What's wrong with that? By offering children candy-coated books, multimedia is guaranteed to sour them on unsweetened reading. It makes the printed page look even more boring than it used to look. Sure, books will be available in the classroom, too — but they'll have all the appeal of a dusty piano to a teen who has a Walkman handy.4.So what if the little nippers don't read? If they're watching Olivier instead, what do they lose? The text,the written word along with all of its attendant pleasures. Besides, a book is more portable than a computer, has a higher-resolution display, can be written on and dog-eared and is comparatively dirt cheap.5.Hypermedia,multimedia's comrade in the struggle for a brave new classroom, is just as troubling. It's a way of presenting documents on screen without imposing a linear start-to-finish order. Disembodied, paragraphs are linked by theme； after reading one about the First World War, for example, you might be able to choose another about the technology of battleships, or the life of Woodrow Wilson, or hemlines in the 20s.This is another cute idea that is good in minor ways and terrible in major ones. Teaching children to understand the orderly unfolding of a plot or a logical argument is a crucial part of education. Authors don't merely agglomerate paragraphs； they work hard to make the narrative read a certain way, prove a particular point. To turn a book or a document into hypertext is to invite readers to ignore exactly what counts — the story.6.The real problem, again, is the accentuation of already bad hab its. Dynamiting documents into disjointed paragraphs is one more expression of the sorry fact that sustained'argument is not our style. If you're a newspaper or magazine editor and your readership is dwindling,what's the solution? Shorter pieces. If you're a politician and you want to get elected, what do you need? Tasty sound bites. Logical presentation be damned.7.Another software species, "allow me" programs, is not much better. These programs correct spelling and, by applying canned grammatical and stylistic rules, fix prose. In terms of promoting basic skills, though, they have all the virtues of a pocket calculator.8.In Kentucky, as the Wall Street Journal reported, students in grades K-3 are mixed together regardless of age in a relaxed environment. It works great, the Journal says. Yes, scores on computation tests have dropped 10 per cent at one school, but not to worry： "Drilling addition and subtraction in an age of calculators is a waste of time." the principal reassures us. Meanwhile, a Japanese educator informs University of Wisconsin mathematician Richard Akey that in his country,"calculators are not used in elementary or junior high school because the primary emphasis is on helping students develop their mental abilities." No wonder Japanese kids blow the pants off American kids in math. Do we really think "drilling addition and subtraction in an age of calculators is a waste of time"? If we do, then "drilling reading in an age of multimedia is a waste of time" can t be far behind.9.Prose-correcting programs are also a little ghoulish Jike asking a computer for tips on improving your personality. On the other hand. I ran this viewpoint through a spell-checker, so how can I ban the use of such programs in schools? Because to misspell is human； to have no idea of correct spelling is to be semiliterate".10.There's no denying that computers have the potential to perform inspiring feats in the classroom. If we are ever to see that potential realized, however, we ought to agree on three conditions. First, there should be a completely new crop of children's software. Most of today's offerings show no imagination. There are hundreds of similar readings and geography and arithmetic programs, but almost nothing on electricity or physics or architecture. Also, they abuse the technical capacities of new media to glitz up old forms instead of creating new ones. Why not build a time-travel program that gives kids a feel for how history is structured by zooming you backward? A spectrum, program that lets users twirl a frequency knob to see what happens?11.Second, computers should be used only during recess or relaxation periods. Treat them as fillips, not as surrogate teachers. When I was in school in the 60s, we all loved educational films. When we saw a movie in class, everybody won： teachers didn't have to teach, and pupils didn't have to learn. I suspect that classroom computers are popular today for the same reasons.12.Most important, educators should learn what parents and most teachers already know： you cannot teach a child anything unless you look him in the face. We should not forget what computers are. Like books — better in some ways, worse in others — they are devices that help children mobilize their own resources and learn for themselves. The computer s potential to do good is modestly greater than a book's in some areas. Its potential to do harm is vastly greater, across the board.2.Which of the following is the idea of multimedia according to the passage?

Choose the best answer for each of the following questions according to the text.Computers Cannot Teach Children Basic Skills1.Computers should be in the schools.They have the potential to accomplish great things. With the right software, they could help make science tangible or teach neglected topics like art and music.They could help students form a concrete idea of society by displaying onscreen a version of the city in which they live — a picture that tracks real life moment by moment.2.In practice, however, computers make our worst educational nightmares come true. While we bemoan the decline of literacy,computers discount words in favor of pictures and pictures in favor of video. While we fret about the decreasing cogency of public debate, computers dismiss linear argument and promote fast, shallow romps across the information landscape. While we worry about basic skills, we allow into the classroom software that will do a student's arithmetic or correct his spelling.3.Take multimedia. The idea of multimedia is to combine text, sound and pictures in a single package that you browse on screen.You don't just read Shakespeare； you watch actors performing, listen to songs, view Elizabethan buildings. What's wrong with that? By offering children candy-coated books, multimedia is guaranteed to sour them on unsweetened reading. It makes the printed page look even more boring than it used to look. Sure, books will be available in the classroom, too — but they'll have all the appeal of a dusty piano to a teen who has a Walkman handy.4.So what if the little nippers don't read? If they're watching Olivier instead, what do they lose? The text,the written word along with all of its attendant pleasures. Besides, a book is more portable than a computer, has a higher-resolution display, can be written on and dog-eared and is comparatively dirt cheap.5.Hypermedia,multimedia's comrade in the struggle for a brave new classroom, is just as troubling. It's a way of presenting documents on screen without imposing a linear start-to-finish order. Disembodied, paragraphs are linked by theme； after reading one about the First World War, for example, you might be able to choose another about the technology of battleships, or the life of Woodrow Wilson, or hemlines in the 20s.This is another cute idea that is good in minor ways and terrible in major ones. Teaching children to understand the orderly unfolding of a plot or a logical argument is a crucial part of education. Authors don't merely agglomerate paragraphs； they work hard to make the narrative read a certain way, prove a particular point. To turn a book or a document into hypertext is to invite readers to ignore exactly what counts — the story.6.The real problem, again, is the accentuation of already bad hab its. Dynamiting documents into disjointed paragraphs is one more expression of the sorry fact that sustained'argument is not our style. If you're a newspaper or magazine editor and your readership is dwindling,what's the solution? Shorter pieces. If you're a politician and you want to get elected, what do you need? Tasty sound bites. Logical presentation be damned.7.Another software species, "allow me" programs, is not much better. These programs correct spelling and, by applying canned grammatical and stylistic rules, fix prose. In terms of promoting basic skills, though, they have all the virtues of a pocket calculator.8.In Kentucky, as the Wall Street Journal reported, students in grades K-3 are mixed together regardless of age in a relaxed environment. It works great, the Journal says. Yes, scores on computation tests have dropped 10 per cent at one school, but not to worry： "Drilling addition and subtraction in an age of calculators is a waste of time." the principal reassures us. Meanwhile, a Japanese educator informs University of Wisconsin mathematician Richard Akey that in his country,"calculators are not used in elementary or junior high school because the primary emphasis is on helping students develop their mental abilities." No wonder Japanese kids blow the pants off American kids in math. Do we really think "drilling addition and subtraction in an age of calculators is a waste of time"? If we do, then "drilling reading in an age of multimedia is a waste of time" can t be far behind.9.Prose-correcting programs are also a little ghoulish Jike asking a computer for tips on improving your personality. On the other hand. I ran this viewpoint through a spell-checker, so how can I ban the use of such programs in schools? Because to misspell is human； to have no idea of correct spelling is to be semiliterate".10.There's no denying that computers have the potential to perform inspiring feats in the classroom. If we are ever to see that potential realized, however, we ought to agree on three conditions. First, there should be a completely new crop of children's software. Most of today's offerings show no imagination. There are hundreds of similar readings and geography and arithmetic programs, but almost nothing on electricity or physics or architecture. Also, they abuse the technical capacities of new media to glitz up old forms instead of creating new ones. Why not build a time-travel program that gives kids a feel for how history is structured by zooming you backward? A spectrum, program that lets users twirl a frequency knob to see what happens?11.Second, computers should be used only during recess or relaxation periods. Treat them as fillips, not as surrogate teachers. When I was in school in the 60s, we all loved educational films. When we saw a movie in class, everybody won： teachers didn't have to teach, and pupils didn't have to learn. I suspect that classroom computers are popular today for the same reasons.12.Most important, educators should learn what parents and most teachers already know： you cannot teach a child anything unless you look him in the face. We should not forget what computers are. Like books — better in some ways, worse in others — they are devices that help children mobilize their own resources and learn for themselves. The computer s potential to do good is modestly greater than a book's in some areas. Its potential to do harm is vastly greater, across the board.3.The author uses the comparison between a dusty piano and a walkman as ______.