Imagine a classroom missing the one thing that's long been considered a necessary part to
reading and writing paper.No notebooks,no textbooks,no test paper.Nor are there any pencils
or pens,which always seem to run out of ink at the critical moment.A"paperless classroom"is
what more and more schools are trying to achieve.
Students don't do any handwriting in this class.Instead,they use palm size,or
specially-designed computers.The teacher downloads texts from Internet libraries and sends
them to every student's personal computer.
Having computers also means that students can use the Web.They can look up information
on any subject they're studying from maths to social science.
High school teacher Judy Herrell in Florida,US,described how her class used the Web to
learn about the war in Afganistan(阿富汗) over one year ago.
"We could touch every side of the country through different sites from the forest to refugee
camps(难民营),"she said."Using a book that's three or four years old is impossible."
And exams can go online too.At a high school in Tennessee,US,students take tests on
their own computers.The teacher records the grades on the network for everyone to see and
then copies them to his own electronic grade book.
A paperless classroom is a big step towards reducing the waste of paper.High school
teacher Stephanie Sorrell in Kentucky US said she used to give about 900 pieces of paper
each week to each student.
"Think about the money and trees we could save with the computers,"she said.But,with
all this technology,there's always the risk that the machines will break_down.So, in case of
a power failure or technical problems, paper textbooks are still widely available(可用的) for
these hitech students.
1.What does the part of the last but one sentence in the first paragraph,"run out of ink at
the critical moment" mean?
A.Pens may not write welt at the critical moment.
B.Pens get lost easily,so you may not find them at the critical moment.
C.Pens may have little or no ink at the critical moment.
D.Pens use ink,while pencils don't.
2.In a paperless classroom, what is a must?
A.Pens.
B.Computers.
C.Information.
D.Texts.
3.The high school teacher，Judy Herrell，used the example of her class to show that________.
A.the Web could take them everywhere
B.the Web taught them a lot
C.the Web is a good tool for information
D.the Web，better than the textbooks，can give the latest and comprehensive(全面的) information
4.The paperless classrooms will benefit ________ the most.
A.students
B.teachers
C.trees
D.computers
5.What does the phrase in the last paragraph，“break down”，mean?
A.Break into pieces.
B.Stop working.
C.Fall down.
D.Lose control.
