五、阅读理解
A few days ago, I received a letter from my Aunt Lorraine. It was a handwritten letter thanking me for some Shanghai cookies I had sent her: Aunt Lorraine is ninety-one years old and she has wonderful manners (礼仪). That is why she sent me the “thank-you” letter. She also has wonderful handwriting. Her penmanship (书法) is smooth. Each letter and word is perfectly formed. It is a pleasure to read her letters.
Aunt Lorraine was educated half a century ago. At that time, penmanship was seen as an important skill. Now, it is the age of email and social media (社交媒体). Few people have the time to practise their penmanship or write letters by hand.
It is a pity! In my view, good penmanship still counts. This is especially true in school. If you want to get good grades on your articles, neatness (整洁) will be important. Your paper might be full of good ideas. However, messy handwriting can turn an “A” into a “B”. Awful handwriting can get you a “D”!
Good penmanship has other benefits (好处) too. Since it's a skill, it trains your brain and develops your learning abilities (能力). It also helps you organize your thoughts. And, believe it or not, that slow process of pushing a pen along paper improves your reading, spelling and even your pronunciation of English.
Besides all these educational benefits, good penmanship also has personal benefits. A neatly written letter to a friend is something he or she will treasure (珍藏) forever. A letter that looks as if a chicken had danced across the paper will quickly end up in a bin. I have kept the letter from my Aunt Lorraine. It's a great treasure!
() 1. Why did Aunt Lorraine write the letter?
A. To make herself happy.
B. To show her wonderful manners.
C. To express her thanks.
D. To set a good example for the writer.
() 2. The underlined word “counts” means “be ”.
A. different B. successful C. valuable D. careful
() 3. Which of the following are the benefits of neat handwriting?
① Making new friends. ② Getting good grades on your paper.
③ Organizing your thoughts. ④ Improving your English pronunciation.
⑤ Making your paper full of good ideas.
A. ②③④ B. ①③④ C. ②④⑤ D. ①②⑤
() 4. The underlined part in the last paragraph is used to describe .
A. a boring letter B. bad handwriting
C. a great treasure D. good penmanship
() 5. What's the writer's purpose of writing this article?
A. To share her happiness of hearing from her aunt.
B. To express the importance of neat handwriting.
C. To talk about her experiences of practising penmanship.
D. To encourage people to write letters by hand instead of emailing.

1. C
2. C
3. A
4. B
5. B

【分析】
做这类英语阅读理解题，需先通读全文把握核心主旨，再针对每道题的题干关键词，回到原文定位对应内容，对比选项排除错误表述，选出符合原文的正确答案。具体思路如下：
1. 第1题：题干问Aunt Lorraine写信的原因，定位原文第一段相关内容即可找到依据；
2. 第2题：需结合上下文语境猜测划线词“counts”的含义，不能孤立理解；
3. 第3题：题干问好书法的好处，需定位原文中提到“benefits”的段落，提取对应信息；
4. 第4题：需结合划线句的比喻义及前后文逻辑，判断其描述的对象；
5. 第5题：需梳理全文结构，提炼作者的核心写作目的。
【解析】
1. 根据原文第一段“It was a handwritten letter thanking me for some Shanghai cookies I had sent her”，可知Aunt Lorraine写信是为了表达感谢，故选C；
2. 结合上下文，前文提到当下是社交媒体时代，后文列举了好书法的诸多益处，可推断“counts”意为“有价值的”，对应选项C；
3. 根据原文第三段“get good grades on your articles”（对应②）、第四段“helps you organize your thoughts”（对应③）、“improves your reading, spelling and even your pronunciation of English”（对应④），故②③④正确，选A；
4. 划线句“as if a chicken had danced across the paper”是比喻，结合前文“整洁的信会被珍藏，糟糕的信会被扔进垃圾桶”的逻辑，可知该句形容糟糕的书法，选B；
5. 全文围绕“好书法的重要性”展开，作者通过Aunt Lorraine的例子及列举好处，旨在表达好书法的价值，故选B。
【答案】
1. C
2. C
3. A
4. B
5. B
【知识点】
阅读理解（细节理解题）、词义猜测题、主旨大意题
【点评】
本文以Aunt Lorraine的感谢信为切入点，阐述了手写书法在当下的重要性及诸多益处，题型涵盖细节查找、词义猜测和主旨理解，符合初中英语阅读的常规考察方向，难度适中，学生可通过定位原文信息完成解答。
【难度系数】
0.6