For Canaan Elementary’s second grade in Patchogue, N.Y.，today is speech day ,and right now it’s Chris Palaez’s turn. The 8-year-old is the joker of the class. With shining dark eyes, he seems like the of kid who would enjoy public speaking.
But he’s, nervous.“I’m here to tell you today why you should … should…”Chris trips on the“-ld,”a. pronunciation difficulty for many non-native English speakers. His teacher ,Thomas Whaley ,is next to him, whispering support.“…Vote for …me …”Except for some stumbles, Chris is doing amazingly well. When he brings his speech to a nice conclusion ,Whaley invites the rest of the class to praise him.
A son of immigrants, Chris stared learning English a little over three years ago. Whaley recalls(回想起)how at the beginning of the year，when called upon to read，Chris would excuse himself to go to the bathroom.
Learning English as a second language can be a painful experience. What you need is a great teacher who lets you make mistakes. “It takes a lot for any student，” Whaley explains，“especially for a student who is learning English as their new language，to feel confident enough to say，‘I don’t know，but I want to know.’”
Whaley got the idea of this second-grade presidential campaign project when he asked the children one day to raise their hands if they thought they could never be a president. The answer broke his heart. Whaley says the project is about more than just learning to read and speak in public. He wants these kids to learn to boast(夸耀)about themselves.
“Boasting about yourself，and your best qualities,” Whaley says，“is very difficult for a child who came into the classroom not feeling confident.”
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答案
A
解析
本文属于记叙文，讲述Thomas Whaley为了帮助学生学英语以及树立信心专门开展了一个演讲课程。 【详解】 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段Whaley says the project is about more than just learning to read and speak in public. He wants these kids to learn to boast about themselves.以及最后一段 “boasting about yourself, and your best qualities,” Whaley says, “is very difficult for a child who came into the classroom not feeling confident.”可知，这个课程不仅仅教孩子阅读以及公共演讲，还要让孩子学会夸耀自己，而夸耀自己对于那些进入教室没有信心的学生来说很困难，故可知，Whaley老师这么做是为了帮助学生认识自己的优势增加信心，故选A。