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As computers become more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes (筆畫) of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.

Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as the primary school. And computer dependence is more wide?spread among university students. Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer.

All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.

Its faster and easier to correct if they use a computer. And thats why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.

“When Im writing with a pen, I find I often cant remember how to write a character, though I feel Im familiar with it.”

“Im not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”

Many students dont feel this is something to worry about. Now that its more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?

Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (審美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writers emotion. Through ones handwriting, people can get to know ones thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”

To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory (必修的) and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.

1. Why do the students interviewed prefer to write using a computer?

A. They are usually asked to e?mail their homework and essays.

B. They can correct the writing mistakes quickly and conveniently.

C. They find it not easy to remember how to write a character.

D. Computers have become a trend and fashion in China.

2. The underlined words “taking stock in” in Paragraph 4 probably mean “ ＿＿＿ ”.

A. getting bored with B. getting dependent on

C. becoming crazy about D. getting curious about

3. What may be the advantage of handwriting?

A. It shows the writers thinking. B. It gives away the writers age.

C. It helps to build ones personality. D. It promotes peoples aesthetic ability.

4. We can draw the conclusion from the passage that ＿＿＿ .

A. writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day

B. more and more students will give up writing on a computer

C. the typing article better expresses ones emotion and quality

D. more and more students will pay attention to handwriting