考研英語教育類閱讀理解練習
考研的英語文章,我們主要看的是閱讀理解,關於教育的。下面是小編給大家整理的,供大家參閱!
:THE TUITION TAMERS
After years of sharp increases, some colleges are trying to ease the burden on middle-class families
THESE HAVE BEEN THE ,BEST OF TIMES for many of the nation’s top universit
ies-and the worst of times for middle income families struggling to afford them. Thanks to a robust stock market, school endowments have ballooned. Yet few institutions have held down steep increases in tuition. But that may be changing.
Williams College, a prestigious liberal arts school in Massachusetts, announced last month that for the first time in 46 years, its tuition would remain steady at $31,520. Last week students at Princeton University learned that their annual $31,599 tuition, room and board will rise just 3.3%-the smallest hike in 30 years.
These shows of restraint may signal a turnaround from the whopping tuition increases of recent years, as some schools now consider using their endowments to control price hikes. Since 1980, college costs have more than doubled, after adjustment for inflation, while the median income of families with college-age children has increased only 12%. Last year tuition rose an average of 4.6%, the lowest jump in 12 years-but still more than twice the rate of inflation. "Remaining affordable for middle-class parents is the 800-lb. gorilla facing colleges and universities," says Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education in Washington.
Williams held its tuition flat by paying more of its bills with the investment profits on its $1.1 billion endowment and with contributions from alumni. But college officials who oppose using endowments to freeze tuition say the students most vulnerable to hikes are not affected by them. "If we were to keep tuition constant, would it change the situation here for students in need?" asks Princeton president Harold Shapiro. "No, because their tuition is fully covered." The school plans to boost scholarships to needy students this year as much as $2,250 a person. To be sure, there is no shortage of families who can afford elite institutions. Despite annual tuition hikes at Harvard, its applicant pool swelled from 13,029 in 1992 to 18,167 last year. Families that equate price with quality have allowed costs at elite schools to be on "autopilot," says Gordon Winston, an economist at Williams College. Most wealthy families can afford the high tuitions, and poor families get financial aid, but middle-income families get squeezed-and even squeezed out.
One reason colleges are curbing tuition increases is to attract those middle-income students. Rice University in Houston uses its $3 billion endowment to guarantee that tuition for sophomores, juniors and seniors will not leap ahead of the consumer price index. Another reason for restraint is concern that public outrage will prompt government intervention. Congress is already tackling the issue during two days of hearings this week, and President Clinton recently proposed a $31 billion package to make higher education more affordable. Now if only someone could do something about campus parking.
Time; 02/14/2000, Vol. 155 Issue 6, p70, 2/3p, 1c
注***1***:本文選自Time;02/14/2000,p70;
注***2***:本文習題命題模仿物件是1999年真題text2***1,2,3,5題***和2002年真題text2第2題***第4題***
1.We learn from the beginning of the passage that college tuition _______________.
[A] has become a heavy burden on many middle income families with college-age children
[B] has ballooned due to a robust stock market
[C] has brought more endowments to the top universities
[D] has increased relatively slowly in the past few years
2.Speaking of college cost, the author implies that ___________________.
[A] it is a big challenge facing colleges and universities
[B] it has increased twice as much as the median income of families in the past 2 decades
[C] changes are taking place as schools are looking for sources to control it
[D] it will not stop increasing until parents are unaffordable
3.In the view of Harold Shapiro, __________________________.
[A] it’s unnecessary to control tuition increases because even needy students can pay their tuition
[B] students in need can not benefit much from the efforts of keeping tuition constant
[C] schools should provide more scholarships to students instead of cutting down tuition
[D] using endowments to freeze tuition will only add to student’ economic burden
4.The phrase “800-lb gorilla” ***line 6, paragraph 3*** most probably means _____________.
[A] big, heavy animal
[B] urgent issue
[C] tough problem
[D] unwanted situation
5.We learn from the last paragraph that _______________.
[A] tuition in Rice University has dropped
[B] government will take measures to punish schools that allow their tuition to increase steeply
[C] the public will urge government to tackle tuition increase if schools can not handle it
[D] there will be more middle-income students on college campus if tuition can be curbed
答案:A C B C D
篇章剖析:
本篇文章圍繞高校採取措施抑制學費增長的問題進行了分析。第一段介紹了高校學費高昂的事實。第二段以威廉姆斯學院和普林斯頓大學為例,說明高校正在採取措施抑制學費增長。第三段介紹了1980年以來高校學費增長的幅度,第四段介紹了一些高校平抑學費的措施以及引起的質疑,最後一段分析了高校平抑學費的原因。
詞彙註釋:
robust: [rE5bQst] adj. 健康和有力的;精力充沛的
endowment: [in5daumEnt] n. 資助,捐贈
balloon: [bE5lu:n] v. 激增,飛漲迅速增長或上升
hike: [haik] n. 突然的或急劇的上升、上漲、增加
restraint: [ris5treint] n. 抑制, 制止
turnaround: [`t\:nE9raJnd] n. 轉變, 轉向, ***經濟, 營業等的***突然好轉
whopping: [5***h***wCpiN] adj. 巨大的, 龐大的
median: [5mi:djEn] adj. 中間的,位於中間的
gorilla: [^E5rilE] n. 大猩猩
alumni: [E5lQmni] n. 校友
vulnerable:[5vQlnErEb***E***l] adj. 易受傷害的;易受影響的
boost: [bu:st] v. 增進;改善
pool: [pu:l]] n. 集中備用的物資***如錢、 物、工人等***
swell: [swel] v. 增加,增大
equate: [i5kweit] v. ***常與to, with連用***使相等
autopilot: [5C:tEpailEt] v. 自動駕駛儀; 自動操舵裝置
squeeze: [skwi:z] v. 壓榨, 擠, 擠榨
curb: [kE:b] v. 抑制;控制
outrage: [5autreidV] n. 憤慨;***由暴力或冒犯而引起的***憤怒
prompt: [prCmpt] v. 鼓動, 促使
package: [5pAkidV] n. 建議,提議
難句突破
1. But college officials who oppose using endowments to freeze tuition say the students most vulnerable to hikes are not affected by them.
主體句式:college officials say…
結構分析:這是一個複雜句,主語college officials帶有一個定語從句。本句難點是vulnerable這個詞。“vulnerable”的意思是“易受攻擊的”。
句子譯文:但反對利用捐贈款來防止學費增長的大學官員認為這些措施對於那些受到學費增長打擊最大的學生並無實質性的幫助。
2. Families that equate price with quality have allowed costs at elite schools to be on "autopilot," says Gordon Winston, an economist at Williams College.
主體句式:Gordon Winston says …
結構分析:本句整體結構為倒裝結構,這種結構常見於引述句,特別是主語較長的引述句。在這個句子裡,主語帶了一個同位語,因而比較長,如果按照正常語序就會造成語意連線不緊密地情況。says的賓語是families… “autopilot”,其中families還帶有一個that引導的定語從句。
句子譯文:那些將價格和質量劃等號的家庭其實默許了一流大學學費“隨行就市”的情況,威廉姆斯學院的一位經濟學家戈登·溫斯頓說。
題目分析:
1. 答案為A,屬事實細節題。從第一段第一句話 “the worst of times for middle income families struggling to afford them”可以看出,高校學費已經令很多家中等收入家庭不堪重負。
2. 答案為C,屬推理判斷題。在文章第一段末寫道:But that may be changing。第二段接著舉例說明高校如何採取措施平抑學費。第三段第一句又說這些抑制學費的措施也許是最近幾年學費暴漲的形勢turnaround的跡象,由此可見學校正積極尋找資金來源控制學費,學費問題正在發生變化。
3. 答案為B,屬事實細節題。文中第四段引用Shapiro的話說真正困難的學生並不會因為學費保持穩定其境況就發生改變,因為學生的學費都是足額支付的。也就是說這些學生不會從中受益。
4. 答案為C,屬推理判斷題。“gorilla”本意為“大猩猩”,根據上下文,中等收入家庭的收入增幅遠遠小於學費的增幅,因而各大高校都面臨著如何使中等收入家庭付得起學費這樣一個“800-1b gorilla”,下文又介紹了各高校如何採取措施平抑學費,可見這裡“800-1b gorilla”是一個暗喻,指“棘手的問題”。
5. 答案為D,屬推理判斷題。文章最後一段解釋了高校平抑學費的原因之一就是想要吸引更多來自中等收入家庭的孩子。最末一具有說“現在要是有人能夠解決以下校園停車問題就好了”,暗示校園有可能會有很多學生。不難理解,如果學費能夠被平抑,會有更多來自中等收入家庭的孩子。
參考譯文:
對於國內許多一流大學來說,現在是最好的時候;而對於那些收入中等,勉強付得起學費的家庭來說,情況已經糟得不能再糟了。幸虧股市上揚,學校獲得的資助也水漲船高。可是卻沒有多少學校能夠遏制住不斷上漲的學費。不過這種情況也許正在發生變化。
馬薩諸塞州的著名文科大學威廉姆斯學院上個月宣佈其學費將維持在31,520美元的水平上,這開了46六年來的先例。普林斯頓大學的學生上週得知他們每年31,599美元的學費,食宿費將只上漲3.3%,是30年來增幅最小的一次。
這些抑制學費的措施也許是最近幾年學費暴漲的形勢發生逆轉的跡象,因為一些學校目前已經開始考慮用所獲得的資助來控制價格上漲。從1980年開始,由於通貨膨脹而調整價格後,大學費用增加了一倍多,而供孩子上大學的家庭平均收入只增加了12%。去年學費平均漲幅是4.6%,雖然是12年裡增幅最低的一次,但仍然是通貨膨脹指數的兩倍多。“各大高校都面臨如何讓中產階級家庭支付得起學費這樣一個棘手的問題,”華盛頓美國教育委員會高階副總裁特里·哈特爾說道。
威廉姆斯學院平抑學費的措施就是利用從其11億美元捐贈款所得的投資利潤和該校校友會的捐款來支付大部分的賬單。但反對利用捐贈款來防止學費增長的大學官員認為這些措施對於那些受到學費增長打擊最大的學生並無實質性的幫助。“保持學費不變難道會讓那些身處逆境的學生的境況發生改變嗎?”普林斯頓大學校長哈羅德·夏皮羅質疑道。“不,因為他們的學費已經全都支付了。”該校計劃今年給每位貧困學生的獎學金增加到2250美元。的確,上得起一流大學的家庭並不在少數。雖然哈佛大學每年學費都會增加,但申請入學的人數還是從1992年的13029人增加到了去年的18167人。“那些將價格和質量劃等號的家庭其實默許了一流大學學費“隨行就市”的情況,”威廉姆斯學院的一位經濟學家戈登·溫斯頓說。最富裕的家庭負擔得起學費,貧困家庭能得到財政資助,而中等收入家庭卻陷入困境,甚至無力負擔學費。
各高校紛紛開始控制學費增長的一個原因就是要吸引中等收入家庭的學生。休斯敦萊斯大學動用了30億美元的捐贈基金以確保大二,大三和大四學生的學費不會超過消費者物價指數。另一個控制學費增長的原因就是擔心公眾的憤怒會導致政府幹預。國會已經開始在本週連續兩天的聽證會上處理這個問題,克林頓總統最近也提出了一個310億美元的一攬子計劃來減輕高等教育的學費負擔。現在要是有人能解決一下校園停車問題就好了。
:CAMPUS CRUSADER
Like university presidents of an earlier era, Ruth Simmons is the moral compass of the school she governs
There was a time when big-league university presidents really mattered. Th
e New York Times covered their every move. Presidents, the real ones, sought their counsel. For Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower, being head of Princeton and Columbia, respectively, was a stepping-stone to the White House. Today, though, the job of college president is less and less removed from that of the Avon lady ***except the house calls are made to the doorsteps of wealthy alums***.
Ruth Simmons, the newly installed president of Brown University and the first African American to lead an Ivy League school, is a throwback to the crusading campus leaders of old. She doesn't merely marshal funds; she invests them in the great educational causes of our day. With the more than $300 million she raised as president of Smith College from 1995 to 2001, Simmons established an engineering program ***the first at any women's school*** and added seminars focused on public speaking to purge the ubiquitous "likes" and "ums" from the campus idiom. At a meeting to discuss the future of Smith's math department, one professor timidly requested two more discussion sections for his course. Her response: "Dream bigger."
Her own dream was born in a sharecropper's shack in East Texas where there was no money for books or toys--she and her 11 siblings each got an apple, an orange and 10 nuts for Christmas. Though she was called n_____ on her walk to school, entering the classroom, she says, "was like waking up." When Simmons won a scholarship to Dillard University, her high school teachers took up a collection so she'd have a coat. She went on to Harvard to earn a Ph.D. in Romance languages.
Simmons has made diversity her No. 1 campus crusade. She nearly doubled the enrollment of black freshmen at Smith, largely by traveling to high schools in the nation's poorest ZIP codes to recruit. Concerned with the lives of minority students once they arrive at school, she has fought to ease the racial standoffs that plague so many campuses. At Smith she turned down a request by students to have race-specific dorms. In 1993, while vice provost at Princeton, she wrote a now famous report recommending that the university establish an office of conflict resolution to defuse racial misunderstandings before they boiled over.
Her first task at Brown will be to heal one such rupture last spring after the student paper published an incendiary ad by conservative polemicist David Horowitz arguing that blacks economically benefited from slavery. "There's no safe ground for anybody in race relations, but campuses, unlike any other institution in our society, provide the opportunity to cross racial lines," says Simmons. "And even if you're hurt, you can't walk away. You have to walk over that line."
注***1***:本文選自Time; 9/17/2001, Vol. 158 Issue 12, p70, 1p, 1c
注***2***:本文習題命題模仿物件2004年真題text 2.
1. What does the author intend to illustrate with the example of Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower?
[A]The president of the first-class university was really very important.
[B]The presidents gave them some good advice.
[C]The presidents of the university could easily go to the white house.
[D]The presidents had more power and authority than Avon ladies.
2.What can we infer from the second paragraph?
[A]Simmons was an old crusading campus leader.
[B]Simmons wanted to expand her university.
[C]Simmons knew well about how to invest the money.
[D]Simmons was a competent and ambitious president.
3.The 4th paragraph mainly talks about _________.
[A]Simmons greatly sympathized the black people.
[B]Simmons wanted to diversify her university.
[C]Simmons made a great effort to solve the racial problems.
[D]Simmons never neglect the racial problems.
4.What does the author mean by “the job of college president is less and less removed from that of the Avon lady”***Line 4, Paragraph 1***?
[A]College president can get their position with the help of Avon lady.
[B]The jobs of college president and Avon lady are quite similar.
[C]College presidents got inspiration from the job of the Avon lady.
[D]The jobs of college presidents and the Avon lady should be separated.
5.Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A]Simmons had successfully solved the racial problems.
[B]Simmons owed her success to her high school teachers.
[C]Simmons didn't like “likes” and “ums” in campus idioms.
[D]Simmons asked her professor to be more ambitious and aggressive.
答案:ADCBD
篇章剖析
本文可以說是一篇記敘文,主要記述大學校長魯思·西蒙斯作為校園改革派的一些逸事。文章第一段就以前的大學校長和當今的大學校長的不同之處進行了對比;第二段記述了魯思·西蒙斯作為布朗大學的新任校長和第一個一流學校的黑人校長的一些做法;第三段描述了她的貧困家境以及求學的艱辛;第四段記述了她在以往任職的學校裡的一些舉措;第五段記述了她在布朗大學所要解決的首要問題。
詞彙註釋
crusader [krU:`seIdE***r***] n.十字軍戰士, 改革者
compass [5kQmpEs] n.羅盤, 指南針, [pl.] 圓規
big-league adj.一流的, 最高的
removed ***adj.*** from 有區別;遙遠;不同;遙遠;關係遠
alumni n. ***口***校友***可指男女***
Ivy-League [5aivi-li:^] n. ***美國東北部哈佛、哥倫比亞等八個名牌大學的***常春藤聯合會; 屬於該組織的名牌大學或其師生; 名牌大學派頭
throwback [5WrEubAk] n.【生】返祖現象; [喻]大倒退;逆轉;***電影中的***前景重現; ***小說的***倒敘
of old 古時的, 從前的, 很久以前的
marshal [5mB:F***E***l] v. 彙集
purge [p\:dV] v. ***使***淨化, 清除
ubiquitous [] adj.到處存在的, ***同時***普遍存在的
sharecropper [5FeEkrRpE***r***] n.***尤指美國西南部的***小佃農
shack [FAk] n.小室
sibling [5sIblIN] n.兄弟, 姐妹, 同胞, 同屬
ZIP code郵區程式碼,郵政編碼***一種劃分美國郵政區域的五位數號碼***
recruit [rI5kru:t] v.招生,使入學使加入或設法使加入
standoff [`stAndCf, -R:f] n.避開, 冷淡
provost [5prRvEst; ***?@*** prEJ-] n.憲兵司令, 監獄看守, 教務長
boil over v. 因沸溢位, 發怒
heal [hi:l] v. 治癒, 醫治, 結束
rupture [5rQptFE***r***] n.破裂, 決裂, 敵對, 割裂
incendiary [In5sendIErI; ***?@*** In5sendIerI] adj. 縱火的, 煽動的
polemicist [ pC`lemIsIst, pE-] n. 善辯論者
難句突破
1. Her first task at Brown will be to heal one such rupture last spring after the student paper published an incendiary ad by conservative polemicist David Horowitz arguing that blacks economically benefited from slavery.
主體句式:Her first task …will be to heal…
結構分析:本句是一個主從複合句。主句是Her first task at Brown will be to heal one such rupture last spring;主句後面跟的是由after引導的時間狀語從句; “by” 意為“由…做***寫***”;arguing是現在分詞做狀語,對polemicist David Horowitz進行補充說明;後又跟that引導的賓語從句做argue的賓語。
句子譯文:去年春天,學生報上刊登了一篇由保守派辯論家戴維•霍羅威茨撰寫的煽動性文章。他在文章中詭稱,從經濟角度講,黑人受益於奴隸制。文章一發表,就導致了種族關係的破裂。她在布朗大學的首要任務就是要修復這一裂痕。
題目分析
1.答案為A,屬事實細節題。文章第一段就以前的大學校長和當今的大學校長的不同之處進行了對比, “There was a time when big-league university presidents really mattered”是第一段前半部分的主題句,隨後作者以伍德羅·威爾遜和艾森豪威爾為例,進一步說明這一觀點。
2.答案為D,屬推理判斷題。第二段記述了魯思·西蒙斯作為布朗大學的新任校長和第一個一流學校的黑人校長的一些成功的做法,其中包括如何進行資金運做,這些說明她是非常有能力的;在討論史密斯大學數學系發展前景的會議上,她對教授說:“Dream bigger”表明,她還是非常有雄心的。
3.答案為C ,屬主旨大意題。第四段記述了魯思·西蒙斯在她以往任職的學校裡為解決種族問題進行的一些努力和嘗試。
4.答案為B,屬猜詞題。文章第一段前半部分提到曾有一段時間一流大學的校長是非常重要的人物。緊接著though引導的句子進行了轉折,指出現在校長的工作同雅芳小姐的工作差別越來越小了。這裡主要考察“be removed from”的用法,其中removed是形容詞,片語含義是“有區別;遙遠;不同;遙遠;關係遠”。
5.答案為D,屬事實細節題。文中對應資訊是“one professor timidly requested two more discussion sections for his course. Her response: "Dream bigger." ”。
參考譯文
校園改革者
跟早期的大學校長一樣,魯思·西蒙斯是她所管理的那所大學的道德指南針
曾有一段時間,一流大學的校長著實起著舉足輕重的作用。《紐約時代》雜誌一直關注著他們的一舉一動。就連總統也向他們徵求意見。伍德羅·威爾遜和艾森豪威爾曾是普林斯頓和哥倫比亞大學的校長,他們的大學校長身份是他們入主白宮的敲門磚。然而,今天大學校長的差事與雅芳小姐的工作差別越來越小了***除登門拜訪有錢的校友外***。
魯思·西蒙斯是布朗大學的新任校長,也是第一位領導一個名牌大學的黑人校長,她就是過去校園改革派領導人的翻版。她不單單隻籌集資金,她還把這些資金投到當今偉大的教育事業之中。西蒙斯用她在1995-2001擔任史密斯學院院長期間籌集到的3億美元的資金開設了工程學專業***在所有女子學校裡這個專業是第一次開設***,並增設演講研討會,以把那些無所不在的“如像”和“嗯”等廢話從校園用語中清除出去。在一次討論史密斯大學數學系發展前景的會議上,一個教授戰戰兢兢地提出能否給他的課再增加兩次討論。她是這樣回答的:“再大膽些。”
她自己的夢想是在德克薩斯州東部的一個佃農小屋裡誕生的。家裡沒錢買書或玩具——過聖誕節時,她和十一個兄弟姐妹每人只得到一隻蘋果、一個橘子和十隻堅果。儘管在去上學的路上有人叫她黑鬼,但她進教室時她卻說:“這倒喚醒了我。”當她獲得在迪拉德大學獎學金時,她的高中老師慷慨解囊,湊錢讓她買一件外套。畢業後她接著上哈佛大學,攻讀拉丁系語言博士學位。
西蒙斯把多樣性作為校園改革的頭等大事。她幾乎使史密斯大學的黑人新生入學人數翻了一番。能做到這一步主要是靠她親自到美國最貧困地區的高中去招生的結果。少數民族學生來校後,她一直關心學生的情況,一直為緩解令很多校園十分苦惱的種族冷漠情緒而奮鬥。在史密斯大學,她拒絕了學生提出的按種族分住公寓的要求。她在1993年任普林斯頓大學副教務長期間,寫了一篇至今仍很著名的報告。在報告中,她建議大學成立一個專門解決種族衝突的辦公室,以在種族誤解激化之前化解之。
去年春天,學生報上刊登了一篇由保守派辯論家戴維•霍羅威茨撰寫的煽動性文章。他在文章中詭稱,從經濟角度講,黑人受益於奴隸制。文章一發表,就導致了種族關係的破裂。她在布朗大學的首要任務就是要修復這一裂痕。“在種族關係中,任何人都沒有什麼安全的地方。但是校園不同於我們社會上的其它機構,它給我們提供了跨越種族界限的機會,”西蒙斯說,“即便你受到了傷害,你也不能一走了之,你得跨越這條線。”
:THE ECONOMICS OF KARATE
As the number of home-schooled kids soars, districts are trying novel ways to lure them back to the fold
Largely for "spiritual reasons," Nancy Manos started home-schooling her ch
ildren five years ago and has studiously avoided public schools ever since. Yet last week, she was enthusiastically enrolling her 8-year-old daughter, Olivia, in sign language and modern dance classes at Eagleridge Enrichment--a program run by the Mesa, Ariz., public schools and taught by district teachers. Manos still wants to handle the basics, but likes that Eagleridge offers the extras, "things I couldn't teach." One doubt, though, lingers in her mind: why would the public school system want to offer home-school families anything?
A big part of the answer is economics. The number of home-schooled kids nationwide has risen to as many as 1.9 million from an estimated 345,000 in 1994, and school districts that get state and local dollars per child are beginning to suffer. In Maricopa County, which includes Mesa, the number of home-schooled kids has more than doubled during that period to 7,526; at about $4,500 a child, that's nearly $34 million a year in lost revenue.
Not everyone's happy with these innovations. Some states have taken the opposite tack. Like about half the states, West Virginia refuses to allow home-schooled kids to play public-school sports. And in Arizona, some complain that their tax dollars are being used to create programs for families who, essentially, eschew participation in public life. "That makes my teeth grit,'' says Daphne Atkeson, whose 10-year-old son attends public school in Paradise Valley. Even some committed home-schoolers question the new programs, given their central irony: they turn home-schoolers into public-school students, says Bob Parsons, president of the Alaska Private and Home Educators Association. "We've lost about one third of our members to those programs. They're so enticing.''
Mesa started Eagleridge four years ago, when it saw how much money it was losing from home-schoolers--and how unprepared some students were when they re-entered the schools. Since it began, the program's enrollment has nearly doubled to 397, and last year the district moved Eagleridge to a strip mall ***between a pizza joint and a laser-tag arcade***. Parents typically drop off their kids once a week; because most of the children qualify as quarter-time students, the district collects $911 per child. "It's like getting a taste of what real school is like,'' says 10-year-old Chad Lucas, who's learning computer animation and creative writing.
Other school districts are also experimenting with novel ways to court home schoolers. The town of Galena, Alaska, ***pop. 600*** has just 178 students. But in 1997, its school administrators figured they could reach beyond their borders. Under the program, the district gives home-schooling families free computers and Internet service for correspondence classes. In return, the district gets $3,100 per student enrolled in the program--$9.6 million a year, which it has used partly for a new vocational school. Such alternatives just might appeal to other districts. Ernest Felty, head of Hardin County schools in southern Illinois, has 10 home-schooled pupils. That may not sound like much--except that he has a staff of 68, and at $4,500 a child, "that's probably a teacher's salary,'' Felty says. With the right robotics or art class, though, he could take the home out of home schooling.
By Flynn McRoberts Newsweek; 11/06/2000, Vol. 136 Issue 19, p62, 1p, 2c
注***1***:本文選自Newsweek,11/06/2000,p62
注***2***:本文習題命題模仿物件2005年Text 1。
1.In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by
[A]posing a contrast
[B]justifying an assumption
[C]explaining a phenomenon
[D]making a comparison
2.The statement "That makes my teeth grit,''***Line 4, Paragraph 3*** implies that
[A]I wanted to eat something.
[B]I was angry and dissatisfied.
[C]I was in favor of what the public school had done.
[D]I wanted not to bring my children to that school.
3.The public school system wants to offer home-school families something, because
[A]it does not want to lose much money from the increasing home-schoolers.
[B]home-schoolers have some difficulty in getting some particular knowledge.
[C]home-schoolers are eager to have a taste of what a real school is like.
[D]it has the responsibility to help the home-schoolers.
4.The statistics in Paragraph two helps us draw a conclusion that
[A]economics is greatly influenced by so many home-schoolers.
[B]the number of the home-schoolers is steadily increasing.
[C]it is a great loss for the public school system to have so many home-schoolers.
[D]home-schooling has an incomparable advantage over the public school system.
5.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
[A]The tuition the home schoolers have to pay for the public school is very high.
[B]Public school system gains much profit from the home schoolers.
[C]Home schoolers do not want to receive education at home any more.
[D]Public school system tries to attract the home schoolers back to school.
答案:CBACB
篇章剖析
本文采用提出問題——分析問題的模式,指出在家受教育的人對公立學校造成的經濟威脅,以及公立學校對這一現象的不同反應和做法。文中第一段以在家受教育的人為例,來說明教育中存在的在家受教育這一現象;第二段分析公立學校不願意放棄這些人的主要原因;第三段指出有些州不同的做法;第四段具體指出Eagleridge這一做法的目的以及給在家受教育的人帶來的好處;第五段指出一些公立學校的成功做法。
詞彙註釋
studiously [5stju:dIEslI ; ***?@*** 5stu:-]adv.有意地, 故意地
tack[tAk]行動方針;策略
eschew [Is5tFu:]vt.避開, 遠避
grit [^rIt]v.咬***牙***把***牙齒***緊咬在一起
enticing [In`taIsIN]adj.引誘的, 迷人的
難句突破
1.Yet last week, she was enthusiastically enrolling her 8-year-old daughter, Olivia, in sign language and modern dance classes at Eagleridge Enrichment--a program run by the Mesa, Ariz., public schools and taught by district teachers.
主體句式:she was… enrolling her 8-year-old daughter… in sign language and modern dance classes
結構分析:這句話是個簡單句。其中“enroll in”意為“在…方面註冊,報名參加”;Olivia是daughter的同位語;a program是Eagleridge Enrichment的同位語,過去分詞run和taught做定語來修飾program。
句子譯文:然而上週,她卻急切地給她八歲的女兒奧利維亞報名參加在Eagleridge Enrichment舉辦的手語課和現代舞蹈課的學習。
題目分析
1.答案為C,屬事實細節題。文中第一段以Nancy Manos為例,來說明現在越來越多的人
傾向於在家受教育這一現象。
2.答案為B,屬推理判斷題。第三段第一句話“Not everyone's happy with these innovations.”
是本段的主題句,意為“並不是所有人都認同這些舉措。”後面舉出的例子用以說明這一論點。其中“refuse”和“complain”都用來表示這些人的態度和反應。又給出的這個例子也是這一用意,故猜出此意。
3.答案為A,屬事實細節題。第一段最後一句提出問題“why would the public school system want to offer home-school families anything?”在第二段第一句作者做出了回答:“A big part of the answer is economics.”
4.答案為C,屬推理判斷題。第二段的主題句是“A big part of the answer is economics.”然
後作者給出了一系列的資料來使這一論點更有可信性。
5.答案為B,屬推理判斷題。第五段第一句話“Other school districts are also experimenting
with novel ways to court home schoolers.”是本段的主題句。後面舉出的例子是為了更好的說明這一點,同時也說明了這一做法給它們帶來的好處。
參考譯文
空手道經濟學
隨著在家裡受教育孩子的人數的迅猛上升,各學區都在嘗試新辦法,試圖吸引他們重返學校
主要是由於“精神方面的原因”,南希•馬諾斯五年前開始自己在家裡教育孩子,並從此以後有意避開公立學校。然而上週,她卻急切地給她八歲的女兒奧利維亞報名參加在Eagleridge Enrichment舉辦的手語課和現代舞蹈課的學習。Eagleridge Enrichment專案是由亞利桑那州的梅薩公立學校舉辦的,並由學區的老師授課。馬諾斯還想繼續教基礎課,但她希望Eagleridge教授其餘的“我教不了的東西”。但是她的腦海裡一直有一個疑問:為什麼公立學校願意為進行家教的家庭提供他們所需要的一切呢?
答案的主要部分是經濟方面的原因。全國在家受教育的孩子的數量已經從1994年估計的34.5千人上升到了190萬人。那些靠按孩子人數從州政府和當地政府獲得財政支援的學區開始受到損害。在梅薩所在的馬利柯帕縣,在家受教育孩子的數量在這期間增長了兩倍,達到了7,526人。按一個孩子4,500美元計算,這意味著一年所損失的收入將達到近3.4億美元。
並不是每個人都對這些舉措感到高興。有些州採取了與之相反的策略。同佔半數的其它州的做法一樣,西弗吉尼亞拒絕讓在家受教育的孩子參加公立學校的運動比賽。在亞利桑那州,有人抱怨他們繳納的稅金被用來設立一些專門為那些實際上逃避社會生活的家庭參加的專案。“這真使我恨得咬牙切齒。”達夫妮•阿特基森這樣說。他十歲的兒子在帕拉代斯瓦利公立學校上學。甚至那些堅持在家接受教育的人也對此新計劃嗤之以鼻,表示疑問:這些專案旨在把受家庭教育的人變成公立學校的學生,阿拉斯加個人和家庭教育者協會會長鮑勃•帕森斯說,“這些計劃已挖走了我們三分之一的會員。這些計劃實在是太誘人了。”
四年前,當意識到從那些在家接受教育的人身上損失了那麼多的錢,並且當這些人重新入學時他們又是那麼的毫無準備,梅薩便率先發起了Eagleridge專案。從它成立之日起,前來註冊的人數幾乎翻了一番,達到397人。去年,學區將Eagleridge專案遷移到一家商鋪密集的商業廣場***在一家比薩餅店與一個帶巨大標記的拱廊之間***。孩子的父母一般每週只需送一次。由於大多數孩子只取得四分之一學生的資格,所以學區對每個孩子只收911美元的學費。“這只是讓你體會一下去真正的學校上學是什麼滋味。”十歲的查德•盧卡斯這樣說道。他正在學習電腦動畫製作和寫作。
其它學區也在嘗試新辦法來獲取這些在家接受教育人的支援。阿拉斯加州的加利納鎮***人口600***只有178名學生。但是在1997年,學校負責人認為他們可以***使學生人數***超過這個數。按照學校計劃,學區為在家從事家庭教育的家庭免費提供函授課程所用的電腦和互連網業務。作為回報,學區在這個專案中對每個註冊的學生收費3,100美元——一年合計960萬。學區把其中的一部分資金用來再建一所新的職業學校。這樣的方案對其他學區還是很有吸引力的。歐內斯特•費爾提是伊利諾斯州南部哈丁縣縣屬學校的負責人。他負責10個在家接受教育的小學生。這聽起來沒什麼大不了的——除了他有68位員工和每個學生收取4,500美元的學費以外。費爾提說:“那差不多相當於一個老師的工資”。憑藉合適的機器人技術或美術課,他能夠讓那些在家接受教育的人不在家上課了。
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