1、四级单项选择阅读理解附讲解:2012年6月真题(1)PartReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswersheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA)，B)，C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswitht
2、heinformationgiveninthepassage.SmallSchoolsRisingThisyearslistofthetop100highschoolsshowsthattoday,thosewithfewerstudentsareflourishing.Fiftyyearsago,theywerethelatestthingineducationalreform:big,modern,suburbanhighschoolswithstudentscountedinthethousands.Asbabyboomers(二战后婴儿潮时期出生的人)cameofhigh-school
3、age,bigschoolspromisedeconomicefficiency.Agreaterchoiceofcourses,and,ofcourse,betterfootballteams.Onlyyearslaterdidweunderstandthetrade-offsthisinvolved:thecreationofexcessivebureaucracies(官僚机构)，thedifficultyofforgingpersonalconnectionsbetweenteachersandstudents.SATscoresbegandroppingin1963;today,on
4、average,30%ofstudentsdonotcompletehighschoolinfouryears,afigurethatrisesto50%inpoorurbanneighborhoods.Whiletheemphasisonteachingtohigher,test-drivenstandardsassetinNoChildLeftBehindresultedinsignificantlybetterperformanceinelementary(andsomemiddle)schools,highschoolsforavarietyofreasonsseemedtohavem
5、adelittleprogress.Sizeisnteverything,butitdoesmatter,andthepastdecadehasseenanoticeablecountertrendtowardsmallerschools.Thishasbeendue,inpart,totheBillandMelindaGatesFoundation,whichhasinvested$1.8billioninAmericanhighschools,helpingtoopenabout1,000smallschools-mostofthemwithabout400kidseachwithanav
6、erageenrollmentofonly150pergrade,About500moreareonthedrawingboard.Districtsalloverthecountryaretakingnotice,alongwithmayorsincitieslikeNewYork,ChicagoandSanDiego.Themovementincludesindependentpubliccharterschools,suchasNo.1BASISinTucson,withonly120high-schoolersand18graduatesthisyear.Itembracesdistr
7、ict-sanctionedmagnetschools,suchastheTalentedandGiftedSchool,with198students,andtheScienceandEngineeringMagnet,with383,whichshareabuildinginDallas,aswellastheCityHonorsSchoolinBuffalo,N.Y.,whichgrewoutofvolunteereveningseminarsforstudents.Anditincludesalternativeschoolswithstudentsselectedbylottery(
8、抽签)，suchasH-BWoodlawninArlington,Va.Andmostnoticeableofall,thereisthephenomenonoflargeurbanandsuburbanhighschoolsthathavesplitupintosmallerunitsofafewhundred,generallyhousedinthesamegroundsthatonceboastedthousandsofstudentsallmarchingtothesameband.HillsdaleHighSchoolinSanMateo,Calif,isoneofthose,ran
9、kingNo.423-amongthetop2%inthecountry-onNewsweeksannualrankingofAmericastophighschools.Thesuccessofsmallschoolsisapparentinthelistings.Tenyearsago,whenthefirstNewsweeklistbasedoncollege-leveltestparticipationwaspublished,onlythreeofthetop100schoolshadgraduatingClassessmallerthan100students.Thisyearth
10、ereare22.Nearly250schoolsonthefull,Newsweeklistofthetop5%ofschoolsnationallyhadfewerthan200graduatesin2007.AlthoughmanyofHillsdalesstudentscamefromwealthyhouseholds,bythelate1990averagetestscoreswereslidingandithadearnedtheunaffectionatenickname(绰号) Hillsjail. JeffGilbert.AHillsdaleteacherwhobecamep
11、rincipallastyear,rememberssittingwithotherteacherswatchingstudentsfileoutofagraduationceremonyandaskingoneanotherinastonishment, Howdidthatstudentgraduate?Soin2003Hillsdaleremadeitselfintothreehouses,romanticallynamedFlorence,MarrakechandKyoto.Eachofthe300arrivingninthgradersarerandomly(随机地)assigned
12、tooneofthehouses.Wheretheywillkeepthesamefourcoresubjectteachersfortwoyears,beforemovingontoanotherfor11thand12thgrades.TheclosenessthissystemcultivatesisreinforcedbytheinstitutionofadvisoryclassesTeachersmeetwithstudentsingroupsof25,fivemorningsaweek,foropen-endeddiscussionsofeverythingfromhomework
13、problemstobadSaturday-nightdates.Theadvisersalsomeetwithstudentsprivatelyandstayintouchwithparents,sotheyaredeeplyinvestedinthestudentssuccess.Wereconstantlytalkingaboutoneanothersadvisers,saysEnglishteacherChrisCrockett. Ifyouhearthatyoursisntdoingwellinmath,orseethemsittingoutsidethedeansoffice,it
14、slikeapersonalfailure.Alongwiththenewstructurecameamoredemandingacademicprogram,thepercentageoffreshmentakingbiologyjumpedfrom17to95.Itwasroughforsome.Butbysenioryear,two-thirdshavemoveduptophysics,saysGilbertOurkidsarecomingtoschoolinpartbecausetheyknowthereareadultsherewhoknowthemandcareforthem.Bu
15、tnotallschoolsshowadvancesafterdownsizing,anditremainstobeseenwhethersmallerschoolswillbeacure-allsolution.TheNewsweeklistoftopU.S.highschoolswasmadethisyear,asinyearspast,accordingtoasinglemetric,theproportionofstudentstakingcollege-levelexams.Overtheyearsthissystemhascomeinforitsshareofcriticismfo
16、ritssimplicity.Butthatisalsoitsstrength:itseasyforreaderstounderstand,andtodothearithmeticfortheirownschoolsiftheydlike.Rankingschoolsisalwayscontroversial,andthisyearagroupof38superintendents(地区教育主管)fromfivestateswrotetoaskthattheirschoolsbeexcludedfromthecalculation.Itisimpossibletoknowwhichhighsc
17、hoolsarethebestinthenation, theirletterread.inpart. Determiningwhetherdifferentschoolsdoordontofferahighqualityofeducationrequiresalookatmandifferentmeasures,includingstudentsoverallacademicaccomplishmentsandtheirsubsequentperformanceincollege.Andtakingintoconsiderationtheuniqueneedsoftheircommuniti
18、es.Intheend,thesuperintendentsagreedtoprovidethedatawesought,whichis,afterall,publicinformation.Thereis,inourview,norealdisputehere,weareallseekingthesamething,whichisschoolsthatbetterserveourchildrenandournationbyencouragingstudentstotackletoughsubjectsundertheguidanceofgiftedteachers.Andifwekeepwo
19、rkingtowardthatgoal,someday,perhapsalistwontbenecessary.注意：此部分试题请在答卡1上作答.1.Fiftyyearsago.big.Modern.Suburbanhighschoolswereestablishedinthehopeof_.A)ensuringnochildisleftbehindB)increasingeconomicefficiencyC)improvingstudentsperformanceonSATD)providinggoodeducationforbabyboomers2.Whathappenedasaresu
20、ltofsettingupbigschools?A)Teachersworkloadincreased.B)Studentsperformancedeclined.C)Administrationbecamecentralized.D)Studentsfocusedmoreontestscores.3.WhatissaidabouttheschoolsfordedbytheBillandMelindaGatesfoundation?A)Theyareusuallymagnetschools.B)Theyareoftenlocatedinpoorneighborhoods.C)Theyarepo
21、pularwithhigh-achievingstudents.D)Theyaremostlysmallinsize.4.Whatismostnoticeableaboutthecurrenttrendinhighschooleducation?A)Somelargeschoolshavesplitupintosmallerones.B)Agreatvarietyofschoolshavesprungupinurbanandsuburbanareas.C)ManyschoolscompetefortheBillandMelindaGatesFoundationfunds.D)Studentsh
22、avetomeethigheracademicstandards.5.Newsweekrankedhighschoolsaccordingto.A)theirstudentsacademicachievementB)thenumberoftheirstudentsadmittedtocollegeC)thesizeandnumberoftheirgraduatingclassesD)theircollege-leveltestparticipation6.WhatcanwelearnaboutHillsdalesstudentsinthelate1990s?A)Theyweremadetost
23、udyhardlikeprisoners.B)Theycalledeachotherbyunaffectionatenicknames.C)Mostofthemdidnothaveanysenseofdiscipline,D)Theirschoolperformancewasgettingworse.7.AccordingtoJeffGilbert,theadvisoryclassesatHillsdaleweresetupsothatstudentscould.A)telltheirteacherswhattheydidonweekendsB)experienceagreatdealofpl
24、easureinlearningC)maintaincloserrelationshipswiththeirteachersD)tacklethedemandingbiologyandphysicscourses8.isstillconsideredastrengthofNewsweeksschoolrankingsysteminspiteofthecriticismitreceives.9.Accordingtothe38superintendents,torankschoolsscientifically,itisnecessarytouse.10.Tobetterservethechil
25、drenandournation,schoolsstudentstotake.【参考答案】1.D)providinggoodeducationforbabyboomers。2.D)Studentsperformancedeclined。3.D)Theyaremostlysmallinsize。4.D)Somelargeschoolshavesplitupintosmallerones。5.C)theircollege-leveltestparticipation。6.B)Theirschoolperformancewasgettingworse。7.A)maintaincloserrelationshipswiththeirteachers。8.Simplicity9.differentmeasures10.toughsubjects