阅读理解练习：  教育类
       Brisk, cheerful and passionate about educating children, Nancy Ichinaga thinks social promotion is "junk". As principal of an elementary school for the past 23 years, Ichinaga has never passed kids on to the next grade just to protect their self-esteem. The school is 51 percent African-American, 48 percent Latino and 75 percent below the poverty line. But last year, 88 percent of its students read at or about grade level, and Ichinaga thinks her willingness to hold kids back has much to do with that success. "We don't promote so students can fail," she says. "We make sure that they succeed. Our students' self-esteem is good because they are successful academically, not because we've tried to pump them up."
         Social promotion has been widespread in U.S. school for at least 20 years. Its rationale is to avoid damaging the pupil's sense of self-worth and to assume that if promoted, the child can catch up.But school officials and politicians are increasingly ready to accept what traditionalists like Ichinaga have been saying all along－that school promotion, though well intended, has been an academic disaster. Bill Clinton is on record against it, as is the American Federation of Teachers. In New York City, schools chancellor Rudy Crew recently unveiled a plan to phase it out. He told a reporter, "This is not about being punitive with kids. It is about caring so much about children that you will not let them fail."
      To live up that rhetoric, Crew and other reformers urgently need to show that kids who fail will get the academic support they need. The model could be the Chicago public school system, which abolished social promotion in 1996. Kids who fail are sent to summer school, where they get a second chance to pass.
      Most succeed and those who don't are assigned to smaller classes and evaluated for learning disabilities and other special needs.
      The scary part is just how widespread social promotion has become. In New York, Crew estimated that more than a third of all fourth and seventh-graders would have to repeat a year if the policy were ended immediately. Though Crew didn't say so, there is no reason to think the percentage is different for other grades－which is why the practice arguably conceals massive failure. And nobody gains from that.
1．The world “social promotion” in the text means ______.
A. the help given by society those kids who lag behind
B. the pracice passing on students who failed to a higher grade
C. the practice of rewarding top students
D. the effort to promote equally of all students, regardless of their race or color
2. Traditionalists believe that social promotion______.
A. can avoid damaging the pupil’s self-esteem
B. proves to be a woeful failure
C. should be abolished right now
D.can help backward pupils to catch up
3.If social promotion is abolished, _______.
A. kids who fail will be given chance to try again
B. kids who fail will be asked to repeat at least one year
C. kids who fail will feel ashamed of themselves or even suicide
D. it will result in academic disaster
4.What’s the teacher’s attitude towards “social promotion”?
A. Strongly against.             B. In favor of.
C.Puzzled of.                      D.Indifferent to.
5. It can be inferred from the text that social promotion ______.
A.contributes to students’ academic success
B.improve students’ self-worth
C.will continue to play an important role
D.will be abolished in future



[ 本帖最后由 暴风雨骑士 于 2008-5-7 10:00 编辑 ]

参考答案及解析：

1. 选B。语义题。第一段第一句指出Nancy Ichinaga thinks social promotion is "junk". 第二句She has never passed kids on to the next grade just to protect their self-esteem，可见social promotion 就是不让学生留级。

2. 选B。细节题。从文章第二段第三句traditionalists like Ichinaga 可以看出Ichinaga属于traditionalists中的一员，他们都认为social promotion是十足的失败，应尽快废除它。

3. 选 A。细节题。从文章第三段第三句Kids who fail are sent to summer school, where they get a second chance to pass中可以看出不及格的学生可以再试一次，［A］符合文意。

4. 选 A。态度题。文章字里行间透着作者对social promotion的反对，尤其是文章第四段首句"让人担心的是自动升级制度现在非常普及"更是体现了作者的这种态度。

5. 选 D.推断题。文中第二段第三句指出...school promotion, though well intended, has been an academic disaster及Bill Clinton is on record against it, as is the American Federation of Teachers. In New York city, schools chancellor Rudy Crew recently unveiled a plan to phase it out；所有这些都表明人们已经认识到school promotion的害处，并有决心废止它。在最后两段作者又指出相关部门在school promotion废止后，对那些留级的学生应采取的补救措施。

[ 本帖最后由 暴风雨骑士 于 2008-5-7 10:01 编辑 ]

2005 年真题有的有疑问，有些答案有冲突，希望老师能予以解答：
4. A: George, I would like to introduce a friend of mine, if I may: Albert Snow. Albert, this is George Smith.
B: __________________
A. How have you been'?        B. Pleased to meet you, George.
C. Mind if I call you George?        D. The pleasure's mine.
答案为B还是C
5. A: Excuse me, I don't want to interrupt you ….
B: _________________
A. No, no. It's quite all right.         A. Well, never mind.                        
B. It won't bother me.                C. Of course not.
答案为B还是A
9.   Man: That new Chevy Chase film was terrific!
Woman: Oh, come off it, Al. Chevy Chase is a great comedian, but he sure didn't it in that movie.
Question: What does the woman think of the movie?
A. It's a great comedy.
B. It's a typical Chevy Chase film.
C. It isn't a good comedy.
D. It isn't as terrible as A1 thought.
答案为C还是D
15. To absorb a younger work force, many companies offered retirement plans as incentives for older workers to retire and make way for the younger ones who earned lower salaries.
A. rewards     B. opportunities
C. motives            D. stimuli
答案为D还是A

[ 本帖最后由 chongci 于 2008-5-7 14:19 编辑 ]

骑士老师，您好，怎么感觉最近的题难度比以前大呢，五一期间在中国教育在线上下载的俩套题，做的都不错。一下子心里没底了，麻烦問一下，考试难度到底在什么个程度呢？和这里的练习题相比。
    另外，改错题如果只找到错误处，但未改对，是否有分呢？
    恳请老师给予答复，不胜感激！

第二问为什么“他们都认为social promotion是十足的失败，应尽快废除它”，但不选择C呢？

5. A: Excuse me, I don't want to interrupt you ….
B: _________________
A. No, no. It's quite all right.         A. Well, never mind.                        
B. It won't bother me.                C. Of course not.
答案为B,    A中No, no.是中式回答.(不知我的理解对否,请老师解答一下.)
9.   Man: That new Chevy Chase film was terrific!
Woman: Oh, come off it, Al. Chevy Chase is a great comedian, but he sure didn't it in that movie.
Question: What does the woman think of the movie?
A. It's a great comedy.
B. It's a typical Chevy Chase film.
C. It isn't a good comedy.
D. It isn't as terrible as A1 thought.
答案为C,   D中terrible与 terrific不是同一个意思.

没读明白！估计也做不对！
不知怎么了！

4. A: George, I would like to introduce a friend of mine, if I may: Albert Snow.     Albert, this is George Smith.
B: __________________
A. How have you been'?        B. Pleased to meet you, George.
C. Mind if I call you George?        D. The pleasure's mine.
答案为B。回答应该是Albert回答的。
5. A: Excuse me, I don't want to interrupt you ….
B: _________________
A. No, no. It's quite all right.         A. Well, never mind.                        
B. It won't bother me.                C. Of course not.
答案为B。A是按照汉语的思维方式进行的回答。对方礼貌地表示歉意；只有B选项在英语里表示不介意。
9.   Man: That new Chevy Chase film was terrific!
Woman: Oh, come off it, Al. Chevy Chase is a great comedian, but he sure didn't it in that movie.
Question: What does the woman think of the movie?
A. It's a great comedy.
B. It's a typical Chevy Chase film.
C. It isn't a good comedy.
D. It isn't as  terrific as A1 thought.
答案为C。正如weihe解释的， terrific 和terrific意思不同。
15. To absorb a younger work force, many companies offered retirement plans as incentives for older workers to retire and make way for the younger ones who earned lower salaries.
A. rewards     B. opportunities
C. motives            D. stimuli
答案为D。reward“报酬，酬劳，奖赏，酬金”；opportunity“机会”；motive“动机”；stimulus（pl.-li）“刺激，刺激物”。offered retirement plans的目的是为了刺激老工人退休。

[ 本帖最后由 暴风雨骑士 于 2008-5-9 23:39 编辑 ]

1.考试难度大约介于四六级之间，相当于5.5级。历年的考试真题也不可能完全在一个难度上一成不变。阅读这些题目的难度大约相当于六级的水平。
2. 改错题只要把错误选项选出来就可以了。

right now立即，马上的意思。