At present, in many American cities especially, many teachers in the public schools say they are underpaid. They point to jobs such as secretary or truck driver, which often pay more to start than that of a teacher. In many other fields, such as law, medicine, computer science, a beginning worker may make more than a teacher who has taught for several years.

       Teaching has never been a profession that attracted people interested in high salaries. It is by history a profession that has provided rewards in addition to money—the satisfaction of sharing knowledge, of influencing others, of guiding young people. But in the past several years, there are more difficulties in teaching, for many, than there are rewards.

    Unruly students, especially in big cities, large classes and a lack of support from the public in terms of money and understanding have led many public school teachers to leave the profession.

       As a result, many of the best students, who would have chosen teaching as their life career in the past, are going into other fields.

       Another reason for this change in teacher candidates is the changing status of women in the United States. Until the late 1960s and 1970s, one of the most popular choices for women was teaching. But as other professions, such as law and medicine opened up to women, women stopped pouring into teacher training programs. Thus, a major pool of excellent candidates for the teaching profession dwindled.

       Bit by bit government officials and others realized that the status of the teacher had suffered. They talked about change. But the change in a vast society like the United States is not easy. People’s attitudes have formed over many years, and sometimes change takes many years.

The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refers to “      ”.

       A．money      B．job       C．secretary D．truck driver

What is the present situation of the teaching?

       A．Teachers work harder and get underpaid.

       B．Teachers have no opportunities to work in other fields.

       C．Teaching can attract best students to work as a teacher.

       D．Teaching can provide rewards as well as high salaries.

Many public school teachers turn to other professions because        .

       A．the government doesn’t financially support them

       B．they have to work longer hours than a lawyer

       C．their students refuse to listen to them

The author believes that change in teachers’ status in the United States       .

       A．is not great             B．is impossible

       C．influences people’s attitude            D．needs time

Tracy Caulkins is known as the first American to set an American record and win an American title in each of four swimming strokes（泳姿）: breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke, freestyle.

Tracy Caulkins was born in Minnesota and lived in Iowa until she was six. She began swimming when she was eight, after the family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee. While unwilling at first to swim in cold water or get her face wet, she began to train in earnest (认真地) as her talent became clear. Though her father worked for the public schools, the family sent her to a private school when the public schools could not accommodate (适应) her training schedule.

At age 13, Tracy Caulkins took part in the trials(选拔赛) for the 1976 Olympics, but did not make the team. She continued to win national and international titles, and was disappointed in 1980 when the U.S. didn’t attend the Moscow Olympics. She continued to train and compete.

In 1981, Tracy Caulkins began college, graduating in 1985. In college, she continued competing and training, though she had slowed down from her peak (顶峰) years.

Caulkins trained especially hard for the 1984 Olympics, and not only made the team, but was captain of the swim team and at Los Angeles, won three gold medals and was named Sportswoman of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee. After that she retired from swimming, and was a commentator (解说员) for swimming events as well as taking advantage of her fame to do business.

Tracy Caulkins married Australian swimmer, Mark Stockwell, in 1991, their romance having begun at the 1984 Olympics when he jumped into a warm-up pool to introduce himself. They married in Nashville and moved to Australia, where they had three children. Caulkins continued to be professionally involved in sports.

1.Tracy Caulkins was sent to a private school because _____.

A．the schedule of the public school wasn’t suitable for her

B．her parents had to work in the school

C．her family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee

D．she showed strong interest in swimming

2.Which Olympic Games did Tracy Caulkins attend?

A．The 1976 Olympic Games.                 B．The 1980 Olympic Games.

C．The 1984 Olympic Games.                 D．The 1992 Olympic Games.

3.Give the correct order of the following events in Tracy Caulkins’ life.

a. She was named Sportswoman of the Year.

b. She became a commentator.

c. She got married.

d. She went to college.

e. She attended the Olympics.

A．d; e; a; b; c                            B．d; e; c; b; a

C．d; a; e; c; b                            D．d; e; a; c; b

4.When was Tracy Caulkins born?

A．In 1963           B．In 1953           C．In 1960           D．Not mentioned

 

Exceptional children are different in some ways from others of the same age. For these children to   31   their full adult potential, their   32   must suit those differences.

    Although we focus on the needs of exceptional children, we   33   ourselves describing their environment as well. While the leading actor on the stage   34   our attention, we also see the importance of the   35   players and the scenery of the   36   itself. Both the family and the society in which exceptional children live are often the   37   to their growth and development. And it is in the public schools that we find the full   38   of society’s understanding—the knowledge, hopes, and fears that are   39   to the next generation.

    Education in any society is a   40   of the society. We can see in it the strengths, the weaknesses, the hopes, the prejudices, and the  41  values of the culture itself. The great  42  in exceptional children shown in public education over the past thirty years   43   the strong feeling in our society that all   44  , whatever their special conditions, have a right to get the chance to fully develop their abilities.

    “All man are created equal.” We’ve    45    it many times, but it still has an important meaning for education in a democratic society.   46   the phrase was used by this country’s founders to express equality before the   47  , it has also been explained to mean equality of education. That   48   educational chance for all children—the right of each child to  49  help in learning to the limit of his or her ability, whether that ability is small or great. Recent  50  decisions have made certain of the right of children—disabled or not—to a suitable education, and have ordered that public schools take the necessary steps to provide that education.

1.A. see           B. develop                  C. come               D. expand

2.A. education               B. potential                C. school             D. family

3.A. feel                     B. find                      C. leave              D. prevent

4.A. pays          B. loses                    C. draws              D. sees

5.A. male                   B. female                  C. supporting         D. performing

6.A. play                    B. director                 C. theater            D. actor

7.A. place                   B. fact                      C. condition          D. key

8.A. system        B. equipment               C. expression         D. support

9.A. shown                  B. passed                  C. taken                      D. changed

10.A. tool           B. way                   C. science            D. mirror

11.A. central                B. extra                    C. special              D. ordinary

12.A. interest              B. joy                       C. surprise           D. disappointment

13.A. damages              B. exists                   C. shows              D. lacks

14.A. kids           B. adults                  C. teachers           D. citizens

15.A. spoken               B. heard                    C. known             D. discussed

16.A. When          B. Although          C. If            D. Because

17.A. society                B. leader                   C. law                 D. money

18.A. means         B. needs                 C. damages           D. changes

19.A. refuse                B. offer                    C. give                D. receive

20.A. school         B. court                 C. society            D. office

 

At present, in many American cities especially, many teachers in the public schools say they are underpaid. They point to jobs such as secretary or truck driver, which often pay more to start than that of a teacher. In many other fields, such as law, medicine, computer science, a beginning worker may make more than a teacher who has taught for several years.

Teaching has never been a profession that attracted people interested in high salaries. It is by history a profession that has provided rewards in addition to money—the satisfaction of sharing knowledge, of influencing others, of guiding young people. But in the past several years, there are more difficulties in teaching, for many, than there are rewards.

Unruly students, especially in big cities, large classes and a lack of support from the public in terms of money and understanding have led many public school teachers to leave the profession.

As a result, many of the best students, who would have chosen teaching as their life career in the past, are going into other fields.

Another reason for this change in teacher candidates is the changing status of women in the United States. Until the late 1960s and 1970s, one of the most popular choices for women was teaching. But as other professions, such as law and medicine opened up to women, women stopped pouring into teacher training programs. Thus, a major pool of excellent candidates for the teaching profession dwindled.

Bit by bit government officials and others realized that the status of the teacher had suffered. They talked about change. But the change in a vast society like the United States is not easy. People’s attitudes have formed over many years, and sometimes change takes many years.

The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refers to “      ”.

A. money       B. job     C. secretary    D. truck driver

What is the present situation of the teaching?

A. Teachers work harder and get underpaid.

B. Teachers have no opportunities to work in other fields.

C. Teaching can attract best students to work as a teacher.

D. Teaching can provide rewards as well as high salaries.

Many public school teachers turn to other professions because        .

A. the unruly students and large classes

B. the difficulties of teaching as well as a lack of money, support and understanding

C. the attracting power of other jobs

D. a lack of satisfaction of sharing knowledge and influencing others

The author believes that change in teachers’ status in the United States       .

A. is not great        B. impossible

C. influences people’s attitude       D. needs time

Electronic books have changed the way many people read for pleasure. Now online textbooks are changing the way some students learn and some teachers teach.
More than one hundred seventy-five thousand students attend the public schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside Washington. Last year, the school system used digital books in fifteen schools. This school year, middle schools and high schools changed from printed to electronic textbooks in their social studies classes.
Luke Rosa is a history teacher at Falls Church High School. His students work on laptop computers at school. He explains the idea to them this way. “I mean, it’s just like a regular textbook, except it’s got it all online.”
Peter Noonan, an assistant superintendent (助理监督) of schools, said, “The world’s changing. And the online textbooks can change right along with the events that are happening.” Digital books also cost less than printed textbooks, he said.
A student named Melanie Reuter said, “I don’t have to carry a textbook around, so that’s nice.”
But another student said, “I don’t like it because the Internet sometimes doesn’t work.”
Students also need access to the Internet when they are not at school. About ten percent of students in Fairfax Country do not have a computer or online access at home. Public libraries in the country have free Internet. There are also after-school computer labs as well as computer clubhouse supported by the country. Middle school student Slieman Hakim is happy about that. He said, “My family only has one computer; my sister and I both do our homework on it. So I come here to do my homework. It’s good.”
Other school systems in the area are also considering online textbooks.
【小题1】Which of the following is /are NOT used when students have social studies classes?

A．Paper textbooks.	B．The Internet.
C．Computers.	D．Electronic textbooks.

【小题2】According to the passage, one of the disadvantages of digital textbooks is that_________.

A．they are more expensive

B．they can’t be used if the computer is offline

C．they’re soon out of date

D．reading online does harm to the students’ eyes

【小题3】Why does Slieman Hakim feel happy?

A．He is offered a free computer to do his homework.

B．He doesn’t have to do his homework at home.

C．He has access to the Internet to study at any place.

D．He needn’t share a computer with his sister to do homework.

【小题4】What can we learn from the passage?

A．The lessons online are completely different from those in paper textbooks.

B．Digital textbooks are more beautiful than paper textbooks.

C．All students like digital textbooks because they are new.

D．Students can do their homework in the computer clubhouses.

【小题5】The passage aims to ________.

A．report the use of electronic textbooks in school

B．show how to use electronic textbooks

C．encourage more schools to use electronic textbooks

D．tell readers electronic textbooks will replace regular textbooks