In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
Those American High Schools lavish more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D. C. , which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”
One of the ironies (讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.
1.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.
A. there are striking differences between the 2 countries
B. Polish kids are better at learning
C. sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg
D. he intends to improve his scores
2.According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.
A. too much importance is placed on sports in America
B. little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools
C. American high schools complain about sports time
D. PISA plays a very important role in America
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.
A. American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot
B. high expectations push up American students’ academic performance
C. low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance
D. lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance
4.The purpose of this article is to _______.
A. draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition
B. call on American schools to learn from the Polish model
C. compare Polish schools with those in America
D. explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
That American high schools waste more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”
One of the ironies(讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.
1.According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.
A. too much importance is placed on sports in America
B. little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools
C. American high schools complain about sports time
D. PISA plays a very important role in America
2.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.
A. American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot
B. high expectations push up American students’ academic performance
C. low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance
D. lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance
3.The purpose of this article is to _______.
A. draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition
B. call on American schools to learn from the Polish model
C. compare Polish schools with those in America
D. explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
Those American High Schools lavish more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D. C. , which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”
One of the ironies (讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.
1.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.
A. there are striking differences between the 2 countries
B. Polish kids are better at learning
C. sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg
D. he intends to improve his scores
2.According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.
A. too much importance is placed on sports in America
B. little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools
C. American high schools complain about sports time
D. PISA plays a very important role in America
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.
A. American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot
B. high expectations push up American students’ academic performance
C. low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance
D. lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance
4.The purpose of this article is to _______.
A. draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition
B. call on American schools to learn from the Polish model
C. compare Polish schools with those in America
D. explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
That American high schools waste more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”One of the ironies(讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expection are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.
1.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.
A. there are striking differences between the 2 countries
B. Polish kids are better at learning
C. he intends to improve his scores
D. sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg
2.According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.
A. little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools
B. too much importance is placed on sports in America
C. American high schools complain about sports time
D. PISA plays a very important role in America
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.
A. American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot
B. high expectations push up American students’ academic performance
C. lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance
D. low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance
4.The purpose of this article is to _______.
A. draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition
B. call on American schools to learn from the Polish model
C. compare Polish schools with those in America
D. explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
That American high schools lavish more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”
One of the ironies(讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.
1.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.
A. there are striking differences between the 2 countries
B. Polish kids are better at learning
C. sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg
D. he intends to improve his scores
2.According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.
A. too much importance is placed on sports in America
B. little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools
C. American high schools complain about sports time
D. PISA plays a very important role in America
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.
A. American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot
B. high expectations push up American students’ academic performance
C. low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance
D. lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance
4.The purpose of this article is to _______.
A. draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition
B. call on American schools to learn from the Polish model
C. compare Polish schools with those in America
D. explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland.Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it.Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does.One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
That American high schools waste more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint.This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities.This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan.Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it.And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too.She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year.The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵).When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted.When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned.“Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?” One of the ironies(讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible.American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expection are high.It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.
1.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.
A.there are striking differences between the 2 countries
B.Polish kids are better at learning
C.he intends to improve his scores
D.sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg
2.According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.
A.little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools
B.too much importance is placed on sports in America
C.American high schools complain about sports time
D.PISA plays a very important role in America
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.
A.American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot
B.high expectations push up American students’ academic performance
C.lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance
D.low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance
4.The purpose of this article is to _______.
A.draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition
B.call on American schools to learn from the Polish model
C.compare Polish schools with those in America
D.explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World”, Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a highschool student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Wroclaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students' test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Wroclaw is that the latter has no football team or teams of any kind.
That American high schools spend more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. In December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results are announced, it's safe to predict that American highschool students will once again show their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like China, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader a mother with three children in the school was asked about the school's flaws (瑕疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”
One of the ironies of the situation is that sports show what is possible. American kids' performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It's too bad that their_test_scores_show_the_same_thing._
1.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because ________.
A.he intends to improve his scores
B.Polish kids are better at learning
C.sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg
D.he wants to be the smartest kid in the world
2.According to Paragraph 2, we know that ________.
A.PISA plays a very important role in America
B.little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools
C.American students do better in both math and sports
D.too much importance is placed on sports in America
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means ________.
A.low expectations result in American students' poor PISA performance
B.high expectations push up American students' academic performance
C.American students' academic performance worries their parents a lot
D.lacking practice contributes to American students' average performance
4.The purpose of this article is to ________.
A.compare Polish schools with those in America
B.call on American schools to learn from the Polish model
C.draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition
D.explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
It is described in her new book, one about sea life, ______this kind of fish lives in the deep sea.
A. which B. that C. what D. who
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Like many of the protesters (抗议者) at Occupy Wall Street in New York, Amanda Vodola is young, underemployed and loaded with student debt. She spends her days _________, helping _________ the movement, and her evenings waiting tables at a restaurant in Brooklyn. Last spring, she graduated from Fordham University with a degree in English. “I grew up with this narrative that to get a good job I need to go to school,” she says. But the job she has “is not enough to pay the bills”. And the bills she has _________ most about are the ones tied to that narrative: the $30,000 she _________ in college loans.
In November, when their six-month grace period run _________, Vodola and millions of other students who graduated in May have to start _________ their loans. Repayment requirements for private loans kick in (开始生效) _________ whether _________ have found jobs. Since employment rates for recent college graduates have _________ in the past two years, as have starting salaries, the __________ of a sharp rise in student-loan delinquencies (到期未付) has led some economists to __________ that this could be the next __________ crisis, rippling (波及) into the wider economy. Total US student-loan debt, which __________ credit-card debt for the first time last year, is on track to __________ $1,000 billion this year. That’s a nearly 8% __________ over last year.
But neither these __________ nor the voices of students, __________ by debt, at protests in cities and on campuses throughout the nation are likely to keep the families of high school seniors from seeing a brand-name education as a __________ to a better life. They’ve long been told that higher education is an __________ in the future—even as the costs of college has __________ 538% over the past thirty years.
1.A.running around B.keeping fit C.warming up D.checking out
2.A.establish B.resemble C.found D.organize
3.A.puzzled B.interrupted C.worried D.carried
4.A.collects B.owes C.costs D.accounts
5.A.down B.up C.off D.out
6.A.raising B.repaying C.rearranging D.rating
7.A.although B.in contrast with C.regardless of D.because of
8.A.borrowers B.owners C.lenders D.holders
9.A.dropped B.changed C.collapsed D.slimmed
10.A.stability B.possibility C.promotion D.security
11.A.command B.instruct C.appreciate D.predict
12.A.political B.religious C.financial D.legal
13.A.decreased B.topped C.compared D.lowered
14.A.hit B.knock C.blow D.strike
15.A.advance B.progress C.transfer D.increase
16.A.conclusions B.graphs C.statistics D.abstracts
17.A.rejected B.burdened C.admitted D.boycotted
18.A.sign B.label C.fame D.ticket
19.A.investment B.instrument C.indication D.inspiration
20.A.strengthened B.flown C.zoomed D.broken
高三英语完形填空困难题查看答案及解析
This new firm will ________the crowds, whatever its quality, as long as it gets advertised in the right way.
A.attract | B.attack | C.absorb | D.attain |
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal (谷类食物), eggs or toast. While others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different from other kids' too. But at least I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, then we be gone one hour or less—not one hour and one minute. And she always insisted upon us telling the truth. Now you can see how mean she was.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook. We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath, while the other kids always wore their clothes for days. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.
Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, “sick” like our friends did, and miss school. Our marks in school had to be up to par(达到正常水平). Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.
As the years rolled by, we were one by one put to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults.
Now I am trying to raise my three children. I am filled with pride when my children think I am mean because, you see, I had the meanest mother in the world.
1.What does the sentence “But at least I wasn't alone in my sufferings.” mean?
A.The author's mother was only mean to her.
B.The author's mother suffered her.
C.The author's mother was mean to her sister, brothers and her.
D.The author wasn't alone because of suffering.
2.Why was the author's mother mean to her children?
A.Because she wanted her children to be top students in school.
B.Because she wanted her children to bring home colored report cards like her friends did.
C.Because she wanted her children to drop out.
D.Because she wanted her children to do their best at school and be educated and respected citizens.
3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Some of the children weren't able to go to college because of their mean mother.
B.Mother didn't let the author tell lies.
C.Mother asked the author to wear clean clothes.
D.The author could not miss school even if she was ill.
4.The passage was written in a way of _______ tone?
A.humorous B.hateful C.ridiculous D.critical
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析