4.One of India's great economic advantages is the relative youth of its population.By 2020 it will become the world's youngest country,with 64% of its people at working age.To make the most of this advantage,India's children need to be educated.
On paper,India is doing well.The country has a nationwide network of state primary schools funded by an earmarked(指定的) tax.Some 96% of children aged 6-14go to school,even in rural areas.That's well above the average for the developing world and their attendance is good.But attainment is poor; three-quarters of third-graders can't read a grade-one text and 53% of grade-five kids can't read at the standard they should have achieved at grade two.Levels of achievement are almost as bad in maths.
"The main problem in India is not enrollment(入學(xué)人數(shù)) or whether there is a local school;it's the delivery of education---the way teaching is done or not done,"says Vinati Sukhdev,executive director of Pratham,a charity that campaigns for better education in India.According to Ms Sukhdev,the country's teachers are the third-best-paid in the world but they're poorly trained and are often absent---it's not uncommon for them to hold a second job outside school.Teacher attendance at primary level is only 85%,according to Pratham research and there is little punishment for those who don't turn up.
Because more than 30% of India's state primary schools are tiny establishments with just 60or even fewer pupils---rising to 60%in the far north and north east---the absence of a teacher is likely to mean that there is no learning that day.
The government knows that state schooling needs improving.In 2009,it passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or the Right to Education (RTE) Act,a law for the national provision of free,child-friendly education.It says that there should be two teachers for every 60 students and that they should go to work regularly,get there on time,follow the curriculum,assess how well the children are learning and meet regularly with parents.
There has been some progress,though from a low base.According to Ms Sukhdev,45% of schools agree with the pupil/teacher ratios(比率),up from 39% in 2010,when the law took effect.Infrastructure is improving too.Two-thirds of state primaries now have a working toilet.
"What we need to do next is improve accountability(責(zé)任),"says Ms Sukhdev.Schools have management committees that are supposed to include parent and local government representatives."But they don't work or people don't know they exist."Pratham tries to help local communities and parents drive improvement."You should see the kind of reaction we get when they realize the teacher is paid but isn't turning up!"says Ms Sukhdev."We can't be everywhere,so we limit ourselves to working in a few districts,where we can create model schools.Then we try to work together with local governments to make sure every school in the district or state is raised to that level."the Read India program was launched by Pratham in 2007and now it has created an easy-to-use teaching and assessment pack called Learning to read.It has trained teachers in how to use the pack in school and shown community health workers,volunteers and parents how it could support learning outside school.The program has now run across 19 states,involving 450,000 volunteers and training 600,000 teachers and government workers.Among the 33m children who have participated,the number of those who can read simple sentences has risen by 20%.
For Ms Sukhdev,the success of Read India underlines the need to find ideas that can be replicated(復(fù)制).According to the UNESCO money and attendance level are important---but it's the quality of education delivered that really matters.
66.What problem with India's education does Paragraph 2 show?A
A.India's efforts in education are not well rewarded.
B.India's primary schools lack financial support.
C.Kids hardly attend school in India rural areas.
D.India third-graders often read grade-one texts.
67.According to the passage,the RTE Act is mainly toD.
A.improve teachers'teaching skills
B.offer students many more courses
C.set up a teacher-friendly education
D.regulate teachers'teaching behavior.
68.The underlined words"that level"in paragraph 7 refer toA.
A.the educational level of model schools
B.the required level of school management
C.the required level of teachers'attendance
D.the educational level of average Indian schools
69.How do parents feel about the findings of Pratham's research?B
A.Unconcerned B.Angry C.Regretful D.Sympathetic
70.What can be learnt about the Read India program?D
A.It is in the charge of the UNESCO
B.It has helped train about 33m teachers
C.It encourages more students to attend schools
D.It is an example of what targeted help can achieve.
分析 在印度,孩子的教育程度普遍不高,為此政府出臺(tái)一些政策愛提高教育質(zhì)量.
解答 66-70 ADABD
66.A 細(xì)節(jié)推理題.根據(jù)But attainment is poor; three-quarters of third-graders can't read a grade-one text and 53% of grade-five kids can't read at the standard they should have achieved at grade two可知,達(dá)到的學(xué)識(shí)很差,很多三年級(jí)的學(xué)生不能讀一年級(jí)的文本,從這些可推出在教育的回報(bào)上不太理想,故答案為A.
67.D 細(xì)節(jié)題.根據(jù)It says that there should be two teachers for every 60 students and that they should go to work regularly,get there on time,follow the curriculum,assess how well the children are learning and meet regularly with parents得知,the RTE Act 要求教師定期上班,按照課程,評(píng)價(jià)學(xué)生等,是對(duì)老師的要求,故答案為D.
68.A 猜測(cè)詞意題.根據(jù)前句where we can create model schools我們要?jiǎng)?chuàng)造示范學(xué)校,確保每個(gè)地區(qū)的學(xué)校都能達(dá)到那個(gè)水平,故此處的that level指the educational level of model schools.
69.B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題.通過You should see the kind of reaction we get when they realize the teacher is paid but isn't turning up得知,對(duì)于老師的這些不作為父母感到很生氣,故答案為B.
70.D 細(xì)節(jié)題.在文章最后一段看出,印度的這個(gè)閱讀計(jì)劃取得了很多的 成就,很多參與的孩子閱讀能力得到提到,所以該計(jì)劃是一個(gè)提高印度教育質(zhì)量的很好的一個(gè)例子,故答案為D.
點(diǎn)評(píng) 本文是一篇新聞報(bào)道類閱讀,題目涉及多道細(xì)節(jié)理解題.推理判斷題,主旨大意題.做題時(shí)學(xué)生應(yīng)仔細(xì)閱讀原文,把握文章主要內(nèi)容,聯(lián)系文章上下文內(nèi)容并結(jié)合所給選項(xiàng)含義,從中選出正確答案,一定要做到有理有據(jù),切忌胡亂猜測(cè).