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assage 1
Throughout the nations more than 15,000 school districts，widely differing approaches to teaching science and math have emerged．Though there can be strength in diversity，a new international analysis suggests that this variability has instead contributed to lackluster（平淡的）achievement scores by U.S．children relative to their peers in other developed countries．
Indeed，concludes William H. Schmidt of Michigan State University，who led the new analysis，“No single intellectually coherent vision dominates U.S．educational practice in math or science．”The reason，he said，“is because the system is deeply and fundamentally flawed．”
The new analysis，released this week by the National Science Foundation in Arlington，Va.，is based on data collected from about 50 nations as part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study．
Not only do approaches to teaching science and math vary among individual U.S．communities，the report finds，but there appears to be little strategic focus within a school district’s curricula，its textbooks，or its teachers activities．This contrasts sharply with the coordinated national programs of most other countries．
On average，U.S．students study more topics within science and math than their international counterparts do．This creates an educational environment that“is a mile wide and an inch deep，”Schmidt notes．
For instance，eighth graders in the United States cover about 33 topics in math versus just 19 in Japan．Among science courses，the international gap is even wider．U.S．curricula for this age level resemble those of a small group of countries including Australia，Thailand，Iceland，and Bulgaria．Schmidt asks whether the United States wants to be classed with these nations，whose educational systems“share our pattern of splintered（支离破碎的）visions”but which are not economic leaders．
The new report“couldn’t come at a better time，”says Gerald Wheeler，executive director of the National Science Teachers Association in Arlington．“The new National Science Education Standards provide that focused vision，”including the call“to do less，but in greater depth．”
Implementing the new science standards and their math counterparts will be the challenge，he and Schmidt agree，because the decentralized responsibility for education in the United States requires that any reforms be tailored and instituted one community at a time．
In fact，Schmidt argues，reforms such as these proposed national standards“face an almost impossible task，because even though they are intellectually coherent，each becomes only one more voice in the babble（嘈杂声）．”
1．According to the passage，the teaching of science and math in America is _____．
A．focused on tapping students potential
B．characterized by its diversity
C．losing its vitality gradually
D．going downhill in recent years
2．The fundamental flaw of American school education is that _____．
A．it lacks a coordinated national program
B．it sets a very low academic standard for students
C．it relies heavily on the initiative of individual teachers
D．it attaches too much importance to intensive study of school subjects
3．By saying that the U.S．educational environment is“mile wide and an inch deep”（Line 2，Para．5），the author means U.S．educational practice_____．
A．lays stress on quality at the expense of quantity
B．offers an environment for comprehensive education
C．encourages learning both in depth and in scope
D．scratches the surface of a wide range of topics
4．The new National Science Education Standards are good news in that they will _____．
A．provide depth to school science education
B．solve most of the problems in school teaching
C．be able to meet the demands of the community
D．quickly dominate U.S．educational practice
5．Putting the new science and math standards into practice will prove difficult because _____．
A．there is always controversy in educational circles
B．not enough educators have realized the necessity for doing so
C．school districts are responsible for making their own decisions
D．many schoolteachers challenge the acceptability of these standards
Passage 2
Sometimes the U.S．government goes out of its way to prove it can be an absolute nuisance．Take the case of Southern Clay，Inc.，which has a factory at Paris，Tennessee，putting out a clay product for cat boxes best known as“Kitty Litter”．It’s a simple enough process，but the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration insists that since clay comes from the ground — an excavation half a mile from the Kitty Litter plant — the company actually is engaged in mining and milling．Therefore，says MSHA，Southern Clay is subject to all the rules that govern，say，coal miners working in shafts several hundred feet down．
The company has been told to devise an escape system and fire fighting procedure in case there is a fire in its“mine”．Southern Clay estimates it will lose 6,000 man hours in production time giving its 250 factory workers special training in how to escape from a mine disaster．
One thing that has always impressed us about cats，in addition to their tidiness，is that they seem to watch the human world with a sense of wise and detached superiority，as though they wondered what the hustle and bustle is all about．If they grin from time to time，as some people insist，it’s no wonder．
6．The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to _____．
A．explain how Kitty Litter is produced
B．describe the Mine Safety and Health Administration
C．show how tidy cats are
D．show that the government can sometimes be a nuisance
7．The clay excavation is _____．
A．half a mile underground
B．several miles from Paris，Tennessee
C．worked by miners in shafts several hundred feet down
D．half a mile from the Kitty Litter plant
8．What is the meaning of“man hour”？_____
A．The time needed in finishing the work by one man．
B．The work done by one man in one hour．
C．The man needed in finishing the work in one hour．
D．The work done by one man．
9．Judging from the passage，has the company devised an escape system and fire fighting procedure？_____
A．Yes，the company has done so because it is an order．
B．Of course，the company has done so although the company is reluctant．
C．No，the company has not done so．
D．We could not judge from the passage．
10．What does the author mean by the passage’s last sentence？_____
A．Cats sometimes seem to be amused by human antics．
B．People sometimes appear to be laughing at the antics of cats．
C．Some people think cats are laughing at the Kitty Litter plant．
D．Some people think cats are laughing at the futility of fire fighting procedures．
Passage 3
In 1985 when a Japan Air Lines（JAL）jet crashed，its president，Yasumoto Takagi，called each victim’s family to apologize，and then promptly resigned．And in 1987，when a subsidiary of Toshiba sold sensitive military technology to the former Soviet Union，the chairman of Toshiba gave up his post．
These executive actions，which Toshiba calls“the highest form of apology，”may seem bizarre to US managers．No one at Boeing resigned after the JAL crash，which may have been caused by a faulty Boeing repair．
The difference between the two business cultures centers around different definitions of delegation．While US executives give both responsibility and authority to their employees，Japanese executives delegate only authority — the responsibility is still theirs．Although the subsidiary that sold the sensitive technology to the Soviets had its own management，the Toshiba top executives said they“must take personal responsibility for not creating an atmosphere throughout the Toshiba group that would make such activity unthinkable，even in an independently run subsidiary．”
Such acceptance of community responsibility is not unique to businesses in Japan．School principals in Japan have resigned when their students committed major crimes after school hours．Even if they do not quit，Japanese executives will often accept primary responsibility in other ways，such as taking the first pay cut when a company gets into financial trouble．Such personal sacrifices，even if they are largely symbolic，help to create the sense of community and employee loyalty that is crucial to the Japanese way of doing business．
Harvard Business School professor George Lodge calls the ritual acceptance of blame“almost a feudal（封建的）way of purging（清除）the community of dishonor，”and to some in the United States，such resignations look cowardly．However，in an era in which both business and governmental leaders seem particularly good at evading responsibility，many US managers would probably welcome an infusion（灌输）of the Japanese sense of responsibility. If，for instance，US automobile company executives offered to reduce their own salaries before they asked their workers to take pay cuts，negotiations would probably take on a very different character．
11．Why did the chairman of Toshiba resign his position in 1987？_____
A．In Japan，the leakage of a slate secret to Russians is a grave came．
B．He had been under attack for shifting responsibility to his subordinates．
C．In Japan，the chief executive of a corporation is held responsible for the mistake made by its subsidiaries．
D．He had been accused of being cowardly towards crises that were taking place in his corporation．
12．According to the passage if you want to be a good manager in Japan，you have to _____．
A．apologize promptly for your subordinates’ mistakes
B．be skillful in accepting blames from customers
C．make symbolic sacrifices whenever necessary
D．create a strong sense of company loyalty
13．What’s Professor George Lodge’s attitude towards the resignations of Japanese corporate leaders？_____
A．Sympathetic．
B．Biased．
C．Critical．
D．Approving．
14．Which of the following statements is TRUE？_____
A．Boeing had nothing to do with the JAL air crash in 1985．
B．American executives consider authority and responsibility inseparable．
C．School principals bear legal responsibility for students’ crimes．
D．Persuading employees to take pay cuts doesn’t help solve corporate crises．
15．The passage is mainly about _____．
A．resignation as an effective way of dealing with business crises
B．the importance of delegating responsibility to employees
C．ways of evading responsibility in times of crises
D．the difference between two business cultures | 
发表于 2008-9-25 19:39:49
发表于 2008-9-29 19:03:16
