一2012年6月英语四级真题PartⅡReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswersheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA)，B)，C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.SmallSchoolsRisingThisyear’slistofthetop100highschoolsshowsthattoday,thosewithfewerstudentsareflourishing.Fiftyyearsago,theywerethelatestthingineducationalreform:big,modern,suburbanhighschoolswithstudentscountedinthethousands.Asbabyboomers(二战后婴儿潮时期出生的人)cameofhigh-schoolage,bigschoolspromisedeconomicefficiency.Agreaterchoiceofcourses,and,ofcourse,betterfootballteams.Onlyyearslaterdidweunderstandthetrade-offsthisinvolved:thecreationofexcessivebureaucracies(官僚机构)，thedifficultyofforgingpersonalconnectionsbetweenteachersandstudents.SATscoresbegandroppingin1963;today,onaverage,30%ofstudentsdonotcompletehighschoolinfouryears,afigurethatrisesto50%inpoorurbanneighborhoods.Whiletheemphasisonteachingtohigher,test-drivenstandardsassetinNoChildLeftBehindresultedinsignificantlybetterperformanceinelementary(andsomemiddle)schools,highschoolsforavarietyofreasonsseemedtohavemadelittleprogress.Sizeisn’teverything,butitdoesmatter,andthepastdecadehasseenanoticeablecountertrendtowardsmallerschools.Thishasbeendue,inpart,totheBillandMelindaGatesFoundation,whichhasinvested$1.8billioninAmericanhighschools,helpingtoopenabout1,000smallschools-mostofthemwithabout400kidseachwithanaverageenrollmentofonly150pergrade,About500moreareonthedrawingboard.Districtsalloverthecountryaretakingnotice,alongwithmayorsincitieslikeNewYork,ChicagoandSanDiego.Themovementincludesindependentpubliccharterschools,suchasNo.1BASISinTucson,withonly120high-schoolersand18graduatesthisyear.Itembracesdistrict-sanctionedmagnetschools,suchastheTalentedandGiftedSchool,with198students,andtheScienceandEngineeringMagnet,with383,whichshareabuildinginDallas,aswellastheCityHonorsSchoolinBuffalo,N.Y.,whichgrewoutofvolunteereveningseminarsforstudents.Anditincludesalternativeschoolswithstudentsselectedbylottery(抽签)，suchasH-BWoodlawninArlington,Va.Andmostnoticeableofall,thereisthephenomenonoflargeurbanandsuburbanhighschoolsthathavesplitupintosmallerunitsofafewhundred,generallyhousedinthesamegroundsthatonceboastedthousandsofstudentsallmarchingtothesameband.HillsdaleHighSchoolinSanMateo,Calif,isoneofthose,rankingNo.423—amongthetop2%inthecountry—onNewsweek’sannualrankingofAmerica’stophighschools.Thesuccessofsmallschoolsisapparentinthelistings.Tenyearsago,whenthefirstNewsweeklistbasedoncollege-leveltestparticipationwaspublished,onlythreeofthetop100schoolshadgraduatingClassessmallerthan100students.Thisyearthereare22.Nearly250schoolsonthefull,Newsweeklistofthetop5%ofschoolsnationallyhadfewerthan200graduatesin2007.AlthoughmanyofHillsdale’sstudentscamefromwealthyhouseholds,bythelate1990averagetestscoreswereslidingandithadearnedtheunaffectionatenickname(绰号)“Hillsjail.”JeffGilbert.AHillsdaleteacherwhobecameprincipallastyear,rememberssittingwithotherteacherswatchingstudentsfileoutofagraduationceremonyandaskingoneanotherinastonishment,“Howdidthatstudentgraduate?”Soin2003Hillsdaleremadeitselfintothree“houses,”romanticallynamedFlorence,MarrakechandKyoto.Eachofthe300arrivingninthgradersarerandoml...
