Unit 74


On this one point George W. Bush and Al Gore would agree: our schools need more Marilyn Whirrys. For 35 years, Whirry has inspired high school students to think deeply about great literature and to use its devices in their writing. She is the kind of teacher that students come back to visit decades later in her classroom in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Last May a national educators’ group named her its Teacher of the Year. And with the nation’s public schools planning to hire 2.5 million new teachers over the next decade, Whirry is excited that each presidential candidate is pushing ways to recruit, train and reward better teachers. “They’re both talking about teacher quality,” she says. “We have a real opportunity right now.”

Bush’s plan combines most existing federal funds for professional development and class-size reduction into a flexible new fund for teacher training and recruitment, and he adds $400 million a year in new money. Bush would allow states to spend the funds as they see fit—so long as they establish teacher-accountability systems. This is similar to what Ronald Reagan did in the 1980s. But then, says Emily Feistritzer, president of the Center for Education Information, “the money disappeared.” Under Bush’s plan, she says, “I worry that the money won’t go where it’s intended to once it reaches the states.”

Bush would expand funding from $2. 4 million to $30 million for the Troops to Teachers program, which places veterans who want to teach in public schools. The program makes use of people like Arthur Moore, who retired in 1994 after 21 years in the Army and knew he wanted to teach. “There are a lot of people who would make excellent teachers but are discouraged by the bureaucracy of the certification process,” says Moore, 45, who began teaching fourth grade in Baltimore and now tests students for special education. “Troops to Teachers is an excellent way to tap their potential by lowering the barriers.” Bush would also expand loan forgiveness for math and science majors who teach in needy schools.

Gore’s plan, endorsed by the teachers’ unions, would spend $8 billion over 10 years to help recruit 1 million new teachers, with provisions for college aid, loan forgiveness and signing bonuses. Gore would spend an additional $8 billion to provide raises of as much as $5,000 each to teachers in poor districts that have adopted aggressive plans to improve teacher quality, plus as much as $10,000 each to teachers certified by a national board. Gore would also require states to ensure that all new teachers pass rigorous assessments. Says Feistritzer: “Gore’s proposal might be a little excessive in the number of teachers he wants to recruit, but his teacher testing is exactly what we need.”

注（1）：本文选自Time；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：第1题模仿2005年真题Text 1第1题，第2、4、5、3题分别模仿2001年真题Text 4第2、3题和Text 3第1、2题。



1. In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by ______.

A) quoting the Teacher of the Year

B) citing an example

C) making an assumption

D) posing a contrast

2. According to Emily Feistritzer, Bush’s plan might ______.

A) be handicapped by the states

B) give the states too much freedom

C) help states recruit more teachers

D) be too flexible

3. The basic problem many veterans encounter when they seek the teaching profession is ______.

A) their lack of training and experience

B) their background

C) that they do not have the making of a teacher

D) the barriers in the certification process

4. From Paragraph 4 we can infer that ______.

A) Gore’s plan is better than Bush’s plan

B) poor districts will receive more funding from Gore’s plan

C) Gore’s plan focuses on the number of teachers while Bush’s plan on the accountability

D) Gore’s plan gives qualified teachers generous paycheck

5. What is the passage mainly about?

A) The competition between Bush and Gore.

B) Two presidential candidates’ plans of teacher training, recruitment and rewarding.

C) The increasing importance of teaching profession.

D) The differences between Bush’s plan and that of Gore’s.





篇章剖析


本篇文章是说明文，介绍了两位总统候选人布什和戈尔各自的教师招募和培训计划。第一段提出了两位候选人的一个共同之处：想方设法招募、培训和奖励优秀教师；第二段介绍了布什的新基金计划；第三段介绍了布什的“军人当教师”计划；第四段介绍了戈尔的教师招募和评估方案。





词汇注释


candidate /ˈkændɪdɪt/ n. 候选人

recruit /rɪˈkruːt/ v. 吸收（新成员）；招募

accountability /əˌkaʊntəˈbɪlɪti/ n. 有责任，有义务

bureaucracy /bjʊˈrɒkrəsi/ n. 官僚，官僚作风，官僚机构

certification /sɜːtɪfɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 证明，证明书；合格证

tap /tæp/ v. 开发；利用

endorse /ɪnˈdɔːs/ v. 支持；签署（姓名）；背书，在（票据等）背面签字

forgiveness /fəˈgɪvnɪs/ n. 免除（债务等）

bonus /ˈbəʊnəs/ n. 红利；奖金；额外津贴

rigorous /ˈrɪgərəs/ adj. 严格的，严厉的

excessive /ɪkˈsesɪv/ adj. 过多的，过分的





难句突破


Gore would spend an additional $8 billion to provide raises of as much as $5,000 each to teachers in poor districts that have adopted aggressive plans to improve teacher quality, plus as much as $10,000 each to teachers certified by a national board.

主体句式：Gore would spend an additional $8 billion.

结构分析：本句是一个复杂句，不定式to provide raises...作整个句子的目的状语，其中包含了一个that引导的定语从句，修饰districts；介词plus引导了一个伴随状语，修饰这个目的状语。

句子译文：此外，戈尔计划再花80亿美元给为提高教师质量采取积极策略的贫困地区的每位教师增加5, 000美元工资，另外，给每位获得国家教育委员会证书的教师10, 000美元。





题目分析


1. C 论证方式题。可以从第一句话would agree看出。would是一种虚拟用法，表明这是作者的一种假想。

2. A 细节题。根据上下文，布什的计划类似于里根的计划，当时钱拨到了各州，但最后都不知去向。Emily Feistritzer担心如果各州可以按照自己认为适合的方式动用这笔资金的话，这笔钱将不被用于最初的目的。也就是说布什的计划会被各州执行不力。

3. D 细节题。这一题的答案在文中第三段，退伍老兵Moore说许多本来可成为优秀教师的退伍军人却因为the bureaucracy of the certification process而受阻。

4. D 推理题。这可以从“获得全国教育委员会认证的教师每人还可以得到1万美元”的提议中看出。

5. B 主旨题。判断文章的主旨。文章第一段借用Whirry之口来说明两位总统候选人都在积极推动对教师的招募、培训和奖励政策，接着在第二段和第三段介绍了布什的两个计划，第四段介绍了戈尔的计划，这些计划都与招募、培训和奖励政策有关。所以应该是B。





参考译文


乔治·W·布什和艾尔·戈尔也许会一致同意这样一种说法：我们的学校需要更多的像玛丽莲·威尔瑞斯这样的老师。在过去35年中，威尔瑞斯一直鼓励中学生深入思考伟大文学作品的意义并在自己的写作中运用其中的一些创作手法。她是那种学生几十年后依旧会回到她在加州曼哈顿海滩的教室来拜访她的老师。去年五月，一个全国教师组织将她评为“年度教师”。现在全国公立学校计划在未来十年招聘250万名新教师，威尔瑞斯对于每位总统候选人都想方设法招募、培训和奖励优秀教师的做法深受鼓舞。“他们两人都谈到了教师素质的问题”，她说。“现在正是我们的大好时机。”

现有联邦基金的大部分原来是用于职业培训和缩小课堂规模的，布什计划把这部分资金和用于教师培训和招募的新基金合在一起，再给这笔新资金每年追加四亿美元。布什允许各州在自己认为合适的情况下支配这笔基金——前提是他们必须建立教师责任制制度。这与罗纳德·里根在80年代所做的类似。不过那时，教育信息中心主席埃米莉·费斯特里泽说道：“钱都不知去向。”对于布什的计划，她说：“我担心资金到了州里会被挪做他用。”

布什打算将用于“军人当教师”计划的资金投入从240万美元增加到3,000万美元。该计划旨在把那些想教书的退伍军人安置在公立学校，并任用像阿瑟·摩尔这样的人。阿瑟·摩尔在军中服役21年后于1994年退役，有教书的愿望。“很多人本来可以成为出色的教师，但由于认证过程中的官僚主义而受阻。”现年45岁的摩尔说道。他最初在巴尔的摩教四年级学生，现在负责给接受特殊教育的学生做测试工作。“‘军人当教师’计划可以降低门槛，激发退役军人的潜能，是非常好的计划。”布什还计划增加数学和理科专业出身的在贫困学校教书的退伍军人的贷款免除额。

戈尔的方案得到了教师工会的支持。该方案计划在10年内斥资80亿美元帮助招募100万名新教师，并拨款为大学提供资助，实行贷款免除以及发放奖金。此外，戈尔计划再花80亿美元给为提高教师质量采取积极策略的贫困地区的每位教师增加5,000美元工资，另外，给每位获得国家教育委员会证书的教师10,000美元。戈尔还要求各州确保所有的新教师都能通过严格的评估。费斯特里泽说：“戈尔计划招募的教师人数也许有点多，但他的教师测试提案正是我们所需要的。”





Unit 75


On March 18th Margaret Spellings, the secretary of education, announced a pilot reform to the No Child Left Behind Act（NCLB）, George Bush’s education law, which was passed in 2002. Up to ten states, she said, would be allowed to target their resources at the most severely struggling schools, rather than at the vast number needing improvement. The change drew a predictable mix of praise and censure. Above all, though, it was a reminder of utter inaction elsewhere.

Congress, which was supposed to re-authorise the law last year, has made little progress. On the campaign trail, concerns over Iraq and the economy have made education a minor issue. Contrary to appearances, the law’s main tenets are unlikely to be abandoned completely. But for the Democratic candidates in particular, a proper debate on NCLB is to be avoided like political quicksand.

Most politicians agree that the law has the right goals—to raise educational standards and hold schools accountable for meeting them. NCLB requires states to test pupils on maths and reading from third to eighth grade （that is, from the ages of eight to 13）, and once in high school. Some science testing is being added. Schools that do not make “adequate yearly progress” towards meeting state standards face sanctions. Pupils in failing schools can supposedly transfer to a better one or get tutoring. Most also agree that NCLB has big flaws that must be fixed. Few pupils in bad schools actually transfer—less than 1% of those eligible did so in the 2003-04 school year. Teachers’ unions say the tests are focused too narrowly on maths and reading, fail to measure progress over time and encourage “teaching to the test”. They also complain that the law lacks proper funding. The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a conservative policy group, has exposed wide gaps in state standards. Test-data reflect this. In Mississippi 90% of fourth-graders were labelled “proficient” or better in the state reading test in 2006-07. Only 19% reached that level in a national test.

John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, offers NCLB tepid support but fails to elaborate. At Democratic rallies, NCLB is little more than a whipping-boy. Hillary Clinton proclaims that she will “end the unfunded mandate known as No Child Left Behind”. But though she and Barack Obama deride NCLB publicly, each endorses the idea of accountability. They favour using more sophisticated “assessments” in place of tests, want to value a broader range of skills, punish schools less and support them more. How these ideas would be implemented remains unclear.

Not surprisingly, more controversial proposals can be found among those not running for president. Chester Finn of Fordham thinks the federal government needs greater power to set standards, while states should have more leeway in meeting them. A bipartisan commission on NCLB has issued a slew of proposals. Particularly contentious is a plan to use pupils’ test scores to help identify ineffective teachers as in need of retraining. Of course, standards alone do not improve education. Both Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama propose a host of new programmes for schools, described on their websites if rarely on campaign. But accountability is likely to remain a big part of school reform.

注（1）：本文选自Economist；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2003年真题Text 4。



1. The article begins with an announcement about a pilot reform of NCLB to ______.

A) show that the federal government is dedicated to improve education quality

B) tell us that Bush’s education law was not properly designed and needs change

C) introduce how NCLB provokes different opinions and proposals

D) remind places of utter inaction to implement some measures

2. What is implied in Paragraph 3?

A) NCLB’s principles are widely recognized but practices questioned.

B) The aim of NCLB is to encourage students to strive for entering better schools.

C) An important goal of NCLB is to improve students’ test-taking ability.

D) The definitions of “proficiency” are different on the state and federal levels.

3. The Democratic attitude toward NCLB is ______.

A) indifferent

B) disapproving

C) supportive

D) apprehensive

4. According to the proposals raised by those not running for president, ______.

A) a more controversial debate should be carried on about NCLB

B) all the states should strictly meet the standards set by the federal government

C) teachers who fail to help students improve test scores should leave their schools

D) teachers should be provided with more pressure and assistance

5. The text intends to show ______.

A) that the presidency candidates are lukewarm towards educational issues

B) that NCLB is flawed with some fundamental problems

C) the discussion and controversies caused by a pilot reform to NCLB

D) how NCLB fails to comprehensively improve American education in general





篇章剖析


本文就美国教育部计划对《不让一个孩子掉队法案》进行试点改革这一事件展开讨论。第一段首先介绍了这一事件；第二段指出像NCLB这样的教育问题并不是总统竞选中的热门话题；第三段指出大多数政客支持NCLB的基本原则但是认为该法案存在很大问题；第四段简单介绍了两党候选人对NCLB的看法；最后一段就此问题深入展开，讨论更宏观的教育质量问题。





词汇注释


trail /treɪl/ n. 一长串；一系列；踪迹

tenet /ˈtenɪt/ n. 信条；主义；宗旨；原则

quicksand /ˈkwɪksænd/ n. 流沙

sanction /ˈsæŋkʃən/ n. 制裁，处罚

eligible /ˈelɪdʒəbl/ n. 合格者，适任者

proficient /prəˈfɪʃənt/ adj. 精通的，熟练的

tepid /ˈtepɪd/ adj. 不热情的，不冷不热的

elaborate /ɪˈlæbərɪt/ v. 详尽阐述；详细制定

rally /ˈræli/ n. 集合，集会

mandate /ˈmændeɪt/ n. 命令，指令

deride /dɪˈraɪd/ v. 嘲笑；嘲弄

endorse /ɪnˈdɔːs/ v. 支持，赞同

leeway /ˈliːweɪ/ n. 余地；（时间等的）余裕

bipartisan /baɪˈpɑːtɪzən/ adj. 两党的，代表两党的

slew /sluː/ n. 许多

contentious /kənˈtenʃəs/ adj. 有异议的；引起争论的





难句突破


They favour using more sophisticated “assessments” in place of tests, want to value a broader range of skills, punish schools less and support them more.

主体句式：They favour...want...punish...and support...

结构分析：本句是一个简单句，其特色是有四个并列的谓语，整个句子读起来相当有节奏感，是一种值得借鉴的写作风格。

句子译文：他们倾向于用更复杂的“评估”来代替考试，重视更广泛的技能，增加对学校的支持，减少对其的处罚。





题目分析


1. C 细节题。从文章中可以看出，作者开头用美国教育部计划对NCLB进行试点改革这一事件作为一个引子，引出文章的重点，即各方的观点和提议，第一段也指出“The change drew a predictable mix of praise and censure.”，因此C是正确答案。

2. A 推理题。文章第三段指出“大多数政客一致认为NCLB的目标正确，即提高教育标准并使学校确保达标”，“同样，大多数政客也认为NCLB的问题很大，需要改进”，由此可见人们认同NCLB的基本原则但是质疑其具体做法，因此A是正确答案。虽然文中提到“在未达标的学校读书的学生可以转到好点的学校或者得到辅导”，但这并不是NCLB的目标，所以B项是错的。该段指出NCLB的一个问题是鼓励了应试教学，所以显然提高考试能力也不是NCLB的目标，C项也不正确。D的错误在于，该段最后说的是各州的标准不同，而不是国家和州对于“熟练”这个等级的定义不同。

3. B 情感态度题。文章第四段提到了两位民主党总统候选人对NCLB的看法，指出希拉里宣称她会“取消没有基金支持的NCLB条例”，同时她和奥巴马公开讽刺NCLB，这说明他们对NCLB持不支持的态度，因此答案为B。

4. D 细节题。本题主要针对文章最后一段。最后一段指出“那些没有参与总统竞选的人会提出更多具有争议性的方案”，但这里的controversial不是说这些人认为要进行更多的争论，因此可以首先排除A。B项对应的信息为“the federal government needs greater power to set standards, while states should have more leeway in meeting them”，这里的leeway指的是“回旋余地”，而不是B项所说的严格遵守标准，故排除。还有一个计划提出“应通过参考学生的考试分数来鉴定不合格的老师及其是否需要重新培训”，但没有说要让老师离开学校，因此C项也不正确。而这种做法正是给了老师们更大的压力，同时培训也是一种帮助，因此正确答案是D。

5. C 主旨题。纵观全文，文章首先说了美国教育部计划对NCLB进行试点改革这一事件，然后下面各个段落讨论了各方的观点和提议，因此C是正确答案。其他三个选项从表述上来说都是正确的，但是它们都只表达了文章的一个方面，不够全面，故排除。





参考译文


3月18日，美国教育部长玛格丽特·斯佩林斯宣布将对《不让一个孩子掉队法案》（简称NCLB）进行试点改革，这项教育法案是布什政府在2002年通过的。斯佩林斯指出，在此次试点改革中多达十个州将被允许把资源有针对性地投给那些最困难的学校，而不是分散地投给大批有待改进的学校。正如所料，这种改变引起的社会反应是毁誉参半。尽管如此，这项改革最重要的一点在于，它给那些完全没有采取任何行动的其他地方提出了一个警告。