Husband and Wife by Arrangement(难度B/C级)来源：考试大

　　Some Japanese still get married by parents arrangement. Yoshio and Hiromi Tanaka, a young Japanese couple living in the United States, told the story of their arranged marriage. We didnt marry for love in the Western sense. We got married in the traditional Japanese way. Our parents arranged our marriage through a matchmaker(媒人). In Japan we believe that marriage is something affecting the whole family rather than a matter concerning only the young couple. So we think it is very important to match people according to their social background, education and so on. When our parents thought it was time for us to get married, they went to a local matchmaker and asked her for some suggestions. We discussed the details and looked at the photos she sent, and then our parents asked her to arrange a marriage interview for the two of us.
　　A Japanese marriage interview is held in a public place, such as a hotel or a restaurant, and is attended by the boy and the girl, their parents and the matchmaker. Information about the couple and their families is exchanged over a cup of tea or a meal. Then the boy and the girl are left alone for a short time to get to know each other. When they return home they have to tell the matchmaker whether they want to meet again or not.
　　Yoshio continued, when our parents realized we were serious about each other, they started to make arrangements for our wedding. My family paid the marriage money to Hiromis. This is money to help pay for the wedding ceremony and for setting up the house afterwards. We also gave her family a beautiful ornament(装饰品) to put in the best room of their house, so everyone knew that Hiromi was going to marry.



2.In arranging a marriage in Japan, the matchmaker plays all of the following roles except
A.making arrangement for the wedding.
B.proving the information the families need.
C.arranging the marriage interview
D.attending the marriage interview

3.according to the passage, the best time to make arrangement for the wedding is
A.when the young couple agree to meet again.
B.when the young couple are sincere about their relation.
C.when the parents think it is time for their children to get married.
D.when the parents are well-informed about each others family.

4.in the traditional Japanese way of marriage, the marriage money given by the boys family is used for
A.the matchmakers pay
B.the marriage interview
C.the wedding ceremony and the new house
D.the girls wedding clothes

5.According to the passage, what plays the most important role in the matching of young people in Japan?
A.Their parents attitude.
B.Their family background.
C.Their occupation.
D.Their love for each other.

One-room Schools(难度C/B级)来源：考试大

　　One-room schools are part of the heritage of the United States, and the mention of them makes people feel a vague longing for “the way things were2” One-room schools are an endangered species, however.  For more than a hundred years, one-room schools have been systematically shut down and their students away to centralized schools. As recently as 1930 there were 149,000 one-room schools in the United States. By 1970 there were 1,800. Today, of the nearly 800 remaining one-room schools, more than 350 are in Nebraska. The rest are scattered through a few other states that have on their road maps wide-open spaces between towns.
　　Now that there are hardly any left, educators are beginning to think that maybe there is something yet to be learned from one-room schools, something that served the pioneers that might serve as well today. Progressive educators have come up with progressive-sounding names like “peer-group teaching” and “multi-age grouping” for educational procedures that occur naturally in the one-room school. In a one-room school the children teach each other because the teacher is busy part of the time teaching someone else. A fourth grader can work at a fifth-grade level in math and a third –grade level in English without the stigma associated with being left back or the pressures of being skipped ahead. A youngster with a learning disability can find his or her own level without being separated from the other pupils In larger urban and suburban schools today, this is called “mainstreaming”. A few hours in a small school that has only one classroom and it becomes clear why so many parents feel that one of the advantages of living in Nebraska is that their children have to go to a one-room school.

1. It is implied in the passage that many educators and parents today feel that one-room schools
A)need to be shut down.
B)are the best in Nebraska.来源：考试大
C)are a good example of the good old days.
D)provide good education.

2. Why are one-room schools in danger of disappearing?
A)Because they all exist in one state.
B)Because they skip too many children ahead.
C)Because there is a trend toward centralization.
D)Because there is no fourth-grade level in any of them.

3. What is mentioned as a major characteristic of the one-room school system in the second paragraph?
A)Some children have to be left back.
B)Teachers are always busy.
C)Pupils have more freedom.
D)Learning is not limited to one grade level at a time.

4.Which of the following can best describe the author’s attitude toward one-room schools?
A)Praising.
B)Angry.
C) Critical.来源：考试大
D) Humorous.

5.It can be inferred from the last sentence that parents living in Nebraska
A)don’t like centralized schools.
B)received education in one-room schools.
C)Prefer rural life to urban one.
D)Come from other states.