SECTION 2: READING TEST (30 minutes)
Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several questions about it. You are to choose ONE best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to each question. Answer all the questions following each passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage and write the letter of the answer you have chosen inthe corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.
Questions 1～5
Gail Pasterczyk, the principal of Indian Pines Elementary in Palm Beach County, Fla., has added two or three new teaching positions each of the past three years. She's adding two more teachers next year as well as replacing those she'll lose to maternity leave, transfers, and retirement. She doesn't know where the new teachers will come from, if the new hires will be any good, and where she'll find room for all of them. Indian Pines already has 27 portable classrooms and is waiting to break ground on a two-story, 25-classroom addition. "When you start reducing class size, you've got to find more teachers, and you run out of space," she says. "That's the reality." Her school district, one of the nation's largest, has sent recruiters across the country, and even to Mexico and the Philippines, to fill an expected 1,700 teaching vacancies before the fall. "We are in a race to keep the schools staffed," says Robert Pinkos, a Palm Beach County recruiter who will travel to Baltimore and Madrid next month to troll for teachers.
Two and a half years after Florida voters adopted a constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes, Palm Beach County--and every other school district in the state--are tripping over a major stumbling block: There just aren't enough good teachers to go around. With classes in kindergarten through third grade capped at 18 students, fourth through eighth held at 22, and high school limited to 25, the state will need to hire an estimated 29,604 new teachers by 2009--a prospect that has many people worried. "I have every reason to expect that the quality of teachers will suffer," says John Winn, the state's education commissioner.
Nationwide, 33 states now have laws that restrict class size. And the politically popular educational reform has proved successful in some areas, particularly among the lowest-performing students. In Burke County, N.C., for example, discipline problems are down and test scores are up, even for the most disadvantaged students in the district. "On paper these kids should not be succeeding, but they are," says Susan Wilson, a former teacher and now director of elementary education in the rural county.
But this success comes at a price. It means hiring more teachers, building more classrooms, and retraining teachers to work with smaller groups of students. And it means, critics maintain, that states pit their own districts against one another in the race to hire. "When you mandate class-size reduction statewide, the suburban schools tend to draw the best new teachers, and the more urban schools, which already have trouble attracting teachers, can't attract the best candidates," says Steven Rivkin, an economics professor at Amherst College who has studied the effects of class-size reduction on teacher quality. Any gains from cutting class size could be undermined by hiring lower quality teachers.
Resources. Proponents contend that the reform would be relatively pain-less if existing resources were managed well. "Hiring more teachers is only part of the solution," says Charles Achilles, one of the first researchers to study the effects of reducing class sizes. "The best programs for class-size reduction not only hire more teachers but reassign existing specialty teachers to get them back in the classroom."
Florida policymakers are trying to find their own way out of the class-size quandary. This month, the Legislature is considering a proposal to roll back some of the size limits in exchange for an increase in teacher pay. Gov. Jeb Bush, who opposed the constitutional amendment in 2002, argues that the compromise will attract more top-quality teachers to the state while reining in costs. Voters could see the proposed change on the ballot as early as September. In the meantime, recruiter Pinkos continues his search for new teachers, sometimes working 10-hour days. His pitch? "Palm Beach is very beautiful, but the small classes are one of the most attractive things I can tell them."
1. In describing the results of the new constitutional amendment to reduce class size, the author comments:" Palm Beach County--and every other school district in the state--are tripping over a major stumbling block…" to imply ___.
A. the education authorities will trip to Mexico and the Philippines for new teachers
B. there will be problems of placing redundant teachers
C. quality of teachers will probably go down
D. students are likely get more sophisticated education in smaller class
2. "On paper these kids should not be succeeding, but they are" implies ___.
A. reducing class sizes has more posive effects than negative ones.
B. reducing class sizes does achieve satisfactory effects on disadvantageous students
C. smaller class prevent the children from failing in tests
D. smaller class works best for students with lacklustre performance
3. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?
A. Class size reduction increases difficulty to hire teachers in affluent districts.
B. Cutting class sizes is no better than reassigning existing specialty teachers.
C. If urban school cannot hire enough teachers, they can hire specialty teachers.
D. Generally speaking, vicious competing for teachers will counterbalance the positive effects of smaller classes.
4. "Qandary" (para.6) is closest to ___.
A. dilemma
B. polemic
C. enigma
D. hoodwink
5. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Means to enhance comprehensive education in U.S.
B. Pros and cons of cutting class sizes in U.S.
C. American students could receive better schooling.
D. Variants in rural education