单选题
When the United Nations and world leaders made universal primary education one of their eight millennium development goals, more than 100 million children were not in school. They aimed to bring that number down to zero by 2015. This week, marking the halfway point, ministers, donors, and others are meeting in Dakar to assess their progress. Ronald Siebes is co-president of the US-based Fast Track Initiative, an organization aimed at channeling extra funding from partners including the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union to the poorest countries to help them achieve the education goals. "We are really making progress," he said. "There are huge challenges, but progress is being made to achieve this important goal." After a slow start in the 32 countries funded by the Fast Track Initiative, their annual report says by 2010 most will have 100 percent of kids starting first grade. An official with the same organization, Desmond Bermingham, says countries in West Africa, whether funded by the Fast Track Initiative or not, are making progress. "I would say the most critical issue is that the governments are making education a priority," he said. "It is a political will issue and they are really making very rapid progress. They have got a lot of catching up to do. They are moving faster than any region has ever moved before." But he says part of the reason is that West Africa had the farthest to go. In some countries in the region, more than three-quarters of school-age children do not attend school. Bermingham says several countries are putting measures in place to block corruption in the education sector, rampant in many African countries. "Where it is working really well is where there is a very short accountability line between the school and the parents," he noted. "They have a really strong interest in making sure the money is used properly. Several countries are now introducing systems of publishing the school budget in the newspapers or even on the door of the school. Uganda is one of them, Kenya is one of them, and Niger has introduced a similar system." But Lucia Fry, of the South Africa-based Global Campaign for Education, says if progress continues at the current pace, it will be impossible to meet the development goals by 2015. She says aid fails far short of what is needed. "Overall, we need another $6 billion US per year just to get every child to complete a primary cycle of education," she explained. And she says too much emphasis is being put on enrolling kids in school without ensuring that they stay long enough to finish. "Although primary enrollment has risen we have also got in 50 countries worldwide, less than half of all children worldwide complete primary school," she added. And she says there is still a long way to go to address the needs of children on the margins, including those with handicaps, who live in conflict zones, or who work to support their families.
单选题
How many years do the United Nations spend bringing the number of children unable to go to school down to zero? A. 14 years. B. 15 years. C. 16 years. D. 20 years.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】细节题。本题问联合国打算通过多少年来实现让全世界所有的孩子都有学上的目标。定位在原文的第一段，根据文章内容可知，实现计划的终点是2015年，而此计划是one of the eight millennium development goals，是八个千年发展计划之一，由此可推断出，这一计划是2000年制定的，因此答案应为B“15年”。
单选题
The US-based Fast Track Initiative ______ to aid the poorest countries to help them achieve the education goals. A. invests in some projects of their partners and gains the benefits B. makes initiatives aiming at financial support from their partners C. asks their partners to provide low-interest loans D. exploits new donations of their partners
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】细节题。根据第二段中的“the US-based Fast Track Initiative is an organization aimed at channeling extra funding from partners...education goals.”可知，这一组织是向他的合作机构直接募集资金来帮助失学儿童的，故选D。
单选题
The word "most" in Paragraph 3 refers to the most of ______. A. the 32 countries B. all countries C. countries taking part in the United Nations D. the poorest countries
单选题
Which of the following is INCORRECT according to the passage? A. Government plays an important role on the issue of children education. B. The education condition of West Africa is the worst in the world. C. Countries funded by the Fast Track Initiative have much greater improvement on the issue of children education than those without funding. D. Corruption blocks the development of education.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】细节题。本题的选项内容都是关于东非的教育状况，因此对应到文中第三、四段。A“政府在教育问题上起着重要的作用”，定位到文章中第三段，非洲国家教育发展快是因为“the governments are making education a priority”(教育优先)，由此可判断A表述正确；B可从文中“But he says part of the reason is that West Africa had the farthest to go.”推断得出，西非是世界上教育状况最差的地区；C与文中“eountries in West Afirca, whether funded by the Fast Track Initiative or not, are making progress.”内容不符；D与文中第四段所述一致，腐败严重阻碍了教育的发展，故正确答案为C。
单选题
What can we learn from the passage? A. Corruption contributes to the underdevelopment of education in West Africa as well as the lack of funding. B. Most parents don't care about the education budget in Africa. C. The most important task at present is to enroll all school-age children into schools. D. West African countries call for financial supports to aid children to go to school until completing higher education.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】推理题。本题应在综合理解全文内容的基础上进行判断。A“贪污腐败和资金的缺乏都是造成西非教育落后的原因”与文意相符，故为正确答案。B的内容在原文第四段提到，但是作者没有明确指出大部分家长都不关心教育经费的运用；文中第四段中提到“很多孩子上了学也坚持不下来”，这也是我们亟须解决的问题，因此C错误；D“西非国家需要经济援助以资助孩子们完成高等教育”，与文中“Overall, we need another $6 billion us per year just to get everyr child to complete a primary cycle of education.”内容不符，文章是指初级教育，故排除。