单选题
Competition for admission to the country"s top private schools has always been tough, but this year Elisabeth realized it had reached a new level. Her wake-up call came when a man called the Dalton School in Manhattan, where Elisabeth is admissions director, and inquired about the age cutoff for their kindergarten program. After providing the information, she asked about the age of his child. The man paused for an uncomfortably long time before answering. "Well, we don"t have a child yet. We"re trying to figure out when to conceive a child so the birthday is not a problem."
Worries are spreading from Manhattan to the rest of the country. Precise current data on private schools are unavailable, but interviews with representatives of independent schools all told the same story: an oversupply of applicants, higher rejection rates. "We have people calling us for spots two years down the road," said Marilyn of the Seven Hills School in Cincinnati. "We have grandparents calling for pregnant daughters." Public opinion polls indicate that Americans" No. 1 concern is education. Now that the long economic boom has given parents more disposable income, many are turning to private schools, even at price tags of well over $10,000 a year. "We"re getting applicants from a broader area geographically than we ever have in the past," said Betsy of the Latin School of Chicago, which experienced a 20 percent increase in applications this year.
The problem for the applicants is that while demand has increased, supply has not. "Every year, there are a few children who do not find places, but this year, for the first time that I know of, there ale a significant number without places," said Elisabeth.
So what can parents do to give their 4-year-old an edge? Schools know there is no easy way to pick a class when children are so young. Many schools give preference to children of their graduates. Some make the choice by drawing lots. But most rely on a mix of subjective and objective measures: tests that at best identify developmental maturity and cognitive potential, interviews with parents and observation of applicants in classroom settings. They also want a diverse mix. Children may end up on a waiting list simply because their birthdays fall at the wrong time of year, or because too many applicants were boys.
The worst thing a patent can do is to pressure preschoolers to perform—for example, by pushing them to read or do math exercises before they"re ready. Instead, the experts say, parents should take a breath and look for alternatives. Another year in preschool may be all that"s needed.
单选题
From this text we learn that it is
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 该题为细节题。根据第一段第一句“Competition for admission to the country"s top private schools has always been tough, but this year Elisabeth realized it had reached a new level.”可知,进入国家的顶级私立学校的竞争一直以来都很激烈,但是今年伊丽莎白发现这种竞争达到了一个新的水平。由此可知,今年想进入私立学校比往年更加困难,而不是跟往年一样困难,故选B。
单选题
The sentence "We have people...down the road" (Line 4, Paragraph 2) probably means
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 该题为释义题。根据后一句“We have grandparents calling for pregnant daughters.”可知,有些家长会提前向私立学校咨询孩子入学的事情。因此可以推知“We have people calling us for spots two years down the road.”意为“有人提前两年就打电话咨询学校是否会有名额。”,故选D。
单选题
The text indicates that private schools are very selective because they
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 该题为推理题。根据第三段“The problem for the applicants is that while demand has increased, supply has not.”可知申请私立学校的人数在增加,但私立学校的招生名额却没有增加。接着第四段详细讲了一些私立学校如何选择学生。由此可推断,私立学校对学生如此精挑细选的原因在于有太多的学生申请,他们不得不通过各种方法来选择学生。选项A与文章的意思有所出入,第四段第二句“Schools know there is no easy way to pick a class when children are so young.”可知学校认为选择学生没有简单的方法,并不是如A项所表示的选择的方法不可靠。选项B是某些学校选择生源的方法,即男女比例协调,由此可知A、B两项不能作为学校精心选择学生的原因。选项D在文中没有提及,故选C。
单选题
From the text, we can infer that the author
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 该题为态度题。由最后一段的第一句“The worst thing a parent can do is to pressure preschoolers to perform—for example, by pushing them to read or do math exercises before they"re ready.”可知作者认为强迫学龄前儿童学习是父母做的最糟糕的事。由此可推断出作者反对给学龄前儿童过度的压力,故选D。
单选题
Which of the following can serve as a title of this text?