单选题 Galloway, a mostly middle-class community northwest of Atlantic City, is part of a wave of districts across the nation trying to remake homework amid concerns that high-stakes testing and competition for college have fueled a nightly grind that is stressing out children and depriving them of play and rest, yet doing little to raise achievement, particularly in elementary grades.
Such efforts have drawn criticism from some teachers and some parents who counter that students must study more, not less, if they are to succeed. Even so, the anti-homework movement has been reignited in recent months by the documentary Race to Nowhere, about burned-out students caught in a pressure-cooker educational system. "There is simply no proof that most homework as we know it improves school performance," said Vicki Abeles, the filmmaker and a mother of three from California. "And by expecting kids to work a 'second shift' in what should be their downtime, the presence of schoolwork at home is negatively affecting the health of our young people and the quality of family time. "
So teachers at Mango Elementary School in Fontana, Calif., are replacing homework with "goal work" that is specific to individual student's needs and that can be completed in class or at home at his or her own pace. The Brooklyn School of Inquiry, a gifted and talented program, has made homework optional. "I think people confuse homework with rigor," said Donna Taylor, the Brooklyn School's principal, who views homework for children under 11 as primarily benefiting parents by helping them feel connected to the classroom.
Research has long suggested that homework in small doses can reinforce basic skills and help young children develop study habits, but that there are diminishing returns. Still, efforts to roll back homework have been opposed by those who counter that there is not enough time in the school day to cover required topics and that homework reinforces classroom learning. In Coronado, Calif. , the school board rejected a proposal by the superintendent to eliminate homework on weekends and holidays after some parents said that was when they had time to help their children and others worried it would result in more homework on weeknights.
Homework wars have divided communities for over a century. In the 1950s, the Sputnik launching ushered in heavier workloads for American students in the race to keep up with the Soviet Union. The 1983 report "A Nation at Risk" and, more recently, the testing pressures of the No Child Left Behind law, also resulted in more homework for children at younger ages. A few public and private schools have renounced homework in recent years, but most have sought a middle ground. In Galloway, the policy would stipulate that homework cover only topics already addressed in class. Dr. Giaquinto, Galloway's superintendent, said the goal of the proposed policy was to make homework "meaningful and manageable," noting that teachers would have to coordinate assignments so that a student's total homework would not exceed the time limit.

单选题 From the first paragraph we learn that
[A] most schools disapprove of testing and competition for college.
[B] homework can be done most efficiently by school students at night.
[C] Galloway has come up with an innovative way of raising achievement.
[D] Galloway's effort to reduce the amount of homework has caused a stir.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】第一段称，减少家庭作业的做法在全国掀起了一个浪潮，盖洛威学区是掀起这一浪潮的校区之一。也就是说，盖洛威等学区的做法在全国范围内引发了新的争论。
单选题 Criticisms of homework are mainly based on the premise that
[A] burnt-out students are negatively affected by heavy schoolwork at home.
[B] homework in the form of reading documents contributes little to success.
[C] more homework does not necessarily mean higher achievement.
[D] homework exerts an unbearable pressure on school students.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第一段中已经提到，布置很多家庭作业，把学生累得要死，不一定能提高他们的学习成绩。第二段也借用反对布置很多作业的Vicki Abeles的话指出，没有证据表明，老师布置的各种家庭作业能提高其学习成绩(school performance指包括成绩在内的一切表现)。
单选题 The school board in Coronado believes that
[A] reduction in homework does harm to students' acquisition of basic skills.
[B] students should have enough time in school day to study the required topics.
[C] eliminating homework actually benefits nobody other than parents.
[D] parents feel connected to school when their children do schoolwork at home.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】从第四段来看，Coronado学校的董事会反对减少家庭作业的数量。这样，听到家长们说他们只能在周末和假期中帮助孩子做作业，而取消周末和假期作业可能意味着增加平时的晚间家庭作业，董事会否决了校区主管人提出的取消周末和假期家庭作业的提议。在这些人看来，家庭作业能reinforce classroom learning，也就是说，能reinforce basic skills并有助于学生培养好的学习习惯。在第四段中，提到Coronado学校仅仅是一个例子，用来说明本段前两句所讨论的观点。
单选题 Increased homework had resulted from
[A] parents' expectation of their children to achieve more.
[B] America's effort to keep its competitiveness.
[C] school principals' attempt to keep their school ahead.
[D] school teachers' attempt to keep their curricula intensive.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】最后一段提到美国学校增加家庭作业数量的三个重要原因：20世纪50年代苏联人造地球卫星上天、1983年的一份报告和近年内实施的一项法律。这三个原因其实有一个共同点，即担心美国的教育正在走向倒退，而致使美国在全球内失去竞争力。
单选题 Which of the following hasn't joined the anti-homework endeavor?
[A] Galloway school district.
[B] Mango Elementary School.
[C] Brooklyn School of Inquiry.
[D] The school board in Coronado.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本文中所说的anti-homework movement指要求减少学生家庭作业的呼声和做法。从第一段和最后一段来看，Galloway学区是主张减少学生家庭作业的。第三段提到，Mango学校也用所谓“目标作业”和代替家庭作业，Brooklyn学校也使得家庭作业变成optional(选择性的)，即不强行布置家庭作业。可见，这三所学校或学区都主张减少家庭作业数量，而唯独Coronado学校董事会不赞同减少学生家庭作业数量。