【答案解析】When it comes to cutting back study load, it may sound plausible to single out English exam as an ice-breaker for the proposed Gaokao reform/to take English out of the Gaokao system/fabric/architecture/configuration in the first place. After all, learning English is truly time-consuming.
On top of that, a sizable portion/an inordinate amount of study time is currently devoted to English learning. Gaokao reform is designed either to reduce study load or reorient its functionality with a more balanced mix of subjects. That being said/That said/Having said that, for that to happen, it takes more than simply axing/removing/delisting English, the allegedly most time-intensive subject.
A reduced study load is widely applauded by college candidates and their otherwise anxious parents. But if the reform looks at exactly how to relieve the burden of students/make Gaokao less burdensome/more student-friendly, then mathematics might as well be given less weight, if not the next to go. Admittedly for many students, math takes no less time than English, but might be less productive. Learning by rote, which many Chinese students feel perfectly comfortable with, doesn"t do the trick when it comes to math, a subject that dictates more thinking and method.
The yawning/expanding divide in English scores between urban students and their rural peers/counterparts, however, shall be attributed to the acute urban-rural disparities in access to educational resources. I have been to rural schools twice as a volunteer teacher and am fully aware of the state of rural English teaching. In rural schools, there is an acute scarcity/ shortage of English-teaching faculty. Among those who teach English, many haven"t learned English systematically themselves. For rural students, English is not within their reach, and most of what is taught in English is even further from their real life. That, coupled with the absence of audio-visual equipment, extra-curricular reading materials and Internet access, means many rural college candidates have to brush English aside/dismiss/disregard English.
As we seek to narrow the urban-rural divide in English scores to make Gaokao more fair and equitable, we must make more English teaching resources available to rural schools rather than simply make English less weighty in urban schools. To level the playing field, we might draw on Affirmative Action, a policy adopted by American universities when admitting students of ethnic minorities. In China"s case, a pro-rural policy can be developed so that rural candidates will be exempted from English exam when sitting for Gaokao. At the next level, rural undergraduates may entail more support in English teaching so as to make up for/catch up on what they have missed in English learning back in high school.