单选题
Rowena and Billy Wrangler are model high school students.
They study hard and do extremely well on achievement tests. And next year,
Rowena will be attending Harvard University. Billy, her younger brother, hopes
to go to Cornell. What makes Rowena and Billy different from most students is
that they don't go to school. In fact, they've never been to school. Since
kindergarten, they've studied at home. Neither Rowena nor Billy feels as if
they've missed out on anything by being taught at home. Like many of more than
one million people who receive home schooling in the United States, they feel as
if they've gotten a good education. The home-schooling trend
began in the U.S. in the 1980s with parents keeping their children out of public
schools so they could provide religious education at home. Today, as the
home-schooling trend continues to grow, parents are more likely to consider home
schooling as an option because they believe schools don't do a very good job of
teaching and are occasionally dangerous places. But can parents really do a
better job? The answer in many cases is yes. In many studies,
students taught at home ranked, average or above average when compared to
students who went to public schools. More importantly, these students were often
more self-directed and have a greater depth of knowledge. "They are very well
prepared for academic challenges," says Patricia Riordan, the dean of admissions
at George Mason University. One such student, Robert Conrad,
now a sophomore at university, claims he really learned how to study and
schedule his time during his eight years of home schooling. Still, not every
student is as successful as Robert. "For every home-schooling
success story, there are an equal number of failures," states Henry Lipscomb, an
educational researcher. "There are just so many disadvantages that students
taught at home have to overcome." For example, they have fewer chances to
interact with others of their own age. Consequently, they sometimes lack the
usual social skills. "No matter what, though," states Lipscomb, "home-schooling
is a growing trend. I think we'll be seeing more and more of this."
单选题
Compared with other students, the most different thing Rowena and Billy
do is that ______.
A. they study hard
B. they do extremely well on achievement tests
C. they never go to school
D. they feel they have gotten a good education
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。题干意为“与其他学生相比，Rowena和Billy最不同寻常的地方是什么?”从文章第一段第五句话“What makes Rowena and Billy different from most students is that they don't go to school.”可以看出，他们最与众不同之处在于他们从来没有去过学校上学，因此正确答案为C。
单选题
At first in the 1980s parents gave home-schooling to children for
______.
A. better education
B. religious education
C. safety
D. all the above
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。题干意为“起初在20世纪80年代父母给孩子们进行家庭学校教育是为了什么?”从文章第二段第一句话中“...so they could provide religious education at home.”可以看出，他们这样做是为了在家中给孩子们进行宗教教育，因此正确答案为B。
单选题
According to the article, what is NOT the advantage of being educated
at home?
A. Home is a safer place for children.
B. Students taught at home are more self-directed.
C. Students taught at home have a greater depth of knowledge.
D. Students taught at home can go to good universities.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。题干意为“根据文章，下面哪一条不是家庭学校的优点?”这道题需要把四个选项和原文逐一对比、逐一排除。从文章第二段倒数第二句话中“...they believe schools...are occasionally dangerous places.”可以排除A，从文章第三段第三句话“More importantly, these students are often more self-directed and have a greater depth of knowledge.”可以排除B和C，而文章没有谈到家庭学校和上好大学的联系，因此正确答案为D。
单选题
The writer thinks ______.
A. parents can do a better job than schools
B. home-schooling will be more and more useful
C. students taught at home make greater achievements