单选题 Education is primarily the responsibility of the states. State constitutions set up certain standards and rules for the establishment of school. State laws require children to go to school until they reach a certain age. The actual control of the schools, however, is usually a local matter.
The control of the schools does not usually come directly from the local government. In each of the three types of city government, public schools are generally quite separate and independent. They cooperate with local officials but are not dominated by the municipal government. Most Americans believe that schools should be free of political pressures. They believe that the separate control of the school systems preserves such freedom.
Public schools are usually maintained by school districts. The state often sets the district boundaries. Sometimes the school district has the same boundaries as the city. Sometimes it is larger than the city.
In the South, county boards of education members are elected. In some places they are appointed by the mayor or city council. The state legislature decides which method should be used.
Most district boards of education try to give all pupils a chance to get a good education. A good education prepares a person to live a better life. It helps him to become a better citizen.
Nearly all states give financial aid to local school districts. State departments of education offer other kinds of aid. States offer help with such things as program planning and the school districts.
The federal government also helps. The National Defense Education Act allows school districts to get financial aid for certain purposes. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 added many other kinds of financial help. But neither the state nor the federal government dictates school policy. This is determined by local school boards.

单选题 Which of the following law is related to education?

A. The National Defense Education Act.
B. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
C. The Independence Act.
D. Both A and Ｂ.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[考点] 此题考查对文章信息的捕捉。 [解析] 除独立法案在文中没提到，国防教育法及基础和中等教育法在文中都提到过，所以，D项较全面地概括了答案。

单选题 How did the state control education?

A. By setting up certain standard and rules.
B. By requesting the children to go to schools until they are of certain age.
C. Either A or Ｂ.
D. Both A and Ｂ.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[考点] 此题考查文章细节。 [解析] 参看短文第一段，A、B两项，即“建立一定的标准和规则”和“要求孩子在一定年龄前必须上学”，在文中都提到过。

单选题 How did they preserve the freedom of the schools from political pressure?

A. By uniting all the schools into a union.
B. By having the federal administration.
C. By having separate and independent control.
D. By cooperating with the state government.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[考点] 本题考查对细节的捕捉和对文章整体的把握。 [解析] 参看第二段最后一句，“他们相信学校系统的独立控制会保持这种自由”，与C项符合。而且，全文都贯彻一种主张学校独立自主的精神。

单选题 People favor the independence of school for the reason that ______.

A. people believe that it will ensure the existence of freedom
B. people believe that it will deprive the school of the financial aid
C. local government can rid itself from the financial burden
D. state government is not willing to exert its effort on it

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[考点] 本题考查推理能力。 [解析] 文章一开始就提到“办学自由，不受政治影响”，所以可推知人们支持学校独立是因为认为这样可以保证其自由。

单选题 The school district is likely to be all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A. larger than city district
B. larger than the state district
C. the same as the city district
D. Both A and C

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[考点] 本题考查对细节的捕捉。 [解析] 第三段中第三、四句提到“学校区划有时和城市的边界相同，有时甚至比城市的边界还大”，所以A项和C项都有可能。所以也排除D项。即使从常识推断，也可判断B项是不正确的，因为州向学校拨款，后者不可能比前者大，所以B项不正确。无论用排除法还是正面推理法，都可得出答案是B。