Education is all enormous and expensive part of American life. Its size
is matched by its variety. Differences in American schools
compared with those found in the majority of other countries lie in the fact
that education here has long been intended for everyone—not just for a
privileged elite. Schools are expected to meet the needs of every child,
regardless of ability, and also the needs of society itself. This means that
public schools offer more than academic subjects. It surprises many people when
they come here to find high schools offering such courses as typing, sewing,
radio repair, computer programming or driver training, along with traditional
academic subjects such as mathematics, history, and languages. Students choose
their curricula depending on their interests, future goals, and level of
ability. The underlying goal of American education is to develop every child to
the utmost of his or her own possibilities, and to give each one a sense of
civic and community consciousness. Schools have traditionally
played an important role in creating national unity and "Americanizing" the
millions of immigrants who have poured into this country from many different
backgrounds and origins. Schools still play a large role in the community,
especially in the small towns. The approach to teaching may
seem unfamiliar to many, not only because it is informal, but also because there
is not much emphasis on learning facts. Instead, Americans try to teach their
children to think for themselves and to develop their own intellectual and
creative abilities. Students spend much time, learning how to use resource
materials libraries, statistics and computers. Americans believe that if
children are taught to reason well and to research well, they will be able to
find whatever facts they need throughout the rest of their lives. Knowing how to
solve problems is considered more important than the accumulation of
facts. This is America's answer to the searching question that
thoughtful parents all over the world are asking themselves in the fast-moving
time: "How can one prepare today's child for a tomorrow that one can neither
predict nor understand?"
单选题
Which of the following best states the goal of American education?
A. To teach every learner some practical skills.
B. To provide every learner with rich knowledge.
C. To give every student the opportunity to fully develop his/her
ability.
D. To train every student to be a responsible citizen.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] A、B、D三项均只指出了美国教育目标的一个方面，故选C项。
单选题
It is implied in the passage that ______.
A. all high-school students take the same courses
B. every high-school student must take some practical ability training
courses
C. every public school offers the same academic subjects
D. the subjects every student takes may vary
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 文中提到学生可以根据自己的兴趣、目标和能力来选择课程，故选D项。
单选题
American schools place great emphasis on the learner's ______.
A. enrichment of knowledge
B. accumulation of facts
C. acquisition of the ability to be creative
D. acquisition of the ability to work with his hands