单选题 Well-to-do parents are increasingly choosing to send their children to single-sex preparatory schools, reversing the trend of recent years. Last week, Michael Gove told us that we needed to promote a Dangerous Book for Boys culture so that boys could be boys again. At the beginning of this month, it (re-)emerged that there were far fewer male teachers in primary schools to act as role models.
Underlying this is anxiety about achievement; recent Department for Education figures show that nearly double the number of boys failed to reach expected standards at seven. The gender gap is more than 10 points in English at 11. Behaviour is a worry too. Boys are three and a half times more likely to be excluded, and the figure is worse still if you are a working-class or black boy.
Today's answer to the problem seems to be single-sex schools. Yet debates about their value are both age-old and decidedly unresolved. Proponents (倡导者) argue that keeping boys together allows them to expel their 'boyish' energy more freely—ensuring they are in line and on task. Girls are said to benefit too, with more support to build self-confidence.
But there is also evidence in the other direction. A report commissioned by the Headmasters and Headmistresses conference, which represents top private schools, shows that single-sex schools make little difference to outcomes. What's more, arguing that Eton is a good school because it only admits boys is like saying Wayne Rooney is a good footballer because he wears a nice kit—one does not necessarily lead to the other.
In practice, the single-sex question is a distraction from what really matters. It sounds obvious, but boys (and girls) will do better if they are taught better by teachers who understand their individual needs. That means skilled practitioners (从业者) using the curriculum creatively to engage and excite every single child in front of them—regardless of their gender. And, incidentally, male and female teachers have equal capacity to get this right.
Of course this is hard, and I can say I fell short many times. But just by introducing a gender control on the group isn't going to make it any easier. What about the girl who likes active learning or the boy who is shy? I am not sure they would get a fair deal if our teaching is framed by gender behaviours. In any case, we want kids to be able to perform better in response to all learning environments—not just the ones they are comfortable in. So let girls be boisterous (活跃的), and boys self-reflect. And let them learn together, taught by the best teachers we can find.

单选题 What's the trend of recent years according to the passage? ______

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本文主要说明了单一性别的学校教育并不能解决男孩在教育中出现的问题。根据题干中的the trend of recent years将本题出处定位于第1段第1句。该句提到，越来越多条件优越的家长选择将孩子送到单一性别学校，与近些年来的趋势正好相反。由此可推断出，近些年来的趋势是将孩子送到混合性别的学龄前学校，故答案为D，同时排除A。文中仅提到男性教师少，并未说男性教师越来越受家长欢迎，故排除B。根据第2段最后一句可排除C。

单选题 What's supporters' argument for single-sex schools? ______

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】根据题干中的supporters' argument将本题出处定位于第3段最后两句。这两句提到，支持者争辩说，把男孩们放在一起可以让他们更加自由地释放出“男孩子气的”能量——确保他们既能行为得体，又能完成学业。女孩们也会受益匪浅，能获得更多支持，建立自信。由此可知，支持者认为单一性别学校对男孩和女孩都有益，故答案为B。A项是根据第2段第2行的gender gap设置的干扰项。第3段最后一句提到，女孩可以建立更多自信，故排除C。文中提到让男孩们自由地释放出自己的能量，而不是让女孩充分发挥潜能，故排除D。

单选题 The example of Wayne Rooney is used to show that ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】根据题干中的Wayne Rooney将本题出处定位于第4段最后一句。该段第2句提到一份报告得出的结论：单性学校并未给结果带来多大改变，最后一句进一步举例说明：说伊顿学校不错是因为它只招收男孩，就好比说韦恩·鲁尼是个出色的球员是因为他的装备很好——两者之间没有必然的因果关系。由此可知，单一性别教育并不一定会使男孩子成功，故答案为A，同时排除C。B项和D项与原文意思相反，故排除。

单选题 According to the author, what really matters in children's education? ______

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】根据题干中的what really matters将本题出处定位于第5段前两句。该段第1句提到，单性问题分散了人们的注意，使人们看不到什么才是关键。第2句说明关键问题是：如果男孩(以及女孩)由了解他们个性需求的老师来教的话，他们表现会更好。由此可知，作者认为关键在于让明白孩子个性需求的老师来教孩子，即个性化教育，故答案为C。根据该段最后一句可排除A。B项在文中未提及。D项是针对curriculum设的干扰项。

单选题 What does the author suggest parents do to girls who like active learning? ______

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据题干中的girls和active learning将本题出处定位于最后一段。该段第3句提出问题：那些喜欢在活跃气氛中学习的女孩子或者害羞的男孩子怎么办?最后两句提出解决办法：还是让女孩们活跃，让男孩们自我思考吧。让他们共同学习，让我们能找到的最好的老师来教他们。由此可知，作者认为应该找到best teachers来教这些女孩，结合上题的分析可知，此处的best teachers指的是能针对女孩喜欢在活跃气氛中学习这一特点进行教学的老师，即能满足她们喜欢在活跃气氛中学习这一需求进行教学的老师，故答案为D。由so let girls be boisterous可知，教她们的老师不应该是stem(严厉的)，故排除A。B项与文中提到的let them learn together矛盾。C项是根据behaviours设置的干扰项。