阅读理解 Judith Vogtli, director of an upstate New York-based abstinence (the practice of refraining from sex, alcohol, etc) organization called Project Truth, is worried that the golden age of "abstinence-only" education may have come to an end. George W. Bush helped increase funding for this kind of sex education—which focuses on chastity as the way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and discusses condoms only in terms of failure—to over $175m a year. The fate of that money, and of abstinence education itself, is uncertain under a new administration and Congress.
Ms Vogtli need only wait a few weeks. Barack Obama will submit the first draft of his budget to Congress later this month. In the meantime, her organization, funded entirely by a government grant, is trying to go about business as usual. That means teaching about abstaining from sex, drugs and alcohol in New York schools and holding its sixth annual abstinence Creativity Contest, to which students submitted essays, poems, artwork and music on the theme of "Waiting is easier because..."
Abstinence-only education programs have been controversial ever since they were introduced under Ronald Reagan in 1981. Some liberals have labeled it "ignorance-only" education and most favor a curriculum that includes discussion of both abstinence and contraception (the method to prevent pregnancy). Since the start of abstinence-only programs, the federal government has spent over $1.5 billion on them, but the United States still has one of the highest teen-pregnancy rates of any developed country. Supporters of abstinence-only education mostly think that the media and a culture of casual sexual behaviors are to blame for this and that more government support for abstinence could help offset the rise of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. But opponents blame abstinence-only education.
There is some evidence to support their case. According to Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, an advocacy organization, there has been no randomized study showing that abstinence-only education delays sexual activity, and research from the University of Washington suggests that teens who receive comprehensive sex education have a 50% lower risk of becoming pregnant than those enrolled in abstinence-only courses.
Abstinence-only advocates want the government to let school districts choose which type of sex education they prefer. But in an unfavorable sign for them, the new Congress is already shifting its emphasis. Louise Slaughter, a congresswoman from New York and a former scientist, has introduced a bill that would fund "medically accurate" comprehensive sex education in schools. It is likely to pass.
单选题 6.We learn from the first paragraph that "abstinence-only" education
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】文中第一段说到“唯禁欲”教育的黄金时代也许行将结束。因此D项正确。
单选题 7.Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第二段末句提到禁欲组织正在举办第六届年度禁欲创意大赛,C项中的consecutive(连续的、连贯的)对应于文中的annual(一年一次的),故选C。
单选题 8.According to Paragraph 3, the teen-pregnancy rates are high because of
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第三段指出“媒体和性行为随意的社会风气是导致青少年怀孕率高的主要原因”,所以C项正确。
单选题 9.It is suggested in the fourth paragraph that comprehensive sex education
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】第四段指出“与接受唯禁欲教育的学生相比,接受综合的性教育的青少年怀孕风险要低50%”,即综合的性教育能更有效地帮助青少年避免怀孕,因此D项正确。
单选题 10.We may infer from the last paragraph that
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】B项“综合性教育可能会得到更多的支持”是原文“议案有望通过”的另一种表达方式,故选B。