单选题 More than 40 million Americans between the ages of 5 and 18 attend schools throughout the United States. About 2 million school-age children are taught at home. While home schooling offers an alternative to the school environment, it has become a controversial issue.
Many public school advocates take a harsh attitude toward home schoolers, perceiving their actions as the ultimate slap in the face of public education and a damaging move for the children. Yet, as public school officials realize they stand little to gain by remaining hostile to the home-school population, the hard lines seem to be softening a bit. Some public schools have moved closer to tolerance, and，even in some cases, are seeking cooperation with home schoolers. " We are becoming relatively tolerant of home schoolers. Let's give the kids access to public school so they'll see it's not as terrible as they've been told, and they'll want to come back, " says John Marshall, an education official.
Perhaps, but don't count on it, say home-school advocates. Some home schoolers oppose that public school system because they have strong convictions that their approach to education—whether fueled by religious belief or the individual child's interests and natural pace—is best. Other home schoolers contend " not so much that the schools teach heresy, but that schools teach whatever they teach inappropriately." "These parents are highly independent and strive to 'take responsibility' for their own lives within a society that they define as bureaucratic and inefficient. " says Van Gallon.
But Howard Carol, spokesman for America's largest teachers union, argues that home schooling parents are trying to hide their children from the real world, says Van Gallon. " Maybe we are going to run into people with problems, people that have a drug problem, people that have an alcohol problem, and teenage pregnancy. We have many problems that happen in our society and many of the children are victims. But shielding the children from the real mix of what happens every day is denying them something that they are going to need later in life. " Mr. Carol also questioned the competence of parents as teachers though he admitted that some home schoolers do better academically. " We want to make sure that a student is not denied the full range of curriculum experiences and appropriate materials, especially now with the new technology that is being introduced and the costs involved there. "
" The success of home schooling has been documented in standardized test scores administered by public school officials, " says Frank Bernet, the executive director of the National Association of College Admission Councilors. " I know why they are doing it, but I wonder why they can't work with school officials and teachers to make the school what they want it to be. " The response from home schoolers: " We have tried that. NOW it's time to strike out on our own. /

单选题 The author writes this passage to show that______.
[A] public school is becoming more and more inefficient
[B] public school is still preferred by the majority
[C] home schooling becomes an alternative to public schools
[D] opinions differ over home schooling

单选题 Public school teaching, in the opinions of home school advocates, is______.
[A] systematic
[B] inefficient
[C] uninteresting
[D] superficial

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。本题问家庭教育倡导者对公立学校教育的看法。由第三段末句“These parents are highly independent and strive to ' take responsibility ' for their own lives within a society that they define as bureaucratic and inefficient. " 可知，在家长眼中，学校作为社会的一部分，是官僚化且效率低下的，他们希望自己能够担当起教育孩子的责任，因此B项正确。A项“系统的”是肯定态度，而家庭教育者对学校教育的基本态度是否定的，由此排除A。C项意为“枯燥的”，虽然在现实生活中，的确有不少人认为学校教育过于枯燥，但本文中并没谈到这一点。考生要根据文章内容作答，以免落入出题人的陷阱。D项意为“肤浅的”，第三段中，家庭教育者对学校教育提出质疑，主要是认为学校教育过于官僚化，效率低下，并没有谈到肤浅的问题，故该选项错在过度引申，可排除。

单选题 Public schools are softening their position on home schooling because______.
[A] they have come to realize the futility of the hard line
[B] they have benefited from cooperation with home schoolers
[C] home schooling has some advantages in teaching
[D] children should be given chances to go back to school

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。本题问公立学校对家庭教育的强硬态度缓和的原因。第二段第二句话提到：随着学校行政人员意识到对家庭教育群体持敌对态度并没有任何益处，双方针锋相对的局面似乎有所缓和。故A项正确。第二段第三句提到公立学校正在寻求与家庭教育者合作，但并没有提到他们是否获益，故排除B。第四段倒数第二句提到，尽管卡罗尔先生承认家庭教育在某些方面做得很好，但学校的整体态度还是家庭教育有不可避免的劣势，由此可知C项并不是他们立场缓和的原因，故排除C。D项“应该给孩子机会重返学校”是公立学校态度缓和以后所持的观点．并非态度缓和的原因，故排除D。

单选题 The author's overall attitude toward home schooling is______.
[A] objective
[B] hostile
[C] critical
[D] agreeable

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 态度题。作者在文中并没有更倾向于哪种教育模式，只是列举了双方的观点，如“许多学校教育的倡导者对于家庭教育者采取严厉的态度”，“一些家庭教育者反对学校教育系统”，但并没有对二者进行评论，只是通过各自具有代表性的言论揭示出各自的优缺点，由此可见作者的态度是比较客观的，故A项“客观的”正确。作者只是提出双方各自的观点，并没有对两种教育模式的优劣进行比较，故排除其他三项。

单选题 It can be concluded from the passage that______.
[A] home schooling has become an important form of education in the U. S.
[B] public schoolers and home schoolers reject each other vigorously
[C] there is much controversy as to the emergence of home schooling
[D] home schooling education is far inferior to public school education

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。根据首段末句“家庭教育成为学校教育之外的又一选择，但这已成为有争议的问题”可知，C项正确。首段中提到，美国有四千余万人在公立学校学习，而只有约两百万人在家中学习。从数字上分析，家庭教育仍占少数，由此可排除A。第二段指出，学校行政人员们已经意识到对家庭教育群体持敌对态度对他们没有任何益处，现在他们的态度已经缓和了一些，由此可排除B。作者是以中立的态度来讨论双方的观点，并没有说明哪种教育更好，由此排除D。