According to the author, families that home-school their children would be helped by ______.A．a relaxing of current regulationsB．governmental assistanceC．more understanding communitiesD．better teaching in the public schools

The author believes that using public monies to fund charter schools is ______.

A．a cure-all solution

B．hard to implement

C．a good idea

D．against the law

30． Which is right according to the passage?

A． People have too much time to talk with each other．

B． Life now is very simple．

C． Some families have become single-parent families．

D． Lots of mothers stay at home and look after their children．

How would you describe the author's attitude towards current learning strategies?

A．Distanced.

B．Admiring.

C．Objective.

D．Ironical.

A. shouldn’t

B. should

C. wouldn't

D. would

In the past, American families tended to be quite large. Parents raising five or more children were common. Over the years, the size of the family is becoming smaller. One reason for this is an increase in the cost of living.

Generally children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them financially dependent on their families longer. Moreover, children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment. The parents are usually responsible for all the expenses. And families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers work away from home. The break-up of the family appears when the parents' divorce.

A lot of children in the U. S. live part of their young lives with only one parent. Children grow up feeling unsettled as they are moved between their parents. Single parents often marry other single parents. In this type of family, unrelated children are forced to develop brother or sister relationship.

The situations of many American families today are not good. However, recent signs show that things are getting better. The divorce rate is declining(降低). Perhaps Americans have learned how important families are.

21. In the past, American families tended to be().

A. quite small

B. medium sized

C. quite large

22. To parents who take the responsibility for children's expenses, the cost of living increases because().

A. children attend school for more years

B. children are better dressed and spend more money on entertainment

C. all of the above

23. Children whose parents divorced always feel unsettled because().

A. they are moved between their parents

B. they are forced to develop brother or sister relationship

C. they have little money to spend

24. According to the author, the situations of American families in the future may().

A. get better

B. remain the same

C. become worse

25. The title of the article might be() .

A. American Children

B. American Families

C. American Parents

According go the author， health-savings plans will

[A] help reduce the cost of healthcare.

[B] popularize among the middle class.

[C] compensate for the reduced pensions.

[D] increase the families investment risk.

According go the author， health-savings plans will

A．help reduce the cost of healthcare.

B．popularize among the middle class.

C．compensate for the reduced pensions.

D．increase the families investment risk.

Section B

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.

The number of parents teaching their offspring at home will increase if the current public school system continues to be viewed as an irrelevant institution that can hinder a child's ability to learn.

The rise of home-schooling reflects broadening dissatisfaction with formal education in the US. Discontent is high for two reasons. First, public schools are turning out a poor product--illiterate and unprepared graduates. For example, American 13-year-olds have been documented as having math skills that rank below their counterparts in 14 other developed countries. One survey noted that just one-third of high school juniors could place the Civil War in the correct half-century. Equally troubling, public schools have become scenes where drugs are sold, teachers are robbed, and homemade bombs are found in lockers.

Compounding the situation, teachers' unions, school officials, and many politicians adamantly(坚决地) oppose the use of public monies(钱) for innovative solutions, such as vouchers and charter schools. Those alternatives, although not a panacea(万能) for all the present problems, are at least promising vehicles that could help poor and middle-income parents to find better schools for their children and break up the monopoly of a "one-size-fits-all" philosophy of education.

In light of the educational quagmire(沼泽) the US finds itself in, many parents, impatient for reform, are taking matters into their own hands. One alternative that is gaining growing public acceptance is the educational option known as home-schooling. Home-schooling is defined simply as the "education of school-aged children at home rather than at a school". Home-schoolers believe that students who receive instruction simultaneously from the home and the community at large will be more culturally sophisticated than those whose bulk of learning experience is confined to a school. Home-schooling families believe they are using their liberties well and wisely. The American can-do spirit is evident in the home-schools and households parents manage simultaneously. Those families, however, could use some further deregulation, be it through home-school tax credits or a loosening of compulsory attendance school laws, to make their task easier.

According to the text, the number of children being schooled at home has increased because ______.

A．children don't want to go to school

B．parents are dissatisfied with pubic schools

C．home-schooled children learn better

D．public schools are too crowded

in britain, the great majority of parents send their children to____________.

A. independent schools.

B. state schools.

C. public schools.

D. private schools.