华慧2014年3月中科院考博英语真题阅读理解Section A 第三篇阅读文章

2014年3月中科院考博英语真题

阅读理解第三篇阅读文章

华慧考博英语教研中心解读：中科院考博英语阅读理解的短文内

容涉及社会科学（主要包括社会学、教育、人类学、心理学、经济、管

理、金融等领域）、自然科学（主要包括化学、生物、交通、物理、工程、

计算机、医学、农业等领域）和人文科学（主要包括哲学、历史、文学、

语言、新闻、艺术等领域）。考博英语的阅读理解题型中的文章通常选

取外文杂志、外文网站中的文章，然后由各院校的命题组命题，或者

选取四六级、考研、研究生学位英语考试等已考过的文章。

2014年3月份中科院考博英语真题

阅读理解第三篇阅读文章

Passage Three

The staff of Normandy Crossing Elementary School outside

Houston eagerly awaited the results of state achievement tests this spring.

For the principal and assistant principal, high scores could buoy their

careers at a time when success is increasingly measured by such tests. For

fifth-grade math and science teachers, the rewards were more tangible: a

bonus of $2,850.

But when the results came back, some seemed too good to be true.

Indeed, after an investigation by the Galena Park Independent School

District, the principal and three teachers resigned May 24 in a scandal

over test tampering.

The district said the educators had distributed a detailed study

guide after stealing a look at the state science test by "tubing" it -

squeezing a test booklet, without breaking its paper seal, to form an open

tube so that questions inside could be seen and used in the guide. The

district invalidated students' scores.

Of all the forms of academic cheating, none may be as startling as

educators tampering with children's standardized tests. But investigations

in many states this year have pointed to cheating by educators. Experts

say the phenomenon is increasing as the stakes over standardized testing

become higher - including, most recently, taking student progress on tests

into consideration in teachers' performance reviews.

Many school districts alr6ady link teachers' bonuses to student

improvement on state assessments. Houston decided this year to use the

data to identify experienced teachers for dismissal, and New York City

will use it to make tenure decisions on novice teachers.

The federal No Child Left Behind law is a further source of pressure. Like a high jump bar set intentionally low in the beginning, the law---- which mandates that public schools bring all students up to grade level in reading and math by 2014 ---- was easy to satisfy early on. But the bar is notched higher annually, and the penalties for schools that fail to get over it also rise: teachers and administrators can lose jobs and see their school taken over.

No national data is collected on educator cheating. Experts who consult with school systems estimated that l percent to 3 percent of teachers ---- thousands annually - cross the line between accepted ways of boosting scores, like using old tests to prepare students, and actual cheating.

"Educators feel that their schools' reputation, their livelihoods, their psychic meaning in life is at stake," said Robert Schaeffer, public education director for Fair Test.

48. Paragraph l stresses the relationship between students' test results

and______.

A. their teachers' interest

B. their families' prestige

C. their own future success

D. their school's reputation

49. According to the passage, the cheating was that______.

A. the test supervisors provided hints during the test

B. the test designers trained the testees before the test

C. the students exchanged their notes during the test

D. the students were given the answers before the test

50. It is commonly believed that______.

A. educators rarely get involved in academic cheating

B. children's standardized tests have many drawbacks

C. teachers play a key role in their students' cheating

D. school intervention helps reduce academic cheating

51. In Paragraph 4, the boldfaced word "stakes" refer to "______".

A. opportunities

B. responsibilities

C. benefits

D. achievements

52. In some places in the US, students' test assessments______

A. indicate if the students have been effectively taught

B. decide whether the teachers can remain in their jobs

C. help identify who are fit to pursue a teaching career

D. influence how to improve curriculums in the future

53. What kind of role does the author think the government plays as associated with educator cheating?

A. They are adding to it.

B. They are lenient with it.

C. They are overlooking it,

D. They are serious about it.