2020考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇：Unit 74

Unit 74

On this one point George W. Bush and Al Gore would agree: our schools need more Marilyn Whirrys. For 35 years, Whirry has inspired high school students to think deeply about great literature and to use its devices in their writing. She is the kind of teacher that students come back to visit decades later in her classroom in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Last May a national educators’ group named her its Teacher of the Year. And with the nation’s public schools planning to hire 2.5 million new teachers over the next decade, Whirry is excited that each presidential candidate is pushing ways to recruit, train and reward better teachers. “They’re both talking about teacher quality,” she says. “We have a real opportunity right now.”

Bush’s plan combines most existing federal funds for professional development and class-size reduction into a flexible new fund for teacher training and recruitment, and he adds $400 million a year in new money. Bush would allow states to spend the funds as they see fit—so long as they establish teacher-accountability systems. This is similar to what Ronald Reagan did in the 1980s. But then, says Emily Feistritzer, president of the Center for Education Information, “the money disappeared.” Under Bush’s plan, she says, “I worry that the money won’t go where it’s intended to once it reaches the states.”

Bush would expand funding from $2. 4 million to $30 million for the Troops to Teachers program, which places veterans who want to teach in public schools. The program makes use of people like Arthur Moore, who retired in 1994 after 21 years in the Army and knew he wanted to teach. “There are a lot of people who would make excellent teachers but are discouraged by the bureaucracy of the certification process,” says Moore, 45, who began teaching fourth grade in Baltimore and now tests students for special education. “Troops to Teachers is an excellent way to tap their potential by lowering the barriers.” Bush would also expand loan forgiveness for math and science majors who teach in needy schools.

Gore’s plan, endorsed by the teachers’ unions, would spend $8 billion over 10 years to help recruit 1 million new teachers, with provisions for college aid, loan forgiveness and signing bonuses. Gore would spend an additional $8 billion to provide raises of as much as $5,000 each to teachers in poor districts that have adopted aggressive plans to improve teacher quality, plus as much as $10,000 each to teachers certified by a national board. Gore would also require states to ensure that all new teachers pass rigorous assessments. Says Feistritzer: “Gore’s proposal might be a little excessive in the number of teachers he wants to recruit, but his teacher testing is exactly what we need.”

注（1）：本文選自Time；

注（2）：本文習題命題模仿對象：第1題模仿2005年真題Text 1第1題，第2、4、5、3題分別模仿2001年真題Text 4第2、3題和Text 3第1、2題。

1. In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by ______.

A) quoting the Teacher of the Year

B) citing an example

C) making an assumption

D) posing a contrast

2. According to Emily Feistritzer, Bush’s plan might ______.

A) be handicapped by the states

B) give the states too much freedom

C) help states recruit more teachers

D) be too flexible

3. The basic problem many veterans encounter when they seek the teaching profession is ______.

A) their lack of training and experience

B) their background

C) that they do not have the making of a teacher

D) the barriers in the certification process

4. From Paragraph 4 we can infer that ______.

A) Gore’s plan is better than Bush’s plan

B) poor districts will receive more funding from Gore’s plan

C) Gore’s plan focuses on the number of teachers while Bush’s plan on the accountability

D) Gore’s plan gives qualified teachers generous paycheck

5. What is the passage mainly about?

A) The competition between Bush and Gore.

B) Two presidential candidates’ plans of teacher training, recruitment and rewarding.

C) The increasing importance of teaching profession.

D) The differences between Bush’s plan and that of Gore’s.

篇章剖析

本篇文章是說明文，介紹了兩位總統(tǒng)候選人布什和戈爾各自的教師招募和培訓計劃。第一段提出了兩位候選人的一個共同之處：想方設法招募、培訓和獎勵優(yōu)秀教師；第二段介紹了布什的新基金計劃；第三段介紹了布什的“軍人當教師”計劃；第四段介紹了戈爾的教師招募和評估方案。

詞匯注釋

candidate /?k?nd?d?t/ n. 候選人

recruit /r??kru?t/ v. 吸收（新成員）；招募

accountability /??ka?nt??b?l?ti/ n. 有責任，有義務

bureaucracy /bj??r?kr?si/ n. 官僚，官僚作風，官僚機構(gòu)

certification /s??t?f??ke??(?)n/ n. 證明，證明書；合格證

tap /t?p/ v. 開發(fā)；利用

endorse /?n?d??s/ v. 支持；簽署（姓名）；背書，在（票據(jù)等）背面簽字

forgiveness /f??g?vn?s/ n. 免除（債務等）

bonus /?b??n?s/ n. 紅利；獎金；額外津貼

rigorous /?r?g?r?s/ adj. 嚴格的，嚴厲的

excessive /?k?ses?v/ adj. 過多的，過分的

難句突破

Gore would spend an additional $8 billion to provide raises of as much as $5,000 each to teachers in poor districts that have adopted aggressive plans to improve teacher quality, plus as much as $10,000 each to teachers certified by a national board.

主體句式：Gore would spend an additional $8 billion.

結(jié)構(gòu)分析：本句是一個復雜句，不定式to provide raises...作整個句子的目的狀語，其中包含了一個that引導的定語從句，修飾districts；介詞plus引導了一個伴隨狀語，修飾這個目的狀語。

句子譯文：此外，戈爾計劃再花80億美元給為提高教師質(zhì)量采取積極策略的貧困地區(qū)的每位教師增加5, 000美元工資，另外，給每位獲得國家教育委員會證書的教師10, 000美元。

題目分析

1. C 論證方式題?？梢詮牡谝痪湓抴ould agree看出。would是一種虛擬用法，表明這是作者的一種假想。

2. A 細節(jié)題。根據(jù)上下文，布什的計劃類似于里根的計劃，當時錢撥到了各州，但最后都不知去向。Emily Feistritzer擔心如果各州可以按照自己認為適合的方式動用這筆資金的話，這筆錢將不被用于最初的目的。也就是說布什的計劃會被各州執(zhí)行不力。

3. D 細節(jié)題。這一題的答案在文中第三段，退伍老兵Moore說許多本來可成為優(yōu)秀教師的退伍軍人卻因為the bureaucracy of the certification process而受阻。

4. D 推理題。這可以從“獲得全國教育委員會認證的教師每人還可以得到1萬美元”的提議中看出。

5. B 主旨題。判斷文章的主旨。文章第一段借用Whirry之口來說明兩位總統(tǒng)候選人都在積極推動對教師的招募、培訓和獎勵政策，接著在第二段和第三段介紹了布什的兩個計劃，第四段介紹了戈爾的計劃，這些計劃都與招募、培訓和獎勵政策有關。所以應該是B。

參考譯文

喬治·W·布什和艾爾·戈爾也許會一致同意這樣一種說法：我們的學校需要更多的像瑪麗蓮·威爾瑞斯這樣的老師。在過去35年中，威爾瑞斯一直鼓勵中學生深入思考偉大文學作品的意義并在自己的寫作中運用其中的一些創(chuàng)作手法。她是那種學生幾十年后依舊會回到她在加州曼哈頓海灘的教室來拜訪她的老師。去年五月，一個全國教師組織將她評為“年度教師”。現(xiàn)在全國公立學校計劃在未來十年招聘250萬名新教師，威爾瑞斯對于每位總統(tǒng)候選人都想方設法招募、培訓和獎勵優(yōu)秀教師的做法深受鼓舞?！八麄儍扇硕颊劦搅私處熕刭|(zhì)的問題”，她說?！艾F(xiàn)在正是我們的大好時機?！?

現(xiàn)有聯(lián)邦基金的大部分原來是用于職業(yè)培訓和縮小課堂規(guī)模的，布什計劃把這部分資金和用于教師培訓和招募的新基金合在一起，再給這筆新資金每年追加四億美元。布什允許各州在自己認為合適的情況下支配這筆基金——前提是他們必須建立教師責任制制度。這與羅納德·里根在80年代所做的類似。不過那時，教育信息中心主席埃米莉·費斯特里澤說道：“錢都不知去向?！睂τ诓际驳挠媱潱f：“我擔心資金到了州里會被挪做他用。”

布什打算將用于“軍人當教師”計劃的資金投入從240萬美元增加到3,000萬美元。該計劃旨在把那些想教書的退伍軍人安置在公立學校，并任用像阿瑟·摩爾這樣的人。阿瑟·摩爾在軍中服役21年后于1994年退役，有教書的愿望。“很多人本來可以成為出色的教師，但由于認證過程中的官僚主義而受阻?！爆F(xiàn)年45歲的摩爾說道。他最初在巴爾的摩教四年級學生，現(xiàn)在負責給接受特殊教育的學生做測試工作?！啊娙水斀處煛媱澘梢越档烷T檻，激發(fā)退役軍人的潛能，是非常好的計劃。”布什還計劃增加數(shù)學和理科專業(yè)出身的在貧困學校教書的退伍軍人的貸款免除額。

戈爾的方案得到了教師工會的支持。該方案計劃在10年內(nèi)斥資80億美元幫助招募100萬名新教師，并撥款為大學提供資助，實行貸款免除以及發(fā)放獎金。此外，戈爾計劃再花80億美元給為提高教師質(zhì)量采取積極策略的貧困地區(qū)的每位教師增加5,000美元工資，另外，給每位獲得國家教育委員會證書的教師10,000美元。戈爾還要求各州確保所有的新教師都能通過嚴格的評估。費斯特里澤說：“戈爾計劃招募的教師人數(shù)也許有點多，但他的教師測試提案正是我們所需要的?！?