sociologist. “If you have parents who themselves didn’t succeed at school and aren’t highly educated, kids aren’t going to get those skills at home. ”

Schools are asked to take a full year to plan how to best use the extra time—a process involving teachers, principals, students and parents. They are given outside support to help them base their plans on the best available analyses of student needs. It’s still early，but officials are already seeing stronger test scores and a narrowing achievement gap.

But some critics are worried. “We risk producing something that’s very expensive and time-consuming, and that will give educators a lot of trouble. ” says Frederick Hess. “Before we spend all that extra money, I’d much rather see if we can figure out how to get 50 percent more instructional time out of the current school day. ”(328W) 1. From the first paragraph, we learn that _______. A. the longer schedule is harmful to kids’ health B. all Chicago students had a holiday on Columbus Day C. Sydney Shaw supports the added time D. few kids are bored with the lack of holidays

2. Low-income students fall behind in summer vacations because _______.

A. no good teachers are willing to teach them B. they can’t get help from their parents

C. their parents are unwilling to hire private teachers

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D. they themselves have no desire to learn

3. They are in favor of adding school hours except _______. A. Sydney Shaw C. Frederick Hess

B. Jennifer Davis D. Karl Alexander

4. Some people are worried about adding school hours mainly because _______.

A. it will have a bad effect on the kids’ futures B. the current school day has been too busy C. no one supports the idea

D. it will be costly and time-consuming 5. The text is mainly about _______.

A. whether a longer school day will help narrow the achievement gap B. how students have benefited from additional school hours C. why the achievement gap among students needs to be narrowed D. what causes the achievement gap among students

(B)

66-year-old Dai once worked as a boat tracker along the Yangtze River.

“It was something that required brute strength, but not that alone, ” Dai said at his home in Xialong village, which

sits at the entrance to Wuxia Gorge, one of the famous Three Gorges in Southwest China. “You needed a lot of skills to do what we did. ”

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When outboard motors became available in the 1980s, boat trackers became a thing of the past. Today, they are seen only occasionally along the river during festivals and cultural events.

However, Dai can still remember a time when being pulled by trackers along the Yangtze River was the only way for people to travel from village to village in the mountainous Wushan county. Due to the area’s rich mining resources, his services were vital for companies that wanted to ship their goods.

“I was 15 or 16 when I started, ” said the retiree, explaining that his father also worked as a tracker. “He died in 1964, when I was a teenager. I can’t even remember us tracking together, but we did. It was so long ago. ”

Dai said that boats crews worked in teams with a first, second and third master. The first master was the most essential because he sat in the boat and steered (操纵) it along the safest route.

“It was a key role. He had to guide the boat past jagged rocks and whirlpools. ” he said, adding that first masters were often the most experienced boatmen and the most familiar with the Yangtze River.

“My tracker days were dangerous, ” Dai said, “If the boat got caught in a whirlpool, it could have swallowed the boat and all the trackers down with it. The same thing would have happened if the halter (缰绳) broke. ”

Dai’s days as a tracker finally came to an end when his family

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invested in a motorboat in the early 1980s. He successfully applied for a license from Wushan shortly after. (332W) 6. From the passage we can know that _______.

A. 66-year-old Dai is a boat tracker along the Yangtze River B. being a tracker required more than brute strength C. Dai lives at the entrance to Xialong village D. Dai is still often seen along the river as a tracker 7. For about how many years did Dai work as a tracker? A. 5 years.

B. 10 years. D. More than 40 years.

C. More than 20 years.

8. Why was the first master the most important? A. Because he sat in the boat.

B. Because he was the most experienced boatman.

C. Because he had the responsibility for the safety of the boat. D. Because he was the most familiar with the Yangtze River. 9. We can conclude from the passage that _______.

A. both people and goods were once pulled by trackers along the Yangtze River

B. actually Dai didn’t track with his father at all

C. the most experienced boatmen were sure to be the first masters D. if the boat was caught in a whirlpool, all the trackers had no chance to survive

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