If spending is a measure of what matters, then the people of the developing world place a high value on brains. While private spending on education has not changed much in the rich world in the past ten years, in China and India it has more than doubled. Since brainpower is the primary generator of progress, this burst of enthusiasm for investing in private education is excellent news for the world. But not everybody is delighted. Because private education increases inequality, some governments are trying to stop its advance. That’s wrong: they should welcome it, and spread its benefits more widely.
① Education used to be provided by religious institutions or entrepreneurs. But when governments, starting in Prussia in the 18th century, got into the business of nation-building, they realized they could use education to shape young minds. As state systems grew, private schooling was left to the elite and the pious(虔诚的). Now it is enjoying popularity again, for several reasons. Incomes are rising, especially among the better off, at the same time as birth rates are falling. In China the former one-child policy means that six people---two parents and four grandparents---can pour money into educating a single child.
② All over the developing world, people want more or better education than governments provide. Where cities are growing at unmanageable speed, the private education is taking up the slack. In India the private education now educates nearly half of all children, in Pakistan more than a third, and in both countries the state education is shrinking. Even where the state does pretty well, as in East Asia, richer people still want better schooling for their children than the masses get. Thus, Vietnam, which has an outstanding state-school system for a poor country, measured by its performance in the OECD’s PISA test, also has the fastest-growing private education.
③ In most ways, this is an excellent thing, because the world is getting more and better schooling.
In rich countries, once the background and ability of the children who attend private schools are taken into account, their exams results are about the same as those in the state education. But in developing countries private schools are better---and much more efficient. A study of eight Indian states found that, in terms of learning outcomes per rupee, private schools were between 1.5 times and 29 times more cost-effective than state schools.
④ They tend to sort children by income, herding richer ones towards better schools that will enhance their already superior life chances. That is one reason why many governments are troubled by their rise.
Governments are right to worry about private education’s contribution to inequality, but they are wrong to discourage its growth. Governments should instead focus on improving the public education by mimicking(模仿) the private education’s virtues. Freedom from independent management is at the root of its superior performance and greater efficiency. Governments should therefore do their best to give school principals more freedom to innovate and to fire underperforming teachers.
To spread the benefit of private schools more widely, governments should work with them, paying for education through vouchers(代金券) which children can spend in private schools. And vouchers should be limited to students in non-selective schools that do not charge top-up fees; otherwise governments will find themselves helping the better off and increasing inequality.
The world faces plenty of problems. Governments should stop behaving as though private education were one of them. It will, rather, increase the chances of finding solutions.
1.What do we know about private education?
A. More developed countries enjoy it.
B. It attracts more and more investment.
C. Public education will replace it in the future.
D. It has helped governments to remove inequality
2.What does the underlined phrase“taking up the slack” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Filling the gap. B. Setting the place.
C. Breaking the balance. D. Avoiding the risk.
3.Why has private education been developing rapidly in Vietnam?
A. The population in Vietnam is shrinking dramatically.
B. Its state education is worse than other developing countries.
C. Some people want better education for their children than others.
D. The government intends private education to shape young minds.
4.The sentence “But private schools also increase inequality.” can be put in .
A. ① B. ② C. ③ D. ④
5.What does the author advise governments to do?
A. Train school principals. B. Sell vouchers to children.
C. learn from private education. D. Fire underperforming teachers.
6.What’s the author’s opinion about private education?
A. Private education should be based on state education.
B. Private education should be targeted at well-off families.
C. Governments should prevent the spread of private education.
D. Governments should celebrate the popularity of private education.
Ronald Reagan ever said, “It’s true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?” To some extent, extra effort seems to be self-defeating. Studies suggest that, after 50 hours a week, employee productivity falls sharply.
But that doesn’t stop some managers from demanding that workers stay chained to their desk for long periods. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, recently praised the “996” model, where employees work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week, as a “huge blessing”. Apparently, presenteeism (出勤主义) is the curse of the modern office worker.
There will be days when you do not have much to do: perhaps because you are waiting for someone else in a different department, or a different company, to respond to a request. As the clock ticks past 5 pm, there may be no purpose in staying at your desk. But you can see your boss hard at work and, more importantly, they can see you. So you make an effort to look busy.
Some of this may be a self-continuing cycle. If bosses do not like to go home before their employees, and employees fear leaving before their bosses, everyone is trapped. Staff may feel that they will not get a pay rise, or a promotion, if they are not seen to be putting in maximum effort. This is easily confused with long hours. Managers, who are often no good at judging employees’ performance, use time in the office as a measure. The consequence is often wasted effort. We pretend to work and managers pretend to believe us. Rather than work hard, you try to make bosses think that you are. Leaving a jacket on your office chair, walking around purposefully with a notebook and sending out emails at odd hours are three of the best-known tricks. After a while this can result in collective self-delusion that this pretence is actual work.
But presenteeism has more serious consequences. It is perhaps most common in Japan, where people attend the office even when they are in discomfort. In doing so, they are doing neither themselves nor their employers any favours. As well as reducing productivity, this can increase medical expenses for the employer. According to a study in the Journal of Occupation and Environmental Medicine, these costs can be six times higher for employers than the costs of absenteeism among workers. Those workers were more likely to experience greater pain and to suffer from depression.
In the evolution of humanity, presenteeism is a recent phenomenon. In the industrial era, workers were paid not for their output but for their time, and were required to clock in and out. But modern machinery like smartphones and laptops is portable. Turning an office into a prison, with prisoners allowed home for the evenings, does nothing for the creativity that is increasingly demanded of office workers as routine tasks are automated. To be productive you need presence of mind, not being present in the flesh.
1.What can we learn from Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3?
A. Employees often have to work extra hours.
B. Extra effort improves employees’ productivity.
C. “996” model is well received around the world.
D. Both bosses and employees are devoted to their jobs.
2.What does the underlined “This” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. Hoping to get a pay rise. B. Going home after the boss.
C. Putting in maximum effort. D. Judging employees’ performance.
3.Which of the following is one the results of long-time presenteeism?
A. Reducing medical costs of employees.
B. Making employees more hard-working.
C. Increasing the competition among employees.
D. Worsening employees’ physical and mental condition.
4.What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?
A. Employees should be treated as prisoners.
B. Productivity can’t be measured by presenteeism now.
C. Office tasks usually can’t be carried out automatically.
D. Office workers should be allowed to be absent-minded.
By the time you read these words, winter should have gone within the Northern Hemisphere (半球). But at its worst, this winter was unusually cold. Here in New York City on January 31, the low temperature dropped to -17℃. In Chicago, it was also -17℃—but that was the high. The low jumped to -29℃. And the wind chill within the Windy City was -44℃ or -46℃, relying on which climate station was crying out in pain. As comic Lewis Black said, “That is not weather. That’s an emergency condition.”
When the forecast warned us a few days earlier that Arctic air was looming (阴森地逼近), President Trump issued a sincere and helpful tweet, which ended with: “What the hell is going on with Global Waming [sic]? Please come back fast, we need you!” And being the most powerful man on Earth, he was successful in his polite request. On February 4 the Chicago temperature reached 11℃. And the following day the Big Apple was in a sunny 19℃.
The Arctic is warming at twice the speed as the global average. This heat might help disrupt (打破) the polar vortex, a gradual wind pattern that usually stays focused on circling the North Pole. A shaky jet stream (高速气流) then runs right into a brick wall of that Arctic air, which continues to be fairly cold by human standards, and both wind up lots of miles farther south than they usually belong. And for a few days we in the Deep South—by which I mean Chicago or New York compared with the Arctic—freeze our butts off. But less than a week later, thanks to some warm air coming up from the real South, I was walking outside without a coat on a date when the temperature in Chicago reached 11℃ on February 4.
Like so much else we are currently living through, this experience is not normal. Or it didn’t used to be, anyway.
After all, scientists have been waming—sorry, warning—that warming can have these very results. Climate change deniers may sneer (冷笑), “So when it’s warmer than usual, that’s because of global warming. And when it’s colder, that’s also because of global warming?” Well, yes. And anybody who just can’t accept these kinds of seemingly paradoxical conditions needs to reflect on the expression “freezer burn.”
1.By mentioning Lewis Black’s words in Paragraph 1, the author intends to .
A. indicate how unusual the winter’s weather was
B. suggest the north isn’t a suitable place to live
C. remind people never to forget the past winter
D. urge people to take action against the emergency
2.What led to the sudden increase in the Chicago temperature on February 4?
A. The cold Arctic air. B. Trump’s sincere tweet.
C. Warm air from the real South. D. Disruption of polar vortex.
3.Why does the author use the expression “freezer burn”?
A. To show readers his concerns about the extreme weather.
B. To prove global warming to be the cause of the extreme weather.
C. To cast doubt about scientists’ study on the paradoxical conditions.
D. To express his disapproval of the result of the paradoxical conditions.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CAR RENTAL IN CANADA
When you fly into Canada you don’t have many choices. A car is often the only way to reach the spectacular destinations which Canada is famous for. Most major car rental companies have offices at airports, towns and cities across the country.
What do you need in order to rent a car in Canada?
● Valid Driver’s license and International Driver’s Permit if your license is not in English or French.
● When picking up your car, you may have to show your passport and a return airline ticket.
● Credit Card for the deposit—Renting a car in Canada without a credit card is impossible.
Fly-Drive Packages from Home
You may get the best deal on car rental if you book a fly-drive package from home or if you book a long time in advance. Rental coast varies to a great extent, depending on the time of year, type of vehicle and length of rental.
Minimum Age
The driver has to be at least 21 years old and have a minimum of 12 months of driving experience in order to rent a car in Canada. A “Young Renter Fee” will be applied to your car rental, if you are between the ages of 21 and 24 and will be charged on top of the rental rate.
Insurance
Most car rental companies in Canada offer a collision damage waiver (CDW) for an additional charge. Some credit card companies include CDW insurance on car rentals when you use their cards to pay for the rental. Check your credit card’s terms and conditions.
Fuel and Service Stations
Most rental cars use unleaded gas. Remember, driving distances in Canada are long and a large amount of your vacation budget will go towards gasoline. Filling up in larger cities is usually cheaper than in small towns. If you are heading up to the Northwest Territories, gas prices will be much higher than in the south.
Cross-Border Travel
Some rental companies don’t allow their cars to drive across borders, like from Canada to the US or across provinces. If this is the case, watch out; GPS may be used to track your route.
1.You’ll have to pay extra fees for your car rental in Canada if you________.
A. book a fly-drive package from home
B. are 22 with one-year driving experience
C. use a credit card offering CDW insurance
D. have no passport or return airline ticket
2.What are you encouraged to do when you rent a car in Canada?
A. Use GPS to find your way. B. Provide a license in English.
C. Fill up the car in large cities. D. Drive across borders to America.
One day, I watched a video of a man who was throwing empty wine bottles in a rage (泄愤屋) room. I felt a(n) _______ to go and smash (砸碎) some glass myself. Everyone was keen to show how _______ their lives were.
I handed over the cash and _______ protective overalls (防护服) and a mask before entering the rage room with a friend. We started _______ but were soon giving it everything. I started with glass bottles, but I soon, _______ to heavier goods. It was partly the _______ of work that led me to the rage room. I am an entertainer in film and television, but I still need to _______ the rent. Standup comedy and small acting roles help me _______.
Before discovering the rage room, I _______ all kinds of ways to deal with stress: karaoke and the gym. Going to the gym is about getting ______________ looking good, but when I’m smashing things, the intention is ______________. When I behave like a caveman (野人), I leave any ______________ behind.
The rage room is a place of honest ______________. During one session, a year and a half after we ______________, the words of my ex (前女友) came into my head: “I just don’t think you put enough effort into our relationship.” I thought this ______________ was unfair. In a flash of broken glass, I realized I had been ______________ that thought for too long.
I still haven’t fully realized my dream. But ______________ the rage room has taught me anything, it is that I am not a(n) ______________ person any more. I don’t experience rage before, during or after a session.
The whole ______________ feels like a calm and controlled release. It is extremely ______________. I think everyone could pay a visit.
1.A.duty B.urge C.ability D.chance
2.A.colorful B.casual C.tough D.cozy
3.A.put on B.took off C.wore out D.threw away
4.A.excitedly B.tentatively C.fortunately D.arbitrarily
5.A.progressed B.withdrew C.referred D.submitted
6.A.rewards B.stresses C.joy D.lack
7.A.receive B.keep C.reduce D.pay
8.A.catch on B.get by C.spring up D.dive in
9.A.invented B.identified C.tried D.dropped
10.A.thrilled B.healthy C.wealthy D.connected
11.A.similar B.superior C.consistent D.different
12.A.negativity B.friendship C.motivation D.priority
13.A.competition B.purchase C.reflection D.cooperation
14.A.dropped out B.made up C.worked out D.broke up
15.A.suggestion B.criticism C.inspiration D.confidence
16.A.holding on to B.living up to C.looking forward to D.giving rise to
17.A.unless B.once C.if D.while
18.A.calm B.honest C.innocent D.angry
19.A.truth B.life C.process D.trip
20.A.liberating B.frustrating C.demanding D.struggling
She was in a ________ condition after the heart transplant operation when her body rejected the foreign organ.
A. skeptical B. critical C. theoretical D. practical
