Question

Japanese Students Suffer from Pressure

    Last April,15-year-old Rei Iwasaki stopped her piano and flute lessons and began to study every day of the week. Her parents paid to send her to a "cram school(灌输式教学模式的学校)." She wanted very much to pass her exams.

    In February she did pass an all-day, five-subject examination and entered the high school she hoped to enter.

    Thirteen-year-old Akio Yoshiwara wasn't so lucky. Unable to take the pressure of the exams, he hanged himself in February. He left a suicide（自杀） note which said, "I did my best in this dear life, but it's no good."

    Suicides are now a common part of life among students in Japan. The cause is the incredible pressure of the "examination hell."

    Even a number of teachers are committing suicide each year. When some students broke windows in a school near Tokyo, the principal blamed himself and wrote the following note: "The incidents were due to the lack of appropriate measures by the principal and I apologize. I am very tired. "

   The Japanese educational system is much different from the American system. It is perhaps the most regimented(严密组织的) school system in any of the industrialized nations.

   Boys and girls wear uniforms and go to school six days a week — 240 days a year compared to 180 in the U.S. Ninety-five percent graduate from high school compared to seventy-five percent in the U.S.

   Students don't ask questions in class but only listen respectfully to the teachers. And every few year’s students are tested to see which school they will enter next. There is stiff competition for the "best" schools.

    The result is a well-informed, disciplined student, ideal for factory and company work and excellent at learning specialized skills. But there is little fun in education, little creativity and the incredible pressure of "examination hell."

1.It's because ________ that many Japanese students committed suicide.

A. they didn't do their best in their lives

B. they were sent to a "cram school"

C. of the most regimented school

D. they were unable to take the pressure of the exams

2.Why did the principal kill himself?

A. He thought it was his fault that some students broke the windows.

B. He was very tired.

C. He couldn't stand the pressure of the "examination hell".

D. He blamed himself and wrote a note.

3.Which of the following ideas agrees with the title of the passage?

A. The Japanese students love to study under pressure.

B. The Japanese students do well under pressure.

C. The exams give the Japanese students much pressure.

D. The exams make the Japanese students commit suicide each year.

4.Which of the following is Wrong?

A. The American educational system is much different from the Japanese system.

B. To enter a high school, a student must pass an all-day, five-subject examination.

C. The Japanese graduates from high school are much less than the American graduates.

D. In Japanese education, there is little creativity as well as little fun.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文阐述了日本教育体制的弊端让学生遭受非常大的压力。

1.D 细节理解题。根据第四段内容Suicides are now a common part of life among students in Japan. The cause is the incredible pressure of the "examination hell."可知，日本学生自杀，很大原因是受不了考试带来的压力。故选D。

2.A 细节理解题。根据第五段中The incidents were due to the lack of appropriate measures by the principal and I apologize.可知，校长自杀是因为他认为学生自杀事件是因为校长没有制定合适的措施，认为学生自杀事件是他的责任，故选A。

3.C句意理解题。文中标题是“日本学生遭受压力”，故选项C“考试给日本学生带来很大压力”和文章标题意思一致，故选C。

4.C细节理解题。根据倒数第三段Ninety-five percent graduate from high school compared to seventy-five percent in the U.S.可知，日本95%的学生高中毕业，而美国只有75%的学生高中毕业，故选项C错误，选C。

考点：考查社会现象类短文阅读