Question

    WASHINGTON-Thousands of public schools have stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade, according to a survey. But another contrary trend makes educators and policymakers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to give lessons in Chinese.

Some schools are paying for Chinese classes on their own, but hundreds are getting some help. The Chinese government is sending teachers from China to schools all over the world and paying part of their salaries.

No one keeps an exact count, but rough calculations based on the government’s survey suggest that perhaps 1,600American public and private schools are teaching Chinese, up from 300 or so a decade ago. And the number is growing fast.

“It’s really changing the language education landscape of this country,” said Nancy. Other indicators point to the same trend. “The number of students taking the Advanced Placement test in Chinese, introduced in 2007, has grown so fast that it is likely to pass German this year as the third most tested Advanced Placement language, after Spanish and French,” said Trevor Packer, vice president of the College Board.

“We’ve all been surprised that in such a short time Chinese would grow to surpass German,” Mr. Packer said.

A decade ago, most of the schools with Chinese programs were on the east and west coasts. But in recent years, many schools have started Chinese programs in heartland states, including Ohio and Illinois in the Midwest, Texas and Georgia in the South, and Colorado and Utah in the Rocky Mountain West.

America has had the study of a foreign language grow before, only to see the bubble burst. Many schools began teaching Japanese in the 1980s, after Japan emerged as an economic rival. But thousands of schools have dropped the language, the survey found. Japanese is not the only language that has declined. Thousands of schools that offered French, German or Russian have stopped teaching those languages, too, the survey found.

1.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “abuzz” in the first paragraph?

A.Be noisy like the sound of a bee.

B.Be interested in various activities.

C.Cause people to discuss something hotly.

D.Motivate people to march bravely.

2.What can we infer from what Mr. Packer said?

A.More and more people choose Chinese in the Advanced Placement test.

B.The Advanced Placement test is the most difficult one in the world.

C.Chinese is more important than Spanish and French.

D.Chinese is a necessary subject in most important tests.

3.What can we know from the last two paragraphs?

A.Many schools started Chinese programs in the Midwest ten years ago.

B.Chinese programs have been started in more areas in America recently.

C.American schools have slopped teaching French, German and Russian.

D.People are gradually fond of learning Chinese and Japanese in recent years.

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A.Chinese is being learned as an official language in America.

B.Foreign languages fade in American schools except Chinese.

C.Teaching Chinese in foreign countries has become a trend.

D.Foreign languages are no longer being taught in America.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道。本文讲述了在美国很多门外语都遭遇了停课，但是中文的学习趋势却日益上升。

1.词义猜测题。根据第一段最后一句But another contrary trend makes educators and policymakers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to give lessons in Chinese.可知，另一个相反的趋势却让教育工作者和政策制定者议论纷纷：美国各地的学校都在争先恐后地用中文授课,故推测画线词abuzz意为“议论纷纷”。 C. Cause people to discuss something hotly.（使人们纷纷议论某事）符合以上猜测，故选C项。

2.推理判断题。根据第四段的The number of students taking the Advanced Placement test in Chinese, introduced in 2007, has grown so fast that it is likely to pass German this year as the third most tested Advanced Placement language, after Spanish and French,” said Trevor Packer,许多学生开始参加中文的进阶课程考试，学生数量增长之快，很有可能超过德语考试，成为继西班牙语和法语后的第三门外语考试，故推测越来越多的人在进阶课程考试中选择中文。A. More and more people choose Chinese in the Advanced Placement test.(越来越多的人在进阶课程考试中选择中文)符合以上推测，故选A项。

3.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段A decade ago, most of the schools with Chinese programs were on the east and west coasts. But in recent years, many schools have started Chinese programs in heartland states, including Ohio and Illinois in the Midwest, Texas and Georgia in the South, and Colorado and Utah in the Rocky Mountain West.可知，10年前，大多数有中文班的学校都分布在东西海岸，但现在包括俄亥俄州、得克萨斯州等地的许多学校开始教授中文了。B. Chinese programs have been started in more areas in America recently.（最近中文计划已经开始在美国更多的地方开始）符合以上说法，故选B项。

4.主旨大意题。这是一篇新闻报道，文章第一段就是本文的主旨，根据第一段Thousands of public schools have stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade, according to a survey. But another contrary trend makes educators and policymakers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to give lessons in Chinese.可知，近10年华盛顿地区的公立学校停止了外语的教学，但是中文的学习趋势却日益上升。B. Foreign languages fade in American schools except Chinese.（除了中文,在美国很多外语教学开始缩减），故选B项。