Question

    After the summer break, Delhi’s children returned to school this month and found a new class added to their schedules: happiness.

It wasn’t a welcome-back joke. In a country where top universities require average test scores above 98 percent and where cheating on final high school exams is organized by a “mafia” that includes teachers and school officials, the Delhi government's new scheme marks a change of emphasis(强调)from student performance to well-being.

“We have given best-of-the-best graduates of ability to industry,” said Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s education minister, “…But have we been able to supplied best-of-the-best human beings to society, to the nation? “

Sisodia’s happiness classes represent a major experiment in a country known for its overstrict, bookish education system, which has helped cement a new middle class over the past thirty years but is also poorly thought of for encouraging rote(死记硬背的) learning and causing high pressure levels. Under the program, 100,000 Delhi students spend the first half-hour of each school day without opening a textbook, learning instead through inspirational stories and activities, as well as such thinking exercises as meditation.

Some teachers, though, remain uncertain. Some of them say, the public schools are too crowded for a course based so heavily on classroom interaction(互动). Others doubt that the happiness classes can change the culturally deep-rooted emphasis on exams and memorization. Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, chair of education, economics and international development at University College London, said that there haven’t been any studies to value their workability. “As far as I know, in some schools they are just another box-ticking exercise,” she said.

1.What’s the author’s purpose of writing the first paragraph?

A.To tell a welcome-back joke. B.To introduce a new program.

C.To argue against the testing system D.To emphasize studies mixed with happiness

2.Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “cement “ in paragraph 4?

A.preview B.attend C.destroy D.increase

3.How is the fourth paragraph mainly developed?

A.By giving examples. B.By making comparisons.

C.By following time order. D.By listing data

4.What's Geeta Gandhi Kingdon’s attitude towards the possibility of happiness classes?

A.confident B.hopeless C.doubtful D.indifferent

5.Which is the best title for this passage?

A.Delhi’s children return to school

B.Delhi offers “ happiness “ classes

C.Happiness classes become Welcome in Delhi

D.Happy classes prove another box-ticking exercise

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.B

4.C

5.B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了德里市的学校试点开设的一门“快乐课程”，作者围绕它的开设背景、开设目的、各方观点、初步效果等方面展开说明。

1.推理判断题。本题要求分析作者写作第一段的目的意图，根据后文内容，可知这门“快乐课程”并非一个玩笑，而是实实在在的试点课程，全文都围绕这一课程进行介绍。因此第一段作者开门见山写出课程名happiness，是为后文具体介绍这个课程项目做引入（To introduce a new program），故选B。

2.词义猜测题。先定位所在句子“…an education system, which has helped cement a new middle class over the past thirty years but…”进行分析，根据已学知识a new middle class指“一个新的中产阶级”，而文中but之后详细罗列了现有应试教育体系的诸多弊端，可推知but这一转折之前写了优点，故排除C项destroy（破坏）；而A项preview（预览，预演）无法与a new middle class搭配，B项attend主语应为人（更多的人进入中产阶级），而此处先行词为an education system。唯有D项increase符合题意，指应试教育体系帮助壮大了一个新中产阶级，故选D。

3.推理判断题。本题要求分析第四段的组织结构。文中该段落先是介绍了过去应试体系过于严苛、呆板及崇尚死记硬背，而后话锋一转，介绍了在这门新课程背景之下，学生每天上学前半个钟不用打开课本，课程会安排讲励志故事、举办励志活动，并大力鼓励思考，做思维练习。前后形成了鲜明的对比（comparisons），故选B。

4.推理判断题。本题要求判断文中Geeta Gandhi Kingdon的态度，由文章结尾处“Geeta Gandhi Kingdon said that there haven’t been any studies to value their workability. ‘As far as I know, in some schools they are just another box-ticking exercise,’ she said.”可知，这个人先是说目前没有任何研究来评估课程实效，又补充道：据她所知，在有些学校这俨然成为另一种形式的“框中打勾”练习（指选择题或判断题，即兜兜转转又回到应试上来）。因此她对课程效果表示怀疑（doubtful），故选C。

5.主旨大意题。文章的主题是介绍德里市学校试点开设“快乐课程”，作者围绕它的开设背景、开设目的、各方观点、初步效果等方面展开，这门课程是本文“题眼”所在，故B正确；而文中展示了褒贬两方面的观点，既无全面肯定也未全盘否定，C、D均为片面概括，应予排除。综上所述，选择B作为最佳文章标题。