Anewanalysisoffederalmoneythatpublicschoolsreceiveforlow-incomestudentsshowsthatarecordnumberofthenation’sschooldistrictswillreceivelessinthecomingacademicyearthantheydidfortheonejustended.
Forthe2005-2006schoolyear,spendingundertheDepartmentofEducation’sTitleIprogram,whichhelpslow-achievingchildreninhigh-povertyareas,isincreasingby3.2percent,to$12.6billion.Butbecauseofpopulationshifts,growingnumbersofpoorchildren,newercensusdataandcomplexformulasthatdeterminehowthemoneyisdivided,morethantwo-thirdsofthedistricts,or8,843,willnotreceiveasmuchfinancingasbefore.
Theanalysis,basedondatafromthedepartment,wasmadebytheCenteronEducationPolicy,agroupadvocatingforpublicschools.Asimilarstudybythegrouplastyearshowedthat55percentoftheschoolswouldreceivelessmoneythantheydidinthepreviousyear.
“It'sanalarmingnumber,”saidTomFagan,aformerdepartmentofficialwhoconductedtheanalysis.“It’sclearthattheamountofoverallincreaseisnotkeepingpacewiththenumberofpoorkids.”
SusanAspey,adepartmentspokeswoman,defendedthespendinglevelsforTitleI,saying,“PresidentBushandCongresshaveinvestedrecordamountsoffundingtohelpthenation’sneedieststudents.”
ButMr.FagansaidtheincreasingnumberofdistrictsthatarelosingmoneyismakingitharderfortheschoolstomeetthegoalsofthefederalNoChildLeftBehindAct,theBushadministration'ssignatureeducationprogram,whichmeasuresprogressthroughannualtestsinmath,readingandscience.Thatisgivingcriticsoftheprogrammoregroundstoaccusetheadministrationofnotsufficientlyfinancingtheprogramwhiledemandinggreaterresults.
TitleIprovidesthelargestcomponentoffinancingforNoChildLeftBehind.
“Thefederalgovernmentisconcentratingmoremoneyinfewerdistricts,"saidJohnF.Jennings,thepresidentandchiefexecutiveoftheCenteronEducationPolicy.“Itmeansthereislotsofangerandlotsoftension.They'reaskingustodomoreandmorewithlessandless.”
练习题:
Choosecorrectanswerstothequestion:
1.Asitisindicatedinthepassage,thenewanalysis_____.
A.studiedthefederalmoneyspentonlow-incomestudents
B.aimedatpromotingtheestablishmentofmorepublicschools
C.showedthatabouthalftheschoolswouldreceivelessmoney
D.wasconductedbytheDepartmentofEducation’sTitleIprogram
2.WhichofthefollowingfactorsdoesNOTleadtotheresultthatmorethantwo-thirdsofthedistrictswillgetmorepoorlyfinanced?
A.Peopleoftenmovefromoneplacetoanother.
B.Therearemorechildrenfrompoorfamilies.
C.Thewayofdistributingmoneyhaschanged.
D.SpendingundertheTitleIprogramdecreased.
3.SusanAspeylooksatthefundingbythegovernmentwith_______.
4.AccordingtoTomFagan,______.
A.thegovernmenthasdoneitsbesttofinancethepoorchildren
B.thegoalsofNoChildLeftBehindActaredifficulttorealize
C.thewayofmeasuringprogressbyannualtestsshouldbechanged
D.theBushgovernmentshouldn'thaveapprovedtheTitleIprogram
5.Whenthegovernmentconcentratesmoremoneyinfewerdistricts,_____.
A.morepoorchildrenwillgetbenefited
B.morepublicschoolswillhavetobeclosed
C.itwillarousemorepeople’sdissatisfaction
D.NoChildLeftBehindActwillberealizedsooner
1.[A]事实细节题。本题考査对长句的理解。从第1段首句中的“…of…”这一结构可知这个最新分析是要研究联邦政府资金问题的。所以排除B。由第3段第1句可知这项最新分析是由theCenteronEducationPolicy进行的,因此排除选项D。根据第3段最后一句,选项C中show的行为主体应为similarstudy。
2.[D]事实细节题。本题考查因果关系。第2段第2句指出有三个原因造成超过2/3的地区得到的资金减少,选项A、B、C是对这三个原因的近义改写,但其中选项C与原句的形式分别最大,容易造成误选。
3.[B]观点态度题。本题考查文人物的观点。苏珊·阿斯贝的观点态度只能从第5段推断出,从这一段中的defended和recordamountoffunding可知她对教育部的拨款数是认同的。选项A和C都是贬义词,不可能表达她的观点;选项D虽是褒义词,但苏珊是在陈述已发生的事实,而不是发表对教育部的期望。
4.[B]推理判断题。本题考查对复合句的理解。由文中第6段第1句中的harder...tomeet...可知选项B正确。选项C最具干扰性,要排除这个干扰,关键是要理解第6段第1句中由which引导的非限制性定语从句的作用。这个从句是对前面“theBushadministration'ssignatureeducationprogram”的附加事实信息,不属于汤姆·法甘的看法。
5.[C]推理判断题。根据第6段第1句可知选项A和D与事实不符。最后一段倒数第2句中的anger和tension两词,可推断人们对此表示不满。