Education cuts(削减) have become routine (惯常的) over the past few years, which has made it difficult for students to learn. The results of a survey of 1,850 Los Angeles County high school students show just how much the cuts are affecting students.
Because of teacher layoffs (解雇), class sizes at some high schools have risen to 50 students — even in math and English classes. Some 37 percent of students report that they sometimes don’t have a desk to sit at. Sixty-seven percent say crowded classrooms make them feel the teachers don’t have enough time to teach, and 30 percent say they’ve not been able to join in a program because it’s no longer offered at their school.
At a time when technology is an important skill, 52 percent of students say there aren’t enough computers. Or they’re often broken, and there’s no one to fix them. Fifty-one percent say they’ve had to share textbooks with a classmate because there aren’t enough copies to go around. Fifty-seven percent say they’ve had to copy information because their school doesn’t have enough paper to make copies.
“We have only one science teacher for the entire(整个的) high school,” writes Felix Ruano, a 16-year-old student. He goes on to describe how that teacher, who is only
qualified to teach chemistry, is teaching physics — or, at least, is trying to do so. “He shows physics videos and we teach ourselves from our textbook,” says Ruano. And, as has been seen elsewhere, “all but one of the restrooms” at Ruano’s school “have been closed because we don’t have enough people to clean them.”
Ruano notes that though faced with the challenges, 97 percent of students say they plan to go to college. But without “properly trained teachers and the best resources,” says Ruano, it’s not likely that every student will achieve that goal. “Unless schools fix these problems,” he says, “students could lose hope.”
小题1:According to the text, education cuts have led to the following results EXCEPT that _____.
| A．class sizes at some high schools have risen |
| B．some students don’t have a desk to sit at |
| C．some students have to share textbooks |
| D．some students have to leave school |
小题2:The underlined word “qualified” in the fourth paragraph can best be replaced by “_____”.
| A．fit | B．willing | C．bored | D．worried |
小题3:According to Ruano, _____.
| A．he is good at teaching himself |
| B．most students plan to go to college |
| C．his school is going to be closed |
| D．most students are hopeful about their school |
小题4:What would be the best title for the text?
| A．What caused education cuts? | B．Education cuts, right or wrong? |
| C．Education cuts have hurt students | D．How to deal with education cuts |