2015年同等学力英语模拟训练(12)

　　A quality education is the ultimate liberator. It can free people from poverty, giving them the power to greatly improve their lives and take a productive place in society. It can also free communities and countries, allowing them to leap forward into periods of wealth and social unity that otherwise would not be possible.

　　For this reason, the international community has committed itself to getting all the world's children into primary school by 2015, a commitment known as Education for All.

　　Can education for all be achieved by 2015? The answer is definitely “yes”, although it is a difficult task. If we now measure the goal in terms of children successfully completing a minimum of five years of primary school, instead of just enrolling for classes, which used to be the measuring stick for education, then the challenge becomes even more difficult. Only 32 countries were formerly believed to be at risk of not achieving education for all on the basis of enrollment rates. The number rises to 88 if completion rates are used as the criterion.

　　Still, the goal is achievable with the right policies and the right support from the international community. 59 of the 88 countries at risk can reach universal primary completion by 2015 if they bring the efficiency and quality of their education systems into line with standards observed in higher-performing systems. They also need significant increases in external financing and technical support. The 29 countries lagging farthest behind will not reach the goal without unprecedented rates of progress. But this is attainable with creative solutions, including use of information technologies, flexible and targeted foreign aid, and fewer people living in poverty.

　　A key lesson of experience about what makes development effective is that a country's capacity to use aid well depends heavily on its policies, institutions and management. Where a country scores well on these criteria, foreign assistance can be highly effective.

　　1. In the first paragraph, the author suggests that a quality education can ______.

　　A. free countries from foreign rules B. speed up social progress

　　C. give people freedom D. liberate people from any exploitation

　　2. Ideally, the goal of the program of Education for All is to ______ by 2015.

　　A. get all the world's children to complete primary school

　　B. enroll all the world's children into primary school

　　C. give quality education to people of 88 countries

　　D. support those committed to transforming their education systems

　　3. ______ countries are now at risk of not achieving education for all on the basis of completion rates.

　　A. 32 B. 59 C. 29 D. 88

　　4. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned as the right policy?

　　A. Raising the efficiency of education systems.

　　B. Improving the quality of education.

　　C. Using information technologies.

　　D. Building more primary schools.

　　5. As can be gathered from the last paragraph, foreign aid ______.

　　A. may not be highly effective

　　B. is provided only when some criteria are met

　　C. alone makes development possible

　　D. is most effective for those countries lagging farthest behind

　　素质教育是最根本的解放。它可以使人们摆脱贫困，赋予他们能力迅速改善他们的生活，从事社会中具有创造性的工作。它还可以使社会和国家解除负担，使它们迅速跨入富裕与社会和睦的时期，而用别的方式是不可能达到这种效果的。

　　因此，国际社会承诺：到二○一五年时，将让世界上的所有儿童都上小学，这就是著名的“教育面向所有人”的承诺。

　　到二○一五年时，“教育面向所有人”的目标能够实现吗?尽管这是一项艰巨的任务，但回答肯定是“能够”。如果我们现在根据孩子顺利读完最少五年的小学来评估该目标，而不只是根据班级的注册人数来评估该目标——过去用于评估教育的方法，那么，这种挑战就会更加艰难。以前，根据注册率，只有三十二个国家被认为面临实现不了“教育面向所有人”目标的风险。如果把毕业率当作评估标准的话，那么这个数字会上升为八十八个。

　　尽管如此，只要政策合适，国际社会又给予适当的援助，该目标还是可以实现的。如果八十八个有风险的国家使其教育体系的效率和质量达到效率更高的体系所奉行的标准，那么，到二○一五年时，其中的五十九个国家就可以实现“所有孩子都能够小学毕业”的目标。这些国家也需要国际社会给予资金和技术方面的大力援助。如果没有空前的发展速度，二十九个最落后的国家将不可能实现该目标。但是，如果有创造性的解决方法，这个目标也可以实现——包括使用信息技术，国际社会灵活、目的明确的援助以及更少的生活贫困的人们。

　　有关“是什么使发展有效”的一个主要经验教训就是：一个国家有效利用援助的能力主要取决于该国的政策、制度和管理。基于这些标准，在一个国家表现好的领域，国际社会的援助就可能非常有效。

　　参考答案 ： 1 . B 2 . A 3 . D 4 . D 5 . A

本文选自新东方在线论坛。