accumulation of facts．
This is America’S answer to the searching question that thoughtful parents all over the world are asking themselves in the fast-moving time：“How Can one prepare today’s child for a tomorrow that one can neither predict nor understand?”
词汇：
privileged adj．享有特权的
elite n．精英，精华
acadeinic adj．学术的
curricula n．课程
underlying adj．潜在的
reason v．推理
练习：
1．Which of the following best states the goal of American education?
A)To teach every learner some practical skills．
B)To provide every learner with rich knowledge．
C)To give every student the opportunity to fully develop his／her ability．
D)To train every student tO be a responsible citizen．
2．It is implied in the passage that
A)all high-school students take the same courses．
B)every high?school student must take some practical ability training courses．
C)every public school offers the same academic subjects．
D)the subjects every student takes may vary．
3．American schools place great emphasis on the learner’S
A)enrichment of knowledge．
B)accumulation of facts．
C)acquisition of the ability to be creative．
D)acquisition of the ability to work with his hands．
4．According to the passage，American education meets the needs of all the following
EXCEPT
A)the brightest students．
B)the slow students． C)the students from foreign countries．
D)the immigrants．
5. Which of the following best states the feature of American education that makes it different from education in other countries?
A)The large number of its schools．
B)The variety of the courses offered in its schools．
C)Its special consideration given to immigrants.
D)Its underlying goal to develop every child’s abilities to the fullest extent
第2篇
Ford Abandons Electric Vehicles
The Ford motor company’s abandonment of electric cars effectively signals the end of the road for the technology，analysts say．
General Motors。and Honda’ceased production of battery．powered cars in 1 999, to focus on fuel cell and hybrid electric gasoline engines, which are more attractive to the consumer．Ford has now announced it will do the same．
Three years ago．the company introduced the Think City two—seater car and a golf cart called the THINK, or Think Neighbor．It hoped to sell 5，000 cars each year and 10，000 carts．But a lack of demand means only about l，000 of the cars have been produced，and less than 1。700 carts have been sold so far in 2002．
“The bottom line is we don’t believe that this is the future of environment transport for the mass market．”Tim Holmes of Ford Europe said on Friday．“We feel we have given electric our best shot”
The Think City has a range of only about 53 miles and up to a six-hour battery recharge time．General Motors’EVI electric vehicle also had a limited range。of about 100 miles．
The very expensive batteries also mean electric cars cost much more than petrol-powered alternatives．An electric Toyot~RAV4 EV vehicle costs over$42，000 in the US, compared with just $17，000 for the petrol version．Toyota and Nissan…are now the only major automanufacturers to produce electric vehicles．
“There is a feeling that battery electric has been given its chance．Ford now has to move on with its hybrid program“，and that is what we will be judging them on，”Roger Higman，a senior transport campaigner at UK Friends of the Earth，told the Environment News Service．
Hybrid cars introduced by Toyota and Honda in the past few years have sold well．Hybrid engines Offer Greater mileage than petrol—only engines , and the batteries recharge themselves. Ford says it thinks such vehicles will help it meet planned new guidelines “on vehicle emissions” in the U.S.
However, it is not yet clear exactly what those guidelines will permit．In June，General Motors and Daimler Chrysler won a court injunction，delaying by two years Californian legislation requiring car—makers to offer 100，000 zero-emission and other low—emission vehicles in the state by 2003．Car manufacturers hope the legislation will be rewritten to allow for more low--emission，rather than zero—emission，vehicles．
1． What have the Ford motor company．General Motor’s and Honda done concerning electric cars?
A)They have started to produce electric cars．
B)They have done extensive research on electric Cars
C They have given up producing electric cars．
D)They have produced thousands of electric Cars
2． According to Tim Holmes of Ford Europe，battery-powered cars
A)will be the main transportation vehicles in the future
B1 will not be the main transportation vehicles in the future．
C)will be good to the environment in the future
D)will replace petrol—powered vehicles in the future．
3. Which auto manufacturers are still producing electric vehicles?
A)Toyota and Nissan
B)General Motor’s and Honda
C)Ford and Toyota
D)Honda and Toyota
4．According to the eighth paragraph，hybrid cars
A)offer fewer mileage than petrol driven cars
B)run faster than petrol driven cars
C)run more miles than petrol driven cars
D)offer more batteries than petrol driven cars
5．Which of the following is true about the hope of car manufacturers according to the last paragraph?
A)Low-emission cars should be banned．
B)Only zero-emission cars are allowed to run on motorways．
C)The legislation will encourage car makers to produce more electric cars．
D)The legislation will allow more 10w．emission to be produced．