Question

Nearly 19,000 boys are starting secondary school with a reading age of a seven-year-old or below, government data has shown.

Some 9% of all 11-year-old boys in state schools in England did not reach level three in their __1__ tests this summer, statistics from the Department for Education reveal. This is the equivalent of 18,855 boys.

Level two is the __2__ expected of a seven-year-old and means pupils only have an understanding of __3__ texts and cannot read independently.

The government has said that by the age of 11, pupils should reach level four, at which __4__ they are able to understand the major themes of a variety of texts and can to some __5__ read "between the lines".

The data, first obtained by the BBC, shows that in Nottingham, 15% of 11-year-old boys are reading at __6__ level three. In Yorkshire and the Humber, the __7__ is 11%, while across the north-east, east Midlands and West Midlands, it is 10%.

The proportion of __8__ who did not reach level three in reading is 6%. On__9__, 8% of all pupils do not reach level three. Over the past 15 years, the proportion of pupils who have reached level four has __10__ to 81% from 49%.

However, the statistics have cast __11__upon the success of government schemes to eradicate sub-standard reading skills among a minority of children. Over the past__12___, the previous government spent more than £25m on early year’s education.

Michael Gove, the education secretary, said the coalition(聯(lián)合) government would be __13__ a reading test at the age of six to identify struggling pupils. The curriculum was "a closed book" for a child who starts secondary school with a reading age of a seven-year-old, he said.

He said __14__ in some parts of the country had proved that it was __15__ for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve level four. These headteachers would help struggling schools, he said.

（ ）1. A. listening        B. reading                C. speaking              D. writing

（ ）2. A.demand         B. expectation        C. request                D. standard

（ ）3. A.intensive        B. difficult                C. simple                 D. extensive

（ ）4. A. point             B. spot                     C. way                     D.corner

（ ）5.A. extent            B. expense               C. example              D. excuse

（ ）6. A. around          B. above                  C. below                  D. beneath

（ ）7. A. figure            B. mark                   C. sign                     D. score

（ ）8. A. boys             B. girls                     C. pupils                  D. children

（ ）9. A. level             B. usual                    C. equality               D. average

（ ）10. A. jumped       B. dropped              C. stayed                D. remained

（ ）11. A. remark        B. blame                  C. doubt                  D. belief

（ ）12. A. year            B. decade                C. centry                  D. months

（ ）13. A. preparing    B. addending            C. organizing            D. introducing

（ ）14. A. educators   B. experts        C. headteachers       D. scholars

（ ）15. A. possible   B. impossible           C. doubtful               D. helpful

Answer 1

【答案與解析】

1. B 考查文意理解。由上下文意（如前文Nearly 19,000 boys are starting secondary school with a reading age）可推知答案。

2. D 考查名詞。standard意為“標準”，由后文的解釋可以判斷答案D正確。

3. C考查形容詞及文意理解。 simple簡單的，由后文中的and cannot read independently可推知答案C正確。

4. A 考查名詞及文意理解。point意為“點”，用以指代level four。

5. A 考查詞語搭配。to some extent意為“在某種程度上”。

6. C考查文意理解。below level three “意為在level three之下”；由下一段文的…did not reach level three可推知答案C符合文意。

7.A考查名詞。figure意為“數字，數據”，指文中提到的百分比。

8. B 考查文意理解。上一段提到了男孩的情況，本段表述女孩的情況。

9. D考查詞語搭配。on average意為“平均”。

10. A考查動詞及文意理解。jump跳躍，從49%.到81%是增數，故答案A符合文意。

11. C考查詞語搭配及文意理解。cast doubt upon意為“投以懷疑，質疑”，后文提到先前政府投入很大，但成效并不令人滿意。

12. B 考查名詞。decade意為 “十年期”；由上一段Over the past 15 years可推答案D合適。

13. D 考查動詞及文意理解。introduce意為 “引進”；意指引進新的閱讀測試法以區(qū)分學生。

14. C 考查名詞及文意理解。headteacher意為“校長”，由一句These headteachers…可推知答案。

15. A 考查形容詞。依據文意，落后生達到level four（pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve level four.）是有可能的，故答案C正確。