Question

【题目】Holidays are really important. Many of us will have childhood memories of summer holidays where we were taken away from home to experience new environments and learn in different ways.

But holidays are expensive and, for those on low wages or living on benefits，they are often unobtainable. Even the cheapest holidays require travel and other additional costs that are difficult for many families to meet.

For working parents，the long summer break can be a very difficult problem for childcare. When an annual leave allowance amounts to only five weeks，there is a need to spread this across the year. Couples can find themselves taking leave in turn in order to care for children who are on holiday. For some，this makes even an affordable family holiday difficult.

The schools that I visit in Nottingham are full of experienced staff committed to giving our children a caring and inspiring learning environment. The number of children receiving free school meals is quite large in Nottingham and many schools have breakfast clubs to make sure that children get a healthy start to the day. Most schools undertake programs of group or individual educational support. Schools also have an important role in safeguarding children’s welfare through the ongoing touch and support with their pupils. During the long summer holidays，much of this is missed.

While teachers are holidaying in the UK, many of their pupils spend the whole six weeks on the street where they live. The lack of free school meals for six weeks can result in pressure on a family budget and an inability to afford the inspiring experiences that help children to continue their learning.

In setting out its plans for a five-term year, Nottingham City Council (委员会）is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to four and a half weeks, with a. more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks, each followed by a two-week break. We believe this will give real “down time" for school staff and pupils alike but will be short enough not to cause a real break in learning.

We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff, particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities. However, this must be weighed against the benefits for city children for whom we all have the greatest duty of care.

【1】The passage is probably written by _____.

A. an experienced teacher B. a working parent

C. an inspired student D. a city council member

【2】The underlined word “they" in the second paragraph refers to “____”.

A. environments B. holidays C. wages D. benefits

【3】It is suggested in the passage that the summer break be reduced to _____.

A. 2 weeks B. 4.5 weeks C. 5 weeks D. 6 weeks

【4】The plans for a shorter summer holiday will help students _____.

A. obtain the cheapest holidays without additional costs

B. get a chance to spend, six weeks a term with teachers in school

C. benefit more from the caring and inspiring learning environment

D. have more school days to receive free school meals

【5】It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A. working parents can enjoy a five-week break to care for their children

B. the suggested plans for a five-term school year can hardly be carried out

C. the long summer holiday gives teachers and students real “ down time"

D. some school staff will say “ No" to the plans for a shorter summer holiday

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】B

【4】C

【5】D

【解析】

试题分析：假期可以使我们缓解压力，但是给一些低收入家庭或靠救济而过活的家庭来说造成很多的经济负担，本文提倡减少假期的时间。

【1】D 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段的意思可知作者是城市委员会的一名成员，故选D。

【2】B 词义猜测题。根据上文提到的holidays are expensive可知they指的是holidays，本句意为：度假是非常贵的，对于那些低收入或靠救济来过生活的家庭的人来说，假期是得不到的。故选B。

【3】B 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段的In setting out its plans for a five-term year, Nottingham City Council (委员会）is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to four and a half weeks,可知，有人建议暑假应该缩短为4周半的时间。故选B。

【4】C 细节理解题。根据第三段The schools that I visit in Nottingham are full of experienced staff committed to giving our children a caring and inspiring learning environment.可知，在学校孩子们能得到更好的照顾和激励人的学习环境，而在假期学生不去上学就不会得到这样的环境和照顾，故选C。

【5】D 推理判断题。根据最后一段We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some

school staff, particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities.可知，对于减少假期的时间学校的一些教职工是不支持的。故选D。