Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middleclass peers(同龄人), the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today．The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers'annual conference．

　　Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons．

　　He told delegates(代表)in Manchester：“For children who come from homes where parents don't have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer．”

　　“Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives,”he said．He held up the example of Kipp(Knowledge is Power Program)schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7∶30 a. m to 5pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays．

　　But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added．

　　Parents said Saturday classes could become a“badge of dishonor”if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload．

　　Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said：“I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children's performance．I'm just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week．”

　　The ATL's general secretary, Mary Bousted, said：“If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer．”

阅读理解

　　Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middle class peers(同龄人)，the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today, The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’annual conference．

　　Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons．

　　He told delegates(代表)in Manchester：“For children who come from homes where parents don’t have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer．”

　　“Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives, ”he said．He held up the example of Kipp(Knowledge is Power Program)schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7∶30 am to 5pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays．

　　But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added．

　　Parents said Saturday classes could become a“badge of dishonor”if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload．

　　Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said：“I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children’s performance．I’m just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week．”

　　The ATL’s general secretary, Mary Bousted, said：“If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer．”

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。

How To Book

　　Booking opens for “Beckett Shorts” on September 8．

　　By telephone

　　For credit card bookings．Calls are answered．

　　Box office

　　01789-295623 9∶00 a.m.-8∶00 p.m.(Mon.-Sat．)

　　0541-541051(24 hours, 7 days, no booking charge)

　　By fax

　　For credit card bookings．Please allow at least 48 hours for reply, if required．

　　Box office

　　01789-261974 or 01862-387765

　　By post

　　Please enclose a cheque or credit card details together with an SAE or add 50 p to the total amount to cover postage．

　　Please send to the Box Office, RST, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV376BB．

　　Booking opens for all other plays on September 19．

　　In person

　　Box office

　　RST hall, 9∶30 a.m.-8∶00 p.m.(Mon-Sat)

　　Overseas Booking

　　The easiest method of payment is by credit card．You can also pay by Eurocheque(up to ￡500)with your card number written on the back．

　　Paying for your tickets

　　Credit Cards

　　We accept Visa, Master card, American Express and Diners Club．Please give the card number, name and address of cardholder．

　　Cheques

　　Cheques and postal orders should be payable to：Royal Shakespeare Theatre