江苏省2014届高三英语一轮复习阅读理解攻略训练（3）_高考复习指南

江苏省2014届高三英语一轮复习阅读理解攻略训练（3）

　　In Seoul, legions of students who failed to get into top universities spend the entire year after high school attending hagwons to improve their scores on university admissions tests. And they must compete even to do this. At the prestigious Daesung Institute, admission is based on students’ test scores. Only 14% of applicants are accepted. After a year of 14-hour days, about 70% gain entry to one of the nation’s top three universities.

　　South Koreans are not alone in their discontent. Across Asia, reformers are pushing to make schools more “American”—even as some U.S. reformers make their own schools more “Asian”. In China, universities have begun fashioning new entry tests to target students with talents beyond book learning. And Taiwanese officials recently announced that kids will no longer have to take high-stress exams to get into high school. In South Korea, the apogee of extreme education, gets its reforms right, it could be a model for other societies.

　　The problem is not that South Korea kids aren’t learning enough or working hard enough, but that they aren’t working smart. When I visited some schools, I saw classrooms in which a third of the students slept while the teacher continued lecturing, seemingly undisturbed.

　　The government has repeatedly tried to humanize the education system, but after each attempt, the hagwons come back stronger. But this time, its reforms are targeting not just the dysfunctional symptom but also the causes. It is working to improve normal public schools by putting teachers and principals through rigorous(严格的) evaluations—which include opinion surveys by students, parents and peer teachers—and requiring additional training for low-scoring teachers. At the same time, the government hopes to reduce the pressure on students. Admissions tests for high schools have been abolished . Middle schoolers are now judged on the basis of their regular grades and an interview. And 500 admissions officers have been appointed to the country’s universities, to judge applicants not only on their test scores and grades but also other abilities.