This year’s Newsweek list of the top 100 high schools shows that today those with fewer students are rising.

Ten years ago, when the first Newsweek Top School List based on college-level test participation was published, only three of the top 100 schools had graduating classes smaller than 100 students. This year there are 22.

Fifty years ago, they were the latest thing in educational reform: big, modern high schools outside the cities with thousands of students. Big schools meant economic efficiency, a greater choice of courses, and better football teams. But only years later did we understand that it involved the difficulty of strengthening personal connections between teachers and students. SAT scores began dropping; on average, 30% of students did not complete high school in four years, a figure that rose to 50% in poor city neighborhoods. High schools for a variety of reasons seemed to have made little progress.

Size isn’t everything, but it does matter, and the past decade has seen a noticeable trend toward smaller schools. This has been partly due to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested $1.8 billion in American high schools, helping to open about 1,000 small schools — most of them with about 400 kids, each with an average enrollment of only 150 students per grade. About 500 more are on the drawing board. Districts all over the country are taking notice, along with mayors in cities like New York, Chicago and San Diego. And most noticeable of all, there is the phenomenon of large urban and suburban high schools that have split up into smaller units of a few hundred.

Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, California, is one of those ranking No.423 — among the top 2% in the country. In 2003, Hillsdale remade itself into three “houses”. 300 students arriving ninth graders are randomly assigned to one of the houses, where they will keep the same four core subject teachers for two years before moving on to another for 11th and 12th grades. Teachers meet with students in groups of 25, five mornings a week, for open-ended discussions of everything from homework problems to bad Saturday-night dates. The advisers also meet with students privately and stay in touch with parents. Along with the new structure came the percentage of freshmen taking biology jumped from 17 to 95.”It was rough for some. But by senior year, two-thirds have moved up to physics,” says Jeff Gilbert. “Our kids are coming to school in part because they know there are adults here who know them and care for them.”

But not all schools show advances after downsizing, and it remains to be seen whether smaller schools will be a cure-all solution.

Ranking schools is always controversial. Over the years this system has been criticized for its simplicity — list of top U.S. high schools was made merely according to the proportion of students taking college-level exams. This year a group of 38 superintendents (地區(qū)教育主管) from five states wrote to ask that their schools should be excluded from the calculation. “It is impossible to know which high schools are ‘the best’ in the nation,” their letter read. “Determining whether different schools do or don’t offer a high quality of education requires a look at many different measures, including students’ overall academic accomplishments, their later performance in college, and taking into consideration the unique needs of their communities.”

1.What can we learn about the schools sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?

A. They are often located in poor neighborhoods.

B. They are popular with high-achieving students.

C. They are mostly small in size.

D. Another 150 schools invested by the Foundation are planned to be set up.

2.According to Jeff Gilbert, the classes at Hillsdale were set up so that students could ______.

A. tell their teachers what they did on weekends

B. experience a great deal of pleasure in learning

C. maintain closer relationships with their teachers

D. deal with the demanding biology and physics courses

3.Newsweek ranks high schools according to ______.

A. their students’ academic achievement

B. the number of their students admitted to college

C. the size and number of their graduating classes

D. their college-level test participation

4.What attitude does the author have towards the present trend in high school education?

A. Subjective.                      B. Objective.                                 C. Indifferent.                      D. Disapproving.

5.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. Providing Good Education for Baby Boomers

B. Top School List Winning National Support

C. Small Schools Rising in popularity

D. Students Meeting Higher Academic Standards

 

 If your idea of a good time is to sleep in a hut, carry your own rubbish, and eat insects and wild animals, then ecotourism may be just for you. But is it also for people who want to fly over a rainforest sky before checking into a comfortable and expensive hotel in the middle of a national park? Whatever ecotourism is, it is hot--perhaps too hot for its own good.

The World Tourism Organization claims that the industry looked after 592 million travelers last year who spent $423 billion, and of all the types of tourism, ecotourism seems to be the fastest growing. By the broadest measure -- a trip with some sort of nature or wilderness element -- ecotourism already accounts for perhaps a third of these travelers. On a stricter definition favored by the Ecotourism Society, it is “responsible travel that preserves natural environments and keeps up the well-being of local people,” which accounts for no more than 5% of tourism.

Ideally, ecotourism helps both people and nature. Before the disastrous civil war, Rwanda’s Mountain Gorilla Project was one such model. Visits to the gorillas were limited, local guides ensured good behavior or on the part of the humans, and the high admission charge - $170 a day -- paid for salaries and presentation of the gorillas’ living areas. As this made the gorillas worth more alive than dead, poaching (偷獵) decreased. As another example, preservation Cooperation, Africa’s largest ecotour operator, uses only local labor, buys products 5om local farmers, and supports building projects: such as clinics and schools. This contribution to social advance is also good business sense. Projects from which local people benefit directly are less likely to be affected by poaching and theft.

Ecotourism’s biggest problem is labeling. Going on an eco-tour is no guarantee of good ecology. So far, only Australia has an official system to grade tour operators and tourist attractions on the basis of their “greenness”. Another issue is how eco-tourists damage the environment. Dolphin-feeding, for instance, is innocent and enjoyable, but after too many free meals, the dolphins forget how to catch their own dinners.

Keeping prices high is one way to limit enthusiasm. But measuring the effect of ecotourism on human environments is trickier. It is common, for villagers to see ecotourism as a source of new income. Hence, the very tourists who venture in search of traditional cultures end up breaking them up. As ecotourism becomes more popular, it will finally threaten the very things that are good for business.

1.According to the passage, ecotourism may _________.

A. harm its own purpose by becoming too popular

B. save the environment by becoming more popular

C. harm its own purpose by becoming less popular

D. save the environment by becoming less popular

2.Within the tourism industry as a whole, ecotourism _____________.

A. has no single, clear definition that would satisfy everybody

B. has expanded less rapidly than other types of tourism

C. claims that no comfortable hotels should be used by tourists

D. most often has a negative effect on local culture

3.Rwanda’s Mountain Gorilla Project is a good example because ___________.

A. tourists were free to visit the gorillas whenever they wanted to

B. local people’s attitudes toward animals were not affected

C. the gorillas were protected from both tourists and local people

D. the gorillas’ living area was modernized because of the high admission

4. _________ most directly benefits the local community.

A. Rwanda’s Mountain Gorilla Project            B. Preservation Corporation

C. Australia’s grading system                            D. Dolphin-feeding

 

Wilderness activity week, Finland

Set off on a really wild adventure to Finland, where night is a distant memory during the endless days of summer.

From your cottage, set high in the hills above Koli National Park, you can explore a perfect wilderness, and pull over at a lakeside beach whenever you like a dip（游泳）.

Seven-night breaks cost from ￡899 per adult, ￡699 per child, including flights, accommodation, some meals and a guide.  The Adventure Company (0845 450 5311; www.adventurecompany. co. uk).

Horseriding in the Tarn France

Learn to ride, or perfect your horse-riding skills at Les Juliannes in the Tarn Valley.  Activities include everything from show-jumping to hacking（騎馬）through the rolling hills and medieval（中世紀(jì)的）villages.  Between sessions, you can relax by the pool, cycle along the country lanes or roam the grounds.  Guests stay at a rural 17th-century farmhouse.

Seven-night breaks cost from ￡658 per adult, ￡628 per child aged 12-15 years.  ￡553 for 10 to 11-year-olds and ￡423 for under-nines.  Price includes return flights, transfers, half-board accommodation and ten hours’ riding, Inntravel（01653 617906；www. inntravel. co. uk）.

Learn to sail in Greece

Sunvil Sailing has live-aboard learn-to-sail breaks off the island of Lefkas that are designed for both the complete novice（新手）as well as those with a degree of sailing.

Seven-night breaks cost from ￡721pp in peak season, including return flights, transfers, live-aboard accommodation and tuition.  Meals and dinner ashore are not included.  Sunvil Sailing  (020 8758 4780; www. sunvil. co. uk).

1.If you want to have some experiences of country life in the past, you’d better go to        .

A. explore a perfect wilderness

B. stay for a few days in Finland

C. Horseriding in the Tarn, France

D.  Learn to sail in Greece

2. How much would a family of two adults and a ten-year-old boy pay altogether if they join in Horseriding in the Tarn, France?

A. ￡2030                          B. ￡1316                     C. ￡1869                     D. ￡1211

3.  If you join in Wilderness activity week, Finland, the most unusual thing you will see is           .

A. a national park

B. a cottage high in the hills

C. a perfect wilderness

D.  summer days without night

4.If you want to learn to sail in Greece, you can log on to             to find more information.

A. www.  activitiesabroad. com

B. www. adventurecompany. co. uk

C. www. inntravel. co. uk

D. www. sunvil. co. uk

 

McGill Comedy Club

Important meetings today. Discussion on putting on Blazing Saddles. Union room 302, 3-4pm. New members (both actors and non-actors, living and dead) are welcome.

History Students’ Association

Prof. Michael Cross of Dalhouseie University will be speaking on “Unskilled Labor on Rivers and Canals in Upper Canada, 1820-1850: The beginning of Class Struggle” at 10am. in Peacock 230.

Design Mirror Sale

All types and sizes of design mirrors priced to please. Sale today in Union room 108.

McGill Teaching Assistants’ Association

A general meeting, for all the Tas will be held at 4pm. in peacock 116.

Women’s Union

Important general meeting at 6pm. Union room 423. Speaker on “Importance of Deciding Basic Goals of the Women’s Union.” Everyone ----old, new and those interviewed, please attend.

Film Society

Last meeting of the term for all members. All managers are required to be present at 6pm. sharp, Union room 434.

Canadian University Students Overseas

CUSO presents “Guess Who’s Coming to Breakfast” at 7pm. newman Centre, 3848 Peel. Find out about CUSO here and overseas. Everyone welcome.

1.Which of the following is the name of a play?

A．Blazing Saddles.	B．Guess Who’s Coming to Breakfast.
C．Important of Deciding Basic Goals of the Women’s Union.
D．Unskilled Labor on Rivers and Canals in Upper Canada, 1820-1850.

2.If you are interested in arts, where can you go for a visit?

A．Peacock 116	B．Union room 423
C．Union room 108	D．Newman Centre, 3848 Peel

3.Which of the following will occupy Union room 423?

A．Film Society.	B．Canadian University Students Overseas
C．Women’s Union	D．Design Mirror Sale

4. Where can you probably find this text?

A．In a school magazine.	B．In a national paper.
C．In a guide book.	D．In a university daily newspaper.

 

McGill Comedy Club Important meeting today. Discussions on putting on Blazing Saddles. Union room 302, 3－4 pm. New members (both actors and non-actors, living and dead) are welcome.	History Students’ Association Prof. Michael Cross of Dalhousie University will be speaking on “Unskilled Labors on Rivers and Canals in Upper Canada, 1820－1850: The Beginnings of Class Struggle,” at 10 am in Leacock 230.	Design Mirror Sale All types and sizes of design mirrors priced to please. Sale today in Union room 108.
McGill Teaching Assistants’ Association A general meeting, for all the TAs, will be held at 4 p.m. in Leacock 116.	Women’s Union Important. General Meeting at 6 pm, Union room 423. Speaker on “Importance of deciding basic goals of the Women’s Union.” Everyone, old, new and those interested, please attend.
Film Society Last meeting of the term for all members. All managers are required to be present. 6:00 sharp, Union room 434.	Canadian University Students Overseas CUSO presents “Guess Who’s Coming to Breakfast” at 7 pm, Newman Centre, 3484 Peel. Find out about CUSO here and overseas. Everyone welcome.