3．Some US parents are sad that their high school children score badly in math，science and reading compared to kids in other countries．
There has been an endless series of mostly fruitless education reforms to address this gap．Now comes an approach based on the insights （观念）of a group of US exchange students．They spent a year in some of the most successful high schools in the world-in Finland，Poland and South Korea．
Author and journalist Amanda Ripley followed three exchange students for her new book．The Smartest Kids in the World-and How They Got That Way．She argues that to improve academics．US schools should de-emphasize sports．
Instead，students should bring their passion and intensity （专注） to academics she concludes．
"High school in Finland，Korea and Poland had a purpose，just like high school football practice in America，"she writes．"There was a big，important contest at the end，and the score counted．"
Sports are a distraction，Ripley argues，and most countries require them to take place outside of school．
Trading in US school sports culture would be a huge change for people in the US，who respect teamwork and sportsmanship as training for life．But playing down sports could pay off，as it has elsewhere，if we redirect money，focus and glory to learning．
Ripley is critical of memorization in South Korean education，but she praises the system's high goals and the freedom its students have to fail and recover through hard work．
Too often，we don't ask teachers to give our kids harder assignments and we're quick to complain about a failing grade．What's working elsewhere is to set ambitious goals for kids，and then allow them to discover that they have it within themselves to reclaim （重获）success from failure．
Each of the countries in Smartest Kids came to education reform after an economic crisis．Finland was losing jobs after graduating just 10percent of its teens from high school in the 1950s．Today，the graduation rate is 95percent．Poland's wakeup came in 1999，as students consistently tested below average in reading．
We've tried so many"reforms"in education．Maybe what we need is a in truly radical（激进的） shift away from sports in favor of schooling．
55．According to Amanda Ripley，to reform the American education system，people shouldB．
A．ask teachers to give students more homework
B．make sports less important at school
C．let American students experience failure at school
D．encourage parents to help their kids with math，science and reading
56．Which of the following statements about education in South Korea is TRUE according to the article？B
A．The memorization skills of South Korean students are the key to their academic success．
B．High academic scores are considered an important measure of education quality in South Korea．
C．South Korean teachers emphasize teamwork and sportsmanship as much as American teachers do．
D．South Korea started education reforms in the 1950s to improve students'reading skills．
57．The underlined phrase"trading in"probably meansB．
A．giving up （something） for something else
B．exchanging （something） for something else
C．ignoring
D．looking into
58．What is the author's attitude toward education reform in US high schools？D．
A．Indifferent．B．Puzzled．C．Satisfied．D．Supportive．
分析 本文属于说明文阅读，作者通过这篇文章主要向我们描述了美国高中的教育改革，美国想通过减少体育增加教育的方式改革，专家对此是支持的．
解答 55．B．推理判断题．根据第六段：Sports are a distraction，Ripley argues，and most countries require them to take place outside of school可知Amanda Ripley认为，改革美国的教育制度，人们应该减少学校的体育课程；故选B．
56．B．推理判断题．根据第八段：Ripley is critical of memorization in South Korean education，but she praises the system's high goals and the freedom its students have to fail and recover through hard work可知高学业成绩被认为是衡量韩国教育质量的重要指标；故选B．
57．B．词义猜测题．根据第七段：Trading in US school sports culture would be a huge change for people in the US，who respect teamwork and sportsmanship as training for life在美国交易的学校体育文化是美国人的一个巨大的变化，谁尊重团队精神和体育精神的训练生活，可知意为交易；故选B．
58．D．推理判断题．根据最后一段：Maybe what we need is a in truly radical（激进的） shift away from sports in favor of schooling可知笔者对美国高中教育改革的态度是支持的；故选D．
点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力，做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确的选择．在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．
