阅读试题

Jefferson continued to insist that no republic could maintain itself in strength without the broad education of its people, and he favored beginning at the bottom with elementary schools. He extolled the vital importance of education to republican government. In December 1778, he proposed the plan"for the more general diffusion of knowledge".

The plan that Jefferson offered called for each county to be divided into "hundreds" and a school built ineach hundred so conveniently located that all free boys and girls might attend daily. For three years all children would receive free schooling, and any child might attend longer at private expense. Pupils would be taught reading, writing, and common arithmetic and become acquainted with Greek, Roman, English, and American history through the books used for reading. From each group of about ten elementary schools one boy"of the best and most promising genius and disposition" whose parents were too poor to continue his schooling would be chosen each year to proceed to one of the grammar schools serving several counties. He would be boarded and his tuition paid by the state. Other qualified students whose parents could support their education also would be admitted to the grammar schools, where they would be taught Latin, Greek, English grammar, geography, and advanced arithmetic. After one year, the least promising third of the state-supported scholars would be cut, and after two years only one-"the best in genius and disposition"-would be allowed to continue at public expense for another four years. With twenty grammar schools proposed, Jefferson envisioned "twenty of the best geniuses selected from the rubbish annually". From this select group, each grammar school in alternate years would send the most promising scholar to the College of William and Mary to be educated, boarded, and clothed at state expense for three years. In a system with twenty grammar schools, ten "public foundationers" would thus annually reach the peak of the educational pyramid.

The contribution of Jefferson's plan was not equal universal education but a system by which the most talented children from whatever condition of society could be given an opportunity for education. An "aristocracy of virtue and talent" thus could be recruited from all classes. Jefferson's interest in education rested on his conviction that the only way of preserving republican government and preventing those entrusted with political power from resorting to tyranny was "to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of thepeople at large". Also, in order to have the best laws and well-administered government, it was important that those persons "whom nature has endowed with genius and virtue" be liberally educated and called to government service "without regard to wealth,birth or other accidental condition or circumstance".

参考译文

[1]杰弗逊不断强调，如果不广泛地教育民众，共和国就不能保持长盛不衰。他赞成从最基层的初级教育着手。他高度赞扬教育对共和国政府的极度重要性。1778年l2月，他提出了“更普遍传播知识”的计划。

杰弗逊提出的这个计划，要求每个县划分成若干“百人区”，每个“百人区”建一所学校。每所学校的位置要方便让所有有时间的男孩女孩每天都能上学。所有的孩子都将接受3年免费教育，而且任何孩子都可以自费接受更长时间的教育。小学生要学习阅读、写作、普通算术，通过阅读课的教材熟悉希腊、罗马、英国和美国历史。[2]每年从约10所小学中选出一个“资质、性情俱佳且最有前途”而父母却无力为其支付更多教育费用的男孩，送到几个县共有的一所初级中学上学。州里会给他提供食宿和学费。其他合格的学生，如果父母能支付其学费，也可以进入初级中学就读。他们在那里学习拉丁语、希腊语、英语语法、地理及高等数学。[3]一年后，政府资助的学生中最没有前途的1/3会被淘汰掉，两年后，只剩1/3“资质、性情最佳”的学生，可以靠公费再继续学习4年。杰弗逊提议建20所初级中学，他希望“每年从垃圾堆里淘出20名最优秀的天才”。各中学隔年在这些淘选出来的人中把最有发展前途的学生送去威廉和玛丽学院，政府特资助他们3年的教育、食宿及衣物。在这20所初级中学的体制下，每年有10名“政府奖学金获得者”可以因此达到教育金字塔的顶端。

[4]杰弗逊计划的贡献不是为了普及教育，而是创立了一种让最有天赋的儿童——不管这个儿童具有什么社会背景——都能得到教育机会的体制，从而使各阶级都能产生“美德与才干兼具的贵族”。杰弗逊对教育的兴趣根植于他的信念：[5]维护共和政府、防止那些被赋予政治权利的人实行专制的唯一办法就是“最大可能地启迪大众的思想”。而且，要拥有最好的法律和管理良好的政府，重要的是让那些“自然已赋予天赋与美德的人”在“不爱财富、出生或其他偶然因素或境况影响”的情况下去自由接受教育并为政府服务。

测试题

1.Jefferson advised that broad education for the people should start from________________.

2.Jefferson's plan was intended to help the most promising boys from__________________families．

3.How long would "the best in genius and disposition" study at the grammar school?

4.The contribution of Jefferson's plan was to set up a system to give all the most talented children_____________________.

5.Jefferson suggested that the only way to preserve republican government was to illuminate_________________.

答案详解

1.[elementary schools]
[定位]根据题干中的broad education定位到第1段第l句。

解析：该句中的beginning at the bottom with与题目中的start from表意一致，因此答案为with后面的elementary schools．

2.[poor]
[定位]根据题干中的most promising定位到第2段第4句。

解析：原文提到每年有一个资质、性情俱佳且最有前途的男生受到资助。定语从句whose parents were too poor...限定了获得帮助的资格范围，故答案为poor。

3.[Six years.]
[定位]根据题干中的the best in genius and disposition定位到第2段第7句。

解析：此题需要简单的计算才能得出答案，原文该句提到after two years,...for another four years，由此可知,the best in genius and disposition一共要在grammar school接受6年的教育。

4.[an opportunity for education]
[定位]根据题干中的The contribution of Jefferson's plan和most talented Children定位到第3段首句。

解析：注意原文中的not...but结构，作者的侧重点在but后，即“让那些最有天赋的儿童不论来自何种背景都有受教育的机会”，原文是被动语态，此处只需填入given后面的内容即可。

5.[the minds of the people at large]
[定位]根据题干中的the only way, preserve republican government和illuminate定位到第3段第3句。

解析：该题的关键在于分析句子结构。原文that从句的主干是the only way... was to...， 题目只是把of preserving改为to preserve，答案为illuminate后面的宾语“the minds of the people at large”。