17．Forty years ago，F(xiàn)inland was a small，country with mediocre public schools．Today，F(xiàn)inland is still small but no one calls Finland's public schools mediocre any more．
In 2000，the Finns surprised the world when their 15-year-olds scored at the top of a closely watched international exam called the PISA．Finland has stayed near the top ever since，while the U．S．scores around the middle．
Pasi Sahlberg，an official with Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture，is in Seattle this week to share the story of Finland's success，and what states like Washington can learn from it．
Sahlberg's message，although he is too polite to put it so bluntly：Stop testing so much，trust teachers more； give less homework； shorten the school day．
On Tuesday，in a room filled with teachers，principals，professors，school-board members and policy makers，Sahlberg joked about the Finns'reputation for being a quiet，humble people．"When Finland hit the top of the PISA，"he said，"the biggest disbelievers were Finns．"
More seriously，F(xiàn)inland never set out to create the world's top school system．Instead，he said，the country decided in the 1970s that it wanted to ensure that a student's success didn't depend on family background．
"Finland relied on cooperation among teachers and schools，rather than on competition．Rather than judging teachers and schools based on test scores，"he said，"Finland puts trust in its teachers and principals．Teachers develop the curriculum in Finland，and design their own tests．There are no national tests，except one at the end of high school．"
That's just the start．Along with a shorter school day，F(xiàn)innish students don't even start school until they are 7years old．Many primary schools have a policy against giving homework．
"But Finland，"he said，"succeeded in part by adopting ideas from the U．S．a(chǎn)nd other countries．And those countries，he said，can learn from Finland，too．"
24．What might be the author's purpose of writing the passage？C
A．To introduce a Finnish official．
B．To compare the education systems of Finland and the US．
C．To share the story of Finland's success in education．
D．To ask the US to improve its education．
25．People first learned Finland's success in education fromA．
A．its students'performance in an international exam．
B．its international exchange prorrams．
C．lectures given by Pasi Sahlberg．
D．its small-sized public schools．
26．Which of the following can contribute to Finland's success in education？C
a．Giving students fewer tests．
b．Giving teachers more trust．
c．Evaluating students'family backgrounds．
d．Creating the world's top school system．
e．Starting school late．
A．a(chǎn)，b，c B．c，d，e C．a(chǎn)，b，e D．b，c，d
27．What Pasi Sahlerg said in Paragraph 7suggested thatB．
A．children should start school as early as possible．
B．competition among teachers might be harmful to education．
C．the US education system is still the most advanced．
D．it's necessary to set up a national curriculum．
分析 文章大意：本文講的是40年前，芬蘭是一個很小的國家，擁有平庸的公立學(xué)校，而40年以后，芬蘭依然是一個小國家，但是其公立教育不再平庸，是什么讓芬蘭發(fā)生了這么大的變化？文章介紹了其成功的三個要素．
解答 24．C 寫作意圖題．根據(jù)文章第一段中的 Today，F(xiàn)inland is still small but no one calls Finland's public schools mediocre any more并結(jié)合全文可知，作者主要講述芬蘭教育的成功做法，旨在和大家分享，因此答案選C．
25．A 推理判斷題．根據(jù)文章第二段第一句話In 2000，the Finns surprised the world when their 15-year-olds scored at the top of a closely watched international exam called the PISA可知芬蘭的學(xué)生在國家比賽中的表現(xiàn)讓人們首次見識到了芬蘭教育的成功，因此答案選A．
26．C 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章第四段中的Stop testing so much，trust teachers more可知與a、b對應(yīng)；根據(jù)第六段可知c和d不正確；第八段的Finnish students don't even start school until they are 7years old與e對應(yīng)，c和d不是芬蘭教育成功的要素，因此答案選C．
27．B 推理判斷題．根據(jù)文章第七段的第一句話"Finland relied on cooperation among teachers and schools，rather than on competition．Rather than judging teachers and schools based on test scores，"可知教師間的競爭可能會對教育有害，因此芬蘭的教育依靠的是教師與學(xué)校之間的合作，因此答案選B．
點評 本文是人文地理類閱讀理解．這類題材是高考常考內(nèi)容，它注重考查考生對整體內(nèi)容的把握，做題時要求考生結(jié)合題目及文章上下文做出正確的選擇．
