9．Holidays are really important．Many of us will have childhood memories of summer holidays where we were taken away from home to experience new environments and learn in different ways．
But holidays are expensive and，for those on low wages or living on benefits，they are often unobtainable．Even the cheapest holidays require travel and other additional costs that are difficult for many families to meet．
For working parents，the long summer break can be a very difficult problem for childcare．When an annual leave allowance amounts to only five weeks，there is a need to spread this across the year．Couples can find themselves taking leave in turn in order to care for children who are on holiday．For some，this makes even an affordable family holiday difficult．
The schools that I visit in Nottingham are full of experienced staff committed to giving our children a caring and inspiring learning environment．The number of children receiving free school meals is quite large in Nottingham and many schools have breakfast clubs to make sure that children get a healthy start to the day．Most schools undertake programs of group or individual educational support．Schools also have an important role in safeguarding children's welfare through the ongoing touch and support with their pupils．During the long summer holidays，much of this is missed．
While teachers are holidaying in the UK，many of their pupils spend the whole six weeks on the street where they live．The lack of free school meals for six weeks can result in pressure on a family budget and an inability to afford the inspiring experiences that help children to continue their learning．
In setting out its plans for a five-term year，Nottingham City Council （委員會）is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to four and a half weeks，with a．more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks，each followed by a two-week break．We believe this will give real"down time"for school staff and pupils alike but will be short enough not to cause a real break in learning．
We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff，particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities．However，this must be weighed against the benefits for city children for whom we all have the greatest duty of care．
21．The passage is probably written byD．
A．a(chǎn)n experienced teacher
B．a(chǎn) working parent
C．a(chǎn)n inspired student
D．a(chǎn) city council member
22．The underlined word"they"in the second paragraph refers to"B"．
A．environments
B．holidays
C．wages
D．benefits
23．It is suggested in the passage that the summer break be reduced toB．
A.2weeks
B.4.5weeks
C.5weeks
D.6weeks
24．The plans for a shorter summer holiday will help studentsC．
A．obtain the cheapest holidays without additional costs
B．get a chance to spend，six weeks a term with teachers in school
C．benefit more from the caring and inspiring learning environment
D．have more school days to receive free school meals
25．It can be inferred from the passage thatD．
A．working parents can enjoy a five-week break to care for their children
B．the suggested plans for a five-term school year can hardly be carried out
C．the long summer holiday gives teachers and students real"down time"
D．some school staff will say"No"to the plans for a shorter summer holiday．
分析 本文是一篇說明文．假期使我們放松并去一些地方去游玩，使我們釋放壓力，但是對于一些低收入家庭或靠救濟而過活的家庭來說造成很多的經(jīng)濟負(fù)擔(dān)，文章講述了是否應(yīng)該縮短學(xué)生暑假的問題．主要介紹了英國諾丁漢城市委員會把學(xué)生假期縮短至4.5周的計劃． 文章提倡在不影響學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)的前提下減少假期的時間．
解答 21-25 D B B C D
21．D 考查推理判斷．根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第二段中的"Insetting out its plans for a five-term year，Nottingham City Council （委員會）is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to fourand a half weeks，with a more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks，eachfollowed by a two-week break．"可知，關(guān)于放假的問題是Nottingham CityCouncil探討的事情，所以這篇文章應(yīng)該是一名委員會成員寫的．故選D．
22．B 考查詞義猜測．根據(jù)文章第二段中的"But holidays are expensive and，for those on low wages or living on benefits，theyare often unobtainable．"可知，前面句子的主語是"holidays"，代詞"they"應(yīng)該指"holidays"．故選B．
23．B 考查細(xì)節(jié)理解．根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第二段中的"Insetting out its plans for a five-term year，Nottingham City Council （委員會）is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to fourand a half weeks，with a more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks，eachfollowed by a two-week break．"可知，假期降到4.5周．故選B．
24．C 考查細(xì)節(jié)理解．根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第三段中的"The lack of free school meals for six weeks can result in pressure on a family budgetand an inability to afford the inspiring experiences that help children tocontinue their learning．"可知，沒有了學(xué)校的免費食物，家庭預(yù)算吃緊，孩子們也難以在積極地指導(dǎo)下繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)，因此D正確，故選C．
25．D 考查推理判斷．根據(jù)文章最后一段中的"We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff，particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities．However，thismust be weighed against the benefits for city children for whom we all have thegreatest duty of care．"可知，對于減少假期的時間學(xué)校的一些教職工是不支持的．故選D．
點評 解答細(xì)節(jié)理解題時，一個常用的方法就是運用定位法，即根據(jù)題干和選項中的關(guān)鍵詞從原文中找到相關(guān)的句子，與選項進(jìn)行比較從而確定答案；推理判斷題既要求學(xué)生透過文章表面文字信息推測文章隱含意思，又要求學(xué)生對作者的態(tài)度、意圖及文章細(xì)節(jié)的發(fā)展作正確的推理判斷，力求從作者的角度去考慮，不要固守自己的看法或觀點．
