2012年试题分析
Passage One 生词释义 1. be popular with sb: 在sb中很受欢迎
2. to scorn: （动词）轻视，蔑视=look down upon scornful: (形容词）轻视的
3. Los Angeles Unified： 洛杉矶联合校区
4. across the country: 整个国家= throughout the country 5. to revise: 修订， 修改 6. ritual: （名词） 1）仪式，
*ancient religious rituals 古代的宗教仪式
*the importance of religion and ritual in our lives 我们生活中宗教和仪式的重要性 *The lady of the house performs the sacred ritual of lighting two candles.女主人点燃了两根蜡烛， 举行了神圣的仪式。 2）（文中含义） 惯例 * the daily ritual of mealtimes 每天吃饭的惯例
* He went through the ritual of lighting his cigar.他习惯性地点了一支烟。
7. flexible: 灵活的， 可改变的 inflexible: 不可改变的
8. to mandate: （及物动词） 强制规定
* These measures were mandated by the IMF. 国际货币组织强制规定了这些措施。 # mandate that ...规定.....;要求....
* Justice mandates that we should treat all candidates equally.正义要求我们平等对待所有的候选人。
9. exception: 例外
# with the exception of sth: 除….之外= except * We all laughed, with the exception of Maggie.
#without exception 无一例外
*Each plant, without exception, contains some kind of salt. 每一种植物都无一例外地含有某种盐。
10. to count （for）: 有价值， 很重要= be important * First impressions really do count. 第一印象真的很重要。 * His promises don't count for much. 他的承诺算不了什么。 * His overseas results count for nothing. 他在海外的经历不重要。
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与 account for something进行比较 1） 占…的比重
* Afro-Americans account for 12% of the US population. 非裔美国人占美国人口的12%.
2) 解释….的原因 * Recent pressure at work may account for his behavior. 最近在工作上的压力可能可以解释他的行为。
* Can you account for your movements on that night? 你能解释那天晚上的行为吗？
11. academic: 学业的
academic grade:学业成绩 academy: （名词）学术
*Homework has never been terribly popular with students and even many parents, but in recently years it has been particularly scorned. School districts across the country, most recently Los Angeles Unified, are revising their thinking on this educational ritual. Unfortunately, L.A. Unified has produced an inflexible policy which mandates that with the exception of some advanced courses, homework may no longer count for more than 10% of a student?s academic grade. 家庭作业从来就没有受到过学生、甚至是家长的特别欢迎， 而近些年来更是备受贬损。 美国各学区， 特别是最近的洛杉矶联合校区， 正在矫正对这一教育惯例的看法。 不幸的是，洛杉矶联校制定了一项硬性政策， 规定除了一些高级课程外， 家庭作业在学业成绩中所占比重不能再超过10%。
12. be meant to do: 应该做….; 有责任做…=should
*Come on, Ellen, you're meant to be helping me. 行了， Ellen， 你应该帮帮我。 *I thought the police were meant to protect people. 我认为警察有责任保护大家。
13. impoverished: 贫穷的= poor 14. chaos: （名词） 混乱 chaotic: 混乱的
15. contradictory: 矛盾的
动词形式：to contradict （注： “和….相矛盾”， 后面不加 with * The article flatly contradicts their claims. 这篇文章和他们所宣称的是完全矛盾的。
* The witness statements contradict each other and the facts remain unclear. 证人的证词自相矛盾， 事实还不清楚。
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16. on one?s own: 独立地= independently
17. to give a pass to sb: 让sb 通过, 让sb 过关 18. complicated: 复杂的= complex 19. to imply: (动词)暗指， 暗示
implication: 名词
* It is going close to the implication that….差不多就是指…..，
This rule is meant to address the difficulty that students from impoverished or chaotic homes might have in completing their homework. But the policy is unclear and contradictory. Certainly, no homework should be assigned that students cannot complete on their own or that they cannot do without expensive equipment. But if the district is essentially giving a pass to students who do not do their homework because of complicated family lives, it is going riskily close to the implication that standards need to be lowered for poor children. 该规定的目的是解决那些家境贫困或家庭状况糟糕的学生在完成作业时可能存在的困难。 但是该政策不够清晰并自相矛盾。 当然， 若学生不能独立完成作业或者需要昂贵的设备才能完成， 这样的家庭作业就不该布置。 但是如果学生因为家庭环境复杂未完成作业， 而学区却基本让其过了关， 那么这就相当于明目张胆地说， 对贫穷孩子有必要降低考试标准。
20. administrator: 管理者
21. schooling: （不可数名词）学业
* children in their final year of compulsory schooling 这些孩子是义务教育的最后一年
* Al's dad had only a few years of schooling 艾尔的爸爸只受过几年教育 22. to assign: 布置
assignment: (名词）布置的作业和任务 23. to skip: 跳过， 略过， 不做
* I decided to skip the first chapter. 我决定跳过第一章。
* She skipped lunch in order to go shopping. 为了去购物， 她没有吃午餐。
24. report card: 成绩报告单
25. rather than: =instead of 不是….
* I think you'd call it a lecture rather than a talk. 我认为，你应该把它称之为讲座, 而不是一次谈话。
* Rather than go straight on to university why not get some work experience first? 不直接去上大学， 何不先取得一些工作经验呢？
* Bryson decided to quit rather than accept the new rules. 布里森决定辞职， 而不是接受新的规则。
26. to empower sb to do : 授权sb 做sth
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* The President is empowered to appoint judges to the Supreme Court. 总统被授权为最高法院任命法官。
27. to impose: 强加
# to impose sth on sb: 把sth强加在sb身上
* Some parents impose their own moral values on their children. 有些父母把自己的道德观念强加在孩子身上。
28. flat: (形容词）断然的 across-the-board: 统一的
*a flat, across-the board rule: 一个断然、统一的规则
District administrators say that homework will still be a part of schooling; teachers are allowed to assign as much of it as they want. But with homework counting for no more than 10% of their grades, students can easily skip half their homework and see very little difference on their report cards. Some students might do well on state tests without completing their homework, but what about the students who performed well on the tests and did their homework? It is quite possible that the homework helped. Yet rather than empowering teachers to find what works best for their students, the policy imposes a flat, across-the-board rule. 学区管理层宣称家庭作业仍将是学业的一部分； 允许老师自主安排作业量。 但由于家庭作业在学业成绩中所占比重不能超过10%， 学生就能轻易逃避一半的家庭作业， 而成绩报告单上也几乎看不出差别。 有些学生不做家庭作业统考也能取得好成绩， 但是那些完成了家庭作业并且取得好成绩的学生呢？ 这很可能是由于写作业帮助了他们。 然而该规定不是授权教师去探索什么样的作业最适合学生， 而是强制规定了一个死板、统一的规则。
29. to address: (动词) 解决 (重点词汇)= solve * to address the problem： 解决问题 30． thorn: （名词）刺
thorny: 多刺的； （文中含义） 棘手的， 难处理的 31. academic achievement: 学业成绩
32. to eliminate: 1）（文中含义）根除， 消除（不必要或不重要的东西） *The credit card eliminates the need for cash or checks. 信用卡免去了对现金或支票的需求。
*The teacher should try to eliminate the possibility that the child has a hearing defect.老师应该尽可能排除孩子有听力障碍的可能性。
2） 消灭， 杀死（敌人/对手）
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33. conversely: 相反地 = on the contrary
34. to matter: （动词） 很重要= to count
* Money was the only thing that mattered to him. 金钱是唯一对他重要的东西。
35. a portion of：一部分
a significant portion of….很大部分 36. appropriate: 适当的
37. to review: （动词） 1）回顾 2）复习 3） （文中含义） 批阅， 审
核
At the same time, the policy addresses none of the truly thorny questions about homework. If the district finds homework to be unimportant to its students? academic achievement, it should move to reduce or eliminate the assignments, not make them count for almost nothing. Conversely, if homework matters, it should account for a significant portion of the grade. Meanwhile, this policy does nothing to ensure that the homework students receive is meaningful or appropriate to their age and the subject, or that teachers are not assigning more than they are willing to review and correct. 与此同时， 该政策并未解决有关家庭作业真正棘手的问题。 假若学区发现家庭作业对于提高学生的学业成绩作用不大， 那么它就该采取行动减少甚至取消家庭作业， 而不是让它在成绩中的比重变得微乎其微。 相反，若家庭作业很重要， 那么就应在学业中占有重要比重。 与此同时， 学生接受的家庭作业是否有意义、是否适合他们的年龄和学科、老师布置的作业是否超出他们愿意批改的数量， 对于这些问题该政策丝毫不能保证。
38. to put sth on hold: （动词短语） 暂停sth= to suspend
* The plans are on hold until after the election. 选举后， 计划被暂停了。 * Since having the kids, my career has been put on hold.自从有了孩子， 我的职业生涯开始暂停。
39. to look into the matter: 调查这件事情= to investigate 40. to conduct: （动词）举行， 进行
*to conduct an investigation/ survey/ an experiment: 进行调查/ 实验 41. public hearing: 公众听证会
The homework rules should be put on hold while the school board, which is responsible for setting educational policy, looks into the matter and conducts public hearings. It is not too late for L.A. Unified to do homework right. 学校董事会（负责制定教育政策的机构）在调查此事并举行公众听证会的时候， 有关家庭作业的规定应该推迟实施。 对于洛杉矶联校来说， 正确处理这件事还不算太晚。
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