one point George W. Bush and Al Gore would agree: our schools need more Marilyn Whirrys. For 35 years, Whirry has inspired high school students to think deeply about great literature and to use its devices in their writing. She is the kind of teacher that students come back to visit decades later in her classroom in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Last May a national educators' group named her its Teacher of the Year. And with the nation's public schools planning to hire 2.5 million new teachers over the next decade, Whirry is excited that each presidential candidate is pushing ways to recruit, train and reward better teachers. "They're both talking about teacher quality," she says. "We have a real opportunity right now."

　　Bush's plan combines most existing federal funds for professional development and class-size reduction into a flexible new fund for teacher training and recruitment, and he adds $400 million a year in new money. Bush would allow states to spend the funds as they see fit--so long as they establish teacher-accountability systems. This is similar to what Ronald Reagan did in the 1980s. But then, says Emily Feistritzer, president of the Center for Education Information, "the money disappeared." Under Bush's plan, she says, "I worry that the money won't go where it's intended to once it reaches the states."

　　Bush would expand funding from $2.4 million to $30 million for the Troops to Teachers program, which places veterans who want to teach in public schools. The program makes use of people like Arthur Moore, who retired in 1994 after 21 years in the Army and knew he wanted to teach. "There are a lot of people who would make excellent teachers but are discouraged by the bureaucracy of the certification process," says Moore, 45, who began teaching fourth grade in Baltimore and now tests students for special education. "Troops to Teachers is an excellent way to tap their potential by lowering the barriers." Bush would also expand loan forgiveness for math and science majors who teach in needy schools.

　　Gore's plan, endorsed by the teachers' unions, would spend $8 billion over 10 years to help recruit 1 million new teachers, with provisions for college aid, loan forgiveness and signing bonuses. Gore would spend an additional $8 billion to provide raises of as much as $5,000 each to teachers in poor districts that have adopted aggressive plans to improve teacher quality, plus as much as $10,000 each to teachers certified by a national board. Gore would also require states to ensure that all new teachers pass rigorous assessments. Says Feistritzer: "Gore's proposal might be a little excessive in the number of teachers he wants to recruit, but his teacher testing is exactly what we need."

　　1. In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by________.

　　[A] quoting the Teach of the Year

　　[B] citing an example

　　[C] making an assumption

　　[D] posing a contrast

　　2. According to Emily Feistritzer, Bush’s plan might_________.

　　[A] be handicapped by the states

　　[B] give the states too much freedom

　　[C] help states recruit more teachers

　　[D] be too flexible

　　3. The basic problem many veterans encounter when they seek the teaching profession is _____.

　　[A] their lack of training and experience

　　[B] their background

　　[C] that they do not have the making of a teacher

　　[D] the barriers in the certification process

　　4. From paragraph 4 we can infer that__________.

　　[A] Gore’s plan is better than Bush’s plan

　　[B] poor districts will receive more funding from Gore’s plan

　　[C] Gore’s plan focuses on the number of teachers while Bush’s plan on the accountability

　　[D] Gore’s plan gives qualified teacher generous paycheck

　　5. What is the passage mainly about

　　[A] The competition between Bush and Gore.

　　[B] Two presidential candidates’ plans of teacher training, recruitment and rewarding.

　　[C] The increasing importance of the teaching profession.

　　[D] The differences between Bush’s plan and that of Gore’s.

　　答案：C A D D B

　　篇章剖析：

　　本篇文章是说明文，介绍了两位总统候选人布什和戈尔各自的教师招募和培训计划。第一段提出了两位候选人的一个共同之处：想方设法招募，培训和奖励优秀教师。第二段介绍了布什的新基金计划；第三段介绍了布什的“军人当教师”计划；第四段介绍了戈尔的教师招募和评估方案。

　　词汇注释：

　　candidate: [5kAndidit] n. 候选人

　　recruit: [ri5kru:t] v. 吸收（新成员）；招募

　　accountability: [E7kauntE5biliti] n. 有责任, 有义务

　　bureaucracy: [bjJ5rRkrEsI] n. 官僚, 官僚作风, 官僚机构

　　certification: [sE:tIfI5keIF(E)n] n. 证明，证明书；合格证

　　tap: [tAp] v. 开发；利用

　　endorse: [in5dC:s] v. 支持，核准批准或给予支持，尤以公开声明形式；核准

　　forgiveness: [fE5^IvnIs] n. 免除(债务等)

　　bonus: [5bEunEs] n. 红利；奖金；额外津贴

　　rigorous: [5ri^ErEs] adj. 严格的, 严厉的

　　excessive: [ik5sesiv] adj. 过多的, 过分的

　　难句突破

　　Gore would spend an additional $8 billion to provide raises of as much as $5,000 each to teachers in poor districts that have adopted aggressive plans to improve teacher quality, plus as much as $10,000 each to teachers certified by a national board

　　主体句式：Gore would spend an additional $8 billion.

　　结构分析：本句是一个复杂句，不定式to provide raises ….作整个句子的目的状语，其中包含了一个that引导的定语从句，修饰districts，介词plus引导了一个伴随状语，修饰这个目的状语。

　　句子译文：此外，戈尔计划再花80亿美元给采取积极策略提高教师质量的贫困地区每位教师增加5000美元工资，再加上给每位获得国家教育委员会证书的教师10000美元。

　　题目分析：

　　1. 答案为C，属推理判断题。可以从第一句话would agree看出。would是一种虚拟用法，表明这是作者的一种假想。

　　2. 答案为A，属事实细节题。根据上下文，布什的计划类似于里根的计划，当时钱拨到了各州，但最后都不知去向。Emily Feistritzer担心如果各州可以按照自己认为适合的方式动用这笔资金的话，这笔钱将不被用于最初的目的。也就是说布什的计划会在州里执行不力。

　　3. 答案为D，属事实细节题。这一题的答案在文中第三段，退伍老兵Moore说许多本来可成为优秀教师的退伍军人却因为the bureaucracy of the certification process而受阻。

　　4. 答案为D，属推理