A
Do you have any strong opinion on coeducations or singlesex schools?
A supporter of coeducational schools would probably say that schools should be like the societies they belong to. In Hong Kong, men and women mix socially on a daytoday basis. In many fields men are even likely to have female bosses. It is, therefore, desirable that boys and girls grow up together, go to school together, and prepare themselves for a society that does not value sexual separation.
Some would go on to argue further that growing up with members of the opposite sex is important for personal development. Regular contact can remove the strange ideas about the opposite sex and lead to more natural relationships. Singlesex conditions are seen as leading to more extreme opinions, and possibly even as encouraging homosexuality (同性恋), though there is no proof that this is the case.
Those who are against coeducation often also fix their attention on the sexual side. Some parents fear that close contact with members of the opposite sex is dangerous for teenagers. They want their children to be attentive to their studies. Such parents feel uncomfortable with modern ways and the free mixing of the sexes.
A stronger argument comes from research into school results. Girls grow up earlier than boys, tend to be more olderly and are likely to be better at languages. In a mixed class, boys who might do well in a singlesex class become discouraged and take on the role of troublemaker. Certainly in the UK this situation has greatly alarmed the government for it to be encouraging coeducational schools to have some singlesex classes. In the UK the best schools are all singlesex, strongly suggesting that coeducation is not the best answer. This may, however, not be as simple as it looks. It may simply be that the famous old schools that attract the best students happen to be singlesex, rather than that being singlesex makes them better schools.
本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了对男女同校或单一性别学校的看法。赞成男女同校的人认为男女同校对个人的发展很重要，这是为以后进入社会作准备。反对的人担心与异性的密切接触对青少年有危害。单一性别学校的学习成绩更好，政府鼓励男女同校的学校开设一些单性别班级，以便提高学业成绩。
1．The underlined word “attentive” in Para.3 most probably means ________.
A．accessible B．addicted
C．devoted D．accustomed
答案：C
解析：词义猜测题。本词所在的句子的上文为“反对男女同校的人常把注意力放在性上。有些父母担心(青少年)与异性的密切接触对他们来说是危险的”，所以作为家长自然希望孩子们专心学习。因此根据上文害怕把注意力放在性上，而他们希望学生把注意力放在学习，即专心学习。所以attentive应当是“注意力集中的”，分析选项(accessible易接近的，可理解的，易相处的；B.addicted上瘾的，沉迷于某种嗜好的；C.devoted专心的；D.accustomed习惯的)，可知C项(devoted)符合题意。
2．Alarmed by the situation, the UK government encourages ________.
A．coeducation
B．singlesex classes in coeducational schools
C．singlesex education
D．coeducational classes in singlesex schools
答案：B
解析：细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“Certainly in the UK this situation has greatly alarmed (惊动) the government for it to be encouraging coeducational schools to have some singlesex classes.”可知“在英国，这种情况已经使政府非常警惕，因此鼓励在男女同校的学校开设一些单性别班级。分析选项可知B项(男女同校的学校开设单性别班级)”符合题意，故选B项。
3．At the end of the passage the writer suggests that ________.
A．singlesex schools are the best schools in the UK
B．being singlesex does not necessarily make a school better
C．coeducational schools are better for both sexes in personal development
D．because boys cannot compete with girls in study, they go to singlesex school
答案：B
解析：推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“It may simply be that the famous old schools that attract the best students happen to be singlesex, rather than that being singlesex makes them better schools.”这可能仅仅是那些吸引优秀学生的著名老学校碰巧是单性别的学校，但未必是因为男子或女子学校这样的单性别学校而使得它们成为好学校。从这句话可知单一性别并不一定能让学校变得更好，故选B项。
