A
For my grandmother's 70th birthday，my family and I visited South Korea.While there，I was attentive to Korean high schools and students.
I was surprised by how different Korea's public high schools are from America's.Korean high schools can be allgirls，allboys or coed (男女同校的)unlike our standard coed high schools.There are three grades：“go 1(10th)”“go 2(11th)” and “go 3(12th)”．“Go” is the first syllable of the word “godeunghakkyo”，which，simply translated，is “high school”．
In America，unless you want to go to a private school，you don't have to take an entrance exam.In Korea，however，students must take a test to get in because of the many choices of schools.
Another difference I couldn't help but notice was the students' appearance.With very few exceptions，all wear uniforms.A name tag (标牌)with the student's name，grade and homeroom number must also be worn.Girl's skirts can't be above the upper part of the knee，and it is forbidden to dye(染)your hair or wear accessories (装饰品)except small earrings.There are strict regulations for appearance to achieve neatness，and it seems the only freedom students have is with their choices of hair style，socks and shoes.
The final difference was the setup of the classes.There may be 40 students in a classroom，but the number can be less or even more，depending on the population of the town or city.Although there are many students per classroom，they are very close，which I think is a result of not changing classrooms for different subjects.There are no levels in the subjects and the teachers are the ones who switch classrooms.They just have tenminute breaks between subjects.In each class，students are ranked by their grades.This causes strict competition，and Korean students do a lot of studying.To help them，all schools have extra study classes after school.One other fact that helped me appreciate living in America is that Koreans have school on Saturdays.Although it's only a half day，I think I speak for most Americans when I say we could never imagine ourselves in school on a Saturday.
Korea's public high schools are clearly different from America's.I had imagined them to be just like our schools，but now I have a clear picture of how different they are.
【语篇解读】 本文主要介绍了在作者眼中韩国高中和美国高中的不同之处。
1．How many main differences are mentioned between Korea's public high school and America's?
A．3. B．4.
C．5. D．6.
B [细节理解题。本文主要说明了美国高中和韩国高中的不同点，作者采用了总分总的文章结构。第二、三、四、五段分别说明它们的不同之处，总共有4处。]
2．It seems that the writer ________．
A.is familiar with the education system of high schools in Korea
B.is fond of Korean students' appearance
C.prefers the high school life of America to the one of Korea
D．feels it common to have lessons on weekends
C [推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中倒数第二句“One other fact that helped me appreciate living in America is that Korean have school on Saturdays”可知，作者喜欢在美国中学的生活，因为在韩国星期六还要去学校，而在美国不用。]
3．What does the underlined word “setup” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?
A．Arrangement. B．Size.
C．Number. D．Outline.
A [词义猜测题。第一句话为本段的中心句。根据其后的内容可知，本段主要介绍了韩、美两国高中在班级人数、作息等方面组织(方式)、安排的不同之处，因此选A。]
4．According to the rules，the students of Korea can________．
A．go to different high schools without exams
B．wear any clothes except uniforms at school
C．attend different classes as they like
D．have different hair styles
D [细节理解题。根据第四段的最后一句话“...it seems the only freedom students have is with their choices of hair style，socks and shoes”可知，韩国学生唯一的自由就是可以选择发型、袜子、鞋子，故答案选D，即他们可以有不同的发型。]
