Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Parents are recommended to collaborate with teachers in educating children.

A. part

B. cooperate

C. separate

D. disagree

Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

We’re surprised to hear that his musical talent was nurtured by their loving parents when he was a child.

A. abandoned

B. limited

C. fostered

D. restricted

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word (5) in each of the following questions.

We're surprised to hear that his musical talent was nurtured by their loving parents when he was a child.

A. abandoned      

B. limited    

C. fostered 

D. restricted

Obviously, the earliest teachers we have in our lives in most cases are our parents, and they are generally the most involved in the development and education of their children. Yet neither are all parents good teachers nor are those good parents the best teachers. First of all, not all parents are good teachers. As normal individuals, some parents more or less have bad habits. Even though parents almost instinctively devote themselves to cultivating their offspring, the outcome might turn out to be disappointment, for all children tend to unconsciously or subconsciously copy every thing from their parents. Another deficiency of parents as teachers is the fact that most parents are lack of common senses of education. All too often we observe some parents tend to pursue their cherished but failed dream by forcing their children to develop in a prearranged direction. Ironically, if their children did not follow the instructions, the children would be regarded as disobedient or allegedly rebellious.

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 43 to 50.

    (1) Increasing numbers of parents in the U.S. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschooled. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of homeschooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year.

    (2) At one time, there was a theory accounting for homeschooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school.

    (3) Although there have been a lot of arguments for and against it, homeschooling in the U.S. has become a multi-million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing.

The number of parents who want to teach their own children in the U.S. is _____.

A. remaining unchanged

B. remaining the same

C. going up

D. going down

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 43 to 50.

    (1) Increasing numbers of parents in the U.S. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschooled. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of homeschooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year.

    (2) At one time, there was a theory accounting for homeschooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school.

    (3) Although there have been a lot of arguments for and against it, homeschooling in the U.S. has become a multi-million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing.

Many parents stop their children from going to school because it is now too __ for them.

A. explosive

B. expensive

C. dangerous

D. humorous

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 43 to 50.

    (1) Increasing numbers of parents in the U.S. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschooled. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of homeschooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year.

    (2) At one time, there was a theory accounting for homeschooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school.

    (3) Although there have been a lot of arguments for and against it, homeschooling in the U.S. has become a multi-million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing.

More parents teach their children because they completely _ the current educational system.

A. please with

B. object to

C. appeal to

D. approve of

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the question.

Most parents want their sons and daughters to have equal chances of success when they grow up. Today, equality of the sexes is largely mandated by public policy and law. However, old-fashioned ideas and a lot of prejudice are still part of our culture and present challenging questions for parents.

Gender stereotypes are rigid ideas about how boys and girls should behave. We all know what these stereotypes are: A "feminine" girls should be insecure, accommodating and a little illogical in her thinking. A "masculine" boy should be strong, unemotional, aggressive, and competitive. How are children exposed to these stereotypes? According to the researchers David and Myra Sadker of the American University of Washington, D.C., boys and girls are often treated differently in the classroom. They found out that when boys speak, teachers usually offer constructive comments, when girls speech, teachers tend to focus on the behavior. It's more important how the girls act rather than what they say.

The emphasis on differences begins at birth and continues throughout childhood. For example, few people would give pink baby's clothes to a boy or a blue blanket to a girl. Later, many of us give girls dolls and miniature kitchenware, while boys receive action figures and construction sets. There's nothing wrong with that. The problem arises when certain activities are deemed appropriate for one sex but not the other. According to Heather J. Nicholson, Ph.D., director of the National Resource Center for Girls, Inc., this kind of practice prevents boys and girls from acquiring important skills for their future lives.

"The fact is," says Nicholson, "that society functions as a kind of sorting machine regarding gender. In a recent survey, fifty-eight percent of eighth-grade girls but only six percent of boys earned money caring for younger children. On the other hand, twenty-seven percent of boys but only three percent of girls earned money doing lawn work". If we are serious about educating a generation to be good workers and parents, we need to eliminate such stereotypes as those mentioned previously.

Gender stereotypes inevitably are passed to our children. However, by becoming aware of the messages our children receive, we can help them develop ways to overcome these incorrect ideas. To counteract these ideas, parents can look for ways to challenge and support their children, and to encourage confidence in ways that go beyond what society's fixed ideas about differences of sext are.

What does the word "that" in paragraph 3 refer to?

A. The differences between boys and girls begin at birth and continue throughout childhood.

B. People often give pink clothes to a boy and a blue blanket to a girl.

C. Many people give girls dolls and miniature kitchen and boys receive action figures and construction sets when they were born.

D. People give different genders of children distinct kinds of presents or clothes.