GCSEs not fit for purpose
GCSEs（General Certificate of Secondary Education，普通中等教育证书）encourage teaching to the test and may be past their sell-by date, according to Britain's leading business organization. The Confederation of British Industry（CBI） warns that the qualification is stopping teachers delivering an inspirational classroom experience and should be replaced.
John Cridland, the CBI director general, said industry faced a shortage of key skills, particularly in science and maths. The CBI（英国工业联合会）, which represents more than 240,000 panies, is also concerned about the 40% of young people who fail to achieve the benchmark of five good GCSE passes including English and maths. The percentage of pupils who reach this standard is the main measure of school success.
Speaking at the launch of a CBI inquiry into education, Cridland argued that abandoning GCSEs could help deliver a full education. There's something about this GCSE limitation which produces a form of learning ------ teaching for the test.’’
It frustrates teachers because it stops them delivering that inspirational classroom experience.
The CBI head suggested that raising the school leaving age to 18 – a change that es into effect in 2015 – is an opportunity to reform the system. It seems to me that we've raised the participation age to 18 and we're left with an education system that focuses on 16, said Cridland. More than 600,000 children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to take GCSEs this summer.
Many other countries do without a public exam at 16. Finland, the highest performing school system in Europe, has just one public exam, at 18, though children are regularly tested at younger ages.
【小题1】What does the author intend to tell us in paragragh1？A．“Teaching to the test” should be encouraged.B．We should stop teachers delivering “inspirational experience”.C．The current qualification is out of date and should be replaced.D．The Confederation of British Industry should be replaced.【小题2】What’s the main idea of the passage？A．The British GCSEs are no longer practical and should be reformed.B．In the GCSEs system , teachers don’t have freedom.C．Five good GCSEs is hard to achieve.D．The British Education Department will reform education system.【小题3】The meaning of the underlined word “benchmark” in paragraph 2 may be .A．successB．targetC．standardD．excellent grades【小题4】Where can we find this article?A．TV seriesB．radio newsC．newspaper education sectionD．government reportC
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(答案→)C
解析：文章主要讲的是英国的教育问题。GCSEs标准已经过时，不符合社会发展的需要，应该进行改革，为社会培养合格的实用型人材。
【小题1】根据第一段“the qualification is stopping teachers delivering an inspirational classroom experience and should be replaced”可知，这种资格认证方式正在阻止老师进行启发性的课堂教学，应该被取代。故选C。
【小题2】根据“the qualification is stopping teachers delivering an inspirational classroom experience and should be replaced
abandoningGCSEs could help deliver a full education...teaching for the test...is an opportunity to reform the system”可知，GCSEs已经不能满足社会需求，应该改革。故选A。
【小题3】the 40% of young people who fail to achieve the benchmark of five good GCSE passes40%的年轻人未能达到五项良好的普通教育证书考试目标。故选B。
【小题4】A电视连续剧；B广播新闻；C报纸教育专栏；D政府报告。文章多次提到教师，根据teaching to the test...It frustrates teachers because it stops them delivering that inspirational classroom experience.可知，文章主要讲的是GCSEs已经过时，教育体制需要改革。与教育有关的是C项。故选C。