ExtensiveReadingUnit

1、  Extended Reading Materials for Unit 4 Book2_NEIE-（1）What is the aim of education? This question depends completely on culture. Every society has a set of deep cultural attitudes that are clear to the majority of its members - so clear, in fact, that they may seem like the only right way.

2、 And the deep cultural attitudes of any society are reflected in its system of education. The three texts in this unit explore some of the different ways culture affects education. Not only surface differences like the content of the lessons or whether the students stand up when the teacher enters t

3、he room, but also on deeper levels that are rarely discussed or even thought about - until two cultures meet in a classroom. Why They Excel   Kim-Chi Trinh was just nine when her father used his savings to buy a passage for her on a fishing boat (1) that would carry her from Vietnam.

4、It was a heartbreaking and costly sacrifice for the family, placing Kim-Chi on the small boat (2), among strangers, in hopes that (3) she would eventually reach the United States, where she would get a good education and enjoy a better life.It was a hard journey for the little girl, and full of risk

5、s. Long before the boat reached safety, the supplies of food and water ran out (4). When Kim-Chi finally made it to the US, she had to cope with a succession of three foster families (5). But when she graduated from San Diego's Patrick Henry High School in 1988, she had straight A's and scho

6、larship offers from some of (6) the most prestigious universities in the country."I have to do well," says the 19-year-old, now a second-year student at Cornell University. "I owe it to my parents in Vietnam."Kim-Chi is part of a wave of bright, highly-motivated Asian-Americans w

7、ho are suddenly surging into our best colleges (7). Although Asian-Americans make up only 2.4 percent of the nation' population, they constitute 17.1 percent of the undergraduates at Harvard, 18 percent at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 27.3 percent at the University of California

8、 at Berkeley.Why are Asian-Americans doing so well? Are they grinds, as some stereotypes suggest (8)? Do they have higher IQs? Or can we learn a lesson from them about values we have long treasured but may have misplaced - like hard work, the family and education (9)? Not all Asians are doing equall

9、y well; poorly-educated Cambodian refugee children, for instance, often need special help. And many Asian-Americans resent being labeled a "model minority," feeling that this is reverse discrimination by white Americans - a contrast to the laws that excluded most Asian immigrants from the

10、US until 1965, but prejudice nevertheless (10).The young Asians' achievements have led to a series of fascinating studies. Perhaps the most disturbing results come from the research carried out by a University of Michigan psychologist (11), Harold W. Stevenson, who has compared more than 7,000 s

11、tudents in kindergarten, first grade, third grade and fifth grade in Chicago and Minneapolis with counterparts in Beijing (12), Taipei and Sendai. On a battery of math tests (13), the Americans did worst at all grade levels.Stevenson found no differences in IQ. But if the differences in performance

12、are showing up in kindergarten, it suggests something is happening in the family (14), even before the children get to school.It is here that various researchers' different studies converge (15): Asian parents are motivating their children better. "The bottom line is, Asian kids work hard,&

13、quot; Stevenson says.The real question, then, is how Asian parents imbue their offspring with this kind of motivation (16). Stevenson's study suggests a critical answer. When asked why they think their children do well, most Asian parents said "hard work." By contrast, American parents

14、 said "talent.""From what I can see," criticizes Stevenson, "we've lost our faith in the idea that we can all get ahead in life (17) through hard work. Instead, Americans now believe that some kids have what it takes (18) and some don't. So we start dividing up class

15、es into 'fast learners' and 'slow learners', whereas the Chinese and Japanese feel all children can succeed in the same curriculum."This belief in hard work is the first of three main factors contributing to Asian students' outstanding performance. It springs from Asians'

16、; common heritage of Confucianism, the philosophy of the 5th-century-BC Chinese sage whose teachings have had a profound influence on Chinese society. One of Confucius's primary teachings is that through effort, people can perfect themselves.Confucianism provides another important ingredient in

17、the Asians' success as well. In Confucian philosophy, the family plays a central role - an orientation that leads people to work for the honor of the family, not just for themselves. One can never repay one's parents, and there's a sense of obligation or even guilt that is as strong a fo

18、rce among Asians as Protestant philosophy is in the West (19).There's yet another major factor in this bond between Asian parents and their children. During the 15 years I lived in China, Japan, and Vietnam, I noticed that Asian parents establish a closer physical tie to their infants than most

19、parents in the United States (20). When I let my baby daughter crawl on the floor, for example, my Chinese friends were horrified and rushed to pick her up. We think this constant attention is old-fashioned or even unhealthy, but for Asians, it's highly effective.Can we learn anything from the A

20、sians? "I'm not naive enough to think everything in Asia can be transplanted (21)," says Stevenson. But he offered three recommendations."To start with," he says, "we need to set higher standards for our kids. We wouldn't expect them to become professional athletes w

21、ithout practicing hard."Second, American parents need to become more committed to their children's education (22), he declares. "Being understanding when a child doesn't do well isn't enough (23)." Stevenson found that Asian parents spend more time helping their children w

22、ith homework or writing to their teachers than American parents do.And, third, our schools could be reorganized in simple but effective ways, says Stevenson. Nearly 90 percent of Chinese youngsters say they actually enjoy school, and 60 percent can't wait for school vacations to end. This is a v

23、astly more positive attitude than youngsters in the US express (24). One reason may be that students in China and Japan typically have a break after each class, helping them to relax and to increase their attention spans."I don't think Asians are any smarter," says Don Lee, an Asian-Am

24、erican student at Berkeley. "There are brilliant Americans in my chemistry class. But the Asian students work harder. I see a lot of wasted potential among the Americans (25)."I阅读判断题 Decide whether the following statements are true or false, and underline the section of the passage that su

25、pports each of your answers(U2TA).1. The author feels that values like hard work, the family and education are unfamiliar to Americans.2. Stevenson's research showed that Asians and Asian-Americans are more intelligent than other students. 3. Stevenson says that American parents shouldn't be

26、 so understanding when a child doesn't do well. 4. The percentage of Asian-Americans entering prestigious US universities is very high. 5. The author agrees with the idea that Confucian family values contribute to excellence at school.6. The author suggests that having breaks after each class may improve youngsters performance in school. 7. Kim-Chi Trihn's father sent her to the US as a reward for her hard work at school. II阅读判断题Mark each of the statements below either I (implied in the article)or