研究生英语阅读教程(基础级2版)课文02及其翻译..doc

The New School Choice (=option) By Mary Lord [1] When a form letter from the school district arrived earlier this summer, Terri Wooten, PTA president at Parklane Elementary School in East Point, Ga., did what any busy, single mother of four might do. She set (put) it aside after a quick glance. It wasnt until another parent asked about this letter saying we have to send our kids to another school that Wooten took a closer look. Not only was Parklane failing, she read; a new federal law gave her children the right to transfer to a school with better test scores. [2] Education reform is hitting home this summer. Early 2002, President Bush signed the mammoth (great/ important) No Child Left Behind Act, vowing to free children trapped (cornered) in schools that will not change and will not teach. Now, students in 8, 652 chronically low-performing schools announced by the U. S. Department of Education on July 1, 2002 must weigh whether to jump ship in the next few days—while school districts scramble (compete) to accommodate thousands of students eligible to seize (catch) that option. [3] School-choice advocates like (such as) Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, a Washington, D. C. based proponent of charter schools, call the reforms a wake-up call (warning) that will prod (urge) schools to improve. But the immediate impact (influence) for many principals, teachers, and students struggling in the educational trenches is bewilderment (confusion)—and turmoil (disturbance). The law, they contend (argue), sets lofty standards without telling school districts how to reach them. [4] In Chicago, the mandate (law)—which Mayor Richard Daley recently called ridiculous —would allow nearly 125, 000 of the citys pupils to transfer from 179 low-performing schools, swamping the 3, 000 available seats. Last week, the school system didnt even know if it could muster (collect) enough buses, let alone (not to mention) pay the drivers. Other cities face similar sq