Education.doc

Education
Interviewer: Now we have Mr. Sharp with us here. He is president of the students' union . Mr. Sharp, what do you think of school exams?

Mr. Sharp: Well, I oppose the whole system of exams for the following reasons. First, They test only a little of what kids learn at school. What's more, they test the ability to remember information and repeat it, but not necessarily their ability to think intelligently about what they've been taught. Besides, many examiners mark papers in such a hurry they can't possibly compare them in order to give fair marks.

Interviewer: Yes, I see. There are surely some problems with the present system of exam. But so far they are still recognized as the best way of assessing a student's performance. Can students be assessed in other ways? Probably Mr. Kennedy, headmaster of Logan Experimental School, can give us a promising choice. Mr. Kennedy, can you tell us why you have no examinations at your school?

Mr. Kennedy: Yes, certainly. We don't have exams at our school. We base our yearly reports on a system of continuous assessment. Any students who consistently perform badly are asked to leave at the end of the year. In this way we can maintain a high academic standard without examinations, which, in my opinion, depend too much on memory and don't allow the children to develop their own personalities.

Interviewer: Thank you, Mr. Kennedy. Well, that wraps up our discussion on the pros and cons of school examination.

Education
A: John, my brother has taken part in the national college entrance examination and now he needs to fill in a form with the colleges he wants to go to. Do you have any experience?
B: I don’t know much about it. Choosing colleges in the States is quite different from in China.
A: What factors are usually taken into consideration when choosing colleges in the States?
B: First, I need to decide whether I’d choose a public college or a private one.
A: Is there any difference?
B: you bet there is. Private colleges usually have good conditions in every aspect, but the tuition is very high. So I applied for a public one which offered me scholarship. Actually I’d like to choose one near my home so that I could go back home each weekend for a change.
What about colleges in china?
A: it is very different. The public colleges in china have the best condition and high qualitical teachers. Most of students want to enter those, Such as qinghua university and peking university. Compared with the public universities, the private colleges are not very popular for students in china.
B: Oh, it’s very intreseting. And which one your brother wants to go to?
A: I don’t know. Maybe he likes an abroad college. Your suggestion is very useful to me. Thanks a lot.
B: Not at all.