On the whole, it’s not something we parents shout about, but one in four of us does it. Hiring private tutors for our children is now widespread.

       “It’s expensive, but worth it,” says Ashan Sabri, whose daughter Zarreen, is having tuition in biology and chemistry in preparation for A-levels this summer. “My husband and I tried to tutor her at home, but we found all our knowledge was out of date and we were only confusing Zarreen. We also tried a group revision course but all the children were sitting in a room for different kinds of exams. On the whole, we think one-to-one tuition works best.”

       The real reason is: does tutoring do any good?

“It’s not the magic bullet,” says Professor Judith Ireson, author of a 2005 Institute of Education report on the subject. “It’s still up to the child to do the learning. If he or she isn’t interested, sending them to a private tutor won’t do any good. However, we did find that students who had private tuition in mathematics during the two years before GCSE achieved on average just under half a grade higher than students who did not have a tutor.”

In which case, surely it’s time to break open the champagne? Not necessarily, says Elaine Tyrrell, head of The Rowans School, Wimbledon, a preparation school which regularly gets children into the best private schools.

“While we recommend private tutoring for a few children whose first language isn’t English, we don’t encourage it for the others. With the level of education they get here, children really ought to be able to pass the entrance exams without any extra teaching. And our worry is that they might just get used to getting help from last-minute tutoring, but, once they actually get to that school, they won’t be able to cope.”

But Mylene Curtis, owner of Fleet Tutors, one of the biggest tutoring agencies in the country, holds a different view.

“In some respects, the hurdles children have to leap in order to get into these schools are set at a higher level than the reality,” says Curtis. “We often find that, once a child has got into a school, the standard of work isn’t as high as was feared. The trick is to do well enough in the exam to win a place.”

What does Ashan Sabri think of the group revision course?

A. It’s expensive but worthwhile because it works the best.

B. It confuses students because the knowledge taught in it is out of date.

C. It isn’t effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.

D. It is effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.

What do the underlined words “magic bullet” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. Something that cannot help to solve problems at all.

B. Something that solves a difficult problem in an easy way.

C. Something that seems useful but has no use at all.

D. Something that encourages interest in study.

According to Elaine Tyrrell, private tutoring is _______.

A. effective in language learning but not for exams

B. effective for foreign students but not for local students

C. unnecessary in most cases and may harm the further study of students

D. unnecessary in secondary school but helpful to further study

What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A. Fleet Tutors and the Rowans School are competitors.

B. Entrance exams to schools are too difficult for most students.

C. Further study isn’t as difficult as was first thought.

D. Private tuition is worth the financial investment.

What attitude does the author hold towards home tutoring?

       A. Critical           B. Objective         C. Supportive          D. Uninterested

On the whole, it’s not something we parents shout about, but one in four of us does it. Hiring private tutors for our children is now widespread.
“It’s expensive, but worth it,” says Ashan Sabri, whose daughter Zarreen, is having tuition in biology and chemistry in preparation for A-levels this summer. “My husband and I tried to tutor her at home, but we found all our knowledge was out of date and we were only confusing Zarreen. We also tried a group revision course but all the children were sitting in a room for different kinds of exams. On the whole, we think one-to-one tuition works best.”
The real reason is: does tutoring do any good?
“It’s not the magic bullet,” says Professor Judith Ireson, author of a 2005 Institute of Education report on the subject. “It’s still up to the child to do the learning. If he or she isn’t interested, sending them to a private tutor won’t do any good. However, we did find that students who had private tuition in mathematics during the two years before GCSE achieved on average just under half a grade higher than students who did not have a tutor.”
In which case, surely it’s time to break open the champagne? Not necessarily, says Elaine Tyrrell, head of The Rowans School, Wimbledon, a preparation school which regularly gets children into the best private schools.
“While we recommend private tutoring for a few children whose first language isn’t English, we don’t encourage it for the others. With the level of education they get here, children really ought to be able to pass the entrance exams without any extra teaching. And our worry is that they might just get used to getting help from last-minute tutoring, but, once they actually get to that school, they won’t be able to cope.”
But Mylene Curtis, owner of Fleet Tutors, one of the biggest tutoring agencies in the country, holds a different view.
“In some respects, the hurdles children have to leap in order to get into these schools are set at a higher level than the reality,” says Curtis. “We often find that, once a child has got into a school, the standard of work isn’t as high as was feared. The trick is to do well enough in the exam to win a place.”
【小題1】What does Ashan Sabri think of the group revision course?

On the whole, it’s not something we parents shout about, but one in four of us does it. Hiring private tutors for our children is now widespread.

“It’s expensive, but worth it,” says Ashan Sabri, whose daughter Zarreen, is having tuition in biology and chemistry in preparation for A-levels this summer. “My husband and I tried to tutor her at home, but we found all our knowledge was out of date and we were only confusing Zarreen. We also tried a group revision course but all the children were sitting in a room for different kinds of exams. On the whole, we think one-to-one tuition works best.”

The real reason is: does tutoring do any good?

“It’s not the magic bullet,” says Professor Judith Ireson, author of a 2005 Institute of Education report on the subject. “It’s still up to the child to do the learning. If he or she isn’t interested, sending them to a private tutor won’t do any good. However, we did find that students who had private tuition in mathematics during the two years before GCSE achieved on average just under half a grade higher than students who did not have a tutor.”

In which case, surely it’s time to break open the champagne? Not necessarily, says Elaine Tyrrell, head of The Rowans School, Wimbledon, a preparation school which regularly gets children into the best private schools.

“While we recommend private tutoring for a few children whose first language isn’t English, we don’t encourage it for the others. With the level of education they get here, children really ought to be able to pass the entrance exams without any extra teaching. And our worry is that they might just get used to getting help from last-minute tutoring, but, once they actually get to that school, they won’t be able to cope.”

But Mylene Curtis, owner of Fleet Tutors, one of the biggest tutoring agencies in the country, holds a different view.

“In some respects, the hurdles children have to leap in order to get into these schools are set at a higher level than the reality,” says Curtis. “We often find that, once a child has got into a school, the standard of work isn’t as high as was feared. The trick is to do well enough in the exam to win a place.”

1.What does Ashan Sabri think of the group revision course?

2. What do the underlined words “magic bullet” in Paragraph 4 mean?

3.According to Elaine Tyrrell, private tutoring is _______.

4. What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

5.What attitude does the author hold towards home tutoring?

On the whole, it’s not something we parents shout about, but one in four of us does it. Hiring private tutors for our children is now widespread.

       “It’s expensive, but worth it,” says Ashan Sabri, whose daughter Zarreen, is having tuition in biology and chemistry in preparation for A-levels this summer. “My husband and I tried to tutor her at home, but we found all our knowledge was out of date and we were only confusing Zarreen. We also tried a group revision course but all the children were sitting in a room for different kinds of exams. On the whole, we think one-to-one tuition works best.”

       The real reason is: does tutoring do any good?

“It’s not the magic bullet,” says Professor Judith Ireson, author of a 2005 Institute of Education report on the subject. “It’s still up to the child to do the learning. If he or she isn’t interested, sending them to a private tutor won’t do any good. However, we did find that students who had private tuition in mathematics during the two years before GCSE achieved on average just under half a grade higher than students who did not have a tutor.”

In which case, surely it’s time to break open the champagne? Not necessarily, says Elaine Tyrrell, head of The Rowans School, Wimbledon, a preparation school which regularly gets children into the best private schools.

“While we recommend private tutoring for a few children whose first language isn’t English, we don’t encourage it for the others. With the level of education they get here, children really ought to be able to pass the entrance exams without any extra teaching. And our worry is that they might just get used to getting help from last-minute tutoring, but, once they actually get to that school, they won’t be able to cope.”

But Mylene Curtis, owner of Fleet Tutors, one of the biggest tutoring agencies in the country, holds a different view.

“In some respects, the hurdles children have to leap in order to get into these schools are set at a higher level than the reality,” says Curtis. “We often find that, once a child has got into a school, the standard of work isn’t as high as was feared. The trick is to do well enough in the exam to win a place.”

1.What does Ashan Sabri think of the group revision course?

       A. It’s expensive but worthwhile because it works the best.

B. It confuses students because the knowledge taught in it is out of date.

C. It isn’t effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.

D. It is effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.

2.What do the underlined words “magic bullet” in Paragraph 4 mean?

       A. Something that cannot help to solve problems at all.

B. Something that solves a difficult problem in an easy way.

C. Something that seems useful but has no use at all.

D. Something that encourages interest in study.

3.According to Elaine Tyrrell, private tutoring is _______.

       A. effective in language learning but not for exams

B. effective for foreign students but not for local students

C. unnecessary in most cases and may harm the further study of students

D. unnecessary in secondary school but helpful to further study

4.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

       A. Fleet Tutors and the Rowans School are competitors.

B. Entrance exams to schools are too difficult for most students.

C. Further study isn’t as difficult as was first thought.

D. Private tuition is worth the financial investment.

5.What attitude does the author hold towards home tutoring?

       A. Critical            B. Objective         C. Supportive          D. Uninterested

On the whole, it’s not something we parents shout about, but one in four of us does it. Hiring private tutors for our children is now widespread.
“It’s expensive, but worth it,” says Ashan Sabri, whose daughter Zarreen, is having tuition in biology and chemistry in preparation for A-levels this summer. “My husband and I tried to tutor her at home, but we found all our knowledge was out of date and we were only confusing Zarreen. We also tried a group revision course but all the children were sitting in a room for different kinds of exams. On the whole, we think one-to-one tuition works best.”
The real reason is: does tutoring do any good?
“It’s not the magic bullet,” says Professor Judith Ireson, author of a 2005 Institute of Education report on the subject. “It’s still up to the child to do the learning. If he or she isn’t interested, sending them to a private tutor won’t do any good. However, we did find that students who had private tuition in mathematics during the two years before GCSE achieved on average just under half a grade higher than students who did not have a tutor.”
In which case, surely it’s time to break open the champagne? Not necessarily, says Elaine Tyrrell, head of The Rowans School, Wimbledon, a preparation school which regularly gets children into the best private schools.
“While we recommend private tutoring for a few children whose first language isn’t English, we don’t encourage it for the others. With the level of education they get here, children really ought to be able to pass the entrance exams without any extra teaching. And our worry is that they might just get used to getting help from last-minute tutoring, but, once they actually get to that school, they won’t be able to cope.”
But Mylene Curtis, owner of Fleet Tutors, one of the biggest tutoring agencies in the country, holds a different view.
“In some respects, the hurdles children have to leap in order to get into these schools are set at a higher level than the reality,” says Curtis. “We often find that, once a child has got into a school, the standard of work isn’t as high as was feared. The trick is to do well enough in the exam to win a place.”

1. 1.

   What does Ashan Sabri think of the group revision course?

   1. A.
      It’s expensive but worthwhile because it works the best.
   2. B.
      It confuses students because the knowledge taught in it is out of date.
   3. C.
      It isn’t effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.
   4. D.
      It is effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.
2. 2.

   What do the underlined words “magic bullet” in Paragraph 4 mean?

   1. A.
      Something that cannot help to solve problems at all.
   2. B.
      Something that solves a difficult problem in an easy way.
   3. C.
      Something that seems useful but has no use at all.
   4. D.
      Something that encourages interest in study.
3. 3.

   According to Elaine Tyrrell, private tutoring is _______.

   1. A.
      effective in language learning but not for exams
   2. B.
      effective for foreign students but not for local students
   3. C.
      unnecessary in most cases and may harm the further study of students
   4. D.
      unnecessary in secondary school but helpful to further study
4. 4.

   What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

   1. A.
      Fleet Tutors and the Rowans School are competitors.
   2. B.
      Entrance exams to schools are too difficult for most students.
   3. C.
      Further study isn’t as difficult as was first thought.
   4. D.
      Private tuition is worth the financial investment.
5. 5.

   What attitude does the author hold towards home tutoring?

   1. A.
      Critical
   2. B.
      Objective
   3. C.
      Supportive
   4. D.
      Uninterested

On the whole, it's not something we parents shout about, but one in four of us does it．Hiring private tutors(指老師)for our children is now widespread．And this year, as always，the Easter holidays will be peak time(高峰期) for tutor demand．

“My husband and I tried to tutor her at home，but we found all our knowledge was out of date and we were only confusing Zarreen．We also tried a group revision course but all the children were sitting exams for different boards(入學考試)． On the whole we think one-two-one tuition works best and it is worth the money．In our case，Preeta is a bit like an elder sister to Zarreen and that's the most important，”says Ashan Sabri from London， whose daughter Zarreen，18，is having tuition in biology and chemistry in preparation for A-levels this summer．

In fact，Preeta Datta is only six years older than her pupil and she is happy to provide extra tuition through mobile phone．“Maybe Zarreen will call me two or three times a week with a question about biology or chemistry, and that's fine to me，”says Datta．

The real question is：does tutoring do any good?

“It's not the magic bullet，”says Professor Judith Ireson．‘It's still up to the child to do the learning．If he or she isn't interested，then sending them to a private tutor won't do any good．”

In which case，surely it's time to break open the Champagne(香檳酒)?Not necessarily, says Elaine Tyrrell，head of the Rowans School．

“While we recommend private tutoring for a few children whose first language isn't English，we don't encourage it for the others，”says Tyrrell．“With the level of education they get here，children really ought to be able to pass the entrance exams without any extra teaching． Besides， our biggest worry is that they might just get in with the help of last-minute tutoring，but，once they actually get to that school，they won't be able to manage．”

It's a point worth considering．After all，who would want their child to stay at the bottom of the class?

56．The passage is most probably written by          ．

        A．a(chǎn) parent    B．a(chǎn) famous professor

C．a(chǎn) student   D．a(chǎn) famous headmaster

57．In Ashan Sabri's opinion，which method is most suitable for her daughter?       ．

       A．Taking different kinds of exams     B．Teaching her at home by herself

C．Finding a private tutor to help her   D．Taking part in group revision courses

55．Elaine Tyrrell doesn't encourage parents to hire private tutors for their children mainly because          ．

      A．children may be misled by private tutors

      B．the quality of private tutoring may be poor

      C．the education that children receive in class is enough for them

       D．children may not have the real ability to deal with their further studies

59．What attitude does the author hold towards home tutoring?         ．

A．Critical    B．Uncertain    C．Supportive  D．Uninterested

60．From the passage we know that        ．

    A．Preeta Datta is only twenty four years old．

    B．Preeta Datta is head of the Rowans school

    C．Judith Ireson is a teacher of the Rowans School

    D．A shan Sabri has a daughter named Zarreen，who is over 18