Washington D．C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader - a mother with three children in the school - was asked about the school's flaws (瑕疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. "Really？" one of them asked worriedly, "What do you mean？"

　　One of the ironies of the situation is that sports show what is possible. American kids' performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It's_too_bad_that_their_test_scores_show_the_same_thing.

　　8．Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because ________.

　　A．he intends to improve his scores

　　B．Polish kids are better at learning

　　C．sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg

　　D．he wants to be the smartest kid in the world

　　9．According to Paragraph 2, we know that ________.

　　A．PISA plays a very important role in America

　　B．little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools

　　C．American students do better in both math and sports

　　D．too much importance is placed on sports in America

　　10．The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means ________.

　　A．low expectations result in American students' poor PISA performance

　　B．high expectations push up American students' academic performance

　　C．American students' academic performance worries their parents a lot

　　D．lacking practice contributes to American students' average performance

　　11．The purpose of this article is to ________.

　　A．compare Polish schools with those in America

　　B．call on American schools to learn from the Polish model

　　C．draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition

　　D．explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions

　　课下能力提升(十七)

　　1．解析：选B　细节理解题。根据Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area中的"It's particularly well­known for their series of narrow land forms and excellent waterfalls."可知，在九寨沟能够观赏到瀑布。

　　2．解析：选D　细节理解题。由Khami Ruins National Monument中的"The discovery of objects from Europe and China shows that Khami was a major centre for trade over a long period of time."可知Khami曾经是商贸中心。

　　3．解析：选B　细节理解题。从Henderson Island中的"... whose ecology has been untouched by human presence."可知，亨德森岛是为数不多的没有受人类活动影响的岛屿之一。

　　4．解析：选A　细节理解题。根据Old City of Jerusalem中的"As a holy city for three different religions in the Middle East, Jerusalem has always been of great religious importance."可知，耶路撒冷是宗教圣地，故要想了解宗教，就去耶路撒冷。

　　语篇解读：本文讲述未来随着科学技术的不断发展，和日常生活相关的医疗、衣服材料、食物、汽车等也会发生很大的变化。

5．解析：选D　细节理解题。根据第三段中"The particles can be programmed to change your clothes' color or pattern"可知衣服能够改变样式，故选D。