TOEFL Readings 6

 

            It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an

            education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education

            to go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark

 Line     is important.

  (5)          Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education

            knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or on the job,

            whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place

            in schools and the whole universe of informal learning. The agents of education can

            range from a revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio, from a

 (10)      child to a distinguished scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability,

            education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may

            lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People are engaged in         

            education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a

            lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that

 (15)      should be an integral part of one's entire life.

               Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general

            pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive

            at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult,

            use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that

 (20)      are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of                               government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught.

            For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their

            classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest

            filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the

 (25)      formalized process of schooling.

 

            1. What does the author probably mean by using the expression “children interrupt

               their education to go to school” (lines 2-3) ?

              (A) Going to several different schools is educationally beneficial.

              (B) School vacations interrupt the continuity of the school year.

              (C) Summer school makes the school year too long.

              (D) All of life is an education.                            

 

             2. The word “bounds”in line 6 is closest in meaning to

              (A) rules

              (B) experience

              (C) limits

              (D) exceptions

 

             3. The word “chance” in line 11 is closest in meaning to

              (A) unplanned

              (B) unusual

              (C) lengthy

              (D) lively

 

 

 

 

 

 

             4. The word “an integral” in line 15 is closest in meaning to

              (A) an equitable

              (B) a profitable

              (C) a pleasant

              (D) an essential

 

             5. The word “they” in line 20 refers to

              (A) slices of reality

            (B) similar textbooks

            (C) boundaries

              (D) seats

 

             6. The phrase “For example,” line 22, introduces a sentence that gives

                examples of

               (A) similar textbooks

               (B) the results of schooling

               (C) the workings of a government

               (D) the boundaries of classroom subjects

 

             7. The passage supports which of the followng conclusions?

               (A) Without formal education, people would remain ignorant.

               (B) Education systems need to be radically reformed.

               (C) Going to school is only part of how people become educated.

               (D) Education involves many years of professional training.

 

             8. The passage is organized by

               (A) listing and discussing several educational problems

               (B) contrasting the meanings of two related words 

               (C) narrating a story about excellent teachers

               (D) giving examples of different kinds of schools