夏天出生的孩子是不是由于英國入學年齡的規定而處于學習上的弱勢？政府已經對很多家長提出的擔心做出積極回應。

課文內容

Vocabulary: E ducation 詞匯:  教育

The first year of school can be stressful – not for the kids, but for the parents!

They want their little ones to do well at school and some pushy parents will already be thinking about how they can get their child to the top of the class.

But some parents are concerned about the rules for when children should start school.

The School Admissions Code for England says that children must join the reception class the September after their fourth birthday.

But here is the problem: A four year old who is born in August could be in the same class as someone who was born in October of the previous year! Both of them were four years old in September.

The older child will probably do better in class tests. He or she is almost a year older! This can affect the confidence of the younger child.

Now England's schools minister, Nick Gibbs says that the rules should be changed. In an open letter to councils, schools and parents he says, "Parents know their children best".

And he said that some parents "feel forced to send their child to school before they are ready".

He proposes that children that are born during the summer can join the class when they are four or wait until they are five.

Dr. David Whitebread, an educationalist from Cambridge University says that the UK has a summer-born effect because children start school so young.

"In countries with these later starting ages, there is a very much reduced summer-born effect or none at all", he said.

詞匯表

stressful 有壓力的，精神緊張的
pushy 爭強好勝的
the top of the class 班級的尖子
concerned 擔心，擔憂
rules 規定
admissions 招生
reception 小班，學前班
to do better 表現更好
confidence 自信
open letter 公開信
forced 被迫
propose 提議
educationalist 教育學家
reduced 減少

測驗與練習

1.  閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. In England how old are children when they start school?
2. Are summer-born children usually the youngest in the class?
3. Why are some parents concerned about the age of their child?
4. How would you describe the "summer-born effect"?
5. Do kids in other countries start school later?
6. What is a name for a specialist in education?
7. Push is a verb. Make it an adjective. 

2.  請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。從每個表格中選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1. I am interested __________learning other languages.

in         with         on         for

2. Doing exams can be ______________.

stress         stressed         stressful         unstressed

3. I study English __________. 

some day         someday         everyday         every day

4. The university's _____________ policy is complicated.

admissions         permissions         commissions         submissions

5. How will this __________my grades?

effect         affect         effective         effects

答案

1.  閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. In England how old are children when they start school?
Four years old.

2. Are summer-born children usually the youngest in the class?
Yes, because a child born in the other seasons will be turning five during the school year.

3. Why are parents concerned about the age of their child?
They are worried that the child might not be ready for school.

4. How would you describe the "summer-born effect"? 
Summer-born children sometimes do worse on tests than older students.

5. Do kids in other countries start school later? 
Yes, in some countries the starting age is much older?

6. What is a name for a specialist in education?
Educationalist

7. Push is a verb. Make it an adjective.
Pushy

2.  請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。從每個表格中選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1. I am interested in learning other languages.

2. Doing exams can be stressful.

3. I study English every day.

4. The university's admissions policy is complicated.

5. How will this affect my grades?