Educators in China have long struggled with the problem of overworked schoolchildren. Attempts to do away with some test oriented teaching often face resistance from parents, who worry that their offspring could lose out in the race to get into a good university. Some officials are taking a new approach. In the south-western province of Yunnan, they have not only revised the PE( Physical Education) test in the zhongkao, an examination for entrance to senior secondary school. They have also given it the same grades in the exam as all-important subjects like maths and Chinese. Eight provinces have joined Yunnan too.
These reforms are in response to demands by the central government for a more well-rounded approach to education. In 2017 primary and secondary schools were ordered to hire only specialists to teach PE and art. In October they were directed to organize daily gym classes, and now to include PE and art in the zhongkao. The government says it wants to foster a “lifelong habit of exercise” .
The government worries about how many youngsters are in poor shape. In 2017 officials in Guangzhou found that only 2.6% of local children were in “excellent” health. Half of pupils surveyed there had myopia(近视). Today one in five Chinese children is overweight, up from just one in 20 in 1995. The state news agency, Xinhua, summed it up with a headline: “Why good times produce weak children”.
But parents do not want their children to be distracted from their books. They are used to pupils getting full marks in PE with hardly any effort, partly because examiners have tended to grade generously to avoid “unfairly” punishing hard-working students, says Mr Zhu. Schools often cancel PE and art classes in favour of other subjects. This will change with the new reforms. But parents are already complaining that PE will be just one more source of stress. Mr Zhu sighs over the use of exam pressure to get people’s attention. Still, he hopes it is a giant leap towards greater fitness.
【小题1】Which of the following words can replace the underlined word in paragraph 1?| A．removed | B．promoted | C．guiding | D．excessive |
| A．In order to meet the demands of government for cultivating all-rounded students. |
| B．To make students not fall behind in being admitted to a good university. |
| C．Because PE and art are more important for students compared to other subjects. |
| D．Because a healthy body is essential to students’ growth. |
| A．Parents do not think the reform will have a big impact on their children. |
| B．The change of examination is an inappropriate way to improve students’ fitness. |
| C．The scores of PE will be higher than art in the future examinations. |
| D．As is often the case, teachers give higher PE grades to hard-working students. |
| A．Good times produce weak children. | B．A new trend in “zhongkao”. |
| C．Health is the most important for children. | D．Fewer exams, less stress. |
