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Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their
middle-class peers (同龄人), the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today.
The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours
and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers' annual conference.
Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could
afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons.
He told delegates (代表) in Manchester:"For children who come from homes where parents don't have
the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children
in the learning environment, in school, for longer."
"Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in
the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives," he said. He held up the example of Kipp (Knowledge is
Power Program) schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7:30 am
to 5 pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays.
But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added.
Parents said Saturday classes could become a "badge of dishonor" if pupils were forced to go, while
teachers raised concerns about their workload.
Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said:"I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one
teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children's performance. I'm just
not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week."
The ATL's general secretary, Mary Bousted, said:"If we want Saturday schools, then we need more
teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer."
1. The program is intended for children _____.[ ]
A. who are from middle-class families
B. whose parents can't afford extra help
C. who perform poorly academically
D. whose weekends are mostly unoccupied
2. "Additional stretch" in Paragraph 4 probably refers to _____. [ ]
A. music lessons
B. physical relaxation
C. entertainment activities
D. out-of-school improvement
3. Why did Gove mention Kipp schools in the US?[ ]
A. To make a comparison.
B. To introduce a new program.
C. To seek supportive evidence.
D. To prove his program is better.
4. What is Margaret Morrissey's opinion about the new program? [ ]
A. Favourable.
B. Doubtful.
C. Optimistic.
D. Acceptable.
5. Which of the following is true? [ ]
A. Teachers may not like the program.
B. Schools are trying to make profits.
C. The program is already under way.
D. The program is popular with children.