我国的优质教育资源供不应求，所以学生之间竞争很激烈。为了获得竞争优势，很多家长会让孩子补课，导致学生的负担重而且压力大。为了改变这种情况，政府正在尝试教育改革。
Will education reforms help Chinese students?
by Ben Westcott & Don Giolzetti
Millions of school students have started their long summer vacation this month, but for some the two-month break won't be much of a holiday. Many parents will be sending their children to summer tutoring classes to get ahead in China's heavily competitive, exam-focused education system.
break /breɪk/ n. 休息、间歇
tutor /ˈtjuːtə(r)/ v. 辅导
ahead /əˈhed/ adv. 领先地
competitive /kəmˈpetɪtɪv/ adj. 竞争的
focused /ˈfəʊkəst/ adj. 专注的（exam-focused就是专注于考试的）
The Chinese government says it wants to change that. China's leading government body, the State Council, unveiled a new set of guidelines on July 8 calling for less focus on exams and more consideration of physical, cultural and political education, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
leading /ˈliːdɪŋ/ adj. 最重要的
body /ˈbɒdi/ n. 主体
State Council /ˈkaʊns(ə)l/ 国务院
unveil /ʌnˈveɪl/ v. 公布
guideline /ˈɡaɪdlaɪn/ n. 指导方针
call for 呼吁、要求
focus /ˈfəʊkəs/ n. 关注、聚焦
consideration /kənˌsɪdəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 考虑
physical /ˈfɪzɪk(ə)l/ adj. 身体的
official /əˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 官方的
news agency 新闻社、通讯社
"Under the current exam-oriented education system, Chinese students are overloaded with schoolwork and lack sufficient physical exercise, which has given rise to health problems such as obesity and myopia（近视眼）," Xinhua said.
current /ˈkʌr(ə)nt/ adj. 现在的、目前的
-oriented /ˈɔːrientɪd/ 后缀，意思是“以…为导向的”
overload /ˌəʊvəˈləʊd/ v. 使超负荷、使过载（由load加上表示过度的前缀over-）
schoolwork /ˈskuːlwɜːk/ n. 作业
lack /læk/ v. 缺少、缺乏
sufficient /səˈfɪʃ(ə)nt/ adj. 足够的
give rise to 造成、引起
obesity /əʊˈbiːsəti/ n. 肥胖
While some experts praised the intention of the plan, others felt that tests were too deeply ingrained in the Chinese education system, parents' expectation and even officials' promotions to be downgraded.★ "The whole system for promotions – from teachers, to principals, to local officials – all are closely linked to the public exam results," said Lai Man-hong, an associate professor of education policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "This is a systemic problem."
praise /preɪz/ v. 称赞、赞扬
intention /ɪnˈtenʃ(ə)n/ n. 意图、目的
deeply /ˈdiːpli/ adv. 深深地（由deep加后缀-ly变成副词）
ingrain /ɪnˈɡreɪn/ v. 使扎根、使根深蒂固
expectation /ˌekspekˈteɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 期望（由expect加后缀-ation变成名词）
official /əˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ n. 官员
promotion /prəˈməʊʃ(ə)n/ n. 晋升、升职（由promote加后缀-ion变成名词）
downgrade /daʊnˈɡreɪd/ v. 使…降级、使…重要性降低（由down和grade组成）
★ 这句话的后半句，其主体是too ... to ...结构
principal /ˈprɪnsəp(ə)l/ n. （中小学）校长
closely /ˈkləʊsli/ adv. 紧密地、密切地（由close加后缀-ly变成副词）
link /lɪŋk/ v. 联系
associate /əˈsəʊʃiət/ professor 副教授
policy /ˈpɒləsi/ n. 政策
systemic /sɪˈstemɪk/ adj. 系统的（由system加后缀-ic变成形容词）
Former graduates and education experts said the current system places a huge emphasis on tests, especially the Gaokao and the Zhongkao – the entrance exams for university and secondary school, respectively.
graduate /ˈɡrædʒuət/ n. 毕业生
place emphasis on something 强调某事
entrance exam 入学考试
secondary /ˈsek(ə)ndri/ school （美式英语）高中
respectively /rɪˈspektɪvli/ adv. 分别
Dai Rouya, 23, who recently graduated from a Shanghai university, said secondary school students aren't very interested in any part of their schooling which doesn't directly affect their exam results. "Their parents or the government have already given them a goal, which is the college entrance exam, and that's the only thing that most students care about," she said.
graduate /ˈɡrædʒueɪt/ v. 毕业（注意它做动词和做名词时发音不同）
schooling /ˈskuːlɪŋ/ n. 学校教育
affect /əˈfekt/ v. 影响
college entrance exam 大学入学考试（也就是高考）
Dai said the enormous pressure on students had reached unhealthy levels. "More than half of the students might think that going to better universities actually proves they are better people, which is a problem," she said.
enormous /ɪˈnɔːməs/ adj. 巨大的
pressure /ˈpreʃə(r)/ n. 压力
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、程度
The Chinese government's plan doesn't get rid of the Gaokao or the Zhongkao, but encourages schools to stop using other tests and rankings to determine which students to accept, taking the pressure off pupils.
get rid of 去掉
ranking /ˈrænkɪŋ/ n. 排名
determine /dɪˈtɜːmɪn/ v. 决定、确定
It also calls for parents to stop putting unhealthy pressure on their children to succeed at tests. "Parents must avoid blindly engaging in unnecessary competition and refrain from overburdening their kids with too many extracurricular（课外的） activities," the government document said.
blindly /ˈblaɪndli/ adv. 盲目地（由blind加后缀-ly变成副词）
engage /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/ in 参与
competition /ˌkɒmpəˈtɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 竞赛
refrain /rɪˈfreɪn/ v. 克制
overburden /ˌəʊvəˈbɜːd(ə)n/ v. 使负担过重（由burden加上表示过度的前缀over-）
activity /ækˈtɪvəti/ n. 活动
Dai said there was no space for a more well-rounded education in China's current education system. "Although there may be more arts and crafts and the like, if it's not reflected in the testing system, parents and students' efforts will not be shifted to that aspect, they will still focus on academic studies," she said.
well-rounded 全面发展的
craft /krɑːft/ n. 手工
and the like 等等、诸如此类
reflect /rɪˈflekt/ v. 反映
shift /ʃɪft/ v. 转移
aspect /ˈæspekt/ n. 方面
focus on 专注于、侧重于
academic /ˌækəˈdemɪk/ adj. 学术的、学业的
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