Key to Exercise XX

I. Discuss the following questions with your partner and then come up with your answers. 1.How many stages is education in China generally divided into? And what are they? Generally, education in China can be divided into the following stages: 1)Pre-school education for the 3-5 years old children in kindergartens. 2) Primary education for 6-11 years old children. Primary schools are usually run by local educational authorities, and in some cases, by enterprises and individuals.

3)Secondary school provided to 12-17 years old children 3)Secondary school provided to 12-17 years old children. Education of this kind is conducted by local governments and various business authorities are classified as secondary schools or vocational high schools whose graduates hold the same degree studying as graduates senior middle schools and sorts of secondary professional schools whose graduates enjoy some privileges as from colleges. In particular, public secondary schools include junior middle schools and senior middle schools, both for three years of study. Students graduating from junior schools usually go to common senior middle schools, and parts of them go to vocational high schools or secondary professional schools for 3-5 years of studying.

4)Higher education constituted by those for vocational college students, undergraduates, postgraduates and doctorial students. Higher education is performed by universities, colleges, institutes and vocational colleges. These institutions bear the three major tasks of raising courses, doing scientific researches and providing social services.

2.What measures does the government take towards the students from low-income families in terms of higher education? Meanwhile, to ensure that students from low-income families have access to higher education, the government has initiated effective ways of assistance, with policies and measures as scholarships, work-study programs, subsidies for students with special economic difficulties, tuition reduction or exemption and state stipends.

3.What is the Ministry of Education in charge of? The Ministry of Education, with its expanded administrative scope and power, was responsible for formulating guiding principles for education, establishing regulations, planning the progress of educational projects, coordinating the educational programs of different departments, and standardization educational reforms.

4.Why China’s educational reformers attach importance to expanding and improving secondary vocational education? Expanding and improving secondary vocational education has long been an objective of China’s educational reformers, for vocational schools are seen as those which are best placed to address (by providing trained workers) the rising needs of the nation’s expanding economy, especially its manufacturing and industrial sectors. Without an educated and trained work force, China cannot have economic, hence social and national, development.

II. Fill in each of the following blanks with an appropriate word or phrase chosen from the text. 1.Ministry of Education; nine 2.destination; Asia 3.Teachers; Higher Education 4.education; science and technology 5.economic; training 6.computer; lifelong 7.compulsory; backward 8. Key; secondary 9. Zhongkao; Mathematics; PE 10.degree; Masters