Tutoring a New Normal

补课成为新常态

It's not piano lessons or dance classes. Nowadays, the biggest extracurricular activity in the West is going to a tutor. “I spend about 800 [Canadian] dollars a month on tutors. It’s costly,” says Pat, a mother in Canada. However, she adds,“After finding out half my daughter’s class had tutors, I felt like my child was going to fall behind because everyone else seemed to be ahead.”

Shelley, a mother of three, also has tutors constantly coming in and out of her home.“When I used to sit down with my children, it was hard to get them focused. I was always yelling. When I got a tutor once a week, they became focused for one entire hour and could get most of their homework done.”

Tutoring isn’t simply a private school phenomenon. Nor is it geared only toward lower-achieving students. In Canada alone, seven percent of high school students reported using a tutor in 2010. That increased to 15 percent in five years.

Overall, parents hire tutors because they are worried that schools are not meeting their expectations, but there is also a cultural shift. A special value is placed on education in Asia, where tutoring is viewed as an extension of the school day. With a large number of Asians emigrating（移民）to the West in recent years, their attitudes towards education have had an impact.

Another reason for the growth in business is parental frustration and their packed schedules.“A lot of parents just don’t have time to help their children with homework,” says Julie Diamond, president of an American tutoring company. “Others couldn’t help their children after Grade Three. ”

There has been a shift in the attitudes, too. “Children used to get bullied （欺侮）for having a tutor，” Diamond says.“Now it’s becoming the norm to have one.”

Children themselves don’t seem to mind that they have a tutor. One parent feels surprised that so many of her child’s classmates have tutors. “For the amount we pay in tuition, they should have as much extra help as they need,”she says. Still, she’s now thinking of getting a tutor. Why? Her daughter has actually asked for one.

（节选自MACLEANS）

1. The tutoring business in the West has seen growth in recent years because_______.

①immigrants from Asia have had an impact on people’s attitudes toward tutoring

②a lot of parents are too occupied to help their children with homework

③children no longer get bullied for getting extra help from a tutor

④many schools cannot offer as much extra help as their students need

A. ①②③ B. ①②④ C.①③④ D.②③④

2. Between 2010 and 2015 in Canada, the number of high school students using a tutor grew by_______.

A. seven percent B. eight percent

C. ten percent D. fifteen percent

3. Shelley decided to equip her children with a tutor because cause_________.

A. her children’s school was not meeting her expectations

B. over half of her children’s classmates had tutors

C. her children’s homework was too difficult for her

D. she had a hard time getting her children focused

4. According to the article, which of the following statements is true?

A. Pat got a tutor because she couldn’t help her child with homework.

B. Shelley spends about 800 Canadian dollars on tutors every month.

C. Most students who use a tutor have poor scores at school.

D. Asians usually place more emphasis on education than Westerners.

词汇：

constantly adv. all the time, very often持续不断地，经常地

phenomenon n. a fact, event, type of behavior, etc. that exists and can be experienced by the senses, especially one that is unusual现象

extension n. the act of extending or being extended延伸,扩展

frustration n. the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals懊恼，沮丧

语法：

When I got a tutor once a week, they became focused for one entire hour and could get most of their homework done.”

本句中的done是过去分词作宾语补足语，此时宾语most of their homework与宾语补足语done在逻辑上是被动关系。该结构通常用语感官动词和使役动词中。

答案：1.A 2.B 3.D 4.D

2020年高考英语外刊时事做阅读理解：补课成为新常态 Tutoring a New Normal包