A
Washington — Wild applause broke out at the Parent Teacher Association national offices early this morning when several governmental spokespeople announced a decision to return the subject of civics (公民学) to high school curricula nationwide.
The decision is symbolic of the new agenda to restore the United States Constitution to its preBushera status. In a joint statement, Senators Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, and Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, said that the decision proves the two parties can work together on an issue of great national importance.
The announcement came following a series of school strikes organized by parents angered by a recent study by the National Opinion Research Center. The findings showed a total ignorance of government structure and citizens' rights by graduating high school seniors.
Some of the fallacious opinions and beliefs mentioned in this crosscountry study included: the president has the power to interpret treaties (条约); the president is not bound (约束) by law; the vice president is independent of all three branches of government; torture (刑讯) is not a punishment and therefore cannot be considered “cruel and unusual”．
The study noted that many students' political consciousness dated back only three years — in other words, their awareness of constitutional rights had been entirely formed during the Bush administration.
The study also found that students were growing incapable of telling the differences between living figures, historical figures, and corporatelicensed figures such as cartoon characters.
The revived civics courses will teach students about the structure and function of each branch of government, the theory of checks and balances, theories of the role of government, and of the role of the public in government, and constitutional law.
“We have so much work in front of us，” said Los Angeles area high school teacher Roberta Morales. “Trying to develop students' sense of citizenry and the public good and undo so many selfcentered individualistic messages will take great effort.”
语篇解读：本文是说明文。美国通过一项决议，学校恢复公民学课程。
21．What were those at the Parent Teacher Association national offices applauding?
A．The return of a subject.
B．The popularity of civics.
C．The increase of public awareness.
D．The arrival of several spokespeople.
解析：选A 细节理解题。由第一段中的“to return the subject of civics to high school curricula nationwide”可知，大家鼓掌是因为公民学即将回归中学课程。
22．What happened before the announcement?
A．Teachers went out on strike.
B．A study was interrupted by parents.
C．Citizens were losing some of their rights.
D．How the government works confused many students.
解析：选D 细节理解题。由第三段中的内容可知，在宣布这项法令之前，家长们罢校，因为一项研究表明高中毕业生完全不清楚政府构成和公民权利。
23．What does the underlined word “fallacious” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A．False. B．Strong.
C．Personal. D．Honest.
解析：选A 词义猜测题。由上一段中的“a total ignorance of government structure and citizens' rights”以及下文的具体例子可知，这里是说“错误的”观点。
24．How does Roberta Morales probably feel according to the last paragraph?
A．Depressed. B．Stressed.
C．Determined. D．Confident.
解析：选B 推理判断题。由末段中的“will take great effort”可知，Roberta Morales感到压力很大。
