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School Life and Education

Pre-reading

Skim the text and choose the best title.

Studying Abroad

The Sciences and the Arts

High School in the USA

High schools in the USA start when students are in the 9th grade. This means that they

are usually 14 or 15 years old. There are high schools in most towns in the USA. High

schools often have their own sports teams, bands, flags and mottos. High school students

have more freedom than students in junior high or middle school. They can often choose

which subjects to study.

All high school students must study science, mathematics, English, social science and

some physical education. Social science includes history and economics. These are the

basic subjects in all schools. The different states sometimes have extra subjects like

health education as well as the basic subjects.

In addition to these basic subjects, students choose other subjects that they want to

study. They are called electives. There are many different types of electives, depending

on the school. Here are some examples of electives: computing, athletics, foreign

languages, performing arts and visual arts. So students can choose languages like French

or Chinese or do performing arts like drama, dance, singing or orchestra.

If students are very good at a particular subject, they can often have extra classes called

honor classes or gifted classes. Gifted students usually attend these classes in the last

two years of high school. They do special examinations when they are eighteen years

old.

High schools are very proud of their traditions. Students spend many hours doing sportsso that they can play for their school teams. Lots of students and parents watch the

school teams. Schools often have teams of cheerleaders who support the teams. For

people who are not interested in sport, schools sometimes have a band or an orchestra or

a drama group.

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School Life and Education

Comprehension

1. How old are students who start high school?

2. What are the five basic subjects?

3. What do students study in social science?

4. What are electives?

5. Give three examples of electives.

6. What are performing arts?

7. When do gifted students take special classes?

8. Why do students spend hours doing sports?

Summary skills

1. Match the titles to the paragraphs.

Extra activities after school

Electives

Basic school subjects

Special classes for gifted students

High schools in the USA

2. Use the titles to write a summary.

These materials contain modifiable texts. The Publisher disclaims any responsibility for changes made to the original content.