阅读辅导1.docVIP

阅读辅导1 Text 1 　　Rowena and Billy Wrangler are model high school students. They study hard and do extremely well on achievement tests. And next year, Rowena will be attending Harvard University. Billy, her younger brother, hopes to go to Cornell. What makes Rowena and Billy different from most students is that they dont go to school. In fact, theyve never been to school. Since kindergarten, theyve studied at home. Neither Rowena nor Billy feels as if theyve missed out on anything by being taught 　　at home. Like many of more than one million people who receive home schooling in the United States, they feel as if theyve gotten a good education. 　　The home-schooling trend began in the U.S. in the 1980s with parents keeping their children out of public schools so they could provide religious education at home. Today, as the home-schooling trend continues to grow, parents are more likely to consider home schooling as an option because they believe schools dont do a very good job of teaching and are occasionally dangerous places. But can parents really do a better job? 　　The answer in many cases is yes. In many studies, students taught at home ranked average or above average when compared to students who went to public schools. More importantly, these students were often more self-directedand have a greater depth of knowledge. They are very well prepared for academic challenges, says Patricia Riordan, the dean of admissions at George Mason University. 　　One such student, Robert Conrad, now a sophomore at university, claims he really learned how to study and schedule his time during his eight years of home schooling. Still, not every student is as successful as Robert. 　　For every home-schooling success story, there are an equal number of failures, states Henry Lipscomb, an educational researcher. There are just so many disadvantages that students taught at home have to overcome. For example, they have fewer chances to interact with others of their own age. Consequently, th