While serving in the Massachusetts legislature, he signed an historic
education bill that set up a state board of education. Without regret, he gave
up his successful legal practice and political career to
become the first
secretary of the board. There he exercised an
enormous influence during the critical period of reconstruction that brought
into existence the American graded elementary school as a substitute for the
older district school system. Under his leadership, the curriculum was restructured,
the school year was increased to a minimum of six months, and mandatory
schooling was extended to age sixteen. Other important reforms that came into
existence under Mann’s guidance included the establishment of state normal
schools for teacher training, institutes for in service teacher education, and
lyceums for adult education. He was also instrumental in improving salaries for
teachers and creating school libraries.
Mann’s ideas about school reform were developed and distributed in the
twelve annual reports to the state of Massachusetts that he wrote during his
tenure as secretary of education. Considered quite radical at the time, the
Massachusetts reforms later served as a model for the nation’s educational
system. Mann was formally recognized as the father of public education.
During his lifetime, Horace Mann worked tirelessly to extend educational
opportunities to agrarian families and the children of poor laborers. In one of
his last speeches he summed up his philosophy of education and life: “Be ashamed to die until you have won
some victory for humanity.” Surely, his own life was an example of that
philosophy.
Perhaps it was his own lack of adequate schooling that
inspired Horace Mann to work so hard to accomplish the important reforms in
education that he advocated.
1. Which of the following titles would best express
the
main topic of
the passage?
A. The Father
of American Public Education
B. Philosophy
of Education
C. The
Massachusetts State Board of Education
D. Politics of
Educational Institutions
2. Why does the author mention
Horace Mann’s early life?
A. As an
example of the importance of an early education for success
B. To make
the biography more complete
C.
Because it served as the inspiration for his later work in education
D. In tribute to
the teachers who helped him succeed
3. The word struggles in
paragraph 1 could best be replaced by
A. valuable
experiences
B. happy
situations
C. influential
people
D.
difficult times
4. The word there
refers to
A. the Massachusetts legislature
B.
the state board of education
C. Mann’s
legal practice
D. his
political career
5. The word mandatory
in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A.
required
B. equal
C. excellent
D. basic
6. With which of the following statements would the
author most probably agree?
A.
Horace Mann’s influence on American education was very great
B. A small but important influence on American
education was exerted
by Horace
Mann
C. Few educators fully understood Horace Mann’s influence on American
education
D. The influence on American education by Horace
Mann was not
accepted
or appreciated
7. Horace Mann advocated all of the following EXCEPT
A. a state board of education
B. a
district school system
C. classes for
adult
D. graded elementary schools
8. The
reforms that Horace Mann achieved
A. were not very radical for the time
B. were used only by the state of Massachusetts
C.
were later adopted by the nation as a model
D. were enforced by the Massachusetts bar
9.
With which of the following statements would
Horace
Mann most probably agree?
A. Think in new ways
B.
Help others
C. Study as
much as possible
D. Work hard
Problem 132
No longer answers the question, when?
S V (auxiliary) no longer V (main)
I can no longer see without my glasses.
Avoid using not and none instead of no.
Examples
Correct : We can no
longer tolerate living with
Terry.
Correct : Brad no longer works here.
Correct : Since she talked with her adviser, she is no longer interested in majoring in political
science.
Correct : The person you are trying to reach is no longer at this telephone number.
Correct : Although they used to write each other every
day, they are no longer exchanging letters.
Problem 133
Remember that a quantity of time may be several days – a month, two years, etc. A specific time may be Wednesday, July, 1960, etc. You will notice that the structure HAVE and a participle is often used with adverbs of duration.
S HAVE participle for quantity of time
She has been in the U.S. for six months
S HAVE participle since specific time
She has been in the U.S. since June
Avoid using for before specific times. Avoid using before after HAVE and a participle.
Example :
Correct : Mary has been on a diet for three weeks.
Correct : She has been living here since April.
Correct : We haven’t seen him for almost a year.
Correct : We have known each other since 1974.
Correct : He has studied English for five years.
Problem 134
the ordinal number of month
Valentine’s Day is on the fourteenth of February.
O month ordinal number
Valentine’s Day is on February fourteenth
Avoid using a cardinal number instead of an ordinal number.
Examples
Remember that there is an
expected pattern for dates of the month. Dates answer the question when?the ordinal number of month
Valentine’s Day is on the fourteenth of February.
O month ordinal number
Valentine’s Day is on February fourteenth
Avoid using a cardinal number instead of an ordinal number.
Examples
Correct : School starts on the sixteenth
of september this year.
or
School starts on september sixtent this year.
Correct : Her birthday is the second of
december
or
Her birthday is december second
Correct : Please change my reservation to the tenth of november
or
Please change my reservation to november tenth
Correct : Independence Day in the United States is the forth of july
or
Independence Day in the United States is july forth
Problem 135
as high as
The price of a haircut runs as high as fifty dollars.
as soon as
S will Verb word when S v (present)
He will go home as soon as he graduates
Avoid using to instead of as. Avoid using will and a verb word instead of a present verb after as soon as.
Examples
Correct : I plan to move as soon as I find another apartment.
Correct : Since taxi fare from the airport may run as high as high as twenty dollars , I suggest that you take a limousine.
Correct : She will call you back as soon as she finishes dinner.
Correct : The cost of one day in an average hospital
can run as high as $2000
Correct : Your application will be considered as soon as your file
is complete.
Problem 136
generally
as a whole S V
As a whole the news is correct
completely
S V wholly
The news is wholly correct
Avoid using wholly instead of as a whole at the beginning of a sentence or clause to mean generally. Avoid using as whole instead of as a whole.
Examples
Correct : As
a whole, we are in agreement. (generally)
Correct : The house and all of its contents was wholly consumed by the fire.(completely)
Correct : The teams are not rated equally, but, as a whole , they are evenly matched(generally)
Correct :as a whole, Dan’s operation proved to be successful. (generally)
Correct : as a whole, people try to be helpful to tourists.
(generally)
