School education in Britain

In Britain, all children have to go to school between the ages of 5 and 16.

In England and Wales, the s    1     that children should study and the levels of achievement they should reach are required by the National Curriculum (全国统一课程). But it does not apply (适用) in Scotland, where each school decides w    2     subjects it will teach.

At 16 students in England and Wales take GCSE examinations. These examinations are t    3     by students of all levels of ability in all subjects. At 18 some students take A-level e    4    , usually in not more than 3 subjects. It is n    5     to have A-levels in order to go to a university.

In Scotland, h    6    , students take different exams — the SCE examinations. A year later, they can take examinations which are c    7     Highers, and then they can either go straight to a university or s    8     another year at school and take the CSYS. In Scotland, the university system is also d    9     from that in England and Wales. Courses usually last 4 years rather t    10     3 years, and students study a larger number of subjects as part of the degree.

    1    , a fire breaks out because of carelessness.     2    , remember to keep calm.     3     can you jump from the top of a high building, which is dangerous. You may call 119 or 110     4     an emergency and try to take some effective measures before the arrival of rescue workers     5     you get burnt.

Some body language has many different uses. Perhaps the best example is smiling. A smile can   help us get through difficult situations and find friends in a world of strangers.    1     We can use a smile to apologize, to greet someone, to ask for help, or to start a conversation . Experts suggest smiling at yourself in the mirror to make yourself feel happier and stronger. And if we are felling down or lonely,     2     seeing the smiling face of a good friend.

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a quiz with a question: “What is the first name of the woman, who cleans the school?” Surely this was some kind of joke. I     1     (see) the cleaning woman before, but how could I know her name? I handed in my paper,     2     (leave) the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. “Absolutely.” said the professor. “You're likely     3     (meet) many people. They all deserve your attention and care.”

I've never forgotten that lesson.

The other day I was showing the boys the weekly chemistry experiment when, before I knew it, the mixture was bubbling over everywhere! The boys who had never come across anything like this before started jumping out of the windows. Sometimes I wonder     1    , most of whom will be going back to their villages after Year 8 anyway. To be honest, I doubt     2    .

Xie Lei lives with a host family who give her lots of good advice. Although some foreign students live in student accommodation or apartments,     3    . Living with host families, in which there may be other college students, gives her the chance to learn more about a new culture. “When I hear an idiom that I don’t understand, I can ask my host family for help ,” explains Xie Lei. “Also, when I miss my family,     4     .”