Unit 11

UNIT 11 EDUCATION academy n. An academy is a school that provides training in subjects or skills. Lisa is taking piano lessons at a music academy. campus n. A campus is the area and buildings around a school, university, or college. The students enjoy meeting on campus. childhood n. Childhood is the period of time when someone is a child. His childhood dream was to become a famous athlete. course n. A course is a series of classes about a particular subject in a school. They are taking a computer course. crayon n. A crayon is a stick of colored wax that is used for drawing. The little girl is drawing with crayons. difficulty n. A difficulty is something that is not easy to do or to deal with. Chris is having difficulties with his assignment. eraser n. An eraser is a small piece of rubber that is used to remove something you have written or drawn on paper. He is using an eraser to erase his writing. gym n. A gym is a building or room with equipment for doing exercises. The students are playing basketball in the gym. kindergarten n. Kindergarten is a school or class for very young children. Mike is a student in kindergarten. learn v. To learn is to gain knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, and experiencing something. Beth is learning French online.

lecture n. A lecture is a talk given to a group of people to teach them about a subject. The students are taking notes during the lecture. marker n. A marker is a type of pen that makes wide lines. The teacher is writing with a marker. purpose n. A purpose is the reason why something is done or used. The purpose of studying is to gain knowledge. rank v. To rank is to place something or someone in a particular position on a list for reasons such as quality, ability, or size. He is ranked first in the world. student n. A student is a person who is learning at a school. They are second-year medical students. teach v. To teach is to show or explain how to do something. Kathy is teaching math to her class. understand v. To understand is to know why or how something happens or works. I don't understand how to do this homework. university n. A university is a school where students study at a high level to get a degree. She wants to go to university to study biology. vocabulary 7. Vocabulary is all the words in a particular language. I like to make a list of new vocabulary words every week. whiteboard n. A whiteboard is a large board that can be written on with special markers. The professor is drawing a diagram on the whiteboard.

The Gaokao The gaokao is China's university entrance exam. The purpose of this exam is to determine which university a student will go to. Each year, millions of students take the gaokao. The exam takes place over two days, and it is nine hours long. The exam is the key to their future. In China, universities are ranked. Students who get high scores go to good universities, and students who graduate from good universities get good jobs. Good jobs mean a high salary. A high salary means a good life.

In terms of the difficulty level, the gaokao is very hard. Students go to special academies. These academies are known as cram schools. Students attend many lectures. They learn many subjects like English and math. Highly trained instructors teach special gaokao courses. Students study how to get high scores. Now, students start preparing as early as kindergarten.Many say that preparing for the gaokao begins at birth. Instead of coloring with crayons, children are memorizing vocabulary.This means that from childhood, students are under a lot of stress.