Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.
In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all whether rich or poor, clever or stupid — one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough; we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degree;they refuse to do what they think “low” work; and, in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases in our towns…
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability and, secondly, that we can realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.
1. The writer of the passage thinks that _______.
A. education can settle most of the world’s problems B. free education for all probably leads to a perfect world
C. free education won’t help to solve problems D. all the social problems can’t be solved by education
2. The writer wants to prove that _______.
A. our society needs all kinds of jobs B. our society needs free education for all
C. a farmer is more important than a professor D. work with hands is the most important
3. The purpose of education is _______.
A. to choose officials for the country B. to prepare children mainly for their future work
C. to let everyone receive education fit for him D. to build a perfect world
4. The passage tells us about _______ of the education.
A. the means B. the system C. the value D. the type
【答案与解析】本文为论说文。作者认为教育不是目的，而是达到目的的一种手段而已。
1. D。细节题。文中说：it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. 但作者对这种说法提出了质疑(But we can already see…)，故D最佳。
2. A。推断题。根据we can live without education, but we die if we have no food.，我们可以推断出来，我们的社会需要各种各样的工作。
3. B。推断题。根据In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life 可知B为最佳答案。
4. C。推断题。根据文章第1段最后一句Our purpose is to fit them for life 以及 Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society 可知，短文主要是讲教育的价值问题。
