It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an

education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark is important.

Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or on the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole universe of informal learning. The agents of education can range from a revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio, from a child to a distinguished scientist. Whereas schooling has certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People are engaged in education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one’s entire life.

Schooling, on the other hand, is specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

16. What is the main idea of the passage ？

A、The best schools teach a wide variety of subjects.

B、Education and schooling are quite different experiences.

C、Students benefit from schools, which require long hours and homework.

D、The more years students go to school the better their education is.

17. What does the author probably mean by using the expression “Children interrupt their education to go to school”(Sent. 2, Para. 1) ？

A、Going to several different schools is educationally beneficial.

B、School vacations interrupt the continuity of the school year.

C、Summer school makes the school year too long.

D、All of life is an education.

18. The phrase “For example,” (Sent. 4, Para. 3), introduces a sentence that gives examples of ______.

A、similar textbooks

B、the results of schooling

C、 the workings of a government

D、the boundaries of classroom subject

19. The passage supports which of the following conclusions ？

A、Without formal education, people would remain ignorant.

B、Education systems need to be radically reformed.

C、Going to school is only part of how people become educated.

D、Education involves many years of professional training.

20. The passage is organized by _______.

A、listing and discussing several educational problems

B、contrasting the meanings of two related words

C、narrating a story about excellent teachers

D、giving examples of different kinds of schools