School Life and Education Pre-reading Skim the text and choose the best title.

Studying Abroad The Sciences and the Arts High School in the USA

High schools in the USA start when students are in the 9th grade. This means that they are usually 14 or 15 years old. There are high schools in most towns in the USA. High schools often have their own sports teams, bands, flags and mottos. High school students have more freedom than students in junior high or middle school. They can often choose which subjects to study. All high school students must study science, mathematics, English, social science and some physical education. Social science includes history and economics. These are the basic subjects in all schools. The different states sometimes have extra subjects like health education as well as the basic subjects. In addition to these basic subjects, students choose other subjects that they want to study. They are called electives. There are many different types of electives, depending on the school. Here are some examples of electives: computing, athletics, foreign languages, performing arts and visual arts. So students can choose languages like French or Chinese or do performing arts like drama, dance, singing or orchestra. If students are very good at a particular subject, they can often have extra classes called honor classes or gifted classes. Gifted students usually attend these classes in the last two years of high school. They do special examinations when they are eighteen years old. High schools are very proud of their traditions. Students spend many hours doing sports so that they can play for their school teams. Lots of students and parents watch the school teams. Schools often have teams of cheerleaders who support the teams. For people who are not interested in sport, schools sometimes have a band or an orchestra or a drama group.

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School Life and Education Comprehension 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. How old are students who start high school? What are the five basic subjects? What do students study in social science? What are electives? Give three examples of electives. What are performing arts? When do gifted students take special classes? Why do students spend hours doing sports?

Summary skills 1. Match the titles to the paragraphs. Extra activities after school Electives Basic school subjects Special classes for gifted students High schools in the USA

2. Use the titles to write a summary.

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