阅读理解。

     Holidays are really important. Many of us will have childhood memories of summer holidays where

we were taken away from home to experience new environments and learn in different ways.

     But holidays are expensive and, for those on low wages or living on benefits,they are often

unobtainable. Even the cheapest holidays require travel and other additional costs that are difficult for

many families to meet.

     For working parents,the long summer break can be a very difficult problem for childcare. When an

annual leave allowance amounts to only five weeks,there is a need to spread this across the year.

Couples can find themselves taking leave in turn in order to care for children who are on holiday. For

some,this makes even an affordable family holiday difficult.

     The schools that I visit in Nottingham are full of experienced staff committed to giving our children a

caring and inspiring learning environment. The number of children receiving free school meals is quite large

in Nottingham and many schools have breakfast clubs to make sure that children get a healthy start to the

day. Most schools undertake programs of group or individual educational support. Schools also have an

important role in safeguarding children、 welfare through the ongoing touch and support with their pupils. During the long summer holidays,much of this is missed.

     While teachers are holidaying in the UK, many of their pupils spend the whole six weeks on the street where they live. The lack of free school meals for six weeks can result in pressure on a family budget and

an inability to afford the inspiring experiences that help children to continue their learning.

     In setting out its plans for a five-term year, Nottingham City Council (委员会) is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to four and a half weeks, with a. more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks,

each followed by a two-week break. We believe this will give real "down time" for school staff and pupils alike but will be short enough not to cause a real break in learning.

     We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff, particularly whose own

children are educated in other authorities. However, this must be weighed against the benefits for city

children for whom we all have the greatest duty of care.

1.The passage is probably written by _____.

A. an experienced teacher

B. a working parent

C. an inspired student

D. a city council member

2.The underlined word "they" in the second paragraph refers to "____".

A. environments

B. holidays

C. wages

D. benefits

3. It is suggested in the passage that the summer break be reduced to _____.

A. 2 weeks

B. 4.5 weeks

C. 5 weeks

D. 6 weeks

4.The plans for a shorter summer holiday will help students _____.

A. obtain the cheapest holidays without additional costs

B. get a chance to spend, six weeks a term with teachers in school

C. benefit more from the caring and inspiring learning environment

D. have more school days to receive free school meals

5.It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A. working parents can enjoy a five-week break to care for their children

B. the suggested plans for a five-term school year can hardly be carried out

C. the long summer holiday gives teachers and students real " down time"

D. some school staff will say " No" to the plans for a shorter summer holiday