SECTION B INTERVIEW Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the interview. 听力原文：STARNES: Well, Secretary, thank you very much for spending some time with us this afternoon. SECRETARY: Oh, you're quite welcome. Thank you for all the interest. STARNES: Well, Secretary, we'd like talk about the state of education in America. So I guess we—let's start off just by—just giving us your general impression of the state of education in America. SECRETARY: I think our educational system is underperforming and leaving large numbers of children behind, especially minority children, inner-city children, and some rural children. Some of it tracks along the lines of our family structures, especially those families that have some vulnerabilities or weaknesses so that education for that child is, I think, concurrently weakened as well. And we need to find a way. And I think we have found a way to make sure that none of these children are left behind either. And the President's vision for that is called 'No Child Left Behind.' And that bill passed the Congress and was signed last year. We're one year into it now and I think that it is going to be a savior for a lot of kids who are otherwise left behind. STARNES: Secretary, we've seen a number of parents pulling their children out of public schools and home-schooling them or sending them to private schools. Can you see any justification on why they're doing that? SECRETARY: Absolutely. No child should be tied to a school that's failing them. It is one of the, I think, most grievous sins that we have in the United States as far as school is concerned, that is insisting that a child attends a school that's failing them. A child should be free to—a parent should be free to select a school that best meets that child's needs, whether it's private or whether it's public or whether it's a eyber-sehool or whether it's home schooling or whatever. There will be a complex matrix of educational delivery systems, which includes all these different delivery systems. And private schools have a wonderful track record. There's a vast body of research from the University of Chicago and elsewhere that indicate that private schools offer a high-quality education to some low-income students in inner-city settings. So it's a wonderful part of our educational system. STARNES: But why do you think adversaries of the Administration are against letting students go to these types of schools? SECRETARY: Well, I think most people in this Administration would be absolutely for parents having wide options and choices to make decisions for their child's school site. The politics of it is what interferes With it. And we need the kind of political support in order to get that accomplished through the federal system that we operate in. I don't think it's that we don't want to have that. We do want to have it. STARNES: How would you respond to the complaint the President was too religious? And even the Democrats have said that he has too much religion or religiosity. What would you say to those critics? SECRETARY: I would offer them my prayers. STARNES: As the leader of the nation's education system, how do you maintain—how do you not let it all get to you? It's a huge responsibility you have. SECRETARY: Well, I think faith is a good response to that. But I don't think my job is to solve all education problems in the world. My job is to work towards the right solutions and make sure I conduct myself properly. It's kind of like the battle's never won, only fought well. STARNES: Uh-huh. What do you see as the greatest challenges facing the education system coming up in the next years? SECRETARY: I think it is getting the idea ac