Back in 2008, when local residents and organizers began planning a teen center, they couldn’t know that as it neared completion in 2013, the $190,000 in funding necessary to run the center and have actual programs might not be available.
When Liz Derias, from Oakland’s Leadership Excellence, led a group of West Oakland youth in the design of a community center for youth and by youth, the mission was clear: to serve and protect youth primarily in West Oakland, regardless of their backgrounds, through personal development, education, job training and the arts.
Ideas came up in 2003 by Nadel after a visit to McClymonds High School. The city had stopped investing in that part of Oakland, and McClymonds’ students started talking about what they wanted in their community.
By the time Derias and West Oakland youth began developing their survey, the focus was right on programs and architectural design. The results of the survey were promising, and opening the center met West Oakland community’s needs. With nearly 80 percent of the 108 surveyed unemployed, job training became the focus of the center’s programs. Computer labs, classrooms, offices, a stage and a kitchen were included in the building’s design to provide a wide variety of job training possibilities designed for West Oakland’s youth.
They even recommended the church’s former parking lot be converted to a covered seating area because a majority of respondents indicated they would walk or take the bus to the center, making a parking lot unnecessary.
But although construction of the youth center is set for completion this summer, money needed to pay for the programs and the staff, estimated at $190,000 for the first year by a city report, has not been provided.
Now, without public funding, community organizations, including Attitudinal Healing Connection who helped to host the 2009 survey and Hands Helping Hands, continue to search for possibilities that would create a bridge between the youth center, other community organizations and opportunities for education.
Derrick Bulls, executive director of Hands Helping Hands, said, “We’re looking at Laney College’s Gateway to College program as well as combining General Educational Development courses and job training with counseling and support.”
And despite the funding challenge, McElhaney’s office plans to organize a grand opening ceremony if and when funding is available.
“We’re excited to have a new building that has exciting service for youth,” she said. “But it will go unfinished as long as program funding is unavailable.”
With the final vote on the city’s budget set for the end of June, public funding for the center is still possible, but not likely due to limited resources and a number of funding requests, leaving open the possibility of a beautiful but empty youth center waiting for funds.
Yet regardless of the uncertainty of the youth center’s future, former councilwoman Nadel is still holding out hope that the center’s mission will complete. She said, “It’s a problem of the way our society doesn’t fund things properly. The city hasn’t made a mistake. The city has found a need and gone little by little to meet that need, but that doesn’t mean money can’t be obtained.”
1. The teenagers in the West Oakland youth center will .
A. be treated equally B. make great efforts
C. donate more money
D. try to get more support
2. The idea of setting up a youth center first received great support from .
A. McClymonds High School
B. Oakland’s local government
C. West Oakland community
D. Oakland’s Leadership Excellence
3. It can be inferred that Oakland’s youth center may probably fight a way out by .
A. seeking support from the government
B. purchasing more land from church
C. organizing an opening ceremony
D. strengthening outer cooperation
4. The underlined word “converted” in Paragraph 5 can be best replaced by “ ”.
A. moved B. changed
C. compared D. supplied
5. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. Youth Center — Exciting Service for Youth
B. A Funding Challenge for Youth Center
C. Youth Center’s Mission Is Falling
D. A Great Relief to Youth Center
ACDBB
政治经济类文章的概念:
要做好这类阅读,平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事,掌握一定背景知识,对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解,还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章,要抓住文章的核心,即文章整体和各段主要在说什么,也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题:
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁,语言鲜活,但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多,长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容,读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉,经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花,文章看完,一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨,同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章,我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式,我们可采取“顺读法”,以便抓关键语句,领会文章主旨;而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式,我们则可以采取“逆读法”,先读试题,再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急,因为你觉得难,其他人也一定是同感。在高考前,我们就要有这种心理准备,高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过,我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读,以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干:
根据英语中五种基本句型结构,把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来,其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干,句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句:
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句,在理解时,如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解,然后把大意拼凑起来,整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句:
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成,句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词,只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系,再把各层分句的意思加以连贯,整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词:
如果一个句子看完,一点句意的感觉也没有,下下策就是抓住句中的关键词,通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
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