新西兰英语 696 NCEA exams start today

 　　NCEA means National Certificate in Educational Achievement. Level 1 is for Year 11 students, Level 2 for Year 12 and Level 3 is for the final high school year – Year 13.

　　46,000 students in New Zealand sat Level 1 English exams this morning. These are called external assessments². Students have finished internal assessments which are done in class. They will receive their final results in January. The final results will include both internal and external assessments.

　　Students sitting Level 1 are usually 16 years old and have been at high school for three years. This is their first national exam. It is a reading and writing exam, 3 hours long.

　　Vocabulary

　　?achievement – success

　　?external – outside the school; the exams are marked by a group of experts

　　?internal – inside the school; the teacher marks the work

　　?assessment¹ – a test or exam which measures how much a student knows

　　?national exam – the same exam for all students in New Zealand

　　Idiom – to sit an exam (examination)

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句