题目内容
Only about half of this year’s high school graduates have the reading skills they need to succeed in college, and even fewer are prepared for college-level science and math courses, according to a yearly report from ACT, which produces one of the nation’s leading college admissions tests.
The report, based on scores of the 2005 high school graduates who took the exam, some 1.2 million students in all, also found that fewer than one in four met the college-readiness benchmarks① in all four subjects tested: reading comprehension, English, math and science.
ACT sets its college-readiness benchmarks — including the reading comprehension benchmark, which is new this year—by correlating② earlier students’ ACT scores with grades they actually received as college freshmen. Based on that data, the benchmarks indicate the skill level at which a student has a 70 percent likelihood③ of earning a C or better, and a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better.
Among those who took the 2005 test, only 51 percent achieved the benchmark in reading, 26 percent in science, and 41 percent in math; the figure for English was 68 percent. Results from the new optional ACT writing test, which was not widely taken this year, were not included in the report.
About 40 percent of the nation’s 2005 high school graduates took the ACT, and the average overall score was unchanged from the year before. Minority students make up 27 percent of all ACT test takers. Besides, there are also other worrying trends in the ACT report as well, including a continuing decline in the percentage of students planning to major in engineering, computer science and education.
Notes:
① benchmark n. 基准
② correlate v. 联系
③ likelihood n. 可能性
1. The report from ACT mainly tells readers the problem that ______.
A. few minority students graduates took ACT
B. many who intend to go to college are not ready
C. the college-readiness benchmarks is high this year
D. the tests for some subjects are too difficult
2. According to the benchmarks in 2005, about how many students will not earn C?
A. 30 percent. B. 70 percent. C. 50 percent. D. 26 percent.
3. Which of the following pictures can correctly show the numbers of the students who achieve the benchmark in different subjects?
A. 
B.
C.
D. 
4. Which of the followings can be found in the report from ACT in 2005?
A. The report about the writing test is very objective.
B. More boy students are not good at science and math.
C. The percentage of students majoring science declined.
D. The average score of 2005 ACT participants changed greatly.
BADC
解析:
1. B 本篇文章主要是说美国的高中生的毕业生所参加的ACT考试成绩不理想，上大学的分数低，B说的就是该意思。
2. A 由文章第三段最后一句可知。
3. D 由文章的第四段可知。
4. C 由文章的最后一段可知。
The writer Margaret Mitchell is best known for writing Gone with the Wind, first published in 1936. Her book and the movie based on it, tell a story of love and survival during the American Civil War. Visitors to the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, Georgia, can go where she lived when she started composing the story and learn more about her life.
Our first stop at the Margaret Mitchell House is an exhibit area telling about the writer’s life. She was born in Atlanta in 1900. She started writing stories when she was a child. She started working as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal newspaper in 1922. One photograph of Ms. Mitchell, called Peggy, shows her talking to a group of young college boys. She was only about one and a half meters tall. The young men tower over her, but she seems very happy and sure of herself. The tour guide explains: “Now in this picture Peggy is interviewing some boys from Georgia Tech, asking them such questions as ‘Would you really marry a woman who works?’ And today it’d be ‘Would you marry one who doesn’t?’ ”
The Margaret Mitchell House is a building that once contained several apartments. Now we enter the first floor apartment where Ms. Mitchell lived with her husband, John Marsh. They made fun of the small apartment by calling it “The Dump ” .
Around 1926, Margaret Mitchell had stopped working as a reporter and was at home healing after an injury. Her husband brought her books to read from the library. She read so many books that he bought her a typewriter and said it was time for her to write her own book. Our guide says Gone with the Wind became a huge success. Margaret Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for the book. In 1939 the film version was released. It won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
【小题1】The book Gone with the Wind was _________.
| A．first published on a newspaper |
| B．awarded ten Academy Awards |
| C．written in “The Dump” |
| D．adapted from a movie |
| A．be very pleased with |
| B．show great respect for |
| C．be much taller than |
| D．show little interest in |
| A．Because she was rich enough. |
| B．Because she was injured then. |
| C．Because her husband didn’t like it. |
| D．Because she wanted to write books. |
| A．her height made her marriage unhappy |
| B．her interest in writing continued as an adult |
| C．writing stopped her working as a reporter |
| D．her life was full of hardship and sadness |
| A．A Trip to Know Margaret Mitchell. |
| B． Gone with the Wind: A Huge Success. |
| C．An Introduction of the Margaret Mitchell House. |
| D．Margaret Mitchell: A Great Female Writer. |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced trends in fruit and vegetable consumption(食用) among adults. Since 2000, the CDC has made efforts with goals of getting 75% of Americans to eat two or more servings of fruit a day and 50% of Americans to eat three or more servings of vegetables a day. Unfortunately, Americans aren’t meeting these modest targets.
Although a diet high in fruit and vegetables can reduce the risk of many diseases, Americans just aren’t getting enough. In fact, since 2000, the amount of vegetables Americans are eating has stayed the same and the amount of fruit Americans are eating has gone down. The CDC also finds that only about a third of adults are eating their expected servings of fruit, and just over a quarter of adults are eating their expected servings of vegetables.
So why aren’t Americans getting their expected servings of fruit and vegetables? It turns out that Americans might be spoiled when it comes to their produce. A national survey conducted by Fruit2day reveals that nearly half of Americans leave fruit in their fridges until it rots with people in Boston among the worst and those in New York and Los Angeles among the best. Sadly, most Americans admit to leaving fruit in the fridge for more than a week.
There are many reasons why Americans don’t eat their fruit or vegetables, including the inconvenience of having to wash or peel it. Fruit2day offers consumers a surprising and convenient way to enjoy the goodness of fruit.
“With no added sugar, natural juices and two full servings of fruit, our Fruit2day line has really captured the imaginations of health-conscious consumers who are actively looking to get more fruit in their diets,” said Hanno Holm, president and chief executive officer of Hero-White Wave. “Fruit2day makes getting more fruit in one’s diet easier for any daily snack routine.”
【小题1】For 4 million American adults, how many of them are eating two or more servings of fruit a day?
| A．About 1.3 million. | B．About 2 million. | C．About 3 million. | D．About 1 million. |
| A．Americans have been eating fewer vegetables since 2000. |
| B．most Americans eat less fruit to reduce the risk of diseases. |
| C．most Americans prefer fruit to vegetables. |
| D．over 25% of adults are eating three or more daily servings of vegetables. |
| A．In Boston. | B．In New York. | C．In Los Angeles. | D．Not mentioned. |
| A．easily get rid of their bad eating habits |
| B．conveniently have more fruit in their diets |
| C．add sugar and natural juices to their diets |
| D．find another excuse for not eating healthily |
| A．they are relatively forgetful |
| B．they are too busy with their work |
| C．they don’t think it convenient to eat them |
| D．they prefer daily snacks with added sugar |
The Healthy Habits Survey（调查）shows that only about one third of American seniors have correct habits. Here are some findings and expert advice.
1. How many times did you brush your teeth yesterday?
·Finding：A full 33% of seniors brush their teeth only once a day.
·Step：Remove the 300 types of bacteria in your mouth each morning with a battery-operated toothbrush. Brush gently for 2 minutes, at least twice a day.
2. How many times did you wash your hands or bathe yesterday?
·Finding：Seniors, on average, bathe fewer than 3 days a week. And nearly 30%wash their hands only 4 times a day-half of the number doctors recommend.
·Step：We touch our faces around 3, 000 times a day-often inviting germs（病菌）to enter our mouth, nose, and eyes. Use toilet paper to avoid touching the door handle. And, most important, wash your hands often with hot running water and soap for 20 seconds.
3. How often do you think about fighting germs?
·Finding：Seniors are not fighting germs as well as they should.
·Step：Be aware of germs. Do you know it is not your toilet but your kitchen sponge（海绵）that can carry more germs than anything else? To kill these germs, keep your sponge in the microwave for 10 seconds.
【小题1】What is found out American seniors?
| A．Most of then have good habits. |
| B．Nearly 30%of then bathe three days a week. |
| C．All of then are fighting germs better than expected. |
| D．About one third of them brush their teeth only once a day |
| A．twice a day | B．three times a day |
| C．four times a day | D．eight times a day |
| A．We should keep from touching our faces. |
| B．There are less than 300 types of bacteria in the mouth. |
| C．A kitchen sponge can carry more germs than a toilet. |
| D．We should wash our hands before touching a door handle. |
| A．a guide book | B．a popular magazine |
| C．a book review | D．an official document |
British society is considered to be divided into three main groups of classes－the upper class，the middle class．and the lower or working class．This is known as the class system and it is important
to know something about it if you mean to understand British people and society．Most British people grow up with a deep knowledge and understanding of the class system even if they are not very conscious（意识到的）of it．As a result，more people know which class they belong to and are able to tell which class other people come from by the way t
hey speak，the kind of clothes they wear，their interests and hobbies or even the type of food they eat．
Social class is not only about behavior and attitudes．For example，although many upper class people are rich and may own a lot of land，having a lot of money does not necessarily make a person one member of the upper class．It is also important to come from a particular kind of family，have friends who are considered suitable，have been to a certain type of private school and speak with the right kind of accent．There are people who are poor but who do not think of themselves as working class because their family background，education，political opinions，etc．are basically different from those of most working－class people．Many people do not like the class system but it is impossible to pretend that these differences do not exist or that British people do not sometimes form opinions in this way．
【小题1】The idea of the class system in Britain __________．
| A．exists only in the mind of foreigners | B．is deeply rooted in the British people |
| C．is now under attack | D．is regarded as a long custom |
| A．he belongs to the middle class |
| B．he must be a member of the upper class |
| C．he is not likely to be from the upper class |
| D．he may buy an upper class title with money |
| A．Many rich people do not belong to the upper class． |
| B．Today many British people do not like the class system． |
| C．Many poor people do not consider themselves a lower class． |
| D．An Englishman’S social class is determined by many factors． |
| A．An Unequal Society | B．Social Class in Britain |
| C．British People and Society | D．Information about Britain |