Mike Maietta was eating lunch when he got a text message from his mom.
“Notre Dame,” it said. “Big envelope!”
Mike, a senior at a Californian high school, shouted with joy. The big envelope meant that the excellent university in Indiana had offered him a place in its Class of 2013. But the $51,300 annual fee is a big trouble. So Mike and his parents are considering offers from several other colleges and are figuring out the costs of tuition, housing and holiday trips home.
This year, money is the driving factor(因素) for a growing number of high school seniors, who have to decide what colleges to attend this fall. Less jobs and house prices have changed family spending.
“We’re excited that Mike got into eight great schools,” said Mike’s father, an engineer at Microsoft. “But if you consider going to school out of state, you’ve got to think about all of the other costs: moving, flying back and forth for the holidays. You’re looking at about $3,000 a year, just for travel.”
As families weigh their choices, some are going back to financial aid offices hoping help packages can be increased.
Rachel Brown was happy to get a thick envelope from New York University (NYU). Although she has always wanted to live in Manhattan, she is seriously considering the University of California San Diego (UCSD), because of the high cost in New York.
“The tuition for NYU is twice as much as UCSD,” said Rachel, 17. “My mom doesn’t want me to have a big debt when I graduate, and I don’t want that either. I’d have to take out a loan of $15,000. I’ll check and see if there’s any way that NYU can offer me any financial aid.”
More than 7.6 million American students have filled out the Free Application for Students Aid, 19.9 percent increase over last year.
This month the Federal Department of Education urged college financial aid officers to give more help to certain families. A record 30,428 students applied for 2,300 places at Stanford, partly because the university increased financial aid for families earning below $10,000.
【小题1】Mike may give up Notre Dame because of ______.

A.travel fees
B.financial concerns
C.poor exam results
D.worries about living far away from home
【小题2】The phrase “Big envelope” in paragraph 2 probably refers to“______”.
A.A text messageB.A large gift package
C.An admission letterD.A scholarship letter
【小题3】What can we learn from the passage?
A.The number of American senior students applying for financial aid is increasing.
B.Rachel Brown has given up NYU because of its high tuition and big debts.
C.It is inevitably hard for college students to borrow money to cover costs.
D.An interest-free loan for students helps more students apply for Stanford.
【小题4】The passage mainly focuses on ______
A.the calculation of different costs including tuition
B.the extremely hard financial situation in America
C.the excitement of students’ being able to enter ideal colleges
D.the financial crisis of families over college entrance

A flock of wild ducks were flying in formation, heading south for the winter. They formed a beautiful V in the sky, and were admired by everyone who saw them from below.

One day, Wally, one of the wild ducks in the formation, spotted something on the ground. It was a barnyard with a flock of _    ducks who lived on the farm. They were waddling around on the ground, quacking merrily and eating _    that was thrown on the ground for them every day. Wally liked what he saw. "It sure would be nice to have some of that corn," he thought to himself. "And all this flying is very tiring. I'd like to just __   around for a while."

So after thinking it over a while, Wally left the formation of wild ducks, made a sharp __  , and   for the barnyard. He landed _    the tame ducks, and began to waddle around and quack    . He also started eating corn. The formation of wild ducks continued their journey South, but Wally didn't care. "I'll __   them when they come back North in a few months," he said to himself.

Several months went by and __  enough, Wally looked up and spotted the flock of wild ducks in formation, heading north. They looked beautiful up there. And Wally was tired of the   . It was muddy and   he waddled, there was nothing but duck doo. "It's time to leave." said Wally.

So Wally _  his wings furiously and tried to get airborne. But he had gained some   from all his corn-eating, and he hadn't exercised his wings much either. He finally    the ground, but he was flying too _    and slammed into the side of the barn. He fell to the ground with a thud and said to himself, "Oh, well, I'll just wait until they fly __   in a few months. Then I'll rejoin them and become a wild duck again."

When the flock flew overhead once more, Wally again tried to    himself out of the barnyard. But he simply didn't have the strength. Every winter and every spring, he saw his wild duck friends flying overhead, and they would    to him. But his attempts to leave were all    .

    Eventually Wally no longer paid any attention to the wild ducks flying overhead. He hardly even noticed them. He had   , become a barnyard duck.

1.A. tame                              B. ugly                                   C. beautiful                            D. wild

2.A. food                              B. grain                                 C. corn                                    D. vegetable

3.A. rest                                B. waddle                    C. walk                                    D. fly

4.A. turn                   B. dive               C. land                                     D. circle

5.A. hurried                B. looked             C. left                                      D. headed

6.A. between               B. among             C. behind                                D. within

7.A. loudly                                B. sadly               C. merrily                               D. eagerly

8.A. see                   B. recognize           C. leave                                       D. rejoin

9.A. strange                B. lucky              C. sure                                    D. natural

10.A. barnyard          B. corn               C. waddling                         D. quacking

11.A. every day             B. every time                 C. everywhere                            D. nowhere

12.A. flapped           B. spread                    C. removed                           D. opened

13.A. strength         B. skills                      C. friends                             D. weight

14.A. got off          B. got to               C. got up                                          D. got back

15.A. slowly          B. fast                   C. high                                     D. low

16.A. back            B. south                C. north                                      D. overhead

17.A. lift             B. fly                        C. struggle                              D. rise

18.A. call out          B. come back                          C. come over                         D. call back

19.A. in return              B. in need                            C. in vain                                 D. in place

20.A. after all                B. above all                    C. therefore                          D. however

 

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