Question

Many young people in the United States never finish high school. Exactly how many drop out is another issue. Recent studies of  __1__ rate have had conflicting results.

For one thing, schools define and measure their dropout rates __2__. Some researchers say about 15 to 20 percent of public school students do not  __3__ their education on time. __4__  many other experts and policymakers believe that for the past 20 years, the dropout rate has been around 30 percent. For Latino and black students, the  __5__  are even larger. Researchers say almost half of them  __6__  school. At the same time, almost half of the states let students leave school  __7__  the age of 18 without informing their parents.

Finding a good job  __8__  a high school education is becoming more and more difficult. A Northeastern University  __9__  in 2002 found that almost half of all dropouts aged 16 to 24 did not have a job. The  __10__  of a high school education can also  __11__ other problems. It is estimated that two－thirds of prisoners in the United States dropped out of high school.

Recent studies have  __12__  that the majority of students who drop out do it because they are failing. Many are  __13__ with their classes or feel disconnected from their school and teachers. Some students feel that educators place low  __14__  on them.

During the past 20 years, there have been efforts to  __15__  graduation rate through education reforms. Some communities are working on dropout  __16__ programs. These include some alternative high schools to meet special  __17__.

Experts think “early warning systems” can help __18__ young schoolchildren at the risk of dropping out of high school. They say schools also need to get  __19__ more involved, especially if their children are  __20__  school often.

1. A. research    B. finishing    C. dropout  D. completing

2. A. personally  B. individually  C. differently  D. similarly

3. A. complete   B. reach       C. practise  D. operate

4. A. And       B. Besides      C. Instead  D. But

5. A. people     B. students  C. dropouts  D. numbers

6. A. approach  B. leave  C. stay  D. enter

7. A. after     B. until  C. before  D. when

8. A. without        B. together with

C. out of         D. off

9. A. project  B. design  C. sketch  D. study

10. A. importance     B. lack

C. need          D. requirement

11. A. lead to  B. result  C. conclude  D. include

12. A. noticed  B. watched  C. shown  D. inspected

13. A. bored  B. interested  C. indifferent  D. unconcerned 

14. A. outlook  B. prediction  C. remark  D. expectations

15. A. decrease  B. reduce  C. increase  D. unite

16. A. prevention      B. conservation

C. permission      D. admittance

17. A. needs  B. ways  C. advantages  D. means

18. A. receive  B. accept  C. get  D. identify

19. A. mates  B. teachers  C. parents  D. neighbours

20. A. missing  B. staying  C. leaving  D. studying

Answer 1

. 1. 解析：选C。前后文多次提到dropout“辍学”。

2. 解析：选C。 后文提到的some researchers和many other experts and policymakers各有不同的看法，所以要用differently。

3. 解析：选A。根据上下文可以看出这部分学生没有完成学业，故用complete。

4. 解析：选D。some researchers和many other experts and policymakers各有不同的看法，因此是转折概念，要用but。

5. 解析：选D。前文的rate和后文的 higher，说明这里谈论的是数字。

6. 解析：选B。本文主要谈论辍学问题，所以此处应用leave。

7. 解析：选C。通过the age of 18 without informing their parents可看出，学生是在18岁之前就辍学了。

8. 解析：选A。becoming more and more difficult说明前文要用without。

9. 解析：选D。found that是典型的结论用语，说明前面是一个研究。后文也出现了相同的词汇。

10. 解析：选B。can also说明与前文的类型相同即与without a high school education是同一个概念。所以此处用the lack of a high school education。

11. 解析：选A。lead to other problems导致其他的问题。

12. 解析：选C。与前文found that对应。

13. 解析：选A。failing和后文的 disconnected 说明学生对学习不感兴趣。

14. 解析：选D。教育者对学生们的期望值较低。

15. 解析：选C。efforts和through education reforms说明要增加graduation rates。

16. 解析：选A。和“efforts to increase graduation rate through education reforms”有着同样效果的措施就是“working on dropout prevention programs”，即阻止辍学计划。

17. 解析：选A。alternative high schools作为解决辍学的一种措施是为满足学生的需要。

18. 解析：选D。identify识别，鉴别。这里是说早发现早采取措施。

19. 解析：选C。get sb. involved意为“让某人关注”，依据上下文应是让孩子的父母关注，故选parents。

20. 解析：选A。miss school意为“旷课”。