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

Every culture has it own ways to show friendship. On the island of Hawaii, friendship is part of the “aloha spirit”. In the language of the Hawaiians who first settled the islands long ago, aloha had a very special meaning. That is “to be with happiness”.
Hawaiians believe that once somebody loves the land, they are ready to love their people or community. This is the second most important thing of friendship. It is called lokahi in the Hawaiian language, which means “oneness with all people”. To enjoy the land you should not be selfish. The land is for everyone who lives on. Today many different people call Hawaii their home. Indeed, Hawaii is a place where people make one big community from many smaller communities. Each person gives kokua(help) to other people so that all feel stronger. It is believed that the islands can be a paradise(天堂) when people live in peace. People are told that their actions should be as gentle as the wind that blows from the sea. When problems happen, people are asked to solve them with understanding. So when people of Hawaii talk about ohana(family), they are really talking about all those who live on the island.
Living in peace, Hawaiians have developed a third sign of friendship. This personal friendship is shown by giving leis to one another. The lei, a string of flowers, is put over a friend’s neck. Then the friend is given a kiss on the cheek. Visitors to the islands are also given leis. When they hear aloha, visitors began to feel at home. Aloha also means “goodbye”, so visitors will hear it again when they leave. It can mean “our hearts singing together”. Perhaps this is how most visitors will remember their new friendship.  
【小题1】Which of the following can be the proper title for this text?

Every culture has it own ways to show friendship. On the island of Hawaii, friendship is part of the “aloha spirit”. In the language of the Hawaiians who first settled the islands long ago, aloha had a very special meaning. That is “to be with happiness”.
Hawaiians believe that once somebody loves the land, they are ready to love their people or community. This is the second most important thing of friendship. It is called lokahi in the Hawaiian language, which means “oneness with all people”. To enjoy the land you should not be selfish. The land is for everyone who lives on. Today many different people call Hawaii their home. Indeed, Hawaii is a place where people make one big community from many smaller communities. Each person gives kokua(help) to other people so that all feel stronger. It is believed that the islands can be a paradise(天堂) when people live in peace. People are told that their actions should be as gentle as the wind that blows from the sea. When problems happen, people are asked to solve them with understanding. So when people of Hawaii talk about ohana(family), they are really talking about all those who live on the island.
Living in peace, Hawaiians have developed a third sign of friendship. This personal friendship is shown by giving leis to one another. The lei, a string of flowers, is put over a friend’s neck. Then the friend is given a kiss on the cheek. Visitors to the islands are also given leis. When they hear aloha, visitors began to feel at home. Aloha also means “goodbye”, so visitors will hear it again when they leave. It can mean “our hearts singing together”. Perhaps this is how most visitors will remember their new friendship.  
【小题1】Which of the following can be the proper title for this text?

My father met my mother in a poker （扑克牌） game. He couldn't   1   his eyes off her. It was her company's annual   2   , and he walked her home that night. The next week, from his home in Chicago, he  3  her a postcard:" Remember me? Please 4   , because I'll be calling you one of these days. David".

       She still has that postcard. I'm not sure what made her  5   it. Though he already had his heart  6  her, she hadn't chosen him yet,  7  not consciously.

       As my father often told us   8   we were growing up, it was  9  luck that he was at the picnic that day. As a salesman for a big electronics company, he was in town to  10  customers and happened to stop by the branch office that Saturday morning to  11   some calls. The telephone rang；it was the  12  of a local radio station with whom my father had done some business. So the manager  13   my father to come right over to their annual picnic.

       My mother was a writer at that radio station. If my father hadn't  14   by the office that morning，he told us,  15   if he'd gotten there two minutes later, the life--our lives-- would have been   16  .

       A few months after the wedding, my father was transferred East. They  17 in New York, in the house where I grew up.

       Sometimes I think about that, how time sweeps us   18   and puts us in a certain place where we're faced with one choice or another. By chance or by the  19  we make, we leave behind other lives we could have lived, full of 20  passions and joys, different problems and disappointments.

1．A．take                B．meet             C．fix               D．put

2．A．game              B．competition       C．picnic           D．meeting

3．A．booked             B．wrote            C．sold             D．sent

4．A．do                 B．forget            C．wait             D．read

5．A．bring               B．save             C．let               D．gather

6．A．look for             B．set on            C．stare at          D．fall to

7．A．at least              B．more or less      C．as a result        D．at last

8．A．because             B．until             C．though           D．while

9．A．blind                B．sad              C．sorrowful        D．tiresome

10．A．fight with         B．agree with       C．argue with     D．meet with

11．A．produce           B．develop           C．make            D．get

12．A．friend            B．manager          C．salesman         D．customer

13．A．invited             B．refused           C．forced           D．allowed

14．A．slept              B．spoken           C．stopped          D．grown

15．A．and              B．but              C．then             D．or

16．A．missed            B．lost              C．stolen            D．gone

17．A．married           B．settled            C．met              D．separated

18．A．away             B．off              C．along            D．up

19．A．choices           B．places            C．lives              D．times

20．A．similar          B．familiar             C．different         D．dangerous