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In the college-admissions wars, we parents are the true fighters. We’re pushing our kids to get good grades, take SAT preparatory courses and build resumes so they can get into the college of our first choice. I’ve twice been to the wars, and as I survey the battlefield, something different is happening. We see our kids’ college background as a prize demonstrating how well we’ve raised them. But we can’t acknowledge that our obsession(痴迷) is more about us than them. So we’ve created various justifications（辩解）that turn out to be half-truths, prejudices or myths. It actually doesn’t matter much whether Aaron and Nicole go to Stanford.
We have a full-developed panic; we worry that there won’t be enough prizes to go around. Fearful parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever. What causes the hysteria(歇斯底里) is the belief that scarce elite（精英）degrees must be highly valuable. Their graduates must enjoy more success because they get a better education and develop better contacts. All seems right but mostly wrong. We haven’t found any convincing evidence that selectivity or prestige matters. Selective schools don’t systematically employ better instructional approaches than less selective schools. On two measures—professors’ feedback and the number of essay exams selective schools do slightly worse.
By some studies, selective schools do enhance（提高） their graduates’ lifetime earnings. The gain is reckoned at 2-4% for every 100-point increase in a school’s average SAT scores. But even this advantage is probably a statistical fluke(偶然). A well-known study examined students who got into highly selective schools and then went elsewhere. They earned just as much as graduates from higher-status schools.
Kids count more than their colleges. Getting into Yale may signify intelligence, talent and ambition. But it’s not the only indicator and, surprisingly, its significance is declining. The reason: so many similar people go elsewhere. Getting into college is not life’s only competition. In the next competition—the job market and graduate school—the results may change. Princeton economist Alan Krueger studied admissions to one top Ph.D. program. High scores on the GRE helped explain who got in; degrees of famous universities didn’t.
So, parents, take it easy（lighten up）. The stakes (利害关系) have been vastly exaggerated. Up to a point, we can rationalize our pushiness. America is a competitive society; our kids need to adjust to that. But too much pushiness can be destructive. The very ambition we impose on our children may get some into Harvard but may also set them up for disappointment. One study found that, other things being equal, graduates of highly selective schools experienced more job dissatisfaction. They may have been so conditioned to being on top that anything less disappoints.
1. Why does the author say that parents are the true fighters in the college-admissions wars?
A. They have the final say in which university their children are to attend.
B. They know best which universities are most suitable for their children.
C. They have to carry out intensive surveys of colleges before children make an application.
D. They care more about which college their children go to than the children themselves.
2. Why do parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever?
A. They want to increase their children’s chances of entering a prestigious college.
B. They hope their children can enter a university that offers attractive scholarships.
C. Their children will have a wider choice of which college to go to.
D. Elite universities now enroll fewer student than they used to.
3. What does the author mean by “kids count more than their colleges” Line1, para.4?
A. Continuing education is more important to a person’s success.
B. A person’s happiness should be valued more than their education.
C. Kids’ actual abilities are more important than their college background.
D. What kids learn at college cannot keep up with job market requirements.
4. What does Krueger’s study tell us?
A. Getting into Ph.D. programs may be more competitive than getting into college.
B. Degrees of prestigious universities do not guarantee entry to graduate programs.
C. Graduates from prestigious universities do not care much about their GRE scores.
D. Connections built in prestigious universities may be kept long after graduation.
5. One possible result of pushing children into elite universities is that______
A. they earn less than their peers from other institutions
B. they turn out to be less competitive in the job market
C. they experience more job dissatisfaction after graduation
D. they overemphasize their qualifications in job application
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Jack had no choice but to have both his arms removed because of a severe accident after drinking a lot of alcohol. From then on, he has had to __36__ on his younger brother, who became his shadow, never leaving him alone for years. Except for writing with his toes, he was totally unable to do __37__ else. As the two brothers grew up together, they had their own problems and would often __38__. Finally, his younger brother went away and lived __39__, leaving him heartbroken and at a loss what to do.
__40__, a misfortune befell（降临）a girl. One night she was preparing dinner when the kerosene light on the stove was overturned, __41__ in a fire which took her hands away. Having decidedly __42__ her sister’s willingness to help her, she determined to be thoroughly __43__. At school, she always studied hard．Most of all she learned to be self-reliant. “I am lucky. Though my __44__ are broken, my heart can still fly.” she wrote in her blog.
One day, the young man and the girl were both invited to a（n）__45__ programme. The boy told the television hostess about his __46__ future, whereas the girl was full of __47__ for her life. They were both asked to write something on a piece of paper with their __48__. The boy: My younger brother’s arms are my arms. The girl: Broken wings, flying heart.
Both of them had the same ordeal（痛苦经历）, but their different __49__ determined the nature of their lives. As seems the case, __50__ disasters can strike our life at any time. How you handle the __51__ when faced with it is the true __52__ of your character. If you choose to __53__ or escape from the ordeal, it will follow you wherever you go. But if you decide to be strong, the __54__ will turn out to be a fortune on which new __55__will arise.
1.A．live B．stand C．rely D．assist
2.A．something B．everything C．nothing D．anything
3.A．quarrel B．share C．support D．dislike
4.A．happily B．sparately C．lonely D．disappointedly
5.A．UnfortunatelyB．Unexpectedly C．Naturally D．Similarly
6.A．leading B．bringing C．causing D．resulting
7.A．turned to B．turned down C．turned off D．turned against
8.A．alone B．free C．independent D．successful
9.A．arms B．wings C．dreams D．promises
10.A．interview B．radio C．sports D．health
11.A．uncertain B．hopeful C．bright D．miserable
12.A．calmness B．patience C．enthusiesm D．excitement
13.A．hands B．strength C．toes D．mouths
14.A．chatacters B．desires C．opinions D．attitudes
15.A．unexpected B．passive C．rough D．serious
16.A．emergency B．accident C．difficulty D．misfortune
17.A．test B．reflection C．display D．problem
18.A．ignore B．resist C．complain D．suffer
19.A．problem B．result C．hardship D．failure
20.A．solutions B．hopes C．ways D．rewards
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—Next week I will go to a job interview. Will you give me some suggestions?
—Smiling is a great way to make yourself ________.
A．stand out B．turn out C．work out D．pick out
查看习题详情和答案>>Zoe Chambers was a successful PR(Public Relations) consultant and life was going well — she had a great job, beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. “The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through.” she said. “After everything I’d done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn’t feel like looking for another job. I hate everything about the city and my life.”
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later she is still on the farm.
"The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay." said Zoe. "Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless."
Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. "It's a hard life, physically very tiring." she says. "In London 1 was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy's wonderful dinners."
Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing — watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, "It's one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. I could never go back to city life now."
1.When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a ______life.
A．satisfying B．tough C．meaningless D．boring
2.The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy's farm is that______.
A．Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant
B．Kathy persuaded her to do so
C．Zoe got tired of the city life
D．Zoe loved Wales more than London
3.How docs Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage?
A．Tiresome and troublesome.
B．Romantic and peaceful
C．Mentally exhausting but healthy
D．Physically tiring but rewarding.
4.Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?
A．A friend in need is a friend indeed.
B．Where there is a will, there is a way.
C．A misfortune may turn out a blessing.
D．Kill two birds with one stone.
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The U.S. Department of Labor statistics(统计) show that there is an oversupply of college trained workers and that this oversupply is increasing. Already there have been more than enough teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts, and other specialists. Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to turn out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren’t there. The result is that graduates cannot enter the professions for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree.
On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sorts: carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, TV repairmen. These people have more work than they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates. The old gap that white —collar workers make a better living than blue collar workers no longer holds true. The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen.
The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that college degree is a passport to a prosperous future. A large part of American society matches success in life equally with a college degree. Parents begin indoctrinating(灌输) their children with this myth before they are out of grade school. High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life. Under this pressure the kids fall in line. Whether they want to go to college or not doesn’t matter. Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go. And every year college enrollments(入学) go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them.
One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there. Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class. Many of them drop out within the first year. Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up.
1. It’s implied but not stated in the passage that _______.
A. many other countries are facing the same problem
B. white-collar workers in the US used to make more money than blue-collar workers
C. fewer students will prefer to go to college in the future
D. the law of supply and demand has a strong effect on American higher education
2. Which of the following is NOT a reason why college enrollments go up every year？
A. Many people believe that the only way to success is a college education.
B. Many parents want their children to go to college.
C. High school teachers urge their students to go to college.
D. Every young man and woman wants to go to college.
3. By saying that “many people go to college who do not belong there”, the author means that _______.
A. many people who are not fit for college education go to college
B. many people who do not have enough money go to college
C. many people who go to college drop out within the first year
D. many people who go to college have their hopes destroyed
4. We can infer from the passage that the author believes that _______.
A. every young man and woman should go to college
B. college education is a bad thing
C. people with a college education should receive higher pay
D. fewer people should go to college while more should be trained for skilled jobs
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