Crime in the city of Clio hit a 30-year low last year. “This is absolutely wonderful for our citizens, our businesses, and our visitors," said Police Chief Louis Gates. Clio has a population of 28,000, but it has at least 30 gangs ( 帮派). The gangs make most of their money from dealing drugs and offering "protection.” They also commit violent crimes, such as stealing, robbery or even murder.

There were 1,486 thefts last year. Most of the thefts involved cars. Thieves also robbed the people at gunpoint or pick pocketed them. They broke .into houses and businesses at the alarming rate of two a day two years ago, but that rate was down to only one a day last year. "That's a 50-percent

decrease in one year," said Gates. "I think the police officers deserve a big pat on the back. Even better, maybe they’ll get that 10-percent raise that they are all hoping for. "

With an example of how the police force has helped reduce crime, Gates talked about bicycle thefts. "For years and years, kids were locking up their bikes at bike stands in front of schools, libraries, and shopping mails. About 10 percent of the time, the kids would come out of the school or wherever and discover that their bike was no longer there. We wracked our brains( 绞尽脑汁) trying to find a solution to this problem. Finally, at the beginning of last year, when we simply removed most of the bike stands, then the bicycle theft rate came down quickly.

Most cities in the state have similar problems. They all involve too many people, too much crime, too few police, and too little money. These problems go along with civilization everywhere. They might reduce, but they will probably never disappear. All people can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

68. Crime in the city of Clio is mainly caused by _____.

A. illegal gangs    B. protection providers  C. cruel murderers    D. drug dealers

69. The underlined part in the 2nd paragraph probably means the police in Clio ____.

A. hasn’t done well in the prevention of crimes. B. is responsible for alarming rate of crimes

C. is worth praising for what they have done       D. is faced with sudden attacks from behind

70. The police force has helped reduce the bicycle theft rate by _____.

A. removing most of the bike stands          B. asking kids to lock up their bikes

C. setting up more public bike stands         D. asking kids to park their bikes in front of schools

71. The author wants to tell us that _____.

A. crimes are part of civilization in some of the cities        

B. the best will completely defeat the worst in development

C. crimes and civilization are two sides in development

D. civilization development leads to problems in cities

College graduation brings both the satisfaction of academic achievement and the expectation of a well-paid job. But for 6,000 graduates at San Jose State this year, there’s uncertainty as they enter one of the worst job markets in decades. Ryan Stewart has a freshly-minted(新兴的) degree in religious studies, but no job prospects.

“You look at everybody’s parents and neighbors, and they’re getting laid off and don’t have jobs,” said Stewart, “then you look at the young people just coming into the workforce… it’s just scary.”

When the class of 2003 entered college, the future never looked brighter. But in the four years they’ve been here, the world outside has changed greatly.

“Those were the exciting times, lots of dot-com opportunities, exploding offers, students getting top dollar with lots of benefits,” said Cheryl Allmen-Vinnidge of the San Jose State Career Center. “Times have changed. It’s a mew market.”

Cheryl Allmen-Vinnidge ought to know. She runs the San Jose State Career Center, sort of a crossroad between college and the real world. Allmen-Vinnidge says students who do find jobs after college have done their homework.

“The typical graduate who does have a job offer started working on it two years ago. They’ve postured(定位) themselves well during the summer. They’ve had several internships(实习)”, she said. And they’ve majored in one of the few fields that are still hot, like chemical engineering, accounting, or nursing, where average starting salaries  have actually increased over last year. Other popular fields have seen big declines in starting salaries.

Ryan Stewart may just end up going back to school. “I’d like to teach college some day and that requires more schooling, which would be great in a bad economy,” he said.

To some students, a degree may not be a ticket to instant wealth. For now, they can only hope its value will increase overtime.

49. The underlined expression “dot-com” in the 4 th paragraph probably means _____.

A. a company making dots

B. the Internet

C. teaching on the Internet

D. a well-known website

50. The purpose of a college career center is probably to _____.

A. help students do their homework

B. find jobs for students while they are in school

C. prepare students to find jobs after they graduate

D. help high school students get accepted to college

51. Ryan Stewart is probably going to _____.

A. get a teaching job

B. become a religious leader

C. change his major

D. go back to school

52. What does the underlined sentence “To some students, a degree may not be a ticket to instant wealth.” mean?

A. Having a college degree does not provide travel discounts.

B. A college degree doesn’t promise a person a high-paying job.

C. Most students with degrees will be able to find jobs.

D. The best way to get rich is to get a college degree.