Bored by the Chinese courses he was majoring in, Zuo Cheng, 18, couldn't imagine having to drag himself into class day after day, week after week, for four years．

The Beijing Language and Culture University student decided that enough was enough．

61  

"It may seem like I've wasted a year and have to start college all over again, but now that I've settled on a field I'll be able to concentrate．" Zuo said．

Zuo is not alone．

At the China Three．Gorges University in Yicljang in Hubei Province 53 out of 59 students in the Physics Department took transfer exams last semester．  62  

"   63   Many students picked colleges before majors, only to discover their mistakes a few weeks after arrival on the campus．" said Jiang Xin, 20, who was able to switch to electrical engineering and automation from physics．He said that physics graduates had few other options besides going into teaching,     64  

A new survey, of 2,500 students nationwide starting in September this year, suggests that as much as 35 percent of students are disappointed by their courses．

However, Shao Yangfang, who works at the admission office of University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, advised students to consider both short-term and long-term goals．

"After graduation do you want to find yourself in a job very specially related to your college major? Or, would you like to possess the knowledge and skills that will enable you to work in many areas?    65    Above all, your choice of major should be based on your own interest, abilities and personality．" Shao said．

E．Many college students don't care about their future career．

F．When we were at high schools very few of us understood how a major relates to a career．

G．When we were at high schools, we already knew what are hot majors and what are unexpected ones．

Bored by the Chinese courses he was majoring in, Zuo Cheng, 18, couldn't imagine having to drag himself into class day after day, week after week, for four years. The Beijing Language and Culture University student decided that enough was enough. After rounds of examinations and interviews, he managed to transfer (转移) to the Department of International Accounting.

"It may seem like I've wasted a year and have to start college all over again, but now that I've settled on a field, I'll be able to concentrate." Zuo said. Zuo is not alone.

At the China Three Gorges University in Yichang in Hubei province 53 out of 59 students in the Physics Department took transfer exams last term. Unfortunately only 22 of them got a place on another major.

Jiang Xin, 20, who was able to switch to electrical engineering and automation from physics, said that physics graduates had few other choices besides going into teaching. He added that a career in education just didn't suit him.

"I should have better job prospects (前景) and the chance to earn more money once I graduate," Jiang said. Many first year college students find their majors uninteresting.

However, Shao Yanfang, who works at the admissions office of a university, advised students to consider both short-term and long-term goals. "After graduation do you want to find yourself in a job very specifically related to your college major? Or, would you like to possess the knowledge and skills that will enable you to work in many areas? These are the questions students need to consider. Above all, your choice of major should be based on your own interests, abilities and personality," Shao said.

1. After Zuo Cheng managed to transfer the collage major, he felt________.

A. sad          B. happy               C. nervous           D. pitiful

2. Which of the following statements is true?

A. A lot of students are not accustomed to the life on campus.

B. Students who attend university want to earn more money.

C. Students can change their major based on their interests.

D. Students who are weak in their study can change their major.

3. In the passage, Paragraph 3 functions as ________.

A. an example        B. an introduction   C. a conclusion        D. an explanation

4. According to Shao Yanfang, students are supposed to think about ________ when changing majors.

A. present knowledge and skills              B. short-term and long-term goals

C. future earnings and jobs                  D. relationship between friends

5. The text is written mainly for those ________.

A. Company managers                     B. Job hunters

C. Collage directors                       D. College students

“It hurts me more than you”, and “This is for your own good”—these are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework.

That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school. The schools and the educators made it easy for us. They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation.

Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake. One such teacher is Sharon Klompus who says of her students “so passive” and wonders what has happened. Nothing is demanded of them, she believes. Television, says Klompus, contributes to children’s passivity. “We’re talking about a generation of kids who’ve never been hurt or hungry. They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying ‘go and look it up’, you tell them the answer. It takes greater energy to say no to a kid.”

Yes, it does. It takes energy and it takes work. It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work. It’s time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it’s for their own good. It’s time to start telling them no again.  

1.We learn from the passage that the author’s mother used to lay emphasis on（强调）    .

A．his learning a foreign language

B．his ability to control behavior

C．his natural development

D．his school education

2.According to the author, “the permissive period” in Paragraph 2 means a time   .

A．when children are allowed to do what they wish to

B．when everything can be taught at school

C．when every child can be educated

D．when children are permitted to receive education

3.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Parents should leave their kids alone

B．Kids should have more activities at school.

C．It’s time to be stricter with our kids.

D．Parents should set a good example to their kids.

We’ve considered several ways of paying to cut in line：hiring line standers，buying tickets from scalpers (票贩子)，or purchasing line?cutting privileges directly from，say，an airline or an amusement park.Each of these deals replaces the morals of the queue (waiting your turn) with the morals of the market (paying a price for faster service)．

Markets and queues—paying and waiting—are two different ways of allocating things，and each is appropriate to different activities.The morals of the queue，“First come，first served，”have an egalitarian(平等主义的) appeal.They tell us to ignore privilege，power，and deep pockets.

The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops.But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions.If I put my house up for sale，I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along，simply because it’s the first.Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities，properly governed by different standards.

Sometimes standards change，and it is unclear which principle should apply.Think of the recorded message you hear，played over and over，as you wait on hold when calling your bank：“Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received.”This is essential for the morals of the queue.It’s as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness.

But don’t take the recorded message too seriously.Today，some people’s calls are answered faster than others.Call center technology enables companies to“score”incomings calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places.You might call this telephonic queue jumping.

Of course，markets and queues are not the only ways of allocating things.Some goods we distribute by merit，others by need，still others by chance.However，the tendency of markets to replace queues，and other non?market ways of allocating goods is so common in modern life that we scarcely notice it anymore.It is striking that most of the paid queue?jumping schemes we’ve considered—at airports and amusement parks，in call centers，doctors’offices，and national parks—are recent developments，scarcely imaginable three decades ago.The disappearance of the queues in these places may seem an unusual concern，but these are not the only places that markets have entered.

1.According to the author，which of the following seems governed by the principle“First come，first served”？

A．Taking buses.

B．Buying houses.

C．Flying with an airline.

D．Visiting amusement parks.

2.The example of the recorded message in Paragraphs 4 and 5 illustrates________.

A．the necessity of patience in queuing

B．the advantage of modern technology

C．the uncertainty of allocation principle

D．the fairness of telephonic services

3.The passage is meant to________.

A．justify paying for faster services

B．discuss the morals of allocating things

C．analyze the reason for standing in line

D．criticize the behavior of queue jumping

We’ve considered several ways of paying to cut in line: hiring line standers, buying tickets from scalpers (票贩子), or purchasing line-cutting privileges directly from, say, an airline or an amusement park. Each of these deals replaces the morals of the queue (waiting your turn) with the morals of the market (paying a price for faster service).

Markets and queues—paying and waiting—are two different ways of allocating things, and each is appropriate to different activities. The morals of the queue, “First come, first served, have an egalitarian (平等主义的) appeal. They tell us to ignore privilege, power, and deep pockets.

The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops. But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions. If I put my house up for sale, I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along, simply because it’s the first. Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities, properly governed by different standards.

Sometimes standards change, and it is unclear which principle should apply. Think of the recorded message you hear, played over and over, as you wait on hold when calling your bank: “Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received.” This is essential for the morals of the queue. It’s as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness.

But don’t take the recorded message too seriously. Today, some people’s calls are answered faster than others. Call center technology enables companies to “score” incoming calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places. You might call this telephonic queue jumping.

Of course, markets and queues are not the only ways of allocating things. Some goods we distribute by merit, others by need, still others by chance. However, the tendency of markets to replace queues, and other non-market ways of allocating goods is so common in modern life that we scarcely notice it anymore. It is striking that most of the paid queue-jumping schemes we’ve considered—at airports and amusement parks, in call centers, doctors’ offices, and national parks—are recent developments, scarcely imaginable three decades ago. The disappearance of the queues in these places may seem an unusual concern, but these are not the only places that markets have entered.

1.According to the author, which of the following seems governed by the principle “First come, first served”?

A．Taking buses.                           B．Buying houses.

C．Flying with an airline.                     D．Visiting amusement parks.

2.The example of the recorded message in Paragraphs 4 and 5 illustrates ______.

A．the necessity of patience in queuing

B．the advantage of modern technology

C．the uncertainty of allocation principle

D．the fairness of telephonic services

3.The passage is meant to ______.

A．justify paying for faster services

B．discuss the morals of allocating things

C．analyze the reason for standing in line

D．criticize the behavior of queue jumping