题目内容

5、One day, Moyer sat down with his mother, Janne O’Donnell, to talk about his goal of going to law school. Don’t count on it , O’Donnell told him. She couldn’t afford the cost and Moyer doubted if he could get a loan, given how much he owed already. “He said he felt like a failure,” O’Donnell recalls. “He didn’t know how he had gotten into such a mess (混乱).”

A week later, the 22-year-old boy hanged himself in his bedroom, where his mother found him. “He tried to pay his debts off,” she says. “And he couldn’t manage it.”

To be sure, suicides (自杀) are extremely rare. But despair is common – and it sometimes leads students to rethink whether college was worth it. In fact, there are quite a few jobs that don’t require a college degree, yet pay very well. On average, though, college graduates can expect to earn 80 percent more than those with only a high school diploma (文凭). Also, all but two of the 50 highest paying jobs require a four-year college degree. So quitting a college education is often not a wise choice.

Merit Mikhail, who graduated last June from the University of California, Riverside, is glad she borrowed to get through school. But she left Riverside owing $20,000 in student loans and another $7,000 in credit card debt. Now in law school, Merit hopes to become a public-interest lawyer, yet she may have to put off that goal – which bothers her. To handle her debt, she’ll probably need to start with a better legal job.

Like so many other students, Mikhail took out her loans on a kind of blind faith that she could deal with the consequences. “You say to yourself, ‘I have to go into debt to make it work, and whatever it takes later, I’ll manage.’” Later has now arrived, and Mikhail is finding out the true cost of her college degree.

1．The reason why Moyer hanged himself was that _______.

       A．he had a quarrel with his mother            B．his mother didn’t allow him to attend college

       C．the bank refused to give him a loan        D．money pressure was too much for him

2．According to the author, _______.

       A．most students are satisfied with their college education

       B．most high-paying jobs require a four-year college degree

       C．college education does certainly mean good job chances

       D．all college graduates get better paid than those without a college education

3．Which of the following words can best describe Mikhail’s feeling now?

       A．Excited                                               B．Frightened                

       C．Relaxed                                              D．Disappointed

4．What’s the best title for this passage?

       A．Go for Your Dream                              B．Education in California

       C．Is College Really Worth the Money?       D．A College Degree, a Bright Future