Question

During the fall months at high school guidance counseling programs, juniors run to the stage to participate in an exercise to help them understand that it is not “where you go” that matters. They hold posters with the names and faces of famous people while their peers (同龄人) and parents shout out with confidence the names of elite (精英) colleges they assume the celebrities attended. The “oohs” and “aahs” follow when they learn that Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates dropped out of college, that Oprah Winfrey is a graduate of Tennessee State and that Ken Burns graduated from Hampshire College. If even a few stressed students and their anxious parents benefit from this information, it is a worthwhile exercise.

Even better is giving the students a task to identify the happy, successful people in their own circle of family, friends, co-workers and neighbors and challenging them to go and ask “if or where they went to college” as a means of broadening the conversation in their search for a life after high school.

The key to success in college and beyond has more to do with what students do with their time during college than where they choose to attend. A long-term study of 6,335 college graduates published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that graduating from a college where entering students have higher SAT scores -- one marker of elite colleges --- didn’t pay off in higher post-graduation income. Researchers found that students who applied to several elite schools but didn’t attend them --- either because of rejection or by their own choice --- are more likely to earn high incomes later than students who actually attended elite schools.

In a summary of the findings, the bureau says that “evidently, students’ motivation, ambition and desire to learn have a much stronger effect on their future success than average academic ability of their classmates.”

The late author Loren Pope, who wrote Looking Beyond the Ivy League and Colleges That Change Lives, noted that the greater the opportunity for engagement and critical, creative and cooperative learning with staff, peers and community, the more likely the chance for future success.

59. The purpose of the guidance counseling programs is to help students _________.

A.apply for suitable colleges

B. learn about college life

C. choose the most famous colleges

D. know about famous graduates

60. Ken Burns’ example shows that the successful people _________.

A. don’t need support from their friends　　　　　　　　

B. have their own circle of family

C. don’t necessarily graduate from a famous college

D. graduate from a famous college　

61. What contributes most to students’ success in college and after graduation is _________.

A. whether they enter the elite college or not

B. whether they have spared no effort in college or not

C. whether they possess a higher SAT scores or not

D. whether they have famous schoolmates or not

62. According to Loren Pope, future success depends more on _________.

A. staff, peers and community

B. motivation, ambition and desire to succeed

C. average academic ability of the classmates

D. creation, cooperation and opportunity

Answer 1

ACBD

C 篇文章探讨了，与我们学生息息相关的问题——上名校是否决定你未来的成功？

59. A。主旨题。从第一段的第一句话，During the fall months at high school guidance counseling programs, juniors run to the stage to participate in an exercise to help them understand that it is not “where you go” that matters. 在秋季美国举办的高校咨询指导活动中，高年级的学生们都会参加进去，从中他们明白了一个道理：“你上哪所大学并不重要。”可以读出答案。

60. C。推断题。在第一段第六排提到了Ken Burns，The “oohs” and “aahs” follow as the audience learns that Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates dropped out of college, that Oprah Winfrey is an alumna of Tennessee State and that Ken Burns graduated from Hampshire College. 但当现场观众了解到美国著名导演斯蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格，“苹果”电脑的创始人史蒂夫·乔布斯和微软公司创始人比尔·盖茨都曾被退过学，著名脱口秀主持奥普拉曾是田纳西州的毕业生，著名纪录片导演肯·伯恩斯是从罕布什尔学院毕业的消息后，他们都禁不住发出一阵阵感叹。从这里我们可以了解到，作者用Ken Burns 的例子来证明，没上过名校你也能够成功。

61. B。细节题。从文章的第二段，第一句话，The key to success in college and beyond has more to do with what students do with their time during college than where they choose to attend. 其实决定你在校期间和毕业后是否成功的关键是在于你是如何利用你的大学时光的，而不是你上的大学是否是名校。

62. D。推断题。从文中最后一段可以读出答案。