For high school leavers starting out in the working world，it is very important to learn particular skills and practice how to behave in an interview or how to find all internship(实习)．In some countries，schools have programs to help students onto the path to work．In the Unites States，however，such programs are still few and far between．
Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses，students are likely to get higher earnings in later years．The students are more likely to stay in school，graduate and go on to higher education．
In Germany，students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships．German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment．
But in America, education reform programs focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world．Harvard Education school professor Robert Schwartz has criticized education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track．Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable(易受影响的)kids with no jobs and no skills．
Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high school．James Madison High School in New York，for example，encourages students to choose classes on career—based courses．The school then helps them gain on—the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school．
However，even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work，the job market is daunting．In the US，unemployment rates for 16-to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row．
“The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the Summer job experience，they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job，”said Michael，a researcher in the US.In the author’s opinion, American high school leavers__________.
| A．have enough career-related courses |
| B．need more career advice from their schools |
| C．perform better in exams than German students |
| D．can get higher earnings in later years |
According to Robert Schwartz，_________.
| A．there is no need for kids to go for higher education in the US |
| B．students should get contact with the working world at high school |
| C．education reform should focus on students’ performance in exams |
| D．teenagers in the US can’t miss out on the summer job experience |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Unemployment rates for US teenagers remain high at the moment. |
| B．Students with career—based courses never have problems finding a job. |
| C．US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment. |
| D．High school leavers with no practical skills can’t find a job absolutely |
What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．Arguments about recent US education reform. |
| B．Tips on finding jobs for high school leavers. |
| C．The lack of career—based courses in US high schools. |
| D．Advice for American high school leavers. |
The underlined word “daunting” in Paragraph 6 most probably means___________.
| A．discouraging | B．interesting |
| C．creative | D．unbearable |
While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.
The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.
I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold—his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.
I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.
But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.
A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.
In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.The crowd changed their attitudes because _______.
| A．they felt sorry for the young man |
| B．they wanted to show their sympathy |
| C．they were moved by the young man |
| D．they meant to please the young man |
From the passage we can learn that the young man _______.
| A．made his turn to start back pitifully |
| B．was skillful in freestyle in the game |
| C．swam faster than the average swimmer |
| D．was not capable enough to win the medal |
According to the passage, “it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means _______.
| A．it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills |
| B．it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself |
| C．it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors |
| D．it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Go for it! | B．Try again！ |
| C．Compete for Gold! | D．Break a Record! |
When you're surfing the Internet on your laptop from your dorm or home, do you know your personal details are being gathered secretly? And would you be surprised to know the information may be sold cheaply to advertisers and marketers?
According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, all it takes is a tiny file in a computer－a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters－to record the computer user's age, gender, location, favorite movies and hobbies.
The newspaper reports that Lotame Solutions Inc., a New York company, uses an advanced software called “beacon” to capture what people are typing on a website.
Lotame packages that data into profiles (个人资料) about individuals, only without their names, and sells the profiles to companies seeking customers. Batches of such data may be sold for a few dollars.
The Wall Street Journal survey discovered that spying on Internet users is one of the fastestgrowing businesses on the World Wide Web.
The “cookie”－a tiny text file put on your PC by websites or marketing firms which might be used to remember your preferences for one site, or to track you across many sites is already old news. There are new and more complex tools such as “beacon” which scan in real time what people are doing on a webpage. These beacons instantly assess the Internet user's location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions.
Millions of Internet users around the world also face unprecedented (空前的) threats. Private, sensitive, personal and business information is being gathered and sold without their knowledge.
Companies insist the information they gather is anonymous(匿名的) and the data is used harmlessly. But the technology has grown so powerful that even some of the biggest websites in the US don't know that they were installing intrusive files on visitors' computers. These include MSN.com and Yahoo.com.
Next time you visit a webpage and find an ad banner advertising something you've been planning to buy, don't be amazed that your computer can read your mind.The purpose of the passage is to ______.
| A．introduce a tiny file in a computer－a single code |
| B．show how your individual information was let out when you surf the Internet |
| C．show how to protect your privacy |
| D．introduce a sophisticated software called “beacon” |
All of the following statements are not true EXCEPT ______.
| A．Lotame sells the profiles about individuals to companies seeking customers with their age, gender, location, hobbies and names |
| B．spying on Internet users is the fastestgrowing business on the World Wide Web |
| C．some of the biggest websites in the US know they were installing intrusive files on visitors' computers |
| D．a tiny file in a computer－a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters can record the user's information |
What’s the writer’s attitude to the issue?
| A．neutral | B．optimistic | C．worried | D．indifferent |
I turned 16 on Friday, but the Driver’s License Office in my small hometown was only open on Tuesday, so I had to wait through that extremely long weekend and an endless Monday before going in for my examination.
I came to the Driver’s License Office half an hour earlier that Tuesday morning, pacing back and forth on the worn porch waiting for the office to open at eight. I reviewed the driver’s manual for the hundredth time. I was ready. I knew the manual backward and forward; I had made an “A” in my driver’s training course, and I was a genius behind the wheel.
Finally, the door opened and a weary-looking man in a brown uniform let me in.
“Let me guess. You want to take the driver’s test.” his voice was not enthusiastic.
“Yes!” I answered in excitement.
“Ok, fill this out, and if you pass we’ll go for a drive.”
I grabbed the test and rushed to the desk where I filled it out in record time. A quick check showed that my paper was perfect.
“Let’s get in the car.” He tossed me a set of keys, and I slid behind the wheel. Everything was going smoothly as we pulled out of the empty parking lot. I signaled a right hand turn, and we were on a deserted street. This was going to be easy.
“Turn left and go up Young Blood Hill,” he ordered. My hometown is in the mountains, and Young Blood Hill was almost vertical (垂直的). As I eased up the steep hill and came to a stop at the top, I heard the car’s engine die. My heart sank. I would have to start it again without rolling back down the hill. I swallowed hard and turned the key; as I moved my foot from the brake, the car began to roll. I suppose I could have rolled all the way back to the bottom except for one thing. There was something behind me which stopped my roll with a rough shake and crash of glass—a police car.
The policeman wrote me a ticket as I looked over the damage, and the man from the Driver’s License Office slid behind the wheel. I waited until we had parked before I asked how long a person had to wait before taking the test again.What time does “that Tuesday morning” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．The morning when he made an “A” in his driver’s training course. |
| B．The morning when he knew the driver’s manual perfectly well. |
| C．The Tuesday morning right before his 16th birthday. |
| D．The first Tuesday morning immediately after his 16th birthday. |
Why didn’t the car roll back to the bottom?
| A．It hit a police car. |
| B．The engine died. |
| C．The writer braked it hard. |
| D．The man from the Driver’s License Office helped make it stop. |
From the underlined sentence “I grabbed the test and rushed to the desk where I filled it out in record time”, we can know that ______ .
| A．the writer didn’t like the man from the Driver’s License Office. |
| B．the writer was excited and eager to go for the driver’s test. |
| C．time for the test was tight. |
| D．the test paper was very easy. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．The man from the Driver’s License Office got a ticket. |
| B．The policeman drove the car away after the accident. |
| C．The writer failed the driving test. |
| D．The writer didn’t want to take the driving test again. |
The Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, is the best place in Europe for discovering dinosaur bones. Dinosaur Farm Museum was established in 1993. Since then, the museum has introduced the study of old bones to many more people.
What we offer
Visitors can enjoy our displays, or watch us cleaning dinosaur bones and other fossils found on the island’s beaches.
The museum has a variety of different fossils, many of them never displayed to the public before. As more are discovered all the time, you can be sure of seeing something new each time you visit.
We have a free Fossil Identification Service, so you can bring in any fossils you have and find out what they are. In addition, we have a reasonably-priced Museum Shop, where you can buy a souvenir of your visit. You could also bring a picnic and relax in our special picnic area.
Activities
Fossil hunts are organized from the museum and run all year round. Groups of up to 25 are guided on a local beach where they can search for fossils. All these hunts are fully licensed and insured, and guides can help to identify any fossils found and point out things of interest.
Due to the popularity of these hunts, all trips must be booked by a personal visit to Dinosaur Farm Museum.
Did you know…?
The BBC programme “Live from Dinosaur Island” was filmed along the coast here, and Dinosaur Farm Museum was the base for the television crew.
Find out more
Check out our website at www.isleofwight/dinosaurfarm to learn in detail how we dig for dinosaurs. You can also read about the many different kinds of dinosaurs which lived in this area, which was connected to Europe 120 million years ago.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The Isle of Wight is the best place in the world for discovering dinosaur bones. |
| B．There is a special picnic area for vistors. |
| C．The museum has a variety of different fossils which have been displayed to the public before. |
| D．Vistors can also find many different kinds of dinosaurs that live there. |
One can book a fossil hunt ______.
| A．through a BBC program |
| B．through the museum’s website |
| C．by making a call to the museum |
| D．by visiting the museum personally |
Which of the following is free of charge at the museum?
| A．Food for a picnic. |
| B．Attending fossil hunts. |
| C．A souvenir of the museum. |
| D．Having fossils identified. |
The passage is most probably taken from ______.
| A．a conference interview |
| B．a travel magazine |
| C．a history book |
| D．a science fiction |
Soccer is played by millions of people all over the world, but there have only been few players who were truly great. How did these players get that way---was it through training and practice, or are great players “born, not made”? First, these players came from places that have had famous stars in the past---players that a young boy can look up to and try to imitate. In the history of soccer, only seven countries have ever won the World Cup---three from South America and four from Western Europe. There has never been a great national team---or a really great player---from North America or from Asia. Second, these players have all had years of practice in the game. Alfredo Di Stefano was the son of a soccer player, as was Pele. Most players begin playing the game at the age of three or four.
Finally, many great players come from the same kind of neighborhood---a poor, crowded area where a boy’s dream is not to be a doctor, lawyer, or businessman, but to become a rich, famous athlete or entertainer. For example, Liverpool, which produced the Beatles, had one of the best English soccer teams in recent years. Pele practiced in the street with a “ball” made of rags. And George Best learned the tricks that made him famous by bouncing the ball off a wall in the slums(贫民窟) of Belfast.
All great players have a lot in common, but that doesn’t explain why they are great. Hundreds of boys played in those Brazilian streets, but only one became Pele. The greatest players are born with some unique quality that sets them apart from all the others.According to the writer, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Soccer is popular all over the world, but truly great players are few. |
| B．Millions of people all over the world are playing soccer, but only seven countries have ever had famous stars. |
| C．Only seven countries from South America and Western Europe have ever had national teams. |
| D．Soccer seems the least popular in North America and Asia. |
The world “tricks” at the end of Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．experience | B．training |
| C．skills | D．cheating |
The Brazilian streets are mentioned to show that ______.
| A．a great soccer player may be born in a slum area |
| B．people in poor areas are born with some unique quality |
| C．children in poor areas start playing football at the age of three or four |
| D．famous soccer players live in slum areas |
The writer mentions all the factors that may affect a soccer player’s success except ______.
| A．his family background | B．his neighborhood |
| C．his character | D．his practice |