It’s high time someone spoke up for today’s college students. They’re probably the most hardworking, ambitious people in America and their problems are not properly appreciated.
People like the Secretary of Education simply don’t know what they’re talking about when they knock students. Nor do those who complain about falling academic standards.
The vast majority of the nation’s 12 million students are struggling to pay for their educations. They are part of the invisible workforce. Many hold down full-time jobs. They’re frying hamburgers, photographing weddings, working in construction, and waiting on tables. The fact that they even show up for classes is a wonderful event.
The financial situation of most students explains a lot about what is happening in schools. Why are the traditional courses so unpopular? Why are students flocking to accounting and computer science and any professional programs that seem to lead to careers?
Answer: Today’s working student has been forced into a kind of premature matter-of-fact way of viewing things. Romance is gone. The notion of transforming one’s self through study alone has disappeared. Today’s students seek freedom from manual labor, and the status conferred by a good job.
There are other consequences. Today’s students don’t have much time or energy to be devoted, and carry out independent research or even do serious homework. That’s the secret behind falling academic standards. Students have become consumers. They want grades and certifications. Their professors can’t be expected to give a grade of failure to students who are clearly tired from the effort to pay their bills.
There’s a lot wrong with this situation. It’s twisting the definition of education out of shape. Worse, it’s creating a generation that is totally unpleasant. The brightest students turn out to be yuppies (雅皮士). The vast majority are, at least, good-natured semi-literates.
The time has run out for philosophical debates about fixed courses of study. What this country needs is someone to stand up and say that being a full-time student during one’s formative years is an honorable calling worthy of support. If families can’t or won’t give it to their children, then the government should. The author’s purpose in writing this article is to __________.
| A．awaken the whole society to the problems today’s college students face |
| B．warn Americans that academic standards are falling |
| C．advise college students to study hard |
| D．provide a suggestion that only full-time students be enrolled |
The most suitable word to describe the author’s feelings about today’s college students
is _________.
| A．criticize | B．sympathize |
| C．complain | D．urge |
Which of the following CANNOT be learned from the passage?
| A．Many students are often absent from classes. |
| B．Traditional courses are not popular. |
| C．Students commit crimes with computers. |
| D．Students don’t devote much time and energy to their homework. |
By saying “Romance is gone” in paragraph 5, the author means ____________.
| A．today’s students do not believe in love stories any more |
| B．today’s students become more practical in dealing with things |
| C．students think there is no affection any more and break up with their lovers |
| D．today’s students hold matter-of-fact opinions on love |
Which of the following suggestions will the author not agree with?
| A．We should encourage students to give up full-time jobs. |
| B．Families should offer their children more help financially. |
| C．We should stand up and say something for today’s college students. |
| D．We should make more strict regulations to force students to study hard. |
If you want to get the most out of the study of a language, you must also read for pleasure: novels, plays, travel books, and so on. And in reading books of this kind the important thing is to get on with the reading; to try to grasp（理解） what the writer is going to tell you in the book as a whole. This is impossible if you stop and think over the meaning of every single word which happens to be unfamiliar. You can not enjoy a story if you stop half a dozen times on every page in order to look up words in the dictionary. You may even prevent yourself from understanding the story as a whole by doing this.
When you are reading books of this kind, therefore, you will usually have to depend mainly on the context (上下文) to help you. If you meet an unfamiliar word, do not let it take too much of your attention from the main idea of the story. In all probability you will meet the same word again a few pages later on in a slightly different context, and each time you see it that your understanding of it will become more exact.The phrase “to get on with reading” in the first passage has the same meaning as “_________”.
| A．to try to grasp the meaning of every sentence in the book |
| B．to try to catch the meaning of every word in the book |
| C．to try to understand all the writer is going to tell you |
| D．to try to understand the main idea of the book |
When you meet new words in reading such kinds of books, you’d better _________.
| A．stop and look them up in a dictionary |
| B．stop and think them over |
| C．try to guess their meanings from the context |
| D．have none of them |
From the passage the best way to read novels, plays and travel books is .
| A．to read very slowly |
| B．to read quickly and not too carefully |
| C．to read very carefully |
| D．to read very seriously |
.What is the passage’s main idea?
| A．You can learn a lot from the study of a language. |
| B．Guess words’ meanings according to context. |
| C．Reading for pleasure is important. |
| D．Reading skills for books like novels, plays and so on |
Writing a long book seemed to be too much for me. So, for a long time, I just wrote short articles. One day, inspiration(灵感) for an article hit me and, as I started writing, paragraphs began flowing out fast. It turned out to be too long to be an article. I thought it would not hurt to try self-publishing a booklet(小册子). The first printing of this 32-page black and white booklet sold out within a week. Here is something that I have learned through my experience.
1.Start small.
Don’t try to have a 400-page work as your first publication. I suggest you publish a booklet under 50 pages to launch your career as an author.
2.Ask for advice.
If you know some people who have published something, ask them for advice and help. You will gain useful information from them and save yourself many problems.
3.
When you put your heart into something only to hear“We’re not interested”,you may get hurt. But you must remind yourself that this is quite common. Every“yes”you receive comes after at least five“noes”,especially at the beginning. You need to revise your book many times to reduce the chances of being turned down.
4.The more you market, the more you sell.
You can publish an excellent book. But if no people know about it, you cannot expect many buyers. Send out an e-mail to friends, family and business partners, telling them your book’s publication date. Ask them to help sell your book.
Do not be afraid to try novel ideas.What does the underlined word“launch”in Point 1 there mean?
| A．Begin. | B．Develop. | C．Lead. | D．Describe. |
What’s the best title for Point 3?
| A．No one will like what you wrote at first. |
| B．You will get hurt by what you wrote at first. |
| C．Prepare for a“yes”rather than a“no”. |
| D．Be prepared to deal with“noes”. |
According to the passage, if you want to have more copies of your book sold, you should.
| A．advertise your book in newspapers |
| B．try to make more people know your book |
| C．ask your business partners to buy your book |
| D．write something that people are interested in |
About self-publishing a book, the writer would most probably agree that.
| A．one usually makes no money out of self-publishing a book |
| B．one should never self-publish a book longer than 400 |
| C．self-publishing a book is impossible for most people |
| D．asking advice from people who have published a book is helpful |
Sitting in the play area of the doctor’s office, my children, Paul, four, and Bailey, three, built a Lego tower while we waited to be called for Paul’s examination.
“Good job, you guys,”I said, trying not to sound too tired. My husband was away on business, and it was difficult being alone with the kids. At times I felt like I was living in the jungle(丛林) rather than the suburbs.
“Don’t put the Lego in your mouth, Bailey,”I said. Paul grabbed(抓取) it from him.“That’s not nice, Paul,”I said. He gave back the Lego. I looked around the waiting room. A woman was eating something, a couple were talking, and an old gentleman in a blue jacket was reading a magazine. I wished I could sit quietly for a while. I wanted to be able to take a rest, or go shopping alone. At once, I was ashamed of myself. What kind of mother was I? “God,”I thought, “help me to be the very best mom I can be.”
The nurse came into the waiting room to get us. Just at that moment, the old gentleman in the waiting room put down his magazine and came up to me. With a smile on his face, he said, “Your children are most certainly lucky to have such a wonderful mother.”“Thank you,”I replied in a low voice and watched him walk back to his seat. We followed the nurse into the examination room. While she weighed Paul, I told her how that man had made my day.
Motherhood is still a jungle sometimes, but now when I feel tired I remember the encouraging words of the old gentleman.The writer went to the doctor’s office because.
| A．one of her children liked to play there |
| B．her son Paul needed an examination |
| C．she was tired and needed to see her doctor |
| D．she wanted to have all her children examined |
.From Paragraph 2, we know the writer felt that looking after her children alone was.
| A．unfair | B．happy | C．hard | D．interesting |
The writer criticized(批评) Paul when he.
| A．put the Lego into Bailey’s mouth |
| B．took away the toy from Bailey |
| C．made trouble in the waiting room |
| D．didn’t follow her advice |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The writer often went shopping alone. |
| B．The writer’s husband was always on business. |
| C．The writer doesn’t know how to be a good mother. |
| D．The writer was greatly encouraged by the old gentleman’s words. |
One night recently, I was driving down a two-lane highway at about 60 miles an hour. A car approached from the opposite direction at about the same speed. As we passed each other, I caught the other driver’s eye for only a second. I wondered whether he might be thinking, as I was, how dependent we were on each other at that moment. I was relying on him not to fall asleep, not to be distracted (分心) by a phone conversation, not to cross over into my lane and bring my life to a sudden end. Though we had never spoken a word to each other, he relied on me in just the same way.
Multiplied a million times over, I believe that is the way the world works. At some level, we all depend upon one another. Sometimes that dependence requires us simply not to do something like crossing over the double yellow line. And sometimes it requires us to act cooperatively, with friends or even with strangers.
As technology makes our world smaller and smaller, the need increases for cooperative action among nations. In 2003, doctors in five nations were quickly organized to identify the SARS virus, which saved thousands of lives. The threat of international terrorism has shown itself to be a similar problem, one requiring team action by police and intelligence forces across the world. We must recognize that our fates are not ours alone to control.
In my own life, I used to put great stock in personal responsibility. But, as time has passed, I’ve also come to believe that there are moments when one must rely upon the good faith and judgment of others. So, while each of us faces the case of driving alone down a dark road, what we must learn with experience is that the approaching light may not be a threat, but a shared moment of trust.The author considers it very important ______.
| A．to drive with a companion | B．to have personal independence |
| C．to gain certain responsibility | D．to share trust and cooperation |
The author said that they depended on each other in the same way because ______.
| A．the approaching car was very dangerous |
| B．they both drove their car at a terrific speed |
| C．he might be killed out of the other’s careless driving |
| D．it was dark and the road was not wide enough |
From the second paragraph, we know the author drew the important lesson from ______.
| A．only one experience | B．many similar experiences |
| C．a driver on a dark road | D．many friends and strangers |
The need for cooperation increases because ______.
| A．people’s fates can’t be controlled by themselves |
| B．certain viruses can spread in a quick way |
| C．terrorism can happen everywhere and every day |
| D．the world has become much more dangerous |
We can infer from the last paragraph that the author has ______.
| A．believed in one’s own personal responsibility |
| B．counted upon himself alone in everything |
| C．had no trust in others’ good faith and judgment |
| D．had a change on his viewpoint of life |
A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone else or ourselves— the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.
We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.
This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”
Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clerk will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh (刻薄的) and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.
Words possess power because of their lasting effects. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it true? Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.
Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem (自尊) and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.The main idea of the first paragraph is that _________.
| A．words have a lasting effect on us |
| B．inspiring words give us confidence |
| C．negative words may let us down |
| D．not sticks and stones but words will hurt us |
There is no need for us to feel embarrassed when we talk to ourselves because _________.
| A．almost everybody has the habit of talking to themselves |
| B．talking to ourselves always gives us courage |
| C．we can benefit from talking to ourselves |
| D．it does no harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone |
The underlined part in the third paragraph means that we should also timely ________.
| A．remind ourselves | B．praise ourselves |
| C．make ourselves relaxed | D．give ourselves amusement |
The author would probably hold the view that _________.
| A．encouraging words are sure to lead to kind offers |
| B．negative words may motivate us to make more progress |
| C．people tend to remember friendly words |
| D．it is better to think twice before talking to others |
In which column of the newspaper can you most likely read this passage?
| A．News. | B．Advice column. | C．Health. | D．Language. |