A survey suggests that people who have dropped out from high school just earn an average of $9,000 less per year than graduates. Now a new study removes a common belief why they quit. It’s much more basic than flunking out(不及格).
Society tends to think of high school dropouts as kids who just can’t cut it. They are lazy, and perhaps not too bright. So researchers were surprised when they asked more than 450 kids who quit school about why they left.
“The vast majority actually had passing grades and they were confident that they could have graduated from high school.” John Bridgeland, the executive researcher said. About one million teens leave school each year. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic(美籍西班牙的)students will receive a diploma(证书), and actually all dropouts come to regret their decision. So, if failing grades don’t explain why these kids quit, what does? Again, John Bridgeland: “The most dependable finding was that they were bored.” “They found classes uninteresting; they weren’t inspired or motivated. They didn’t see any direct connection between what they were learning in the classroom to their own lives, or to their career aspirations.”
The study found that most teens who do drop out wait until they turn sixteen, which happens to be the age at which most states allow students to quit. In the U.S., only one state, New Mexico, has a law requiring teenagers to stay in high school until they graduate. Only four states: California, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, require school attendance until age 18, no exceptions. Jeffrey Grin, another researcher, says raising the compulsory attendance age may be one way to keep more kids in school.
“As these dropouts look back, they realize they’ve made a mistake. And anything that sort of gives these people an extra push to stick it out and see it through to the end, is probably helpful measure.”
New Hampshire may be the next state to raise its school attendance age to 18. But critics say that forcing the students unwilling to continue their studies to stay in school misses the point—the need for reform. It’s been called for to reinvent high school education to make it more challenging and relevant, and to ensure that kids who do stick it out receive a diploma that actually means something.According to researchers’ study, most high school students drop out of school because____________.
| A．they have failing grades |
| B．they are lazy and not intelligent |
| C．they are discriminated against |
| D．they take no interest in classes |
According to the passage, which state has a law requiring school attendance until they graduate?
| A．New Hampshire. |
| B．Utah. |
| C．New Mexico. |
| D．The District of Columbia. |
In the last paragraph, the writer is trying to__________.
| A．suggest raising the compulsory attendance age |
| B．analyze the reason why students quit school |
| C．raise awareness of reforming high school dropouts |
| D．wish to make laws to guarantee no dropouts |
From the passage, we can infer the following EXCEPT that __________.
| A．the grades of most dropouts at school were acceptable |
| B．dropouts’ salary is not as satisfying as graduates’ |
| C．classes don’t appeal to dropouts |
| D．about 500,000 high school dropouts are black and Spanish |
The World Health Organization says there has been a sharp increase in the number of over-weight children in developing countries．In African countries, the WHO says the number of over-weight or obese children is twice as high as it was 20 years ago．Around the world, about 43 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2013．
Overweight and obese children are more likely to become overweight and obese adults．The condition can generate serious health problems like heart diseases．
Francesco Branca is the director of the WHO Department of Nutrition for Health and Development．He says urban lifestyle makes people eat processed food more often, which has a high sugar, fat and salt content．He also says people are gaining weight because of their lack of activities．They travel in cars or other vehicles more than on foot．
The WHO experts say to lower obesity rates is especially complex in countries that also deal with high rates of infectious diseases．
The WHO has some basic solutions for individuals and countries．The organization says you should lower your intake of fat, sugar, salt and processed food and eat more fruits, vegetables and increase physical activity．The WHO says these actions are especially important for children．
And WHO expert Branca says mothers should breastfeed their babies for at least the first six months of life, if possible．More importantly, governments should consider providing vitamins for children and educational campaigns about problems linked to obesity would also help．In his view, government policies should deal with how food is marketed to children and food producers must balance quality and taste with the dangers of sugar, fat and salt．"Reducing the number of overweight children will not be easy．The goal is difficult to meet even in wealthy countries．" he adds．What is the main idea of Paragraph l?
| A．Overweight children in developing countries have increased greatly． |
| B．Children in developing countries generally weigh too much． |
| C．The number of overweight children in the world has doubled． |
| D．The World Health Organization has increased greatly． |
According to Branca, people are becoming overweight because of their changes in_______
| A．school education |
| B．transportation |
| C．physical condition |
| D．lifestyles |
The underlined word “generate” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______．
| A．cure |
| B．cause |
| C．worsen |
| D．prevent |
We can learn from the last paragraph that ______．
| A．babies breastfed aren’t likely to become overweight |
| B．food producers should be stopped from marketing, food to children |
| C．governments should play a necessary role in fighting obesity |
| D．the number of overweight children decreases easily in wealthy countries |
“Old wives tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another, For example, most of us remember our parents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things．Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time．
Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration．Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%．Garlic is good for you, too．It can kill the type of virus that causes colds．
Unfortunately, not all of Mom’ s advice passed the test of medical studies, For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating．But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so．Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no．Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars．
Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales．After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated from thousands of years of experience in family health care．We should respect this body of knowledge even as we search for clear scientific support to prove it true or false．Which of the following is TRUE according to the test?
| A．Eating garlic is good for our eye |
| B．Carrots prevent people from catching colds． |
| C．Swimming after a meal is dangerous． |
| D．Sticky sweets are damaging to our teeth． |
The author develops the third paragraph mainly________．
| A．by cause and effect |
| B．by order in space |
| C．by examples |
| D．by order in time |
The phrase “hold water” in the last paragraph most probably means”_____”．
| A．to be suitable |
| B．to be valuable |
| C．to be admirable |
| D．to be believable |
What’s the author’s attitude towards “old wives’ tales” in the text?
| A．objective |
| B．subjective |
| C．dissatisfied |
| D．curious |
Editor Henry Slocum，
I read your May 10th article in the local newspaper Honesdale Times about electronic books，or e-books，with great interest．You made several good points about the disadvantages of e-books．You may have overlooked，however，some of the ways in which they are superior to traditional books．Yes，e-books are expensive，but they are also convenient．In addition，due to their environment-friendly nature, e-books have the potential to change our planet for the better．
E-books, for anyone who is unfamiliar with the term，are about the same size and shape as regular books．They have a large screen in the middle，however．This screen shows the reader a page of text that has been downloaded from a computer．Once the reader has finished reading the page on the e-book screen．he or she scrolls down to see a new page．The process continues until the entire book has been read．
As you pointed out．Mr．Slocum，it's great to lie on a warm，sandy beach with a book．You can do that just as easily with an e-book as you can with a traditional paper book．In fact，because e-books are so light, you can carry them anywhere．Say，for example，that you like to read on the bus．Which would you rather carry with you-a heavy 800-page novel，or an e-book that weighs only a few ounces?
Another important advantage is offered by e-books as well．They are more environmentfriendly than traditional books．At present，thousands of trees are cut down each year to meet the publishing industry’s demand for paper．Books that don’t sell are eventually returned to the Dublisher and destroyed．This terrible waste could be avoided if everyone used e-books，which require no paper．
Sincerely，
David EngWhat does Editor Henry Slocum think about e-books?
| A．Interesting |
| B．Environment-friendly |
| C．Convenient |
| D．Expensive． |
In David’s letter, he thinks that______
| A．E-books will come down in price |
| B．E-books do little harm to the environment |
| C．E-books come in various sizes and shapes |
| D．E-books are no better than traditional books |
The main purpose of the letter is to______
| A．provide evidence that e-books are a good idea |
| B．honor the person who invented e-books |
| C．scold publishers for wasting so much paper |
| D．explain how to read e-books |
阅读下列短文,选出最佳选项。Three-year-old Teddy Lasry was sleeping in his cowboy outfit (套装) yesterday at his family’s Fifth Ave．apartment when he shot up in bed screaming．A 3-foot-long black-and-white snake twisted around his left arm and had just bitten his little finger．
“The babysitter (a person taking care of children while their parents are away for a short time) was frightened to death,” said Teddy’s father, David Lasry, who, along with his wife, Evelyn, was at work when the snake appeared about 4:00 pm．
The horrified babysitter called 911 and the building’s doorman．The doorman and two cable TV workers helped take the snake off the boy’s arm and put it in a garbage bag．Police rushed Teddy to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he spent two hours attached to a heart monitor as a precaution in case the snake was poisonous．It wasn’t．Experts at the snakebite treatment center at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where policemen took the snake, found out it was a non-poisonous California king snake．
But how did it end up in Teddy’s bed?
A little detective work determined that the snake had escaped two weeks ago from its cage in the apartment of a doctor whose family lives four floors below the Lasrys．The apologetic owner said his son’s pet snake likely traveled up the water pipes and into his neighbor’s apartment．“It’s a very gentle, very harmless snake,” he said．“It’s handled by our family all the time．”
David Lasry believed the pet was simply hungry after two weeks of wandering．Evelyn said her son seems to have overcome his fright by thinking of himself as a hero cowboy as he rode in the back of the police car to the hospital．
“I told Teddy he’s a pretty snake, a nice pet snake who got out of his cage,” Evelyn said．“But he asked, ‘Why did he bite my finger, Mamma?’ And I said, ‘Because he saw that you are a big boy, Teddy, in your cowboy outfit and he got scared．’”What did the babysitter do after Teddy was bitten by a snake?
| A．She ran out of the apartment． |
| B．She called the TV company． |
| C．She made an emergency call． |
| D．She took the snake off Teddy’s arm． |
We can learn from the passage that the snake _______．
| A．was poisonous |
| B．was kept in a cage by its owner |
| C．was deserted by its owner |
| D．escaped to the apartment |
From the passage, we know _______．
| A．Teddy needed a heart machine to stay alive for two hours |
| B．Teddy was awake when the snake arrived |
| C．Teddy’s mother was at home when the snake turned up |
| D．the snake was used to being touched |
Teddy probably believed he was attacked because _______．
| A．his parents weren’t at home |
| B．he was asleep the snake |
| C．was scared of him |
| D．the snake was hungry |
Many years ago, I went through a tough time．One afternoon, I picked my girls up．It was late when we returned home．I went to unlock the door and found my key wouldn’t go in．I kept trying while my daughter went to get a flashlight．When she returned with it we found somehow the lock had been “stuffed” with sunflower seed shells．Thinking that one of the neighborhood children had been up to no good, I really didn’t give it much consideration．
I found all windows were locked up tight．So I returned to the back door．Oh my God, I will never forget the shock of that moment．The house was empty！Other than a few things remaining on the back porch, everything was gone！Then I heard a car pull into the driveway and found two policemen walking up．They inquired why I had broken into the house．They then asked me for proof that I lived at that address, so I asked them to wait a minute while I went to get my rent receipt and identification from inside the house．I explained the matter to them and showed them the door lock．
At this point they were not buying any of my story．I could tell from their actions and tone of voice that they thought I was breaking into an empty house for somewhere to sleep．
I asked a neighbor for the phone number of house owner and the officer made a call．The owner was quite shocked to hear my story．She said that my roommate had been going through an eviction（驱逐）process with the court when I moved in with her and had lost the case．She had been ordered to move by 10 am on that date．The court order had been issued the same day I had paid her 1/2 of the rent and a deposit of $300,000．
The owner was very kind and understanding but there was nothing she could do．The house had been rented already and the people were to move in the following weekend．
The officers let me go and I went to gather my girls into the car．They were both exhausted and old．Also very frightened, because they thought their mamma was going to jail．I had to pull over because the tears took control．I couldn’t believe it！Everything we owned was gone, I had used up all our money moving in and paying my “friend” our share of costs．I knew very few people in town, as we had just moved there recently．
I went to sit back in the car with the girls, I talked to the girls, explaining our situation to them so that they wouldn’t be afraid．During this time there was a “street person” with a bag, looking in the garbage for cans, bottles, and anything that might bring him some cash．But I didn’t pay much attention to him．I decided to get the girls something to eat for breakfast．We grabbed some bread, and chips and returned for a “picnic”．When we got there, I noticed that the man was not alone．He was with a small group of others like him and they were passing a hat amongst themselves．
I was busy setting up our little “picnic” when I heard a voice saying, “MaAm, please excuse… but…well…I overheard the situation you are in, and well… I and the fellows took up a collection for you and your little girls．It’s not very much, but maybe it’ll help a little．” I looked up at this man---dirty, needing a shave ----and saw the face of an angel．I started crying．The man tried to hand me $30．I folded his hand back over the money and just hugged him as tight as I could．I told him, “Thank you for your more than generous offer, but we are going to be just fine．” He didn’t believe me at first, but I convinced him that it was okay．
Later that afternoon I went to the market and bought the making for a barbecue and off to that little park．It didn’t take us very long to find those gentlemen and invite them to join us for lunch．I had a wonderful afternoon that day, sitting there with those old guys, singing songs．They had some of the most entertaining stories and they shared the dreams they once had．They shared themselves… from the heart．The writer couldn’t open the door because ________
| A．she didn’t have the right key |
| B．there was something else in the lock |
| C．someone had changed the lock |
| D．the owner of the house refused her living there |
How did the writer come into the house？
| A．She came in with the help of the policemen |
| B．She came in by breaking the glass |
| C．She came in with the help of a flashlight |
| D．She came in from the back door |
When the writer came into her house, she must feel _____
| A．excited | B．confused | C．shocked | D．frustrated |
The writer was not allowed to stay at the house because ____
| A．she was cheated by her roommate and the house had been rented to others |
| B．the house owner was angry about her breaking the glass of the house |
| C．she hadn’t paid her share of rent |
| D．she was ordered to move out by the court |
The underlined sentence "At this point they were not buying any of my story."may mean__________
| A．the policemen didn't have enough money |
| B．the policemen didn't believe the writer's words |
| C．the policemen helped the writer to break the window |
| D．the policemen wanted to get the rent receipt |
Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
| A．The street person was poor and didn't dress well |
| B．The writer accepted the money the street person gave her |
| C．The street person didn't know the writer before |
| D．The writer got along well with the street person and his fellows |