Some say college is wasted on the young. So many of us look back at our own college years and realize what we could have done differently to make the most of them. While we can’t go back, we certainly can offer our sons and daughters our best advice to help them make the right choices in college. Hopefully, they will have fewer regrets than we do. Following are five guidelines parents can share with their college-bound kids to put the whole experience in perspective.
EDUCATION IS YOUR FIRST PRIORITY
As soon as you arrive on campus, there will be competing interests. Feel free to check them out but always remember that you are there first and foremost for your education. Go to class prepared and on time. Be engaged during class. Make sure your professor knows you and realizes that you care.
BE RESPONSIBLE
There are many layers of responsibility. Do what you say you will do and, if you can’t, confess it early and communicate clearly. But being responsible isn’t just about meeting your commitments; it is also about taking care of you, your body, and your friends. For example, more than 1800 college students die annually from alcohol-related injuries. Look out for yourself and other people. Make moderate, sensible decisions so you aren’t reeling from(受…影响) the consequences later.
TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY
Incredible opportunities will present themselves: studying abroad, interning at a unique place, trying new things. Don’t let fear prevent you from taking advantage of them. There may never be so much time or as many resources devoted to your betterment again in your life. Say yes to opportunities that will help you grow.
FIND AND BE A MENTOR
Some of the best lessons available to us can come outside of the classroom in the form of a mentor(良师益友). One of the most powerful growth opportunities is being a mentor. Early on, find someone on campus who you feel can help you grow and develop a relationship with him or her. Also find someone for you to mentor. You will reinforce and enrich your own learning experience by teaching someone else.
GET THE JOB DONE
It is natural to occasionally feel you want to quit, when it makes more sense to you to go find a full-time job. Resist that urge. As Jocelyn Negron-Rios, a mother of two, who is currently completing her degree, advises, “No matter how difficult it seems, keep at it because however insurmountable（不可克服的） it feels now multiply that by 10,000 and that is how it feels when you are in your thirties with a full-time job and a family and are trying to pursue a degree.”According to the passage, the most important thing for college students is ______.
| A．taking part in different activities |
| B．working hard to get a degree |
| C．seizing every chance to try new things |
| D．improving themselves by learning from the others |
Which of the following about college life is true?
| A．Passing on what you’ve learned in college can help you enrich your learning experience. |
| B．Make sure that you are responsible for yourself rather than others. |
| C．Professors will not assess your performances in class but the grades you get in exams. |
| D．You can make full use of the opportunity whenever you want. |
What can we infer from the words said by Jocelyn in the last paragraph?
| A．Persistence is the key to success when you meet with difficulties in your learning process. |
| B．It is better if you gain more working experience before you finish your education. |
| C．As long as you work hard, you can gain a degree even when you are in your thirties. |
| D．Youth is the best time to learn since you have less burden. |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To give some rules for the college students. |
| B．To call on the students to make full use of college years. |
| C．To summarize some tips for parents to share with their children. |
| D．To analyze the benefits and difficulties of college life. |
Though he wore his whiskers (颊须) only four years, today we can hardly think of Abraham Lincoln without them. He often talked about the little girl in Westfield, New York, who suggested in a letter that he grow the famous whiskers. And he would add, “Sometimes a small thing can change our lives!”
Grace Bedell sat in her room looking at a picture of Lincoln. Her little lamp threw shadows on the picture. A frame (框) of small shadows lay around the thin face and covered the hollow cheeks (面颊). “Whiskers!” she thought.
“How nice!” she said to herself. “There will be more people to elect him President if he lets his whiskers grow. Somebody ought to tell him.” She reached for a pen and began to write the letter.
On February 16 of the following year a special train carried the newly elected President Lincoln to the White House. The train stopped briefly at a station near Grace’s town. At the station Lincoln was speaking to a large crowd, among whom were the Bedell family.
Lincoln continued his speech, “I have a little friend in this place,” he said. “That little lady told me how to improve my appearance, and I want to thank her. If she is present, I would like to speak to her. Her name is Grace Bedell.”
Grace’s father led her forward to Lincoln. She looked and laughed happily, for up there on his face were the whiskers.
If you visit Springfield, Illinois, today you will see the house in which Abraham Lincoln used to live. On the wall of a room hangs a piece of paper covered with a child’s handwriting: “Dear sir...” Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A．Why Lincoln Grew Whiskers |
| B．A Little Girl’s Letter to Lincoln |
| C．How Lincoln Becamse President of the U. S. |
| D．Lincoln’s Great Kindness to Children |
Grace suggested Lincoln growing whiskers because she supposed ______.
| A．he looked terrible without whiskers around his face |
| B．he would look better with whiskers around his thin face |
| C．no one would elect him President if he had no whiskers |
| D．he would be famous with whiskers around his thin face |
Grace’s idea that Lincoln should grow whiskers came from ______.
| A．the lamp | B．Lincoln’s hollow cheeks |
| C．the picture of Lincoln | D．the shadows on the picture |
When Lincoln said “Sometimes a small thing can change our lives”, what he really meant was that ______.
| A．his whiskers had helped him to become President of the U. S. |
| B．one should pay attention to small things in one’s life |
| C．a little child’s advice had helped to improve his appearance |
| D．a child could play an important part in politics |
Which of the following did Grace most likely tell Lincoln in her letter?
| A．Her school. | B．Her problems. | C．Her age. | D．Her friends. |
The flying fox is not a fox at all. It is an extra large bat that has got a fox’s head, and that feeds on fruit. Like all bats, flying foxes hang themselves by their toes (趾) when at rest, and travel in great crowds when out flying. A group will live in one place for years. Sometimes several hundreds of them occupy a single tree. As they return to the tree towards sunrise, they quarrel among themselves and fight for the best places until long after daylight.
Flying foxes have babies once a year, giving birth to only one at a time. At first the mother has to carry the baby on her chest wherever she goes. Later she leaves it hanging up, and brings back food for it to eat. Sometimes a baby bat falls to the ground. Then the older ones fly down and try to pick it up. If they fail to do so, it will die. Often hundreds of baby bats can be found lying on the ground at the foot of the tree. The passage tells us that there is no difference between the flying fox and the ordinary bat in ______.
| A．their size | B．their appearance |
| C．the kind of food they eat | D．the way they rest |
Flying foxes ______.
| A．double their number every year |
| B．fight and kill a lot of themselves |
| C．move from place to place very often |
| D．lose a lot of their young |
At daybreak every day flying foxes begin to ______.
| A．fly out toward the sun |
| B．look for a new resting place |
| C．come back to their home |
| D．go out and look for food |
Flying foxes have fights ______.
| A．to occupy the best resting places |
| B．only when it is dark |
| C．to protect their homes from outsiders |
| D．when there is not enough food |
How do flying foxes care for their young?
| A．They only care for their own babies. |
| B．They share the feeding of their young. |
| C．They help when a baby bat is in danger. |
| D．They often leave home and forget their young. |
It took courage to stand up at work. Now more and more people like to have a change and stand up when they are on something important. Standing up is popular. Medical researchers have found that people who stand at work tend to be much healthier than those who sit.
In the last few years, many office supply companies have begun to sell the adjustable- height desk. These so- called “ sit/ stand” models are equipped with an electric motor that lets them shift from chair height to person height at the push of a button. Unfortunately, they’re regarded as specially furniture. Sit/ stand desks tend to be expensive, hard to find and not easy to test it in person.
When you worked standing up, your mind was more excited and new ideas kept coming out. This is because when you’re standing, you feel a bit unchained from your desk. If you got stuck on a word or sentence as you wrote, you found yourself shaking your arms, bouncing on your feet or stepping away from the desk for a bit------ things you couldn’t do in a chair. Often, standing up seemed to relax your mind enough for you to get over creative barriers.
There’s one other thing about standing for a long time; you tended to get hungrier than you do when you sit on a chair. That felt like confirmation of the stand-up advocates’ belief that you burn more calories when you stand than when you sit. For this reason alone, I’m hoping that sit/ stand desks one day hit the mainstream, with mass- market furniture companies making many low- priced versions. We could all do with a bit more standing up.We can learn that the adjustable- height desk is_______.
| A．easy to find | B．easy to test |
| C．relatively cheap | D．smart in operation |
According to para.3, standing up while working ______.
| A．tends to make us much healthier |
| B．get us distracted from the work at hand |
| C．can make us relaxed and be creative |
| D．make us move about and unfocused |
The underlined word “ unchained” in para.3 means “_______”
| A．free | B．tired | C．uneasy | D．Unbalanced |
The National Trust has many campsites(野营地) in scenic locations all over the UK. Make the most of the last days of summer by living outdoors and taking in these beautiful landscapes. Here are some of the most popular places to go.
Low Wray, Cumbria
Low Wray is a lovely campsite situated on the western shore Windermere in the Lake District. There are magnificent views across the water to Wansfell Pike and the Fairfield Horseshow and the site is an ideal base for water sports with on-site access for launching.
Phone 05139463862 or book online.
Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire
This site is situated on the banks of the Great Ouse with spectacular views across the river to the Trust’s Houghton Mill, the last working mill on this river. Mill demonstrations are held every Sunday during the season and the site is situated near the picturesque village of Houghton. There are plenty of footpaths for walkers, horse riders and cyclists along the waterways.
Check availability or phone 01480466716.
Wasdale Head, Cumbria
Wasdale is a great base for climbers of all abilities. The site is nestled under the Scafell mountain range at the head of beautiful Wastwater, the deepest lake in England. Canoeing (划独木舟运动) is possible on Wastwater although limited to no more than 15 on the lake at a time.
Phone 01212765416 or book online.
Highertown Farm, Cornwall
A small, basic campsite situated in the quiet hamlet of Lansallos with fine views of the south-east Cornwall coast and not far from a secluded beach. Bookings may be necessary at peak time.
Email or phone 01208265211
Lundy, Bristol Channel
Lundy Island is an unspoilt(未遭破坏的) island, home to a fascinating array of wildlife amidst dramatic scenery. There are passages from Bideford and Ilfracombe according to the tides, 1 April-31Oct and a winter helicopter service 1 Nov-31 March.
Email or phone 01271863636 for more information.Mike is fond of swimming. Which of the following campsites would he choose?
| A．Low Wray, Cumbria |
| B．Lundy, Bristol Channel |
| C．Highertown Farm, Cornwall |
| D．Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire |
If you are interested in cycling, which number would you like to dial?
| A．05139463862 | B．01208265211 |
| C．01480466716 | D．01271863636 |
If you are at Wasdale Head, _______.
| A．you can swim in the lake |
| B．you can have fun in canoeing |
| C．it is dangerous to climb the Scafell |
| D．it is fun to go fishing along the bank |
If your family want to go to Highertown Farm during official holidays, you’d better______.
| A．book in advance | B．send emails first |
| C．dial 01218265211 | D．bring your own tents |
More Americans are Googling themselves ------ and many are checking out their friends, co-workers and romantic interests, too.
In a report Sunday, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said 47 percent of U.S. adult Internet users have looked for information about themselves through Google or another search engine.
That is more than twice the 22 percent of users who did in 2002, but Pew senior research specialist Mary Madden was surprised the growth wasn't higher.
"Yes it's doubled, but many Internet users have never done this simple act of plugging their name with search engines," she said.
Americans under 50 and those with more education and income were more likely to self-Google because their jobs demand a certain online persona.
Meanwhile, Pew found that 53 percent of adult Internet users admit looking up information about someone else, not including celebrities.
Often, it's to find someone they have lost touch with. But looking up information about friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbors also was common.
Although men and women equally searched for online information about themselves, women were slightly more likely to look up information about someone they are dating.
In many cases, the search is done to find someone's contact information. But a third of those who have conducted searches on others have looked for public records, such as bankruptcies(破产) and divorce （离婚）proceedings. A similar number have searched for someone else's photo.
Few Internet users say they Google themselves regularly —— about three-quarters of self-searchers say they have done so only once or twice. And most who have done so consider what they find accurate.
Pew also found that teens were more likely than adults to restrict who can see their information at an online hangout(常去之处) like Facebook or News Corp's MySpace.The number of American adult Internet users______ Mary Madden.
| A．frightened | B．pleased | C．disappointed | D．annoyed |
What does “ they” refer to in the seventh paragraph?
| A．common people | B．scientists |
| C．adults | D．53 percent adult Internet users |
How many people have checked others’ photos?
| A．One- fifth | B．One-fourth | C．One- third | D．A half |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Learn to Google Yourself | B．Googling Oneself Is Popular |
| C．New Performance Online | D．Don’t Google Yourself Online |