If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis. From there, you might move on to the automakers in Detroit.

But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee: public education.

At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world. Yet in terms of its core mission---turning teenagers into educated college graduates--- much of the system is failing.

The United States does a good job enrolling (招生) teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree.

So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world’s largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called “Crossing the Finish Line” tries to do precisely that. Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos. The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching. It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into. They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive. About half of the low-income students with a grade-point average of at least 3.5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. “I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched,” said Mr. Bowen.

In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates. Meanwhile, lower-income students -–even when they are better qualified—often go to colleges that excel（擅長(zhǎng)）in producing drop-outs. “It’s really a waste,” Mr. Bowen said, “and a big problem for the country.” As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students. Instead, it appears to have fallen.

What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer.

Which of the following would people first think of as a factor responsible for the American financial crisis according to this passage?

A. The government.                           B. Public education

C. The Detroit automakers.                   D. The Wall Street firms.

What is a big problem with American higher education?

A. It is hard to enroll enough students into college.

B. Many colleges are experiencing low rate of graduation.

C. Many college students stay away from classes.

D. It is hard for many colleges to get financial aid from the government.  

The title of the book Crossing the Finish Line probably means______.

A. running to the end of the line              B. going to college

C. finishing college education               D. working hard in college

Why do some students under--match ?

A. Because they have financial difficulty.        B. Because they face ambition crisis.

C. Because they lack confidence.                D. Because they can’t get guidance.

The passage is mainly about _______.

A. problems with secondary American education and possible solutions

B. America’s financial crisis, its cause and influence

C. low rate of American college graduation, its cause and its influence

D. relationship between American education and its economy

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

Step to Discovering Your Passion

By Julie Jordan Scott

    Even before the first tip, you simply must get out a notebook, journal, piece of paper, napkin … SOMETHING to write on to save your discoveries! These tips will only help if you pursue them, so please either take a moment to find writing tools NOW or print this out and promise yourself to complete this exercise later. It may take you some thinking time to get it done . . . and now . . . here are your tips . . . . .

1. Find Your Joy Factor

    Look at the whole of your life history. When did you experience the most sustained period of Joy? What were you doing then? Where were you? Who were you with? How did it feel?

2. What Are Your 3 Most Favorite things to do?

    If you had a free day with NO commitments, where would you be found? What would you be doing with whom?

3. In what area do you excel? (NO MODESTY ALLOWED HERE!)

    Truly, what are you complimented on a lot? This could be ANYTHING.

4. What do you most want to be remembered for?

    If you were designing your epitaph(墓者銘), what would you want it to say? (NOT what your Mom wants, or your SPOUSE(配偶的一方) wants or your third cousin twice removed, but what do YOU want your headstone to say?)

5. If you had a magic wand(魔杖), what would you change about your life TODAY?

    How would it look compared to how it looks now? which aspects of your life ARE changeable, both short term and long term?

6. How does your Joy factor overlap with your favorite things and the areas in which you excel? Do the areas in which you excel bring YOU joy, or are they really for someone else . . . . . do you see which are obvious matches, and which do not fit? Those that overlap, that bring YOU the most Joy, are most likely the things that would bring you into Passionate Living.

7. What is the first even teeny tiny step you can take to living out your Passion as you have defined in #6?

    Take some time to really think this one through . . . . . . concentrate and focus, and then you will be able to start the the next step . . . BUILDING YOUR ROAD MAP.

The purpose of the first paragraph is        .

    A. to arouse the readers’ interest and show them what to do

    B. to find the piece of paper that is useful for the tips   C. to print the tips out and show them to others

    D. to copy the tips and read them

The underlined word “commitment” has the closest meaning to          .

    A. time             B. exercise             C. work             D. joy

The underlined word “compliment” means        .

    A. scold                B. praise                   C. criticize            D. question

Of the following,           would probably give the correct evaluation of you.

    A. You Mom          B. Your spouse          C. Your children        D. You yourself

        are most likely to bring into passionate living.

    A. Your favorite things                         B. The areas in which you excel

    C. Your joy factor                              D. The things that overlap

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：北京市崇文區(qū)2010屆高三第二學(xué)期統(tǒng)一練習(xí)（二）英語(yǔ) 題型：閱讀理解




B
Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to participate in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to showcase the image of the host country and city. The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China．
I．Basic Requirements for Volunteers                         
●  Be willing to participate in voluntary services of Expo 2010;      
●  Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30,
1992 and Expo City Voluntary Service Station volunteers before
April 30, 1994;
●  Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;
●  Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;
●  Possess necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;
●  Be in good health to meet the requirements of corresponding voluntary positions．
II．Further Information for Volunteers
●  Source
Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers．
●  Signup methods
Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup．They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations．
●  Time
May 1 - December 31, 2009
Ⅲ．Volunteer Training
Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training．General training is carried out through internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice．
IV．Volunteer Types
●  Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and．volunteer management．
● Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo's information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site．They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid．
60．If you were born in April 1993, where can you be a volunteer?
A．In the Expo City．          B．In the host country．
C．In the Expo Site． D．In Chinese mainland
61．Which of the training will be done on the Internet?
A．Position training．             B．General training．
C．Classroom training．                 D．Special training．
62．Which of the following service is offered by information booth volunteers?
A．Visitor flow management．      B．Helping the disabled
C．Assistance in media service． D．Emergency First aid．

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2012-2013學(xué)年遼寧省盤(pán)錦市第二高級(jí)中學(xué)高二9月期初考試英語(yǔ)試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解

Sometimes people cheat in daily life. When people cheat, it’s not fair to other people, like the kids who studied for the test or who were the true winners of a game.
Many people like the action of cheating. It makes difficult things seem easy, like getting all the right answers on the test. But it doesn’t solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won’t help on the next test --- unless the person cheats again.
Some people lose respect for cheaters and think less of them. The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they are not really earning that good grade. And, if they get caught cheating, they will be in trouble at school, and maybe at home, too.
Some kids cheat because they’re busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying. Other kids might feel like they can’t pass the test without cheating. Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating, cheating isn’t a good idea.
If you were sick or upset about something the night before and couldn’t study, it would be better to talk with the teacher about this. And if you don’t have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice, you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school.
A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions(解決辦法) together. Talking about these problems and working them out will feel better than cheating.
【小題1】The author thinks that when kids cheat in class, _______.

A．teachers should punish them
B．it does harm to their heath
C．it is unfair to other people
D．teachers shouldn’t stop them at once
【小題2】Some students like cheating mainly because_________.
A．the material in the test is very difficult
B．they want to do better than the others
C．cheating can make hard things seem very easy
D．they have little time to study their lessons
【小題3】The fourth paragraph mainly tells us______.
A．cheating isn’t a good idea
B．some kids don’t spend the time studying
C．some kids can’t pass the test without cheating
D．why kids cheat in the test
【小題4】We can learn from the passage______.
A．cheaters are often thought highly of
B．people show no respect for those who cheat
C．parents whose kids cheat are often in trouble
D．kids cheat in the test because of swim practice

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：江蘇省啟東中學(xué)09-10學(xué)年度高一下學(xué)期�？炀毩�(xí) （二） 題型：閱讀理解


B
The Internet has opened up a whole new on-line world for us to meet, chat and go where we’ve never been before.
But just as in face-to-face communication, there are some basic rules of behavior that should be followed when online. The basic rule is simple: treat others in the same way you would want to be treated. Imagine how you’d feel if you were in the other person’s shoes.
For anything you’re about to send: ask yourself, “Would I say this to the person’s face?” If the answer is no, rewrite and reread. Repeat the process till you feel sure that you’d feel comfortable saying the words to the person’s face.
If someone in the chat room is rude to you, your instinct (本能) is to fire back in the same way. But try not to do so. You should either ignore the person, or use your chat software to block their messages. If it was caused by a disagreement with another member, try to fix the situation by politely discussing it. Remember to respect the beliefs and opinions of others in the chat room.
Everyone was new to the network once. Offer advice when asked by newcomers, as they may not be sure what to do or how to communicate. When someone makes a mistake whether it’s a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer ,you should be kind about it. If it’s a small mistake, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before saying anything. Having good manners yourself doesn’t give you license to correct everyone else.
If you do decide to tell someone about a mistake, point it out politely. At the same time, if you find you are wrong, be sure to correct yourself and say sorry to those that you have offended （冒犯，得罪）.
It is not polite to ask others personal questions such as their age, sex, and marital status. Unless you know the person very well, and you are both comfortable with sharing personal information, don’t ask such questions.
4. When you send short messages to a person, you must_____.
A. make sure that they mean no harm
B. read them again and again
C. say something good to hear
D. repeat them later to the person’s face
5. If you are hurt in the chat room by others, you should ____.
A. fight back in the same way          B. take them seriously
C. pay no attention to it               D. be angry at them
6. This passage mainly tells us_____.
A. some rules of Internet communication
B. ways of sending messages
C. rules of the chat room
D. ways of making friends on the Internet

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2010—2011學(xué)年江西省上高二中高一上學(xué)期期中英語(yǔ)卷 題型：閱讀理解

The Winter Palace was built between 1754 and 1762 for Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. Unfortunately, Elizabeth died before the palace was completed and only Catherine the Great and her successors were able to enjoy the great interior (內(nèi)部) of Elizabeth’s home. Many parts of the palace’s impressive interior have been remodeled since then, particularly after 1837, when a huge fire destroyed most of the building. Today the Winter Palace, together with four more buildings arranged side by side along the river embankment, houses the extensive collections of the Hermitage. The Hermitage Museum is the largest art gallery in Russia and is among the largest and most respected art museums in the world.
The museum was founded in 1764 when Catherine the Great bought a collection of 255 paintings from the German city of Berlin. Today, the Hermitage boasts over 2.7 million exhibits and displays, a diverse range of art and artifacts (手工藝品) from all over the world and throughout history (from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century Europe). The Hermitage’s collections include works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian, a collection of Rembrandts and Rubens, many French Impressionist works by Renoir, Cezanne, Monet and Pissarro, and several works by Rodin. The collection is really worth a stop for all those interested in art and history. The experts say that if you were to spend a minute looking at each exhibit on show in the Hermitage, you would need 11 years before you’d seen them all. However, we suggest you choose a guided tour instead!
Location: Dvortsovaia Naberezhnaia, 32-38.
Open: 10:30 am to 5:30 pm, Sunday till 5 pm.
Closed: Mondays. Ticket-office closes 1 hour before closing time.
【小題1】 According to the passage, the Winter Palace was built for ______.

A．Catherine the Great.B．Empress Elizabeth
C．Peter the Great.D．Empress Elizabeth’s successors
【小題2】 What’s the main reason why many parts of the palace’s impressive interior were remodeled?
A．Catherine the Great and her successors didn’t like the design.
B．Empress Elizabeth wanted to remodel the palace.
C．A huge fire destroyed most of the building in 1837.
D．The building became old itself.
【小題3】 According to the passage, which of the following is CORRECT?
A．The Winter Palace was built between 1753 and 1761.
B．The Hermitage’s collections don’t include works by Monet.
C．The Hermitage Museum is the largest art gallery in Russia.
D．The Hermitage Museum was founded in 1764 when Empress Elizabeth bought a collection of 255 paintings from Berlin.
【小題4】If you want to visit the museum, when can you go?
A．At 10:30 am on Monday.B．At 10:00 am on Tuesday.
C．At 11:00 am on Sunday.D．None of the above.

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