My oldest child, Emma, just returned to campus after a long holiday break to finish up her last period of college. These days, friends and family have begun flooding me with one question: What is she going to do after graduation?
The job market is, after all, awfully tough. Just this month the Federal Reserve Bank published a study showing that “recent graduates are increasingly working in low-paid jobs or working part-time.” The bright spot, according to the study, is for students who majored(主修) in STEM— science, technology, engineering and mathematics — areas in which recent graduates “have tended to do relatively well”.
But Emma is a student of the humanities(人文) at a small college. She’s an American Studies major with a focus on the politics and culture of food. For quite a while, I think her field of study is so fashionable right now that I’m not the least bit worried she will find a good job. Yet the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve decided to be honest. “I’m not sure what Emma is going to do,” I now say. “But she’s gotten a great education and has really found her interest. — and I know those things will serve her well over the course of her life.”
Nowadays, more and more universities and colleges are being measured by the salaries of their recent graduates. In this climate, encouraging your kid to study the humanities, seems, at best, unwise or, at worst, unconcerned with earning a living. But a college is not a vocational(職業(yè)) school. And promoting STEM subjects should not be society’s only answer to helping the next generation grow in a competitive world.
From the beginning, we never urged Emma to pick a college or a major with an eye on its expected return on money, as more and more families are doing. To Emma, what really matters will be something that we may not be able to measure for quite a long time: Emma’s contribution to the world and how happy she is in it.
小題1:The author’s friends and family_________.
A．a(chǎn)re worried about Emma’s safety
B．have been worrying about the flood
C．a(chǎn)re concerned about Emma’s future
D．a(chǎn)re worried about the job market
小題2:What can we learn from Paragraph 2?
A．The number of the graduates is increasing.
B．STEM graduates can be better employees.
C．STEM graduates are in relatively greater demand.
D．More and more graduates like to do a part-time job.
小題3:Why did Emma choose a major in the humanities?
A．Because she is interested in it.
B．Because her mother told her to.
C．Because it is increasingly popular.
D．Because she wants further education.
小題4:According to the author, what matters most in choosing a major is that_________.
A．it should be among the STEM
B．it should be fashionable and interesting
C．it should allow a good job and a high salary
D．it should bring achievements and happiness

小題1:C
小題2:C
小題3:A
小題4:D

試題分析：文章介紹如何在大學選專業(yè)的事情，現(xiàn)在熱門的專業(yè)是STEM，意味著畢業(yè)后有更好的工作和更高的報酬，但是作者的女兒卻憑興趣選擇了人文專業(yè)，作者認為選擇專業(yè)重要的是應(yīng)該帶來成就和快樂。
小題1:細節(jié)題：從文章第一段的句子：These days, friends and family have begun flooding me with one question: What is she going to do after graduation?可知作者的朋友和家人擔心Emma的安全，選C
小題2:細節(jié)題：從第二段的句子：The bright spot, according to the study, is for students who majored(主修) in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — areas in which recent graduates “have tended to do relatively well”.可知STEM 畢業(yè)生需求量更大，選C
小題3:細節(jié)題:從文章第三段的句子: I now say. “But she’s gotten a great education and has really found her interest. — and I know those things will serve her well over the course of her life.”
可知Emma 選擇人文是對它感興趣，選A
小題4:細節(jié)題：從文章最后一段的句子: To Emma, what really matters will be something that we may not be able to measure for quite a long time: Emma’s contribution to the world and how happy she is in it.
可知作者認為選擇專業(yè)重要的是應(yīng)該帶來成就和快樂，選D
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