Is the ‘Go to College’ Message Overdone?
Even in a weak job market, the old college try isn’t the answer for everyone. A briefing paper from the Brookings Institution warns that “we may have overdone the message” on college, senior fellow Isabel Sawhill said.
“We’ve been telling students and their families for years that college is the only way to succeed in the economy and of course there’s a lot of truth to that,” Ms. Sawhill said. “On average it does pay off… But if you load up on a whole lot of student debt and then you don’t graduate, that is a very bad situation.”
One comment that people often repeat among the years of slow job growth has been the value of education for landing a job and advancing in a career. April’s national unemployment rate stood at 7.5%, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate for high-school graduates over 25 years old who hadn’t attended college was 7.4%, compared with 3.9% for those with a bachelor’s degree or more education. The difference is even bigger among those aged 16-24. The jobless rate for those with only a high school diploma in that age group is about 20%. At the same time, recent research by Canadian economists cautions that a college degree is no guarantee of promising employment.
Ms. Sawhill pointed out that among the aspects that affect the value of a college education is the field of one’s major: Students in engineering or other sciences end up earning more than ones who major in the arts or education. The cost of tuition and the availability of financial aid are other considerations, with public institutions generally a better financial bargain than private ones.
She suggested two avenues for improving the situation: increasing vocational(職業(yè)的)-technical training programs and taking a page from Europe’s focus on early education rather than post-secondary learning. “The European countries put a little more attention to getting people prepared in the primary grades,” she said. “Then they have a higher bar for whoever goes to college—but once you get into college, you’re more likely to be highly subsidized(資助).”
She also is a supporter of technical training—to teach students how to be plumbers, welders and computer programmers—because “employers are desperate” for workers with these skills.
【小題1】People usually think that _____.

A．the cost of technical schooling is a problem

B．one will not succeed without a college degree

C．technical skills are most important for landing a job

D．there is an increased competition in getting into a college

【小題2】What does the underlined part “taking a page from” mean?

A．Hearing from.	B．Changing from.
C．Differing from.	D．Learning from.

【小題3】What can we infer from the passage?

A．Public institutions charge more for education.

B．European universities are stricter with students.

C．Students with certain skills are in great demand.

D．Canadian students prefer to major in engineering.

【小題4】Ms. Sawhill may probably agree that _____.

A．too much stress has been put on the value of college degrees

B．technical training is more important than college education

C．a(chǎn) college degree will ensure promising employment

D．it’s easier for art students to find favorite jobs

Children who spend more time reading with their parents have a greater chance of becoming better readers than those who don’t. With help from their parents, children can learn techniques(技巧) to improve their reading skills.
“A lot of parents think after their child learns to read, they should stop reading to them,” Donna George said. “They are sadly mistaken.”
George offers her services to parents at the Title I Learning Centers. She said reading aloud to children may be the most valuable(有價值的) thing parents can do. “It is better for children to hear things at a higher level than where they are,” George said. “Parents are their child’s first teacher.” Parents help their children build listening, phonics(拼讀法), comprehension(閱讀理解) and vocabulary skills when they read aloud to them.
Before parents can identify reading problems, they should escape the enemy----television and limit the time their children spend watching television. George suggested not allowing kids to have a TV in their bedrooms, setting a schedule of when kids can watch or keeping a list of how many programs children watch. Louise Joiners said while her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son enjoy reading, the television sometimes becomes a distraction. So she tries to build the situation by suggesting books the entire family will enjoy reading together, like the Harry Potter series.
Parents who do not read themselves should not depend on their children being enthusiastic about it. If parents would read to their children at least 15 minutes every day, children would not have so many problems in school. It is the parents’ job to help build that desire in their children, and of course to know what kind of books to read is also important.
【小題1】The underlined word “distraction” means something that     .

A．can improve children’s reading.

B．can make children interested

C．can make children not pay their attention

D．can help children’s right way of reading

【小題2】In the fourth paragraph     is the most important.

A．reading speed	B．reading environment
C．reading skills	D．reading materials

【小題3】If the passage is not completed, what will be written after the passage?

A．What TV programs children can watch during reading.

B．Advice is given to control their children.

C．Parents choose reading materials for their children.

D．How children improve their reading by themselves.

【小題4】Which one would be the best title for the passage?

A．Parents Are Their Child’s First Teacher.

B．How to Improve Children’s Reading Ability.

C．Children Spend More Time Reading with Parents.

D．How Parents Make Their Child a Better Reader.

Read a lot, I mean a lot! You have to increase your ability for reading. Many students are in the habit of reading only when their exams are approaching while some others read only what they are taught or things that must be read because it is in their curriculum. But listen to me now, I am telling you from my own experience that it is a very bad habit and it is not enough to improve your intelligence.
You have to learn and get ready to become versatile in your reading. The fact that you are studying medicine in school does not mean that you should not know one or two things on politics.
Many people have complained to me that they find it hard to read stuffs like novels but I just shake my head in pity for them because it is obvious they have failed to realize the truth in that wise saying by Margaret Fuller that “today a READER, tomorrow a LEADER!”
When you read, you get to “see” so many places and it will be as if you have visited those places in real life. This is because reading will improve your imagination and creativity and understanding. You also get experience from learning about how people dealt with their various problems thereby saving you from going through the pains and difficulties they must have gone through!
Reading will also help you in improving your vocabulary because you will certainly start coming across so many new words which you will try as much as possible to get accustomed to with the help of the dictionary! The good thing about increasing your vocabulary is that it will also improve your thinking ability. After all, we think in words and the more words you know, the easier it will become for you to express yourself or your thoughts.
And when you read, make sure you read so wide because the more you read, the more you know and the more you know the more intelligent you can become.
【小題1】According to the author, what should students do in terms of reading?

A．They needn’t read unless the exams come.

B．They should read books about intelligence.

C．They must read about politics when their major is medicine.

D．They should read as wide as possible.

【小題2】The underlined word “versatile” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _____.

A．interested

B．many-sided

C．content

D．confident

【小題3】What is the best title for the passage?

A．Increase your ability for reading

B．Read wide and improve your vocabulary

C．Reading improves your intelligence

D．Reading makes you a leader tomorrow

【小題4】What is the benefit of knowing more words?

A．You will get used to referring to the dictionary when meeting with new words.

B．You will have less difficulty expressing your opinions.

C．Vocabulary will improve your creativity.

D．You can pass your exams with ease.

All parents know that one of their most important tasks is to prepare their children for an independent life，but any parent can tell you that it’s hard to let go of your children．That balance between keeping your children safe and allowing them to learn from their own mistakes can be heartbreaking．Years of experience means that parents often do know best，but on the other hand，the young，being less bound by tradition，are often more creative，more able to find new solutions to old problems．Revolutions are led by the young．
Good teachers make the growth of critical （批判性的） thinking easier in their students，only to find that this can lead to a questioning of the teachers’ basic beliefs．Schools encourage parents to become involved，but are often embarrassed when parents have reservations about some of the educational methods being used．Governments encourage unimportant groups to empower themselves in order to participate fully in the development process．And they are often surprised when the new leaders of these groups turn around and attack the policies of that same government．The rebellions （叛逆的）young and the newly unimportant groups are important in social development．They are not necessarily representatives of those they want to represent or not realistic in their demands，but their voices must be heard．
Good parents know that just forbidding particular behaviors does not prevent their children from finding ways to engage in these forbidden activities．Indeed，sometimes the forbidden fruit is more inviting，just because it is not accepted by authority．Parents must work with their children to educate them on the facts，know as much as possible about he lives of their children，provide a good example，encourage more wholesome activities but also support their children when they don’t follow what is expected of them．But the most important point is that they also need to learn how to let go．
【小題1】By saying “Revolutions are led by the young”，the author indicates that young people are more___________________．

A．conventional	B．creative
C．realistic	D．heartbreaking

【小題2】From the second paragraph we know__________________．

A．the voice of the rebellious young should be heard by the government

B．schools encourage parents to question their education methods

C．movement is satisfied with the new leaders’ attack on the policies

D．teachers’ basic beliefs should be questioned by students

【小題3】In order to educate children well，parents should_________________．

A．forbid particular behaviors in their daily life

B．know as much as possible as their children

C．educate them with facts and expect much of them

D．know them well and set a good example to them

【小題4】From the passage we can learn that the author prefers ___________________．

A．free parenting	B．traditional parenting
C．smart parenting	D．critical parenting

【小題5】What is the best title of the passage?

A．Teaching Methods – for Teachers and Schools

B．Parents’ Tasks – in Children’s Development

C．Way of Growth – for the Young Groups

D．Letting Go – for Children’s Independent Life

Vans, Keds, Dollies—they sound like the names of rock bands，but if you have teenagers, you'll know they’re actually the latest in teenage footwear.
But experts are now warning that the current shoe fashions will be causing teenagers discomfort in the short term and storing up years of foot, knee and back pain in the future. Here, the experts identify the problems caused by teenagers’ shoe choice.
KEDS/VANS

Slip­on shoes with elastic (彈性的) sides are particularly popular among teenage boys—with Keds and Vans the most sought-after brands.
The main problem is that they are just too flat—so flat that the heel, which strikes the ground first, also becomes damaged and painful.
BALLET PUMPS

The worst shoes of all are such light and thin dolly shoes. The problem is partly their flatness, as with Keds and Vans. However ballet pumps, which have no string or heel, have other specific problems.
“As the shoe has no fastening device, it relies on the toes to keep the shoe on, causing an awkward gait (步法) , this leads to short—and long-term problems such as calluses (繭子), heel and knee pain.”
WEDGES AND STILETTOS

These shoes can also cause problems with gait. They may look good, but the heels on these are so high they can force the wearer’s body weight forward, making them very unstable.
Teens who wear these shoes regularly are also in danger of joining those millions of women with constant back pain.
SCHOOL SHOES
So what do podiatrists (足科醫(yī)生)have on their wish list, especially for everyday wear?
Something in a natural, breathable fabric, with a string to hold it on，with a small heel and a deep toe­box that does not press the toes，such as Clark's，Marks & Spencer or Rhino.
If your teen insists on wearing “bad” shoes, get them some simple foot orthotics(矯形器) in the shoes. These support and correct the movement of the foot and, properly fitted by a podiatrist, can often transform their walk and halt the damage.
【小題1】Of all the shoes mentioned in the passage, which can cause the worst problems?

A．Ballet Pumps.

B．Wedges & Stilettos.

C．Keds and Vans

D．Marks & Spencer.

【小題2】The underlined word “halt” in the last paragraph probably means________.

A．increase

B．stop

C．worsen

D．cure

【小題3】From this passage we can infer________.

A．podiatrists are expert at producing branded shoes

B．fashionable shoes all have orthotics in them

C．experts are strongly against wearing popular shoes

D．trendy shoes may ruin teenager’ health

In summer, millions of people will head for the beach．And while the ocean can be a great place to swim and play, it may also be useful in another way．Some scientists think that waves could help make electricity．
“Have you ever been on a surfboard or boat and felt yourself being lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the energy as waves crashed over you?” asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland．“There is certainly a lot of energy in waves．”
Scientists are working on using that energy to make electricity．
Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean．“The winds start out by making little ripples (波紋) in the water, but if they keep on blowing , those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves, ”Taylor said．“Waves are one of nature’s ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey．”
When waves come towards the shore, people can set up dams or other barricades to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine (渦輪) ．The turbine can then power an electrical generator (發(fā)電機) ．
The United States and a few other countries have started doing research on wave energy , and it is already being used in Scotland．
The resource is huge．We will never run out of wave power, besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil and coal．
Oceans cover three quarters of the earth’s surface．That would make wave power seem perfect for creating energy around the world．There are some drawbacks, however．
Jamie Taylor said that wave power still cost too much money．He said that its effects on animals in the sea were still unknown．Besides, wave power would get in the way of fishing and boat traffic．
With more research, however, “many of these problems might be overcome,” Taylor said．“Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is growing quickly throughout the world．Finding more energy sources is very important, for traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may run out some day．”
In the future, when you turn on a light switch, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!
【小題1】We can infer from the passage that ______．

A．finding new energy sources like wave energy is important

B．wave energy is a resource that will never run out and is used all over the world

C．wave power is perfect for creating energy around the world

D．wave power doesn’t create any pollution

【小題2】The underlined word “drawbacks” probably means ______． 

A．regrets

B．a(chǎn)dventures

C．disadvantages

D．difficulties

【小題3】What can be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Get Electricity by Waves．

B．A Huge Resource of Energy．

C．Can Waves Make Electricity?

D．The Disadvantages of Wave Energy．

During her junior year of high school, Diane Ray's teacher handed her a worksheet and instructed the 17-year-old to map out her future financial life. Ray pretended to buy a car, rent an apartment, and apply for a credit card.  Then, she and her classmates played the "stock market game", investing（投資) the hypothetical（虛擬的） earnings from their hypothetical jobs in the market in the disastrous fall of 2008. "Our pretend investments crashed," Ray says, still frightened. "We got to know how it felt to lose money."
That pain of earning and losing money is a feeling that public schools increasingly want to teach. Forty states now offer some type of financial instruction at the high-school level, teaching students how to balance checkbooks and buy stock in math and social-studies classes. Though it's too early to measure the full influence of the Great Recession（大蕭條）, the interest in personal-finance classes has risen since 2007 when bank failures started to occur regularly. Now, many states including Missouri, Utah, and Tennessee require teenagers to take financial classes to graduate from high school. School districts such as Chicago are encouraging money-management classes for kids as young as primary school, and about 300 colleges or universities now offer online personal-finance classes for incoming students. "These classes really say, 'This is how you live independently,' " says Ted Beck, president of National Endowment for Financial Education.
Rather than teach investment methods or financial skills, these courses offer a back-to-the-basics approach to handling money: Don't spend what you don't have. Put part of your monthly salary into a savings account, and invest in the stock market for the long-term rather than short-term gains. For Ray, this means dividing her earnings from her part-time job at a fast-food restaurant into separate envelopes for paying bills, spending and saving.  "Money is so hard to make but so easy to spend," she says one weekday after school. "That is the big takeaway."
Teaching kids about the value of cash certainly is one of the programs' goals, but teachers also want students to think hard about their finances long term. It's easy for teenagers to get annoyed about gas prices because many of them drive cars. But the hard part is urging them to put off the instant satisfaction of buying a new T-shirt or an iPod. "Investing and retirement aren't things teenagers are thinking about. For them, the future is this weekend," says Gayle Whitefield, a business and marketing teacher at Uth’s Riverton High School.
That’s a big goal for these classes: preventing kids from making the same financial missteps their parents did when it comes to saving, spending, and debt. Though the personal savings rate has increased up to 4. 2 percent, that’s still a far distance from 1982, when Americans saved 11. 2 percent of their incomes. “It’s hard for schools to reach strict money-management skills when teenagers go home and watch their parents increase credit-card debt. It’s like telling your kids not to smoke and then lighting up a cigarette in front of them,” Beck says.
Even with these challenges, students such as Ray say learning about money in school is worthwhile. After Ray finished her financial class, she opened up a savings account at her local bank and started to think more about how she and her family would pay for college. “She just has a better understanding of money and how it affects the world,” says her mother, Darleen－and that’s sown to the details of how money is spent from daily expenses to various taxes. All of this talk of money can make Ray worry, she says, but luckily, she feels prepared to face it.
【小題1】The “stock market game” mentioned in Paragraph 1 is meant to       .

A．introduce a new course to students

B．help students learn about investment

C．teach how to apply for a credit card

D．encourage students’ personal savings

【小題2】How does the writer show us that schools’ interest in teaching financial classes has increased in paragraph 2_________?

A．By giving examples.	B．By providing data.
C．By raising questions.	D．By making comparisons.

【小題3】According to the passage, taking money-management courses will        .

A．better students’ learning methods

B．prevent students going into debt

C．help students get accepted by colleges

D．make students become very wealthy

【小題4】After completing the financial class, Diane Ray is likely to       .

A．pay off all her debts.	B．handle her money better
C．find a job in a bank.	D．manage the family income

【小題5】The passage is mainly about      .

A．ways to teach students to earn money

B．how Diane Ray learns to value money

C．the push to teach personal finance in school

D．how students choose a proper financial class

Most parents of kids under age 8 don't worry about how much time they spend watching TV or using other media, from computers to smart phones to tablets PCs, according to a new survey that found a child's use of media often reflects how much time parents spend in the similar way．
¨We generally found that media use is not a source of conflict in the home" for families with young children, Ellen Wartella, a researcher from Northwestem University, told USA Today． She led a survey of 2,326 parents who have children 8 and younger．It found that in 80 percent of families, children's media use was not a problem, with 55 percent “not too" or“ not at all"  concerned about it． It also showed parents have more positive than negative feelings about how media consumption affects a child's learning and the development of creativity．The exception is video games, which are viewed more negatively than TV, computers or mobile devices．“Parents rated video games as more likely to have a negative effect on children's school performance, attention time, creativity, social skills, behavior and sleep than any other medium," the researchers said in a news conference about the survey．
¨The findings exposes a generational shift （轉(zhuǎn)移） in parental attitudes about technology's role in young children's lives," said Wartella．“Today's parents grew up with technology as a central pact of their lives, so they think about it differently than earlier generations of parents, instead of a battle with kids on one side and parents on the other, the use of media and technology has become a family affair． "
The researchers identified three media environments created by parents: media-centric （39 percent of families） , media-moderate （45%）and media-light （16%）． Children  in media-centric families spend at least three hours more each day watching TV or using computers, video games and tablet PCs don't make parenting easier．And 88 percent of parents say they are most likely to turn to toys or activities to keep their children occupied．Slightly fewer turn to books （79%） and TV（78%）．
The survey didn't look at how media affects children． That's a topic that the American Academy of Pediatrics has handled a number of times． The AAP says studies have found too much media use can lead to attention- problems, school difficulties, sleep and eating disorders and being fat． In addition, the Internet and cell phones can provide platforms for illegal and risky behaviors．¨By limiting screen time and offering educational media and non-electronic formats （格式）such as books, newspapers and board games, and watching television with their children, parents can help guide their children's media experience． Putting questionable content into context and teaching kids a700ut advertising contributes to their media literacy （素養(yǎng)） ," it says．
The pediatricians' group says parents should have “screen-free zones"  and TV should be turned off during dinner． At most, it recommends children and teens engage with entertainment media for no more than two hours a day and that should be high-quality content． It is important for kids to spend time on outdoor play, reading, hobbies  and  using their imaginations  in free  play．“ Kids  under 2 should not use television and other entertainment media because their brains are developing quickly and they learn best from direct human interaction," the group says．
An article on screen time by t．he Mayo Clinic also notes problems linked t．o over screen time, including  being  fat, irregular  sleep , behavioral  problems , weak  school  performance , violence  and  less time for active and creative play．
【小題1】Parents have more negative than positive feelings about media consumption like    ．

A．computers	B．smart phones
C．video games	D．tablets PCs

【小題2】Most parents don't worry about kid's media use because        ．

A．they can limit the screen time

B．they want their children happy

C．they also grew up with technology

D．they can teach their children themselves

【小題3】From the data of the survey, we learn       ．

A．children in media-centric families are smarter than others

B．children in media-light families spend one hour watching TV

C．more than half of the parents think children's media use was a problem

D．media-centric children spend more than three hours each day on media use

【小題4】To make parenting easier, most parents probably        ．

A．try to persuade their children to read books

B．a(chǎn)sk their children questions while watching TV

C．a(chǎn)llow their children watching TV or using computers

D．turn to toys or activities to keep their children occupied

【小題5】Which of the following is a suggestion by the researchers?

A．Media use time for babies under 2 should be limited．

B．Entertainment media use should be high-quality content．

C．Schools should provide more time for active and creative play．

D．Home media use should provide platforms for illegal and risky behaviors．

I hear many parents saying that their teenage children are rebellion（反叛的）. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are all taking the same way of showing that they degree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own, most of them are trying to seize at one another’s hands for safety.
They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon(蠶繭) -----into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly opened up a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teenager should have and be. And many of today’s parents have come to award（獎勵） high narks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don’t care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come-----with the people who respect you for who you are. That’s the only kind of popularity that really counts.
【小題1】The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to tell_______.

A．readers how to be popular in the world

B．parents how to control and guide their children

C．teenagers how to learn to decide things for themselves

D．people how to understand and respect each other

【小題2】According to the writer, many teenagers think they are brave enough to act on their own, but, in fact, most of them______.

A．a(chǎn)re not sure of themselves

B．have much difficulty in understanding each other

C．dare not do things

D．a(chǎn)re very much afraid of getting lost

【小題3】During the teenage years, one should learn to_____.

A．become different from others in as many ways as possible

B．find one’s real self

C．get into the right reason and become popular

D．rebel against parents

In recent years advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and machines are being developed every day to extend life. However, some people, including some doctors, are not in favor of (不贊成) these life extending measures, and they argue that people should have the right to die when they want. They say that the quality (質(zhì)量) of life is as important as life itself and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become unbearable. They saw that people should be allowed to die with dignity (尊嚴) and to decide when they want to die. Others argue that life under any conditions is better than death and the duty of doctors is always to extend life as long as possible. And so the battle goes on and on without a definite (明確) answer.
【小題1】The best title for this passage is ___________.

A．The Right to Live	B．The Right to Die
C．The Doctor’s Duty	D．Life Is Better Than Death

【小題2】In recent years, people can live longer than in the past. It’s because of ___________.

A．the development of medical technology	B．big hospitals
C．good doctors	D．good living conditions

【小題3】According to some people, whether a dying patient has the right to die or not is up to (該由)  _____.

A．the doctors	B．the surroundings
C．his or her family	D．the patient himself or herself

【小題4】In the writer’s opinion ______________.

A．death is better than life	B．life is better than death
C．neither death nor life is good	D．None of the above

【小題5】Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．Most of the medical workers join in the argument.

B．The argument has ended in favor of the patient.

C．The argument hasn’t ended yet.

D．The quality of life is not as important as life itself.