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Facing increasing pressure to raise students’ scores on standardized tests,schools a
re urging kids to work harder by offering them obvious encouragements.Happy Meals are at the low end of the scale.With the help of businesses, schools are also giving away cars,iPods,seats to basketball games,and—in a growing number of cases—cold,hard cash.The appeal of such programs is obvious,but the consequences of tying grades to goods are still uncertain.It’s been a common tradition in middle-class families to reward top grades with cash as a way to teach that success in school leads to success in life.But for many disadvantaged minority children,the long-term benefits of getting an education are not so clear,according to experts.
No one knows for sure how well cash and other big-ticket rewards work in education in the long run.But there are plenty of concerns that this kind of practice could have negative effects on kids.Virginia Shiller,a clinical psychologist,says that it’s worth experimenting with cash encouragements but that tying them to success on a test is not a worthwhile goal.“I’d rather see rewards based on effort and responsibility—things that will lead to success in life,” she says.
Even if rewards don’t lead to individual achievement on a test,they could have a meaningful effect in the school.Charles McVean, a businessman and philanthropist（慈善家）,started a tutoring program，which pays higher-achieving students $10 an hour to tutor struggling classmates and divides them into teams.During the course of the year,students bond and compete.The team posting the highest math scores wins the top cash prize of $100. McVean calls the combination of peer（同龄人）tutoring,competition,and cash encouragements a recipe for “nothing less than magic”.[
For its part,the Seminole County Public Schools system in Florida plans to continue its report card encouragement program through the rest of the school year.The local McDonald’s restaurants help the poor district by paying the $1,600 cost of printing the report card.Regina Klaers,the district spokeswoman,says most parents don’t seem bothered by the Happy Meals rewards.“There are many ways we try to urge students to do well,and sometimes it’s through the stomach,and sometimes it’s the probability of students winning a car,” she says,“One size doesn’t fit all.”
1.According to the text,it is a common practice for schools to________.
A. offer free meals to students with high scores
B. educate students to form a business sense
C. cooperate with business to improve teaching
D. tie students’ grades to material rewards
2.According to the text,the long-term results of giving students cash as rewards in education are_____.
A. negative B. optimistic
C. uncertain D. disappointing
3.The tutoring program run by Charles McVean_______.
A. hires some excellent teachers to teach the struggling students
B. has a meaningful effect in inspiring students’ enthusiasm on study
C. is a program combining tutoring,competition and future job offers
D. rewards the student with the highest scores with cash prize of $100
4.We can learn that in Seminole County_____.
A. there are various ways to inspire students to study hard
B. many parents are not satisfied with the Happy Meals rewards
C. the local McDonald’s restaurants provide the rewards for poor students
D. people are searching for a good-for-all method to urge students to do well
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The high-anxiety focus on reading score may have narrowed student________to knowledge about the world that can improve their reading.
| A．idea | B．aid | C．belief | D．access |
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A woman professor was giving a lesson to her students on _______management. As she raised a glass of water, everyone in the class _______they would be asked the “half-empty or half-full” question. _______, that was not the case. With a smile on her face, she asked the students, “How much do you think this glass of water weighs?”
Answers called out _______from eight to twenty ounces(盎司).
She quieted the students down and then replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t _______. But it count how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my _______. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb. In each case, the _______of the glass of water doesn’t change, but the _______I hold it, the heavier it becomes. why?”
Lost in _______, all the students kept silent and listened to the professor carefully.
“Our stresses and _______in life are like that glass of water. If we _______our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will feel exhausted, even unable to _______.”
_______you have to do in put all your burdens down , as _______in the evening as possible. Don’t carry them through the evening into the night; by doing this, we can get _______next morning and are _______to move forward.
More often than not, life gets terrible when we _______too much. And the moment you _______your burdens, you’ll find yourself feeling so much more relaxed.
So rather than being upset and feeling _______for yourself, start doing something about it. After all, life is too short to _______yourself to anything that is not making you happy.
1.A. class B. emotion C. time D. stress
2.A. wondered B. agreed C. expected D. argued
3.A. Meanwhile B. However C. Anyhow D. Therefore
4.A. ranged B. replied C. read D. exchanged
5.A. exist B. change C. increase D. matter
6.A. arm B. head C. leg D. stomach
7.A. shape B. position C. weight D. size
8.A. better B. longer C. deeper D. further
9.A. fantasy B. discussion C. dreams D. thought
10.A. doubts B. joys C. worries D. surprises
11.A. cover B. carry C. hide D. show
12.A. pick up B. work out C. carry on D. catch on
13.A. Something B. All C. Nothing D. anything
14.A. eagerly B. naturally C. quickly D. early
15.A. refreshed B. entertained C. depressed D. amazed
16.A. anxious B. able C. passive D. ambitious
17.A. fear B. rest C. think D. get
18.A. let go of B. look down on C. catch up with D. put up with
19.A. happy B. greedy C. disappointed D. sorry
20.A. abandon B. treat C. drive D. help
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Today, widespread social pressure to immediately go to college together with increasingly high expectations in a fast-moving world often causes students to completely overlook the possibility of taking a gap year. After all, if everyone you know is going to college in the fall, it seems silly to stay back a year, doesn’t it? And after going to school for 12 years, it doesn’t feel natural to spend a year doing something that isn’t academic.
But while this may be true, it’s not a good enough reason to condemn gap years. There’s always a constant fear of falling behind everyone else on the socially perpetuated (长期存在的) “race to the finish line”, whether that be toward graduate school, medical school or successful career. But despite common misconceptions, a gap year does not hinder the success of academic pursuits. In fact, it probably improves it.
Studies from the United States and Australia show that students who take a gap year are generally better prepared for and perform better in college than those who do not. Rather than pulling students back, a gap year pushes them ahead by preparing them for independence, new responsibilities and environmental changes — all things that first-year students often struggle with the 「most. Gap year experiences can lessen the blow when it comes to adjusting to college and being thrown into a brand new environmental, making it easier to focus on academics and activities.
If you’re not convinced of the value in taking a year off to explore interests, then consider its financial impact on future academic choices. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 80 percent of college students end up changing their majors at least once. This isn’t surprising, considering the basic compulsory high school curriculum leaves students with a poor understanding of themselves listing one major on their college applications, but switching to another after taking college classes. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but depending on the school, it can be costly to make up credits after switching too late in the game. At Bost on College, for example, you would have to complete an extra year were you to switch to the nursing school from another department. Taking a gap year to figure things out initially can help prevent stress and save money later on.
1.High-school graduates don’t take a gap year probably because ________.
A.they think it academically misleading
B.they have a lot of fun to expect in college
C.it seems silly to take courses off the campus
D.it feels strange to be different from others
2.The underlined word “hinder” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”.
A.achieve B.prevent
C.develop D.compensate
3.What can we learn from the text?
A.Switching to another major won’t cost freshmen a lot.
B.All freshmen find it difficult to adapt to the new environment.
C.Taking a gap year helps freshmen concentrate more on studies.
D.High school students know nothing about how to choose a major.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.The Benefits of the Gap Year B.The ABCs of the Gap Year
C.The Gap Year Comes Back D.The Gap Year: A Dilemma
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Today, widespread social pressure to immediately go to college together with increasingly high expectations in a fast -moving world often causes students to completely overlook the possibility of taking a gap year. And after going to school for 12 years, it doesn't feel natural to spend a year during something that isn’t academic.
But despite common misconceptions, a gap year does not impede the success of academics—in fact, it probably promotes it.
Studies show that students who take a gap year are generally better prepared for and perform better in college than those who do not. Gap year experiences can lessen the difficulty when it comes to adjusting to college and being thrown into a brand new environment, making it easier to focus on academics and activities.
Nearly 80 percent of college students end up changing their majors at least once. Many students find themselves listing one major on their college applications, but switching to another after taking college classes. At Boston College, for example, you would have to complete an extra year were you to switch to the nursing school from another department. Taking a gap year to figure things out initially can help prevent stress and save money later on.
Many people, however, argue that the gap year itself can take much money. That’s a math. There are formal gap year programs that are rather pricey, but there are also many opportunities to volunteer and receive free housing or even get paid for your gap year.
Perhaps the most convincing reason for taking a gap year is that it offers a unique opportunity that will likely never reappear. After graduating from college, it's possible to take some time off. Students should think about the next step in their future lives: Don’t rule out anything, including a gap year.
1.What might be the author's purpose by writing the passage?
A. To explain what the gap year really is.
B. To prove the necessity of the gap year.
C. To introduce the way to take the gap year.
D. To describe the students taking their gap year.
2.What stops students taking their gap year?
A. The pricey gap year programs.
B. Bad performance in high school.
C. High expectations for college life.
D. Worrying about falling behind in study.
3.What can we know about students from the passage?
A. Nearly 80 percent of college students change their majors only once.
B. High school students have little experience to choose college majors.
C. many new comers of college are suffering from acclimation blunders.
D. All colleges allow their students to change their majors free of charge.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the gap year?
A. Favorable. B. Critical.
C. Concerned. D. Indifferent.
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When ______ to danger and conflict, men tend to increase blood pressure, feeling nervous or anxious.
A. expose B. exposed
C. to expose D. exposing
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When ___ to danger and conflict, men tend to increase blood pressure, ___ nervous and anxious.
A. exposed; felt B. exposing; feeling
C. exposing; felt D. exposed; feeling
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When ____ to danger and conflict, men tend to increase blood pressure, ____ nervous or anxious.
A. exposed; felt B. exposing; felt
C. exposed; feeling D. exposing; feeling
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When ____ to danger and conflict, men tend to increase blood pressure, ______ nervous and anxious.
A．exposed; felt B．exposed; feeling C．exposing; feeling D．exposing; felt
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With these increased pressures and difficulty in ensuring a graduate job, more people are turning to recruitment(招聘) agencies for help. Luke Harper wrote for the Independent warning students to be cautious when using graduate recruitment agencies in their job hunt. The article’s main argument against graduate recruitment agencies is that they are looking to sign people up to the agency and harvest data, without having any real intention to personally find them a job.
The fundamental problem with this approach is a basic misunderstanding of how the recruitment sector works. One of the more common ways is that recruitment agencies aim to find you a job to secure a fee from their clients. Recruitment agencies operate as a business, not a careers service and are not expected to find you a job while you wait around.
There is no denying that amongst the recruitment agencies, there are some CV(简历) hungry, cut and shut agencies that are uninterested in the candidates they have on their books. However, nowadays these are in the minority and don’t tend to last very long.
Paul Farrer, Chief Executive of a leading recruitment agency is worried that a few bad apples are ruining the reputation of what is an excellent sector. Farrer said “The trouble with such an imbalanced and misleading article is that some graduates may now be put off approaching recruitment agencies who may well be able to help them.”
Professionals in the industry are cautious of how some of the less respectable agencies operate. Earnest recruiters believe that graduates should be aware that some of these agencies will take on graduates for all their details rather than helping them find a job, like Harper mentioned. To fight this, Farrar advises that “Graduates should have a simple checklist before approaching any agency. Has the agency taken the time to talk to me? Have they invited me to a face-to-face meeting? Have they guaranteed not to forward my CV to any employer without my permission? These three steps will safeguard every application.”
Farrer also pointed out that that is not the only safety net that graduates can rely on. He said “Graduates can also check to see if the agencies are members of either APSCo or the REC, the two trade bodies they can make an official complaint to. The vast majority of recruitment agencies are professional organizations that help place thousands of graduates every year and poorly researched articles help no one.”
1.The main purpose of this passage is ______ graduate recruitment agencies.
A. to advise readers to be cautious of
B. to argue against some misjudgment against
C. to explain why there is a prejudice against
D. to seek the solutions to the problems caused by
2.Which of the following is RIGHT according to the passage?
A. Luke Harper holds the same idea about jobs with Paul Farrer.
B. Recruitment agencies actually do the same work as a careers service.
C. Job hunters’ detailed information is of value to recruitment agencies.
D. A member of APSCo or the REC will not cheat its clients.
3.What advice does Paul Farrer give graduates to avoid less respectable agencies?
A. Consulting professionals before giving their personal details to an agency.
B. Making a face-to-face investigation into an agency before approaching it.
C. Guaranteeing that the agency will not forward their CV to any employer.
D. Selecting some agencies that are monitored by official trade bodies.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards graduate recruitment agencies?
A. Neutral. B. Positive. C. Negative. D. Not Clear.
re urging kids to work harder by offering them obvious encouragements.Happy Meals are at the low end of the scale.With the help of businesses, schools are also giving away cars,iPods,seats to basketball games,and—in a growing number of cases—cold,hard cash.The appeal of such programs is obvious,but the consequences of tying grades to goods are still uncertain.It’s been a common tradition in middle-class families to reward top grades with cash as a way to teach that success in school leads to success in life.But for many disadvantaged minority children,the long-term benefits of getting an education are not so clear,according to experts.