I would go to California in ________.

The high school diploma (文凭) is losing its value quickly, as a growing number of students graduate (毕业) from school without the math and reading skills that colleges and companies require, according to a new report.

The high school graduation exams that most states (州) require students to pass before they graduate remain far too easy. Most of the exams generally test eighth-or ninth-grade level work.

Today, even high school graduates who are going to have blue-collar (蓝领) jobs need to study the math, research and writing courses. But in high school, only students who are going to college are now required to take these courses.

“If you want a good job with a good pay, it’s a high-skill job,” said Michael Cohen, a leading member of the America Diploma Project.

The project suggests that all graduates master a wide range (范围) of skills. “A high school diploma should mean something to a company and university,” said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who is Achieve’s co-chairman.

In Taft’s state, about 30% students who go directly to college from high school have to take remedial classes of English or math, he said. It’s easy to see that the present high-school graduating standards are not preparing students for college education.

And with high-skilled jobs increasingly headed overseas to places like India and Ireland, states need to act, he said.

To prove why math and reading skills matter, the report includes real-life examples of problems students meet in college and that workers must solve each day on the job. ?

Some states are taking actions to upgrade the high school diploma. In Texas, all high school students, starting with the 2008 graduating class, will have to take the college-prep curriculum (大学预备课程) - unless a parent agrees to an easier course load. Other states are planning similar moves.

The report includes examples of reading and math skills that high-school students should have. Project leaders say they hope parents will use those examples to judge (评定) the coursework at their kids’ high schools.

1.Why is the high school diploma losing its value quickly?

A．Because the number of high school students is growing fast.

B．Because high school students fail to reach the standards.

C．Because the graduation tests are easier than it should be.

D．Because difficult courses are not required in high schools.

2.Remedial classes in Paragraph 6 mean classes____.

A．for good learners to study quickly and better

B．for slower learners weak in the subject

C．for learners to be taught one by one

D．for learners to reach a higher standard

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Colleges require higher math and reading skills than companies.

B．It is easier for companies to find high-skilled workers in India.

C．Math and reading skills help little for workers to solve daily problems.

D．Parents ask high schools to offer college-prep curriculum in Texas.

4.What can be the best title for the passage?

A．High School Diploma Means Little

B．Give Students More High-skill Jobs

C．Math and Reading Skills Really Matter

D．Judge Coursework at High Schools

There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world. But only a few of them are very important. English is one of them. Many, many people use it, not only in England and the USA, but also in other parts of the world. About 200,000,000 people speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a foreign language. Many millions of people are trying to do so. Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different answers. Have you ever noticed ads(广告) of this kind in the newspapers or magazines? “Learn English in six weeks, or give your money back…” “Easy and funny…” “Our records and tapes help you master English in a month”. Of course, it never happened quite like that.

The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should remember that we all learned our own language well when we were children. If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. Think of what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears.

So it is hard to say that learning English is easy. We must do a lot of practice. And practice needs great efforts and takes much time. Good teachers, record, tapes, books, and dictionaries will be helpful, but they cannot do the student’s work for him.

1.How many languages are very important in the world?

2.If we want to learn English well, what shall we do?

3.How does the writer like the ads in the newspapers or magazines?

4.Which language is easy to learn?

5.Which countries use English as the mother tongue?

The high school diploma (文凭) is losing its value quickly, as a growing number of students graduate (毕业) from school without the math and reading skills that colleges and companies require, according to a new report.
The high school graduation exams that most states (州) require students to pass before they graduate remain far too easy. Most of the exams generally test eighth-or ninth-grade level work.
Today, even high school graduates who are going to have blue-collar (蓝领) jobs need to study the math, research and writing courses. But in high school, only students who are going to college are now required to take these courses.
“If you want a good job with a good pay, it’s a high-skill job,” said Michael Cohen, a leading member of the America Diploma Project.
The project suggests that all graduates master a wide range (范围) of skills. “A high school diploma should mean something to a company and university,” said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who is Achieve’s co-chairman.
In Taft’s state, about 30% students who go directly to college from high school have to take remedial classes of English or math, he said. It’s easy to see that the present high-school graduating standards are not preparing students for college education.
And with high-skilled jobs increasingly headed overseas to places like India and Ireland, states need to act, he said.
To prove why math and reading skills matter, the report includes real-life examples of problems students meet in college and that workers must solve each day on the job. ?
Some states are taking actions to upgrade the high school diploma. In Texas, all high school students, starting with the 2008 graduating class, will have to take the college-prep curriculum (大学预备课程) - unless a parent agrees to an easier course load. Other states are planning similar moves.
The report includes examples of reading and math skills that high-school students should have. Project leaders say they hope parents will use those examples to judge (评定) the coursework at their kids’ high schools.
【小题1】Why is the high school diploma losing its value quickly?