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(职业) 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.

1.The author’s friends and family_________.

A. are worried about Emma’s safety

B. have been worrying about the flood

C. are concerned about Emma’s future?????????????

D. are worried about the job market

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.

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.

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

Students and Technology in the Classroom
I love my blackberry — it’s my little connection to the larger world that can go anywhere with me. I also love my laptop computer，as it holds all of my writing and thoughts. Despite this love of technology, I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices（设备）and truly communicate with others.
On occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers. My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas. Because I want students to thoroughly study the material and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule — no laptop, iPads, phones ,etc .When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy.
Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology. There’s a bit of truth to that. Some students assume that I am anti-technology. There’s no truth in that at all. I love technology and try to keep up with it so I can relate to my students.
The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversions and truly engage complex ideas. Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas. I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas. I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course the material and the class discussion.
I’ve been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create. Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they learn at a level that helps them keep the course material beyond the classroom.
I’m not saying that I won’t ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear a really good reason for the change, I’m sticking to my plan. A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up.
【小题1】Some of the students in the history class were unhappy with _______.

I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic    36 ; in the other a toy broom. I listened as she was speaking to her make-believe(假装) little friend and I’ll never forget the words she said, even though it was imagined.

She said, “Suzie’s in the corner because she’s not been very   37 . She didn’t listen to a   38  I said or do the things she should.” In the   39  I saw her baby doll all dressed in lace and pink. It was   40  she’d been put to sit alone and   41 .

My daughter   42  her “conversation”, as I sat down on the floor. She said, “I’m all fed up. I just don’t know   43  to do with her any more. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play games, too. She never   44  me do the things that I just have to do. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot   45 . And she doesn’t know how to fold towels. I don’t have the   46  to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don’t have the time to sit and play —   47  what I mean?”

And that day I thought a lot about making some   48  in my life, as I listened to her words that   49  me like a knife. I hadn’t been paying enough attention to what I hold most   50 . I’d been caught up in responsibilities that increased   51  years.

But now my   52  has changed, because, in my heart, I realize that I’ve seen the world in a different light through my little darling’s eyes. So, let the cobwebs（蜘蛛网）  53  the corners and the dust bunny rabbit rule the floor. I’m not going to worry about keeping up with them   54 .

I’m going to fill the house with   55  of a child and her mother, for we are granted only one childhood, and we will never get another.

1.                A．table           B．camera         C．hammer  D．phone

2.                A．gentle          B．happy          C．good D．helpful

3.                A．story           B．word           C．joke D．sentence

4.                A．corner         B．bed            C．room D．box

5.                A．possible        B．clear           C．common  D．unusual

6.                A．recover        B．pretend        C．think D．regret

7.                A．continued       B．stopped        C．repeated D．interrupted

8.                A．what           B．whether        C．why D．how

9.                A．has            B．helps           C．makes    D．lets

10.               A．reach          B．settle          C．arrive D．handle

11.               A．ability          B．duty           C．energy    D．reason

12.               A．mind          B．see            C．feel  D．learn

13.               A．influences      B．changes        C．plans D．troubles

14.               A．cut            B．hurt           C．broke D．harmed

15.               A．clever         B．heavy          C．dear  D．lovely

16.               A．over           B．after           C．for   D．during

17.               A．purpose        B．principle        C．destination D．attitude

18.               A．have           B．manage        C．make D．stop

19.               A．either          B．any more       C．neither    D．anywhere

20.               A．conversations    B．messages       C．imaginations    D．memories

I have always known my kids use digital communications equipment a lot. But my cellphone bill last month really grabbed my attention. My son had come up to nearly 2,000 incoming text messages, and had sent nearly as many. Of course, he was out of school for the summer and communicating more with friends from a distance. Nevertheless, he found time to keep a summer job and complete a college course in between all that typing with thumb.

???? I was even more surprised to learn that my son is normal. "Teenagers with cellphones each send and receive 2,272 text messages a month on average, " Nielsen Mobile said.

???? Some experts regret? that all? that? keyboard jabber(键盘闲聊) is making our? kids stupid, unable to read non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, posture and other silent signals of mood and attitude. Unlike phones, text messaging doesn't even allow transmission of tone of voice or pauses, says Mark Bauerlein, author called The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future.

???? Beyond that,? though,? I'm not sure I see as much harm as critics of this trend.? I' ve posted before on how I initially tried to control my kids' texting. But over time, I have seen my son suffer no apparent ill effects, and he gains a big benefit, continuing contact with others.

???? I don't think texting make kids stupid. It may make them annoying, when they try to text and talk to you at the same time. And it may make them distracted. when buzzing text message interrupt efforts to noodle out a math problem or finish reading for school.

???? But I don't see texting harming teens' ability to communicate. My son is as accustomed to nonverbal cues as any older members of our family. I have found him more engaged and easier to communicate with from a great distance. because he is constantly available by means of text? message and responds with faithfulness and speed.

1.What is Mark Bauerlein ' s attitude to texting?

A. It is convenient for teens to communicate with others.

B. It is likely to cause trouble in understanding each other.

C. It is convenient for teens to text and call at the same time.

D. It will cause damage to the development of teens' intelligence.

2.What would be the best title for this passage?

A. For Teens, Texting Instead of Talking

B. For Parents, Caring Much for Their Kids

C. Disadvantages of Texting

D. The Effect of Communication

3.What does the underlined word "distracted" in the fifth paragraph mean?

A. Confused.???????????????????????????? B. Absent-minded.

C. Comfortable.????????????????????????? D. Bad-tempered.

4. The author's attitude to texting is ___________ .

A. objective???????? B. opposed?????????? C. supportive???????? D. doubtful

5.According to the passage,? which of the statements is NOT true?

A. It is normal for a teen to send or receive 60 text messages per day.

B. Texting is a very popular way of communication among teens.

C. The writer limited his son to send or receive messages at first.

D. When texting, teens don't mind talking with you.

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland（虚幻世界）of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．
One day Alex got a call,“We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．” $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer? Full time．“Thanks, but no,” Alex said firmly and swiftly, “I'm going to stick it out and write．”
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself, “There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low.”
Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experienced．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland．
【小题1】Why did Alex give up his job?