第二部分：阅读理解 (共45分)
第一节（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项
A
If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis. From there, you might move on to the automakers in Detroit.
But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee(被提名): public education.
At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world. Yet in terms of its core mission(核心使命)---turning teenagers into educated college graduates--- much of the system is failing.
The United States does a good job enrolling (招生) teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree.
So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world’s largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called “Crossing the Finish Line” tries to do precisely that. Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos. The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching. It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into. They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive. About half of the low-income students with an average of at least 3.5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. “I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched,” said Mr. Bowen.
In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates. Meanwhile, lower-income students -–even when they are better qualified—often go to colleges that excel（擅长）in producing drop-outs. “It’s really a waste,” Mr. Bowen said, “and a big problem for the country.” As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students. Instead, it appears to have fallen.
What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer.
41.Which of the following would people first think of as a factor responsible for the American financial crisis according to this passage?
A. The government.                      B. Public education
C. The Detroit automakers.                       D. The Wall Street firms.
42. What is a big problem with American higher education?
A. It is hard to enroll enough students into college.
B. Many colleges are experiencing low rate of graduation.
C. Many college students stay away from classes.
D. It is hard for many colleges to get financial aid from the government. 
43. The title of the book Crossing the Finish Line probably means______.
A. running to the end of the line                B. going to college
C. finishing college education                    D. working hard in college
44. Why do some students under--match ?
A. Because they have financial difficulty.  B. Because they face ambition crisis.
C. Because they lack confidence.             D. Because they can’t get guidance.
45. The passage is mainly about _______.
A. problems with secondary American education and possible solutions
B. America’s financial crisis, its cause and influence
C. low rate of American college graduation, its cause and its influence
D. relationship between American education and its economy

 Let’s say you have a piece of wood, a nail, and hammer. Pretend the wood is a person, the nail is a mean rumor (谣言) about that person. If you hammer in the nail, you’re obviously hurting him or her. If you then pull out the nail, there’s still a hole in the wood, and the damage has been done.

There are many reasons why that nail of a rumor can be so harmful. Rumors are, quite simply, a form of bullying (欺悔). When a person or a group makes up a rumor about someone or decides to spread gossip, it’s usually to hurt someone, break up a friendship, or make someone less popular. It’s the same thing as teasing, only it’s done behind someone’s back instead of to his or her face.

When you spread a rumor about someone, you’re sending a signal that the person is outside of the group, and somehow less worthy of friendship than others. You’re making fun of that person or pointing out negative things about him or her. This can let others think that it’s okay to make the person feel bad, and make him or her an outsider.

We need to be able to trust our friends, and gossip and rumors can break this trust. If you tell a personal secret to a friend, and he turns around and tells it to someone else, you might feel like you will get burned if you ever get close to him again.

Letting a rumor influence your behavior is like letting someone else make a big decision for you. Let’s say you hear that the teacher plans to call a Snow Day tomorrow because a blizzard (暴风雪) is coming. Expecting a day off, you don’t do your homework. The next morning, the blizzard turns out to be nothing more than a drizzle（毛毛雨）, and school isn’t off after all. You get zeroes on your work.

1.The purpose of the first paragraph is to        .

A. help readers know what a rumor is        B. attract readers to read the following paragraphs

C. emphasize the damaging effects of rumors   D. explain how a rumor spreads

2.To tell a rumor and a tease apart, you depend on        .

A. whether it is done behind someone            B. whether it is painful or not

C. whether it is a kind if bullying                 D. whether it is spread fast

3. If a rumor is spread about someone, others may        .

A. point out his or her advantages B. keep away from him or her

C. not feel he or she is an outsider  D. be hurt if getting close to him or her again

4.From the last paragraph, we can infer that        .

A. it is hard to keep rumors a secret             B. rumors can destroy your interest in learning

C. believing rumors can lead to bad choices    D. rumors can control your whole life

5. The purpose of this passage is to         .

A. advise on how to deal with rumors  B. teach us how to judge a rumor

C. find out why rumors spread fast     D. explain why rumors hurt

第二部分：阅读理解 (共45分)

第一节（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项

A

If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis. From there, you might move on to the automakers in Detroit.

But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee(被提名): public education.

At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world. Yet in terms of its core mission(核心使命)---turning teenagers into educated college graduates--- much of the system is failing.

The United States does a good job enrolling (招生) teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree.

So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world’s largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called “Crossing the Finish Line” tries to do precisely that. Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos. The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching. It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into. They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive. About half of the low-income students with an average of at least 3.5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. “I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched,” said Mr. Bowen.

In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates. Meanwhile, lower-income students -–even when they are better qualified—often go to colleges that excel（擅长）in producing drop-outs. “It’s really a waste,” Mr. Bowen said, “and a big problem for the country.” As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students. Instead, it appears to have fallen.

What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer.

41.Which of the following would people first think of as a factor responsible for the American financial crisis according to this passage?

A. The government.                      B. Public education

C. The Detroit automakers.                       D. The Wall Street firms.

42. What is a big problem with American higher education?

A. It is hard to enroll enough students into college.

B. Many colleges are experiencing low rate of graduation.

C. Many college students stay away from classes.

D. It is hard for many colleges to get financial aid from the government. 

43. The title of the book Crossing the Finish Line probably means______.

A. running to the end of the line                B. going to college

C. finishing college education                    D. working hard in college

44. Why do some students under--match ?

A. Because they have financial difficulty.  B. Because they face ambition crisis.

C. Because they lack confidence.             D. Because they can’t get guidance.

45. The passage is mainly about _______.

A. problems with secondary American education and possible solutions

B. America’s financial crisis, its cause and influence

C. low rate of American college graduation, its cause and its influence

D. relationship between American education and its economy