Only about half of this year’s high school graduates have the reading skills they need to succeed in college, and even fewer are prepared for college-level science and math courses, according to a yearly report from ACT, which produces one of the nation’s leading college admissions tests.

The report, based on scores of the 2005 high school graduates who took the exam, some 1.2 million students in all, also found that fewer than one in four met the college-readiness benchmarks① in all four subjects tested: reading comprehension, English, math and science.

ACT sets its college-readiness benchmarks — including the reading comprehension benchmark, which is new this year—by correlating② earlier students’ ACT scores with grades they actually received as college freshmen. Based on that data, the benchmarks indicate the skill level at which a student has a 70 percent likelihood③ of earning a C or better, and a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better.

Among those who took the 2005 test, only 51 percent achieved the benchmark in reading, 26 percent in science, and 41 percent in math; the figure for English was 68 percent. Results from the new optional ACT writing test, which was not widely taken this year, were not included in the report.

About 40 percent of the nation’s 2005 high school graduates took the ACT, and the average overall score was unchanged from the year before. Minority students make up 27 percent of all ACT test takers. Besides, there are also other worrying trends in the ACT report as well, including a continuing decline in the percentage of students planning to major in engineering, computer science and education.

Notes:

① benchmark  n.  基准

② correlate  v.  联系

③ likelihood  n.  可能性

1. The report from ACT mainly tells readers the problem that ______.

  A. few minority students graduates took ACT

  B. many who intend to go to college are not ready

  C. the college-readiness benchmarks is high this year

  D. the tests for some subjects are too difficult

2. According to the benchmarks in 2005, about how many students will not earn C?

  A. 30 percent.      B. 70 percent.      C. 50 percent.       D. 26 percent.

3. Which of the following pictures can correctly show the numbers of the students who achieve the benchmark in different subjects?

   A.        B.

   C.      D.

4. Which of the followings can be found in the report from ACT in 2005?

  A. The report about the writing test is very objective.

  B. More boy students are not good at science and math.

  C. The percentage of students majoring science declined.

  D. The average score of 2005 ACT participants changed greatly.

【2011·皖南八校第三次联考】

完型填空（共20小题；每小题1．5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。

A new book about Chinese-style tough parenting has caused debate in the US．Amy Chua, the author of Battle Hymn （颂歌）of the Tiger Mother, is a Chinese-American professor at Yale Law School, also a mother of two．

The  36   methods she used with her daughters would seem   37   to Westerners．In school her daughters weren't allowed to make grades   38   than As．They had to   39  playing the piano or violin even for hours a day．

There has been wide criticism （批评） of Chua's book in the US．"It's kind of   40  ," said a professor at New York University, "standards of parenting need to be  41  ．Children need parents to   42   them, not to force them to do things they're probably not interested in．”

Now the criticism seems to have   43   to China．A（n）  44   expert Sun Yunxiao argued Chua's method of   45   would limit children from developing their full   46   ．"and that, focusing too much on test scores and good degrees," Sun said, "parents would   47   their kid's ability fully to develop and to enjoy life．"

48   critics （批评家） might have sympathy for kids experiencing this parenting style, some teenagers quite   49   it．"I think anyone can do well if they work hard enough,” said a 17-year-old boy, "A   50   mother is there to help her kids work hard．"

Others think that Chua has a（n）  51   in setting challenging goals for kids．"It's vital for children,” said an American professor, "  52  , kids need to be   53   sometimes．If you urge kids to do well, they're good at it, and they   54  ．It's good to have high   55  ．”

36．A．rough               B．stubborn             C．strict               D．vivid

37．A．unimaginable        B．unimportant          C．uninteresting        D．unnecessary

38．A．higher           B．fewer               C．little               D．lower

39．A．drill                 B．practise              C．exercise            D．experience

40．A．routine            B．extreme             C．excellence          D．encouragement

41．A．practical            B．high               C．specific            D．low

42．A．replace               B．love                 C．force              D．guide

43．A．spread             B．belonged             C．turned              D．referred

44．A．concerned        B．delighted            C．optimistic            D．nervous

45．A．caring             B．fond                C．supporting           D．parenting

46．A．goal                 B．potential              C．achievement         D．possibility

47．A．obtain              B．increase            C．create                D．sacrifice

48．A．Why                 B．Because            C．While                  D．What

49．A．resist              B．state               C．agree              D．appreciate

50．A．lion               B．monkey          C．tiger                D．sheep

51．A．sense               B．point              C．opinion               D．idea

52．A．Honestly         B．Positively           C．Hopefully             D．Finally

53．A．pushed             B．picked              C．lifted                D．dragged

54．A．count             B．work               C．help                  D．benefit

55．A．levels                B．expectations         C．marks               D．results

第三部分：阅读理解（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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
A university math tutor has discovered the science behind “singledom”, finding that our chances of finding the perfect partner are just 1 in 285,000. Peter Backus, a tutor at the University of Warwick, published his “Why I Don’t Have a Girlfriend” paper after a three-year love drought.
His unconventional study uses a famous math formula called The Drake Equation(德雷克等式), which was first used to estimate the existence of extra-terrestrial(地球以外) life.
The results don't look promising for British singles. 30-year-old Mr. Backus found that out of the 30 million women in the UK, only 26 would be suitable girlfriends for him.
The dull equation takes into account the number of women aged 24 to 34, living in his home city of London, and who are single, meaning his chances of meeting his dream woman on a night out are slim.
The economics expert said: “There are 26 women in London with whom I might have a wonderful relationship. So, on a given night out in London there is a 0.0000034% chance of meeting one of these special people. That’s a 1 in 285,000 chance, so it’s not great.”
The puzzling Drake equation reads: N =" R*" x Fp x Ne x Fi x Fc x L, and helped pioneering scientist Professor Drake to predict that there could be 10,000 civilizations in our galaxy.
Mr. Backus simply replaced the original equation with his own criteria for a dream date, which included the percentage of women likely to find him attractive, and the number of girls aged 24-34 in London. He said: “The research may sound depressing to people looking for love, but the good news for singles is, it’s probably not your fault!”
56. Mr. Backus’ discovery in this passage is mainly concerned about ______.
A. whether there exists life out of our planet
B. the possibility of his being able to find love
C. how to get rid of singledom
D. what math can do to serve our daily life
57. What does Mr. Backus think of the result of his research?
A. Optimistic.     B. Depressing.      C. Unrealistic.     D. Exciting.
58. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. Mr. Backus’ major research field is “singledom”.
B. Mr. Backus found a girlfriend three years ago.
C. Mr. Backus’ new thesis will surely be well received.
D. Mr. Backus has been searching for love for long.
59. By “the good news for singles” in the last sentence, Mr. Backus probably mean _____.
A. you don’t have to blame yourself for remaining single
B. maybe the discovery is not reliable at all
C. the result was based on his own criteria
D. there might be more dream date out of London
60. Which of the following statements is true?
A. This passage could be published in a scientific magazine.
B. The passage intends to prove there are other civilizations.
C. The passage writer doesn’t really understand the Drake equation.
D. Most women in London are not suitable for university teachers.

完形填空

I had my first job at the age of thirteen , when a friend of my mother who owned a bookshop hired me for six hours a week to help her in the shop . I was very  36   to earn my own pocket money and my parents   37 interfered (干涉) with how I spent it , even when I was spending it  38  .They believed that by earning money ,spending it ,and learning from the  39  ,I would become more mature (成熟的)and  40  in how to handle work ,relationships with others ,and money.

Like many  41  parents ,my parents also let me and my brothers do things about which they  42  a great deal .When I was sixteen ,for example ,after I finished high school and before I entered university ,I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around  43   .My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great  44  for me .In the end , my father won the  45  on the condition that I limited my traveling to France ,my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins  46  through the country who could  47  shelter and help if I needed them .

Three years later ,my younger brother decided to  48  a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not  49  to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother spent a (n) 50   year working his way on trains and ships to  51  his passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

These kinds of experiences are probably  52  for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start  53  their children at a young age to do small things by themselves .By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had  54  jobs and traveled around the US or other countries on their own , have selected the university they plan to attend , maybe even have decided on their future  55 ,and so on .

1.A．anxious       B. worried      C. proud        D. nervous

2.A. never          B. ever        C. always           D. even

3.A. carefully       B. foolishly       C. seriously        D. honestly

4.A. work          B. mistakes     C. others       D. books

5.A. strict          B. reasonable      C. polite           D. responsible

6.A. American      B. Japanese      C. Chinese          D. British

7.A. helped         B. supported        C. shared           D. worried

8.A. Asia          B. Africa       C. Europe           D. Oceania

9.A. journey       B. experience       C. chance           D. possibility

10.A. argument      B. game        C. discussion       D. plan

11.A. sending out    B. giving out      C. carrying out     D. spreading out

12.A. promise       B. decide           C. provide          D. serve

13.A. leave         B. make        C. take             D. prepare

14.A. angry         B. eager       C. sorry            D. sad

15.A. unusual       B. hard        C. strange          D. busy

16.A. accept        B. earn         C. find          D. search

17.A. welcome      B. fit          C. necessary        D. rare

18.A. bringing          B. forcing     C. pushing          D. protecting

19.A. part-time      B. full-time       C. good             D. well-paid

20.A. life           B. career          C. hope        D. benefit

阅读下面短文，撑握其大意，然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D），选出最佳选项。

I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a bookshop _36  me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very   37  to earn my own pocket money and my parents   38  interfered(干涉) with how I spent it, even when I was spending it   39  . They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the   40  , I would become more mature(成熟) and  41 about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.

Like many   42  parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they  43   a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around   44  . My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great   45  for me. In the end, my father won the   46  on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins   47  through the country who could   48  shelter and help if I need them.

Three years later, my younger brother decide to   49  a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not   50  to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n)   51  year working his way on trains and ships to   52  passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

These kinds of experiences are probably rare(稀少的) for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly   53  . Most parents start   54  their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have   55  the university they plan to attend and maybe even decided on their future career, and so on.

A．taught    B．allowed    C．treated      D．hired

A．anxious  B．content     C．proud       D．hopeful

A．never     B．ever  C．always      D．even

A．quickly  B．foolishly   C．seriously   D．honesty

A．work     B．mistakes   C．others       D．books

A．strict      B．reasonable C．polite       D．responsible

A．American      B．Japanese   C．Chinese    D．British

A．helped   B．supported  C．shared      D．worried

A．Asia      B．Africa      C．Europe     D．Oceania

A．journey       B．experience       C．chance      D．possibility

A．argument     B．game C．discussion D．plan

A．send out      B．give out    C．carry out   D．spread out

A．promise       B．afford       C．provide     D．serve

A．leave    B．make C．take   D．prepare

A．angry   B．eager C．sorry D．sad

A．unusual       B．hard  C．strange     D．busy

A．accept  B．earn  C．find   D．search

A．welcome     B．fit     C．necessary  D．common

A．bringing      B．forcing     C．pushing    D．protecting

A．selected      B．admired    C．afforded   D．left