Passage six(Dropouts for Ph. D. s)

  Educators are seriously concerned about the high rate of dropouts among the doctor of philosophy candidates and the consequent loss of talent to a nation in need of Ph. D. s. Some have placed the dropouts loss as high as 50 percent. The extent of the loss was, however, largely a matter of expert guessing. Last week a well-rounded study was published. It was published. It was based on 22,000 questionnaires sent to former graduate students who were enrolled in 24 universities and it seemed to show many past fears to be groundless.

  The dropouts rate was found to be 31 per cent, and in most cases the dropouts, while not completing the Ph. D. requirement, went on to productive work. They are not only doing well financially, but, according to the report, are not far below the income levels of those who went on to complete their doctorates.

  Discussing the study last week, Dr. Tucker said the project was initiated ‘because of the concern frequently expressed by graduate faculties and administrators that some of the individuals who dropped out of Ph. D. programs were capable of competing the requirement for the degree. Attrition at the Ph. D. level is also thought to be a waste of precious faculty time and a drain on university resources already being used to capacity. Some people expressed the opinion that the shortage of highly trained specialists and college teachers could be reduced by persuading the dropouts to return to graduate schools to complete the Ph. D.’

  “The results of our research” Dr. Tucker concluded, “did not support these opinions.”

Lack of motivation was the principal reason for dropping out.

Most dropouts went as far in their doctoral program as was consistent with their levels of ability or their specialities.

Most dropouts are now engaged in work consistent with their education and motivation.

  Nearly 75 per cent of the dropouts said there was no academic reason for their decision, but those who mentioned academic reason cited failure to pass the qualifying examination, uncompleted research and failure to pass language exams. Among the single most important personal reasons identified by dropouts for non-completion of their Ph. D. program, lack of finances was marked by 19 per cent.

  As an indication of how well the dropouts were doing, a chart showed 2% in humanities were receiving $ 20,000 and more annually while none of the Ph. D. ‘s with that background reached this figure. The Ph. D. ‘s shone in the $ 7,500 to $ 15,000 bracket with 78% at that level against 50% for the dropouts. This may also be an indication of the fact that top salaries in the academic fields, where Ph. D. ‘s tend to rise to the highest salaries, are still lagging behind other fields.

  As to the possibility of getting dropouts back on campus, the outlook was glum. The main condition which would have to prevail for at least 25 % of the dropouts who might consider returning to graduate school would be to guarantee that they would retain their present level of income and in some cases their present job.

1.The author states that many educators feel that

A.steps should be taken to get the dropouts back to campus.

B.the fropouts should return to a lower quality school to continue their study.

C.the Ph. D. holder is generally a better adjusted person than the dropout.

D.The high dropouts rate is largely attributable to the lack of stimulation on the part of faculty members.

2.Research has shown that

A.Dropouts are substantially below Ph. D. ‘s in financial attainment.

B.the incentive factor is a minor one in regard to pursuing Ph. D. studies.

C.The Ph. D. candidate is likely to change his field of specialization if he drops out.

D.about one-third of those who start Ph. D. work do not complete the work to earn the degree.

3.Meeting foreign language requirements for the Ph. D.

A.is the most frequent reason for dropping out.

B.is more difficult for the science candidate than for the humanities candidate.

C.is an essential part of many Ph. D. programs.

D.does not vary in difficulty among universities.

4.After reading the article, one would refrain from concluding that

A.optimism reigns in regard to getting Ph. D. dropouts to return to their pursuit of the degree.

B.a Ph. D. dropout, by and large, does not have what it takes to learn the degree.

C.colleges and universities employ a substantial number of Ph. D. dropouts.

D.Ph. D. ‘s are not earning what they deserve in nonacademic positions.

5.It can be inferred that the high rate of dropouts lies in

A.salary for Ph. D. too low.

B.academic requirement too high.

C.salary for dropouts too high.

D.1000 positions.

Children find meanings in their old family tales．
When Stephen Guyer’s three children were growing up, he told them stories about how his grandfather, a banker,   1  all in the 1930s, but did not lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times   2  his strong-minded grandfather was nearly  3  , he loaded his family into the car and   4   them to see family members in Canada with a   5  , “there are more important things in life than money”.
The   6  took on a new meaning recently when Mr. Guyer downsized to  7   house from a more expensive and comfortable one. He was  8     that his children, a daughter, 15, and twins, 22, would be upset．To his surprise, they weren’t.  9     , their reaction echoed (共鸣) their great-grandfather’s．What they 10   was how warm the people were in the house and how  11    of their heart was accessible.
Many parents are finding that family stories have surprising power to help children
  12   hard times. Storytelling experts say the phenomenon reflects a growing   13    in telling tales, evidenced by a rise in storytelling events and festivals.
A university   14   of 65 families with children aged from 14 to 16 found kids’ ability to 15  parents’ stories was linked to a lower rate of anger and anxiety.
The  16  is telling the stories in a way children can 17   . We’re not talking here about the kind of story that  18  , “ When I was a kid, I walked to school every day uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow.” Instead, we should choose a story suited to the child’s 19 , and make eye contact (接触) to create “a personal experience”. We don’t have to tell children 20   they should take from the story and what the moral is.

Energy is very important in modern life. People use energy to run machines, heat and cool their homes, cook, give light, and transport people and products from place to place. Most energy comes from fossil fuels—petroleum, coal, and natural gas. However, burning fuels causes pollution. Also, if we don’t find new kinds of energy, we will use up all the fossil fuels in the twenty-first century. Scientists are working hard to find other kinds of energy for the future. What might these sources of energy be?

                      Energy from the wind

   All over the world, people use the power of the wind. It turns windmills and moves sailboats. It is a clean source of energy, and there is lots of it. Unfortunately, if the wind does not blow, there is no wind energy.

Energy from water

   When water moves from a high place to a lower place, it makes energy. This energy is used to create electricity. In Brittany, France, for example, waterpower produces enough energy to light a town of 40,000people. Waterpower gives energy without pollution. However, people have to build dams to use this energy. Dams cost a lot of money, so water energy is expensive.

Energy from the earth

There is heat in rocks under the earth. Scientists use this heat to make geothermal energy. San Francisco gets half of the energy it needs from geothermal power. This kind of energy is cheap, but it is possible only in a few places in the world.

Energy from the sun

Solar panels on the roofs of houses can turn energy from the sun into electricity. These panels can create enough energy to heat an entire house. Solar power is clean and there is a lot of it in sunny places. But when the weather is bad, there is no sunlight for energy.

1.What does this passage mainly talk about?

    A．Advantage of the energy from nature.

B．The future of the energy.

C．Scientists have been working hard to research other kinds of energy.

D．energy is the most important power in the word.

2.From the first paragraph we know ______.

A．energy can do everything for people

B．all the energy causes pollution

C．the new kinds of energy are badly needed

D．scientists have found other kinds of energy for the future

3.What is the writer’s opinion about the energy?

A．Try to use water energy more though it costs a lot.

B．Each natural energy has its own advantages and disadvantages.

C．Solar power is environmental.

D．Wind power is the cheapest but we can’t get.

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

A．In order to protect our environment, we should try other kinds of energy.

       B．All scientists in the world will unite to find energy.

C．People in modern life use energy every day.

D．Energy changes people’s lives.

Earthquakes may rightly be ranked as one of the most destructive forces known to man: since records began to be written down, it has been estimated that earthquake-related fatalities (????) have numbered in the millions, and that earthquake-related destruction has been beyond calculation. The greater part of such damage and loss of life had been due to collapse of buildings and the effects of rockslides, floods, fire, disease, tsunamis, and other observable events resulting from earthquakes, rather than from quakes themselves.

The great majority of all earthquakes occur in two specific geographic areas. One such area covers the Pacific Ocean and its bordering landmasses. The other extends from the East Indians to the Atlas Mountains, including the Himalayas, Iran, Turkey and the Alpine regions. It is in these two great belts or zones that ninety percent of all earthquakes take place; they may, however, happen anywhere at any time.

This element of unknown has for centuries added greatly to the dead and horror surrounding earthquakes, but in recent times there have been indications that earthquake forecast may be possible. By analyzing changes in animal behavior, patterns of movements in the earth's shell, variations in the earth's force of attraction, and the frequency with which minor earth shakes are observed, scientists have shown increasing success in expecting when and where earthquakes will strike. As a result, a worldwide earthquake warning network is already in operation and has helped to prepare for (and thus lessen) the vast destruction that might otherwise have been totally unexpected.

It is doubtful that man will ever be able to control earthquakes and get rid of their destructiveness altogether, but as how and why earthquakes happen become better understood, man will become more and more able to deal with their possible damage before they occur.

60. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. Earthquakes destruction is declining.

B. Man is capable of conquering earthquakes.

C. Man is no longer fearful of earthquakes.

D. Earthquake forecast is improving.

61. We can infer from the passage that quakes _______ .

A. mostly strike in oceans and mountains

B. may happen anywhere at any time

C. are unperceivable in masses of land

D. are hardly the direct cause of fatalities

62. The underlined phrase "This element of unknown" in Paragraph 3 refers to__.

A. the extension of earthquake zones

B. the percentage of earthquake occurrences

C. when and where earthquakes may occur

D. what big damage earthquakes may cause

63. Man's research on earthquake forecast at present is to _________ .

A. lower the frequency of earthquakes

B. release the energy that causes earthquakes

C. reduce the loss from earthquake disasters

D. analyze the relationship between different earthquakes

________ the course very difficult，she decided to move to a lower level.(2013·北京，24)

A．Find? B．Finding

C．To find D．Found