In order to ________ consumers，it’s extremely important to consider what information should be included in the advertisement.

A．adapt to          B．apply to           C．contribute to       D．appeal to

 

 

    In the college-admissions wars, we parents are the true fighters. We’re pushing our kids to get good grades, take SAT preparatory courses and build resumes so they can get into the college of our first choice. I’ve twice been to the wars, and as I survey the battlefield, something different is happening. We see our kids’ college background as a prize demonstrating how well we’ve raised them. But we can’t acknowledge that our obsession(痴迷) is more about us than them. So we’ve created various justifications（辩解）that turn out to be half-truths, prejudices or myths. It actually doesn’t matter much whether Aaron and Nicole go to Stanford.

We have a full-developed panic; we worry that there won’t be enough prizes to go around. Fearful parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever. What causes the hysteria(歇斯底里) is the belief that scarce elite（精英）degrees must be highly valuable. Their graduates must enjoy more success because they get a better education and develop better contacts. All seems right but mostly wrong. We haven’t found any convincing evidence that selectivity or prestige matters. Selective schools don’t systematically employ better instructional approaches than less selective schools. On two measures—professors’ feedback and the number of essay exams selective schools do slightly worse.

By some studies, selective schools do enhance（提高） their graduates’ lifetime earnings. The gain is reckoned at 2-4% for every 100-point increase in a school’s average SAT scores. But even this advantage is probably a statistical fluke(偶然). A well-known study examined students who got into highly selective schools and then went elsewhere. They earned just as much as graduates from higher-status schools.

Kids count more than their colleges. Getting into Yale may signify intelligence, talent and ambition. But it’s not the only indicator and, surprisingly, its significance is declining. The reason: so many similar people go elsewhere. Getting into college is not life’s only competition. In the next competition—the job market and graduate school—the results may change. Princeton economist Alan Krueger studied admissions to one top Ph.D. program. High scores on the GRE helped explain who got in; degrees of famous universities didn’t.

So, parents, take it easy（lighten up）. The stakes (利害关系) have been vastly exaggerated. Up to a point, we can rationalize our pushiness. America is a competitive society; our kids need to adjust to that. But too much pushiness can be destructive. The very ambition we impose on our children may get some into Harvard but may also set them up for disappointment. One study found that, other things being equal, graduates of highly selective schools experienced more job dissatisfaction. They may have been so conditioned to being on top that anything less disappoints.

1. Why does the author say that parents are the true fighters in the college-admissions wars?

         A. They have the final say in which university their children are to attend.

         B. They know best which universities are most suitable for their children.

         C. They have to carry out intensive surveys of colleges before children make an application.

         D. They care more about which college their children go to than the children themselves.

2. Why do parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever?

         A. They want to increase their children’s chances of entering a prestigious college.

         B. They hope their children can enter a university that offers attractive scholarships.

         C. Their children will have a wider choice of which college to go to.

         D. Elite universities now enroll fewer student than they used to.

3. What does the author mean by “kids count more than their colleges” Line1, para.4?

         A. Continuing education is more important to a person’s success.

         B. A person’s happiness should be valued more than their education.

         C. Kids’ actual abilities are more important than their college background.

         D. What kids learn at college cannot keep up with job market requirements.

4. What does Krueger’s study tell us?

         A. Getting into Ph.D. programs may be more competitive than getting into college.

         B. Degrees of prestigious universities do not guarantee entry to graduate programs.

         C. Graduates from prestigious universities do not care much about their GRE scores.

         D. Connections built in prestigious universities may be kept long after graduation.

5. One possible result of pushing children into elite universities is that______

         A. they earn less than their peers from other institutions　　

         B. they turn out to be less competitive in the job market

         C. they experience more job dissatisfaction after graduation　

         D. they overemphasize their qualifications in job application

 

Noticing small changes early helps you _______ some big changes that are to come.

A．adapt to          B．adopt to           C．apply to           D．devote to

 

Mary Jean Price Walls graduated second in her class in 1950.She had high hopes when she applied to a local college,Southwest Missouri State College.But after sending off her application，she spent months waiting for a reply.It never came.

Worse than simply being denied admission(拒绝接收)，the school didn’t reply to her at all.It wasn’t a matter of her school records，but of her skin color：Wallsis African American，and in those days，that fact alone closed a lot of doors. “I was sad and I was hurt,”Walls told ABC News.“I did not expect the skin color would affect my application.I thought I could go to university like other students.”

Four years later，the government declared that all schools should not discriminate against(歧视)African Americans— but it was too late for Walls.She’d moved on with her life, becoming a wife and a mother，and working as an elevator operator.She retired last year，at the age of 77.

She stayed quiet about the unfairness she’d faced in Missouri State.Her son，Terry，went through school records and found that she’d been the first black student to ever apply to the college.Today,four percent of the Southwest Missouri State College body is African American—including Terry.

Although it’s too late for Missouri State to change the past，the school is awarding Walls with an honorary degree(荣誉学位)from the school.While she knows it’s too late for herto change the course of her own life with the degree，it’s a chance for her to show her family that Missouri State has changed in the last 60 years，and there’s not a single door closed to them anymore.

1.Walls couldn’t enter the local college because________.

A．her examination performance is too bad

B．girls were not allowed to go to college

C．she was an African?American student

D．her parents had no enough money to support her

2.Before she was denied Walls thought that________.

A．her application would be accepted as others’

B．it was hard to become a college student

C．it was impossible for her to be admitted

D．she could be the best student in her college

3.What can we know about Walls’s son?

A．He helped his mother get the honorary degree.

B．He is a good student who teachers like best.

C．He was admitted by the college once his mother applied to.

D．He wants to be a government official who can help his mother.

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A．Walls did not fight for her right to education.

B．The college did not receive Walls’s application.

C．Walls got a good job after she received the degree.

D．The government gave Walls some money for the wrongs.

5.Walls’s honorary degree suggests that________.

A．she could change her life with the degree

B．her dream of going to college has come true

C．she has been leading a happy life with her family

D．great changes have taken place in Missouri State

 

 

Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to participate in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to showcase the image of the host country and city. The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China．

I．Basic Requirements for Volunteers

●  Be willing to participate in voluntary services of Expo 2010;

●  Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30, 1992 and Expo City Voluntary Service Station volunteers before April 30, 1994;

●  Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;

●  Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;

●  Possess necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;

●  Be in good health to meet the requirements of corresponding voluntary positions．

II．Further Information for Volunteers

●  Source

         Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers．

●  Signup methods

Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup．They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations．

●  Time

May 1 - December 31, 2009

Ⅲ．Volunteer Training

         Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training．General training is carried out through internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice．

IV．Volunteer Types

●  Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and．volunteer management．

● Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo's information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site．They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid．

1.If you were born in April 1993, where can you be a volunteer?

A．In the Expo City．             B．In the host country

C．In the Expo Site．                  D．In Chinese mainland

2.Which of the training will be done on the Internet?

A．Position training．            B．General training

C．Classroom training．                    D．Special training

3.Which of the following service is offered by information booth volunteers?

A．Visitor flow management．              B．Helping the disabled

C．Assistance in media service．　　      D．Emergency First aid