Part III 阅读理解

Passage One

Of all the lessons taught by the financial crisis, the most personal has been that Americans aren't so good at money-management. We take out home loans we can' afford. We run up sky-high credit-card debt. We don' t save nearly enough for retirement. In response, supporters of financial-literacy education are moving with renewed enthusiasm.

School districts in states such as New Jersey and Illinois are adding moneymanagement courses to their curriculums. The Treasury and Education departments are sending lesson plans to high schools and encouraging students to compete in the National Financial Capability Challenge that begins in March.

Students with top scores on that exam will receive certificates—but chances for long-term benefits are slim. As it turns out, there is little evidence that traditional efforts to boost financial know-how help students make better decisions outside the classroom. Even as the financial-literacy movement has gained steam over the past decade, scores have been falling on tests that measure how well students learn about things such as budgeting, credit cards, insurance and investments.

A recent survey of college students conducted for the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy found that students who'd hadapersonal-finance or money-management course in high school scored no better than those who hadn't. "We need to figure out how to do this the right way." says Lewis Mandell, a professor at the University of Washington who after 15 years of studying financial-literacy programs has come to the conclusion that current methods don' t work.

A growing number of researchers and educators agree thatamore radical approach is needed. They advocate starting financial educationalot earlier than high school, putting real money and spending decisions into kids' hands and talking openly about the emotions and social influences tied to how we spend.

Other initiatives are tackling such real-world issues as the commercial and social pressures that affect purchasing decisions. Why exactly do you want those expensive brand -name shoes so badly? "It takes confidence to takeastand and to think differently." says Jeroo Billimoria, founder of Aflatoun, a nonprofit whose curriculum, used in more than 30 countries, aims to help kids getaleg up in their financial lives.

"This goes beyond money and savings."

21. The financial-literacy education is intended to________.

    A help Americans to overcome the financial crisisB enable Americans to manage money wiselyC increase Americans' awareness of the financial crisisD renew Americans' enthusiasm about money-management

22. According to the author, the National Financial Capability Challenge will be_______.

    A well-receivedB costlyC rewardingD ineffective

23. By saying that "the financial-literacy movement has gained steam" (Para.3), the author means that the movement ______.

    A has gone through financial difficultiesB has received much criticismC has been regarded as imaginativeD has been more and more popular

24. Lewis Mandell suggests that we should figure out how to ________.

    A help students score better in money-management coursesB improve the social awareness of financial educationC carry out financial-literacy education properlyD manage money inamore efficient way

25. Jeroo Billimoria is most likely to agree that commercial and social pressures make one's purchasing decisions ________.

    A difficultB feasibleC unwiseD acceptable

Passage Two

Cheating is nothing new. But today, educators and administrators are finding that instances of academic dishonesty on the part of students have become more frequent—and are less likely to be punished—than in the past. Cheating appears to have gained acceptance among good and poor students alike.

Why is student cheating on the rise? No one really knows. Some blame the trend on a general loosening of moral values among today's youth. Others have attributed increased cheating to the fact that today's youth are far more pragmatic(实用主义的) than their more idealistic predecessors.

Whereas in the late sixties and early seventies, students were filled with visions about changing the world, today' s students feel great pressure to conform and succeed. In interviews with students at high schools and colleges around the country, both young men and women said that cheating had become easy.

Some suggested they did it out of spite for teachers they did not respect. Others looked at it asagame. Only if they were caught, some said, would they feel guilty. "People are competitive." saidasecond-year college student named Anna, from Chicago. There' s an underlying fear. If you don't do well, your life is going to be ruined.

The pressure is not only from parents and friends but from oneself. To achieve. To succeed. It ' s almost as though we have to outdo other people to achieve our own goals. Edward Wynne, a magazine editor, blames the rise in academic dishonesty on the schools. He claims that administrators and teachers have been too hesitant to take action.

Dwight Huber, chairman of the English department at Amarillo, sees the matter differently, blaming the rise in cheating on the way students are evaluated. "I would cheat if Ifelt Iwas being cheated." Mr. Huber said. He feels that as long as teachers gives short-answer tests rather than essay questions and rate students by the number of facts they can memorize rather than by how well they can put information together, students will try to beat the system.

"The concept of cheating is based on the false assumption that the system is legitimate and there is something wrong with the individuals who are doing it," he said. "That's too easy an answer. We've got to start looking at the system."

26. Educators are finding that students who cheat_______.

    A are not only those academically weakB tend to be dishonest in later yearsC are more likely to be punished than beforeD have poor academic records

27. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

    A Reform in the testing system will eliminate cheating.B Punishment is an effective method to stop cheating.C Students' cheating has deep social roots.D Students do not cheat on essay tests.

28. Which of the following points of view would Mr. Huber agree with?

    A Cheating would be reduced through an educational reform.B Students who cheat should be expelled from school.C Punishment for cheaters should be severe in this country.D Parents must take responsibility for the rise in cheating.

29. The expression "the individuals" (the last paragraph) refers to ________.

    A school administratorsB students who cheatC parentsD teachers

30. The passage mainly discusses _______.

    A ways to eliminate academic dishonestyB factors leading to academic dishonestyC the decline of moral standards of today's youthD people's tolerance of students' cheating

Passage Three

Last week, I readastory abouta34-year-old British woman who is extremely afraid of metal forks. She's been using plastic ones for 17 years because the sound ofafork rubbing againstaplate gives herapanic attack. Strange, right? But she's not alone. While popular phobias( 恐惧症) about snakes and spiders might get all of the attention, there areawide variety of not-so-obvious horrors that make people nervous.

While some phobias might seemabit silly, they can cause serious emotional distress. My co-worker Magda is terrified of pigeons, a phobia that is taking over her life. She won' t walk in certain parts of the city and runs screaming from the subway when one of these "rats with wings" finds its way onto the platform.

Another friend is disgusted with cheese. Once Isaw her run away fromaslice of it. So where does an irrational fear of cheese come from? Are phobias something we inherit from our genes or do we acquire these unusual anxieties over time? Ever since Ican remember Ihave been unreasonably frightened of elevators.

There was no terrible childhood experience and Iam fine with confined spaces, but something about elevators makes me nervous. And so, when my boyfriend and Ifound ourselves trapped in an elevator last year—because these sorts of things always happen eventually—I was anticipating the worst.

While he gave measuggestive eyebrow raise and proposed we "take advantage of the situation," I began screaming uncontrollably. I was far from turned on by the whole facing my worst nightmare thing. However, after the fear subsided(消退) I realized that, yes, this was my greatest fear come true, and yet—it wasn't all that bad.

Nervous and inconvenient maybe, but terrifying? Not so much. Liberating yourself fromadeep-seated phobia can bealong and difficult process, but sometimes it can be as simple as confronting it head on.

31. The 34-year-old British woman is extremely afraid of metal forks because ______.

    A she has never used them beforeB she has been injured by them beforeC she couldn't bear their sound on plateD she is afraid that they may hurt her

32. The phrase "rats with wings" (Para. 3) refers to ______.

    A strange birdsB pigeonsC devilsD exotic rats

33. The author' s fear of elevators is the result of _______.

    A her phobia for no reasonB her nervousness of being aloneC her dislike of being in closed spacesD her terrible experience

34. After the fear subsided, the author realized that ______.

    A her boyfriend' s help was importantB she could have hadagood time with her boyfriendC an elevator ride could be excitingD it was not as horrible as she had thought

35. The purpose for the author to share her experience is to _______.

    A illustrate conqueringafear can be difficultB encourage people to overcome their fearsC introduce what strange fears people haveD explain why people have strange fears

Passage Four

The American public's obsession with dieting has led to one of the most dangerous health misconceptions of all times. Many television ads, movies, magazine articles, and diet-food product labels would have consumers believe that carbohydrates (碳水化合物) are bad for the human body and that those who eat them will quickly become overweight.

We are advised to avoid foods such as potatoes, rice and white bread and opt for meats and vegetables instead. Some companies promote this idea to encourage consumers to buy their "carb-free" food products. But the truth is, the human body needs carbohydrates to function properly, and a body that relies on carbohydrates but is exhausted of this dietary element is not in good shape after all.

Most foods that we consume onadaily basis like potatoes and rice are loaded with carbohydrates. Contrary to popular belief, carbohydrates have many health benefits: some fight diseases such as high blood pressure and heart disease, and others help to prevent cancer and stroke. Cutting these foods out of your diet may deprive your body of the many health benefits of carbohydrates.

One of the best benefits of carbohydrates is their ability to help to maintain the health of our organs, tissues, and cells. Scientific studies have shown that one type of carbohydrate called fiber reduces the risk of heart disease. Carbohydrates also contain antioxidants (抗氧化 剂), which protect the body's cells from harmful particles with the potential to cause cancer.

This does not mean that the human body can survive onadiet composed entirely of carbohydrates. We also need certain percentages of proteins and fats to maintain healthy bodies. But carbohydrates certainly should not be avoided altogether. In fact, the food pyramid, the recommended basis ofahealthy diet, shows thataperson should consume six to eleven servings of breads and grains, as well as three to four servings each of fruits and vegetables—all carbohydrate-containing foods.

It is easy to see why cutting carbohydrates out ofaperson's diet is notagood idea. The only way to know what is truly healthy for your own body is to talk toanutritionist or dietician, who can help you choose foods that are right for you as well as guide you toward a proper exercise program for weight loss, or muscle gain.

These professionals will never tell you to cut out carbohydrates entirely! The bottom line: listen to the experts, not the advertisers!

36. As is used in Paragraph I, the word "exhausted" most possibly means

    A derivedB deprivedC startledD starving

37. According to the author, advertisers who sell "carb-free" products

    A offer healthy optionsB are responsible for obesityC are not telling the truthD value consumers' well-being

38. Which of the following is NOT one of the health benefits of carbohydrates?

    A Prevention of fiber reduction.B Prevention of heart disease.C Prevention of stroke.D Prevention of cancer.

39. It can be inferred from the passage thatahealthy diet .

    A needs enough proteins but no fat for us to maintain energyB is balanced between carbohydrates, and proteins and fatsC is low in carbohydrates and high in proteins and fatsD contains equal amounts of carbohydrates and proteins

40. The main purpose of the passage is to .

    A promote more physical exerciseB advocateahealthy dietC describe the variety of carbohydratesD explain how to liveahealthy life

Blog and Comments

The blog and comments are followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and mark your answer on the Answer Sheet. One of the central principles of raising kids in America is that parents should be actively involved in their children's education: meeting with teachers, volunteering at school, helping with homework, and doingahundred other things that few working parents have time for.

These obligations are so baked into American values that few parents stop to ask whether they' re worth the effort. Until this January, few researchers did, either. In the largest-ever study of how parental involvement affects academic achievement, Keith Robinson and Angel L. Harris, two sociology professors at Duke, found that mostly it doesn't.

The researchers combed through nearly three decades' worth of surveys of American parents and tracked 63 different measures of parental participation in kids' academic lives, from helping them with homework, to talking with them about college plans. In an attempt to show whether the kids of more-involved parents improved over time, the researchers indexed these measures to children's academic performance, including test scores in reading and math.

What they found surprised them. Most measurable forms of parental involvement seem to yield few academic dividends for kids, or even to backfire(适得其反) —regardless of a parent' s race, class, or level of education. Do you review your daughter's homework every night? Robinson and Harris's data show that this won't help her score higher on standardized tests.

Once kids enter middle school, parental help with homework can actually bring test scores down, an effect Robinson says could be caused by the fact that many parents may have forgotten, or never truly understood, the material their children learn in school. While Robinson and Harris largely disproved that assumption, they did findahandful of habits that makeadifference, such as reading aloud to young kids (fewer than half of whom are read to daily) and talking with teenagers about college plans.

But these interventions don't take place at school or in the presence of teachers, where policymakers have the most influence—they take place at home.

41. The word "they" (Para. 1) refers to .

    A studiesB principlesC valuesD obligations

42. What is the main conclusion of the Robinson and Harris's study?

    A The kids of more-involved parents improve over time.B Parental involvement may not necessarily benefit children.C Parental involvement works better with low-achievers.D Schools should communicate with parents regularly.

43. Comment1suggests that ______.

    A parents should leave their children aloneB kids should be kids after allC parents may influence children's thinkingD persistent parental involvement isamust

44. The writer of Comment2would probably agree that ______.

    A high intelligence does not guarantee successB getting ready for college is an emotional processC social maturity is sufficient to achieve success in lifeD high school is often boring in the U.S.

45. Which of the following parental helps will the writer of Comment3consider proper?

    A Reviewing kids' homework for accuracy.B Monitoring kids' class performance.C Assisting kids in their exercises.D Making sure kids have finished their work.