The U.S. high school dropout rate has fallen in recent years, with the number of dropouts declining from 1 million in 2012 to about 750,000 in 2016, according to a new study released on Tuesday. The number of “dropout factories" — high schools in which fewer than 60 percent of freshmen graduate in four years—declined significantly during the same period.
"Clear progress is being made," said Bob Wise, a former West Virginia governor who heads the Alliance for Excellent Education, one of the organizations that published the study. “It’s not a total success yet. We shouldn't take a victory lap. But we can at least start warming up.”
Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said the improving graduation rate serves as evidence that the nation's public schools are making progress. But there are many reasons that graduation rates can rise, and not all of them have to do with stronger schools preparing more students for life after high school.
Alabama, for example，made outsize gains in 2014: Its graduation fate jumped more than six percentage points, the second-biggest increase in the nation. But the increase coincided with a policy change that took in the same year: Alabama students no longer had to pass a high school exit exam to earn a diploma. So what looks like a major improvement stemmed at least in part from easier requirements.
It is also not clear how many students are graduating with the skills they need for the workplace or for college. Graduation requirements vary widely across states, and many states offer multiple levels of diplomas with different requirements.
Arizona students can earn a standard diploma that requires four courses in math, four in English and three in science, according to Achieve, a nonprofit organization that has studied graduation requirements in each state. But Arizona students also can earn a “Grand Canyon" diploma, which requires just two courses each in math, science and English—less than many colleges require for admission.
1.The passage is meant to say that .
A.there are few dropouts in U. S. high schools
B.the U.S. high school dropout rate has fallen
C.the number of “dropout factories" has increased
D.the number of high school students is increasing
2.The underlined phrase “coincided with" in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by .
A.led to B.agreed with C.conflicted with D.contradicted with
3.What do we know about the “Grand Canyon" diploma in Arizona?
A.Students need to put more efforts into it.
B.It's much required for colleges in Arizona.
C.Students who get it won't necessarily be admitted to colleges.
D.It' s more difficult to get than a standard diploma.
Something strange was happening inside Anne' s home. During the summer of 2014, twins Gavin and Garrett, then three, each had skin rash (疹子) that wouldn't go away. 14-year-old J. D. had stomach pains so severe that he couldn’t climb the stairs，but tests found nothing wrong. By winter, the family's health problems were getting worse.
One day, Anne found brown water flowed out of the tap. Worried that the water was polluted, the family began using bottled water for cooking，drinking, and bathing.
In January 2015，the city of Flint sent out a notice stating that the water supply—which had been switched, in a cost-cutting measure, from the Detroit water system to the Flint River the previous spring—contained high levels of trihalomethanes (三卤甲烷). The notice warned that elderly people might be at risk for health problems but emphasized that the water was otherwise safe to drink.
Shocked, the self-claimed "stay-at-home mom turned water warrior" researched the water supply and searched the Internet for information that she distributed to city officials, listing the side effects of exposure to trihalomethanes. Then she urged her neighbors to attend city council meetings, where they shared their health problems. Still, officials insisted the water was safe to drink. So Anne demanded that the city test her water. The results were disturbing. The trihalomethanes were the least of her problems. The tests included that the lead levels in her water were nearly seven times the legal amount.
Anne had her children tested for lead. All the kids showed lead poisoning. She requested Flint's water quality reports and discovered that the city wasn't applying the proper corrosion (腐蚀) control standards to its pipes; the standards prevent the metal in pipes from leaking into the water.
1.How did Gavin suffer from the disease?
A.His stomach hurt so much that he couldn’t' climb the stairs.
B.He had rash on his skin which wouldn’t' disappear.
C.His disease got too ill for him to get any medical tests.
D.He had weak eyesight and couldn't go to school,
2.Why did the city of Flint change its water supply?
A.The Detroit water system had been polluted.
B.The Flint River was made clean a year ago.
C.They wanted to cut the cost of water supply.
D.The Flint River always has brown water.
3.The test of the water from Anne' s home showed that .
A.her family had the worst of the trihalomethanes pollution
B.the water from her tap was safe to use except for drinking
C.her family was located in the most polluted part of the city
D.there was something more serious than the trihalomethanes
4.The water problem was caused by
A.the lack of proper corrosion control to the pipes
B.the overuse of water-purifying chemicals
C.the exposure to trihalomethanes in the water
D.the improper use of metal in the pipes
Best Bites of Beijing (Fall, 2016)
Shangri-La’s AZUR launches healthy French bunch
AZUR, the newly opened fine-dining French restaurant by Shangri-La Hotel, is unveiling its weekend brunch menu on Saturday, featuring Michelin-class healthy and authentic French cuisine.
The buffet will offer unlimited seafood and each chef’s signature dish. The brunch (498 yuan) is available every Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m.to 2:30 p.m. You can upgrade the experience with another 200 yuan to enjoy free-flowing champagne and other beverages.
29 Zizhuyuan Road, Beijing (8882 6727)
Get ready for the capital’s biggest pizza party
Pizza lovers, rejoice! The capital’s biggest annual pizza party organized by the Beijinger will be held on October 15—16 this year at Wangjing SOHO. The 2016 Pizza Cup is expected to see thousands of festival-goers savoring a variety of pies from over 30 pizza joints in Beijing. Besides pizza, there will also be live music, beer, wine and interactive games for family and children.
For ticket information, visit: yoopay. cn/event/2016pizzacup (8601 6718). To learn more about the 2016 Pizza Cup, visit www. thebeijinger. com/2016pizzacup.
Celebrate the grape harvest with “Sofitel Wine Days”
September through October is the time when grapes are harvested in France. During this special season, all of the Sofitel hotels (French luxury hotel brand) around the world celebrate with its annual “Sofitel Wine Days”. The month-long celebration at Sofitel Wanda Beijing, started on Thursday, will host a number of events, from wine class, wine tasting to wine dinner.
Sofitel Wanda Beijing Tower C, Wanda Plaza, 93 Jianguo Road, Beijing (8599 6666)
Unlimited lobster buffet, half price
The Grand Metro Park Hotel at Sanyuanqiao has just launched its all-day-dining seafood buffet on Thursday, including unlimited lobsters. For the first month, guests can enjoy the international buffet at half price at just 198 yuan net. You can also expect fresh sushi, sizzling grill, ice cream and more.
Grand Metro Park Hotel No.2 East Road, North Third Ring, Beijing (6462 2288)
1.If you want to reserve a table for brunch to enjoy fine French food, you should call .
A.8882 6727 B.8601 6718 C.8599 6666 D.6462 2288
2.Sea food buffet at half price will be offered by .
A.Shangri-La’s AZUR B.Beijinger
C.Sofitel hotel D.Grand Metro Park Hotel
3.What is the passage intended to do?
A.Advertise lifestyle in Beijing. B.Promote some food services.
C.Impress readers with Chinese food. D.Offer food service at special prices.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。 续写的词数应为150左右。
Rescue in a Bottle
Curtis Whitson had rafted (v.乘筏) down the Arroyo Seco, a river in central California, several times before.
This year, Curtis Whitson knew the water-fall was coming. He figured he would get out of his raft into the shallow water, get down the rocks along ropes on either side of the falls, and continue on his way, as he had on a previous trip.
But this year was different. Heavy snow and spring rains had turned the usually manageable falls into something fierce. And this year, instead of his friends, Whitson’s companions were his girlfriend, Krystal Ramirez, and his 13-year-old son, Hunter. As the three of them approached the falls late in the afternoon of the third day of their camping trip, Whitson could tell from the increasing roar of water in the narrowing canyon(峡谷) that they were in serious trouble. There was no way they’d be able to get down the rocks as planned.
“The water was just roaring through there with tremendous force,” recalls Whitson, 45.
They had no smart phone service, and they hadn’t seen a single person in the past three days. And Whitson knew that they’d be sharing the ground there with rattlesnakes and mountain lions.
As he was thinking what to do, Whitson hit on a bit of luck---he heard voices coming from the other side of the falls. He yelled, but the sound of the rushing water drowned him out.
“We have to get these people a message,” Whitson thought.
He grabbed a stick and pulled out his pocketknife to carve “Help” in it. Then he tied a rope to it so the people would know it wasn’t just any stick. He tried throwing it over the falls, but it floated away in the wrong direction.
“We’ve got to do something!” Whitson yelled to his son. “Have we got anything else?”
Then he spotted his water bottle. Whitson grabbed it and carved “Help!”on it. Ramirez also reminded him that he had a pen and paper in his backpack.
Whitson knew it was a slim hope. But he wrote “6-15 19:00 We are stuck here@ the waterfall. Get help please” and pushed the note into the bottle. This time, his throw over the waterfall was perfect.
“All right, that’s all we can do,” Whitson told Hunter.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1:
It took 30 minutes to get back upstream to the beach where they’d had lunch.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
The next morning, the helicopter returned.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假如你是李华，今年暑假你和你的父母在美国旅行期间，在当地一家知名酒店住了一晚，你对住宿条件和服务都非常不满意。请你给酒店经理写一封投诉信，内容包括：
1. 写信目的；
2. 反映存在问题；
3. 提出改进建议。
注意：1. 词 数 80 左右； 2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear manager,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
Last week I went shopping in the supermarket. I got to the front of the ___________ and put my groceries through the checkout. I was about to pay, when I ___________ that I didn't have my bankcard with me. I _________.Then I remembered I left it at home when I ___________ something online. All I had was $30 in notes and some coins in my wallet. I was short ___________ at least $25, and I needed to buy most of the items.
I started to ___________ to the checkout lady. "I'm sorry, I stop the queue. Can I put these things back, and then think I'll ___________ these. Oh, no, need that."
An Irish lady was ___________ behind me, next in the queue. "Excuse me, Dear," she said. "Oh, I'm so sorry," I replied, "I'm ___________ you up." "Of course not. I know ____________ you feel. This happens to all of us at some point. Now please use my ____________ to pay the bill and you can be on your way."
I was astonished by her kindness, ____________ even. No matter how I insisted otherwise, she was ________ to help me. Afterwards I asked for her telephone number to ____________ and pay her back. "No," she said, "rather pay it forward. You may do a good deed for the next person in need."
By helping others, can we start chain ____________ of positive feeling and charity that can benefit our whole society?
1.A.table B.supermarket C.queue D.shelf
2.A.realized B.knew C.recognized D.observed
3.A.hesitated B.paused C.panicked D.struggled
4.A.explored B.purchased C.advocated D.delivered
5.A.by B.under C.on D.with
6.A.cry B.apologise C.complain D.explain
7.A.borrow B.drop C.follow D.take
8.A.standing B.supporting C.blaming D.shouting
9.A.turning B.putting C.joining D.holding
10.A.what B.how C.why D.when
11.A.card B.fame C.income D.identity
12.A.abnormal B.anxious C.embarrassed D.desperate
13.A.convinced B.determined C.excited D.reluctant
14.A.fit in B.get through C.look up D.get in touch
15.A.reaction B.sympathy C.satisfaction D.relationship
