Every year, it costs British students more and more to attend university. Students are graduating with larger and larger debts. So is a college degree really worth it?
In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees. As a result, more than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan in order to go to university.
They use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan.
The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with a debt of around ￡12,000 (122,952 yuan). It means graduates have to struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan when they reach April after graduating. If you start to earn over ￡15,000 (153,630 yuan) a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary.
You might think that a person with a degree would find it easy to get a well-paid job. However, most people in “white collar jobs” seem to have a degree, so there is a lot of competition. Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper.
All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money. Even before the credit crisis started, the BBC stated: “The number of British students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in recent history, from 1.97 million in 2007 to 1.96 million last year.”
Meanwhile, the British universities offer more and more of the available places to richer international students rather than poorer British students. What does the future hold for British higher education?
1.What can we infer from the second paragraph?
A. Universities’ charging students fees is quite common all over the world.
B. It’s unfair to charge college students fees in England and Wales.
C. Before 2006 the UK universities didn’t charge students tuition fees in England and Wales.
D. The UK universities are unwilling to carry out the government’s policy.
2.What might be the reason that the number of British students at UK universities falls?
A. It’s harder and harder for them to get a degree.
B. The credit crisis has great influnce on their families’ income.
C. College education costs them too much.
D. The competition to become a “white collar” is too fiece.
3.What does the underlined words “a piece of paper” refer to?
A. A written document from the bank. B. A letter of recommendation.
C. A filled application form. D. A diploma.
4.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. More Profits for the Banks B. College Life in the UK
C. Welcome! International Students D. UK Universities Students Become Poorer
No matter where he lives, 16-year-old Danny Lopez feels like an outsider: he is half-Mexican and half-white.
At his private high school in wealthy northern San Diego, California, US, Lopez is too brown to fit in, whereas for the Mexican side of his family in National City, just a dozen miles from the border, he is too white to belong.
Different from both sides, Lopez is silent in school. He focuses on his passion for baseball and working hard to improve the pitches (球场) that have kept him off the school team.
Mexican Whiteboy, by Matt de la Pena, is about a teenager’s search for identity. It was named as one of the Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults in 2009 by the US Young Adult Library Services Association.
When Lopez’s mother decides to go to live with her wealthy white boyfriend in San Francisco, he chooses to spend the summer with his father’s family in San Diego. It’s a trip to explore roots and self-identity, filled with unexpected friendship.
There he meets Uno, of mixed heritage (遗传) like himself, also with a divorced mom. Uno understands Danny’s split background and helps him improve his baseball skills. Both boys have big league dreams, but they both have to learn to come to terms with their mixed heritages before they can achieve their goals.
Aside from discussions of racism, Mexican Whiteboy takes on other issues, such as the importance of family and the negative influence of hiding the truth. It also shows how sports can draw cultures together.
1.The reason why Lopez feels like an outsider lies in the fact that ___________.
A. he is a Mexican B. he lives in San Diego
C. he is half-white and half-Mexican D. he studies in a private school
2.Most probably “Mexican Whiteboy” is a ____________.
A. book B. club C. newspaper D. organization
3.When Lopez found it is hard for him to fit in, he ____________.
A. starts writing a book about himself
B. begins to look for identity with the help of Mexican Whiteboy
C. loses his interest in baseball
D. works in the fields in which he was kept off the school team
4.Lopez and Uno have a lot in common except that ____________.
A. they both have a divorced mom
B. they both have mixed heritage
C. they were both in the school baseball team
D. both of them have big league dreams
The business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors (债主) were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy (破产).
Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you.” he said. After listening to the executive, the old man said: “I believe I can help you.”
He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying: “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.
The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!
“I can settle all my debts in a moment!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe, just knowing it would give him the strength to work out a way to save his business.
With renewed optimism, he made better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big deals. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.
“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.” And she led the old man away by the arm.
1.What was the executive worried about?
A. He couldn’t produce enough for the suppliers.
B. The creditors wouldn’t lend him any money.
C. His products didn’t sell well.
D. He might run into bankcruptcy.
2.Which of the following statements about the old man is TRUE?
A. The old man had known the executive was in trouble before he came.
B. The old man’s way of helping the executive worked out well.
C. The check he wrote was far from enough for the executive.
D. In fact the old man didn’t want to have his money back.
3.The executive didn’t cash the check because ____________.
A. He was afraid that the bank didn’t have so much money.
B. The check gave him a lot of strength and encouragement.
C. He was uncertain if he could ever pay back the money.
D. He knew the old man wasn’t John D. Rockefeller at all.
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Before dinner my wife wanted me to go to the store to get some soft drinks. It seemed that this would be a good time to let my teenage daughter Holly get a little driving 36 . I drove her to the store and 37 my car with her, and then I came back home with my son. He spoke 38 of the car. I was a little proud, for it was the nicest car I had 39 owned. 40 , I said, “Guy, my heart is not 41 that car. I like it but it is just metal. It won’t last forever. Never set your heart on anything that is 42 .”
It was at that moment 43 I heard a noise on our street. My son went out and then he shouted, “Dad! Holly damaged your car.”
My heart 44 and my mind was flooded with conflicting thoughts. Was 45 hurt? Who else was involved? As I ran to the door, I heard a voice in my heart say: “ Here is a 46 to show Holly what you really love. She will never forget it.” Holly was not hurt 47 , but when I reached her, she was crying and saying over and over again, “Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I know how much you love this car.” I held her in my arms.
Later that week a friend asked what happened to my car. I told her the whole 48 . Then she said, “That happened to me when I was a girl. After I 49 my Dad’s car, my father, 50 , knocked me to the ground and began to kick me.” Over forty years later she still felt the 51 . It was a deep wound on her soul.
I have repaired my car, but there are 52 some scratches (划痕) on it. Every day they 53 me of the really priceless things in my life. Every day it reminds me of what really 54 in my life. One day, when Holly thinks back on her life, I want her to know that I love her a thousand times more than any piece of 55 .
1.A. practice B. exercise C. training D. lesson
2.A. gave B. left C. kept D. got
3.A. admiringly B. proudly C. deeply D. curiously
4.A. just B. already C. even D. ever
5.A. Therefore B. However C. Otherwise D. Besides
6.A. set up B. set aside C. set on D. set down
7.A. temporary B. metal C. nice D. contemporary
8.A. when B. as C. that D. until
9.A. struck B. sank C. beat D. ached
10.A. anyone B. someone C. my car D. my son
11.A. chance B. time C. turn D. lesson
12.A. mentally B. physically C. lightly D. painfully
13.A. story B. truth C. explanation D. process
14.A. borrowed B. drove C. used D. ruined
15.A. nevertheless B. moreover C. or rather D. on the contrary
16.A. guilt B. pain C. embarrassment D. terror
17.A. still B. yet C. just D. only
18.A. remember B. remind C. warn D. inform
19.A. values B. happens C. cares D. matters
20.A. property B. equipment C. treasure D. fortune
Our strong sympathy for the people in the earthquake-stricken area is ________ in the ceremony.
A. reacted B. reflected C. responded D. recovered
—Is there any possibility of Jack ________chairman at the conference?
—Not in the least because audience generally think little of him
A. to elect B. electing C. to be elected D. being elected
