For high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular skills and practice how to behave in an interview or how to find all internship(实习). In some countries, schools have programs to help students onto the path to work. In the United States, however, such programs are still few and far between.
Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses, students are likely to get higher earnings in later years. The students are more likely to stay in school, graduate and go on to higher education.
In Germany, students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships. German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment.
But in America, education reform programs focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world. Harvard Education school professor Robert Schwartz has criticized （批评）education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track. Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable(易受影响的)kids with no jobs and no skills.
Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high school. James Madison High School in New York, for example, encourages students to choose classes on career-based courses. The school then helps them gain on-the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school.
However, even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work, the job market is daunting. In the US, unemployment rates for 16-to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row. “The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the summer job experience, they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job,” said Michael, a researcher in the US.
1.What’s the main idea of the text?
A．The lack of career-based courses in US high schools.
B．Tips on finding jobs for high school leavers.
C．Arguments about recent US education reform.
D．Advice for American high school leavers.
2.According to Robert Schwartz, _________.
A．there is no need for kids to go for higher education in the US
B．students should get contact with the working world at high school
C．education reform should focus on students’ performance in exams
D．teenagers in the US can’t miss out on the summer job experience
3.The underlined word “daunting” in Paragraph 6 most probably means __________.
A．creative B．interesting C．discouraging D．unbearable
4.What can be inferred from the text?
A．High school leavers with no practical skills can’t find a job at all.
B．Students with career-based courses never have problems finding a job.
C．US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment.
D．Unemployment rates for US teenagers remain high at the moment.
Here is your best chance to travel around the UK in 2012: More than 200 B&Bs（bed & breakfast）across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are selected to offer you amazing services for your stay at their lowest prices! Don’t miss it. Just collect the vouchers（活动券）in our B&B Daily printed from 01/04/2012 to 07/04/2012 and book the stays for your travel following the terms and conditions below:
The offer includes a room for the night and a breakfast the next morning.
The offer is of two kinds: ￡20 per room, valid（有效的）during stay period of 02/04/2012—31/05/2012 and then again 01/09/2012—31/10/2012；￡35 per room, per night, valid during stay period of 01/06/2012—31/08/2012.
The offer is valid for a basic twin or double room only.
The stay must be booked directly with the chosen B&Bs before 28/04/2012.
Each voucher can only be used by the holder to book one room for one night.
If voucher holders book either the ￡20 or ￡35 per room per night, any additional services such as lunch, evening meal or activities may require an extra charge. But these are not required in order to take up the offer. Please check directly with your chosen B&Bs to see what extra services are available.
Vouchers must be presented on arrival. If no vouchers are presented, the B&Bs may reserve（保留）the right to charge at full price for every night of stay.
Vouchers may not be used together with any other offer.
The voucher holders must pay for the stay in full at the time of booking. Additional ￡10 may be paid to confirm（确认）the booking and will be returned on arrival.
The B&Bs reserve the right to refuse voucher holders’ bookings for people under the age of 18.
1.How much should be paid for a two-night stay in October 2012 at a chosen B&B?
A．￡30 B．￡35 C．￡40 D．￡70
2.What right do the B&Bs reserve?
A．To charge extra ￡10 for bookings with no vouchers.
B．To charge at full price for stays not confirmed.
C．To request extra charges as tips.
D．To refuse bookings for guest under the age of 18.
3.By taking up the offer, the voucher holders can choose to ______ .
A．have lunch or evening meal without paying extra money
B．book either a basic twin or double room at the chosen B&Bs
C．use the B&B offer together with other offers
D．book the stays through B&B Daily
A new United Nations report shows that fish farming may soon be the world’s most important provider of fish. The Food and Agriculture Organization says fish farming is growing at a rate of 6.6 percent a year.
Fish farming now produces forty-six percent of the world’s supply of fish. That represents a forty-three percent increase from 2006. The report also said fish farming earned more money in 2008 than traditional fisheries.
In fish farming, fish are raised in tanks or small bodies of water called ponds. They are also raised in cages or nets in oceans, lakes and rivers. The report says increased fish farming has helped people around the world eat record amounts of fish. The FAO says each person ate an average of almost seventeen kilograms of fish last year.
However, the FAO says the current yearly wild-fish harvest of ninety million tons shows no improvement. Decreasing numbers of fish and stronger catch limits have reduced the possibilities for catching wild fish. The FAO report says about thirty-two percent of world supplies are overfished. It says these supplies of fish need to be rebuilt at once.
Some scientists have criticized fish farming. They say the nets and cages permit fish diseases and pests to spread. Some fish farming critics doubt whether fish farming can keep growing at the current rate. But Wally Stevens of the trade group Global Aquaculture Alliance says the industry must continue developing to feed growing populations. Mr. Stevens says a one hundred percent increase in fish farming over ten years is necessary to keep providing for people at the current level. He notes that fish farming creates jobs and wealth, especially for people in coastal areas of China.
1.We learn that since the year 2006, fish farming has been ______.
A．earning more money than traditional fisheries
B．developing rapidly around the world
C．growing at a rate of 6.6 percent each day
D．producing 46% of the world’s supply of fish
2.According to Paragraph 3, thanks to fish farming, people around the world are able to ______.
A．buy more kinds of fishes B．eat more fish than before
C．eat much healthier fish D．eat much bigger fish
3.What is implied in Paragraph 4?
A．it is harder to catch wild fish than before.
B．It costs too much to rebuild supplies of fish.
C．There is no future for the market of wild fish.
D．Catching wild fish no longer brings benefits.
4.What does Wally Stevens think of fish farming?
A．It doesn’t have disadvantages at all.
B．It cannot keep growing at the current rate.
C．It is not a good way of raising fish.
D．It must develop fast to supply a growing population.
TOKYO, Japan (AP) – Japan is very serious about robotics (机器人技术). If the droids are going to fit in, they probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea. Fortunately, researchers at the University of Tokyo are exploring just that. In a show this week, a humanoid（有人特点的）with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries Inc. poured tea from a bottle into a cup. Then another robot on wheels delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate（模仿）life with robot technology.
“A human being may be faster, but you’d have to say ‘Thank you,’” said University of Tokyo professor Tomomasa Sato. “That’s the best part about a robot. You don’t have to feel bad about asking it to do things.”
Sato believes Japan, a rapidly aging society where more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older, will lead the world in designing robots to care for the elderly, sick and bedridden（卧床不起的）.
Already, monitoring technologies, such as sensors that automatically turn on lights when people enter a room, are becoming widespread in Japan.
The walking, child–size Asimo from Honda Motor Co. greets people at showrooms. NEC Corp. has developed a smaller companion robot–on –wheels called Papero. A seal robot available since 2004 can entertain the elderly and others in need of fuzzy companionship.
Sato says his experimental room is raising awareness about privacy questions that may arise when electronic devices（设备）monitor a person’s movements down to the smallest detail.
On the bright side, the tea – pouring humanoid has been programmed to do the dishes.
1.The underlined word “embedded” in the first paragraph probably means .
A．rooted B．settled C．fixed D．established
2.According to Professor Sato, .
A．the robot serves tea much faster than a human being
B．the robot does anything like human beings
C．tea – serving robot helps to form laziness of the aging society
D．tea – serving robot doesn’t need any reward for the service
3.We can infer from the passage that .
A．people are afraid of being monitored by robots.
B．robots can completely take the place of human beings.
C．the technology of robots has been highlighted in Japan.
D．people’s privacy should be strictly protected
4.What is the best title of this passage?
A．“Thank You” Will Never Be Needed in Japan
B．Monitoring Technologies Are Widespread in Japan
C．Robot Is Designed to Care for the Elderly.
D．Robot technologies are widespread in Japanese daily life.
I believe listening is powerful medicine. Studies have shown it takes a ___36___ about 18 seconds to interrupt a patient after he begins talking.
It was a Sunday. I had one last patient to see. I ___37___ her room in a hurry and stood at the doorway. She was an old woman, sitting at the edge of the bed, ___38___ to put socks on her swollen（肿胀）feet. I crossed the threshold（门槛）, spoke quickly to the nurse, and scanned her chart noting she was in stable condition. I was almost in the clear.
I ___39___ on the bedrail（床的栏杆）looking down at her. She asked if I could help put on her socks. Instead, I launched into a monologue（独白） that went ___40___ like this, “How are you feeling? Your sugars and blood pressure were high ___41___ they’re better today. The nurse mentioned you’re ___42___ to see your son who’s visiting you today. It’s nice to have family visit from far away. I bet you really look forward to seeing him.”
She ___43___ me with a serious, authoritative voice. “Sit down, doctor. This is my story, not your story.”
I was surprised and embarrassed. I sat down. I helped her with the socks. She began to tell me that her only son lived ___44___ from her, but she had not seen him in five years. She believed that the stress of this ___45___ greatly to her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. She ___46___ her head no and smiled. All she wanted me to do was to listen.
Each story is different. Some are detailed; others are vague. Some have a beginning, middle and end; others wander ___47___ a clear conclusion. Some are true; others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard without ___48___, assumption or judgment.
Listening to someone’s story costs ___49___ expensive diagnostic testing but is key to healing and diagnosis.
I often thought of ___50___ that woman taught me, and I ___51___ myself of the importance of stopping, sitting down and truly listening. And, not long after, in a(n) ___52___ twist, I became the patient, with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis（多发性硬化症） at age 31. Now, 20 years later, I sit all the time in a wheelchair.
For ___53___ I could, I continued to see patients from my chair, but I had to resign when my hands were affected. I still teach medical students and other health care professionals, but now from the perspective(角度) of physician and patient.
I tell them I ___54___ the power of listening. I tell them I know firsthand that immeasurable healing ___55___ within me when someone stops, sits down and listens to my story.
1. A．professor B．teacher C．musician D．physician
2. A．approached B．examined C．passed D．observed
3. A．hoping B．expecting C．waiting D．struggling
4. A．sat B．leaned C．lay D．stood
5. A．nothing B．anything C．something D．everything
6. A．so B．but C．though D．because
7. A．anxious B．nervous C．worried D．upset
8. A．urged B．begged C．stopped D．persuaded
9. A．far away B．around the corner C．next door D．in the distance
10. A．referred B．attached C．stuck D．contributed
11. A．lowered B．hung C．shook D．waved
12. A．with B．without C．by D．in
13. A．distinction B．interruption C．Instruction D．attention
14. A．rather than B．other than C．more than D．less than
15. A．that B．which C．what D．as
16. A．reminded B．recalled C．required D．informed
17. A．expected B．irregular C．regular D．unexpected
18. A．as soon as B．as fast as C．as far as D．as long as
19. A．admit to B．appreciate C．believe in D．realize
20. A．turns out B．takes place C．comes up D．takes charge
When shall we meet, at 6 : 00 or at 6 : 30 ? --- ______ .
A．At any time B．You make the time
C．Well, either time will do D．Any time is OK
