Is the ‘Go to College’ Message Overdone?
Even in a weak job market, the old college try isn’t the answer for everyone. A briefing paper from the Brookings Institution warns that “we may have overdone the message” on college, senior fellow Isabel Sawhill said.
“We’ve been telling students and their families for years that college is the only way to succeed in the economy and of course there’s a lot of truth to that,” Ms. Sawhill said. “On average it does pay off… But if you load up on a whole lot of student debt and then you don’t graduate, that is a very bad situation.”
One comment that people often repeat among the years of slow job growth has been the value of education for landing a job and advancing in a career. April’s national unemployment rate stood at 7.5%, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate for high-school graduates over 25 years old who hadn’t attended college was 7.4%, compared 
with 3.9% for those with a bachelor’s degree or more education. The difference is even bigger among those aged 16-24. The jobless rate for those with only a high school diploma in that age group is about 20%. At the same time, recent research by Canadian economists cautions that a college degree is no guarantee of promising employment.
Ms. Sawhill pointed out that among the aspects that affect the value of a college education is the field of one’s major: Students in engineering or other sciences end up earning more than ones who major in the arts or education. The cost of tuition and the availability of financial aid are other considerations, with public institutions generally a better financial bargain than private ones.
She suggested two avenues for improving the situation: increasing vocational(职业的)-technical training programs and taking a page from Europe’s focus on early education rather than post-secondary learning. “The European countries put a little more attention to getting people prepared in the primary grades,” she said. “Then they have a higher bar for whoever goes to college—but once you get into college, you’re more likely to be highly subsidized(资助).”
She also is a supporter of technical training—to teach students how to be plumbers, welders and computer programmers—because “employers are desperate” for workers with these skills.
1.People usually think that _____.
A. the cost of technical schooling is a problem
B. one will not succeed without a college degree
C. technical skills are most important for landing a job
D. there is an increased competition in getting into a college
2.What does the underlined part “taking a page from” mean?
A. Hearing from.B. Changing from.
C. Differing from.D. Learning from.
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A. Public institutions charge more for education.
B. European universities are stricter with students.
C. Students with certain skills are in great demand.
D. Canadian students prefer to major in engineering.
4.Ms. Sawhill may probably agree that _____.
A. too much stress has been put on the value of college degrees
B. technical training is more important than college education
C. a college degree will ensure promising employment
D. it’s easier for art students to find favorite jobs
The extraordinary Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city, is said to be the only one 
in the world to use the same cooling and heating principles as the termite mound(白蚁堆).
Architect Mick Pearce used precisely the same strategy when designing the Eastgate Building, which has no air-conditioning and almost no heating. The building—the country’s largest commercial and shopping complex—uses less than 10% of the energy of a conventional building of its size. The Eastgate’s owners saved $3.5 million on a $36 million building because an air-conditioning plant didn’t have to be imported.
The complex is actually two buildings linked by bridges across a shady, glass-roofed atrium(天井) open to the air. Fans suck fresh air in from the atrium, blow it upstairs through hollow spaces under the floors and from there into each office through baseboard vents(通风口). As it rises and warms, it is drawn out via ceiling vents and finally exists through forty-eight brick chimneys.
During summer’s cool nights, big fans blow air through the building seven times an hour to cool the empty floors. By day, smaller fans blow two changes of air an hour through the building, to circulate the air which has been in contact with the cool floors. For winter days, there are small heaters in the vents.
This is all possible only because Harare is 1600 feet above sea level, has cloudless skies, little dampness and rapid temperature swings—days as warm as 31℃ commonly drop to 14℃ at night. “You couldn’t do this in New York, with its fantastically hot summers and fantastically cold winters,” Pearce said.
The engineering firm of Ove
Arup&Partners monitors daily temperatures. It is found that the temperature of the building has generally stayed between 23℃ and 25℃, with the exception of the annual hot period just before the summer rains in October and three days in November, when a doorkeeper accidentally switched off the fans at night. And the air is fresh—far more so than in air-conditioned buildings, where up to 30% of the air is recycled.
1.Why was Eastgate cheaper to be built than a conventional building?
A. It was designed in a smaller size.
B. No air conditioners were fixed in.
C. Its heating system was less advanced.
D. It used rather different building materials.
2.What does “it” refer to in Paragraph 3?
A. Fresh air from outside.B. Heat in the building.
C. Hollow space.D. Baseboard vent.
3.Why would a building like Eastgate Not work efficiently in New York?
A. New York has less clear skies as Harare.
B. Its dampness affects the circulation of air.
C. New York covers a larger area than Harare.
D. Its temperature changes seasonally rather than daily.
4.The data in the last paragraph suggests Eastgate’s temperature control system_____.
A. allows a wide range of temperatures
B. functions well for most of the year
C. can recycle up to 30% of the air
D. works better in hot seasons
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1.What do we know about 1234 PENS?
A. It has a history of over 30 years.
B. It has built up a large pen market.
C. It has its name printed on each pen.
D. It charges a low price for extra service.
2. What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 3?
A. The different types of the products.B. The high quality of the products.
C. The quick service of 1234 PENS.D. The trade shows of 1234 PENS.
3.What is special about the pens produced in 1234 PENS?
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In the 19th century, there used to be a model of how to be a good person. There are all these torrents of passion flowing through you. Your job, as captain of your soul, is to erect dams to keep these passions in check. Your job is to just say no to laziness, lust, greed, drug use and the other sins.
These days that model is out of fashion. You usually can’t change your behavior by simply resolving to do something. Knowing what to do is not the same as being able to do it. Your willpower is not like a dam that can block the torrent of self-indulgence. It's more like a muscle, which tires easily. Moreover, you're a social being. If everybody around you is overeating, you’ll probably do so, too.
The 19th-century character model was based on an understanding of free will. Today, we know that free will is bounded. People can change their lives, but ordering change is not simple because many things, even within ourselves, are beyond our direct control.
Much of our behavior, for example, is guided by unconscious habits. Researchers at Duke University calculated that more than 40 percent of the actions we take are governed by habit, not actual decisions. Researchers have also come to understand the structure of habits—cue, routine, reward.
You can change your own personal habits. If you leave running shorts on the floor at night, that'll be a cue to go running in the morning. Don’t try to ignore your afternoon snack craving. Every time you feel the cue for a snack, insert another routine. Take a walk.
Their research thus implies a different character model, which is supposed to manipulate the neural networks inside.
To be an effective person, under this model, yo
u are supposed to coolly examine your own unconscious habits, and the habits of those under your care. You are supposed to devise strategies to alter the cues and routines. Every relationship becomes slightly manipulative, including your relationship with yourself. You're trying to arouse certain responses by implanting certain cues.
This is a bit disturbing, because the important habitual neural networks are not formed by mere routine, nor can they be reversed by clever cues. They are burned in by emotion and strengthened by strong yearnings, like the yearnings for admiration and righteousness.
If you think you can change your life in a clever way, the way an advertiser can get you to buy an air freshener, you’re probably wrong. As the Victorians understood, if you want to change your life, don’t just look for a clever cue. Commit to some larger global belief.
1.Which of the following is the first-to-none element in the 19th-century character model?
A. Action. B. Capacity. C. Resolution.D. Enthusiasm.
2.The research at Duke University indicated that ________
A. One’s behavior is tough to change.
B. Habit has an unidentified structure.
C. Habit plays a vital role in one's behavior.
D. Both habit and will power are of significance.
3.According to the new character model, personal behavior could be altered through
A. techniques to break old routines.
B. techniques to provide different physical cues.
C. cues to change all the former unconscious habits.
D. cues to manipulate the habitual neural responses.
Thanks to a combination of young businessmen, large numbers of university students and revitalization (新生) efforts by the local and national governments, today’s Nanjing has an of youthful exuberance (繁茂) that would have been only a few decades ago. , the city, a booming city of 6.5 million on the banks of the Yangtze River some 185 miles west of Shanghai, bears resemblance to the former capital of China that suffered the worst cruelty and violence of World War II.
Nanjing has shown a remarkable capacity for reinvention during its 2,500-year history. And in recent years, the city has moved its tragic past to become a vital engine of China’s economic growth, thanks to its position in the middle of China’s prosperous eastern seaboard. Growth has also thanks to improved ground transportation: A new bullet train linking Nanjing and Shanghai started service last year, travel time between the cities from several hours to just 75 minutes, and a Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line is to open later this year, with a stop in Nanjing. Within the city, two metro lines were built in the last few years; 15 more are planned to begin service by 2030.
Signs of Nanjing’s wealth and optimism can be se
en everywhere. In the heart of the downtown Xinjiekou district, a bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China, looks over a busy area.
There is perhaps no more symbol of the city’s tran
sformation than the Zifeng Tower, a 1,480-foot skyscraper that opened its doors last May. offices, restaurants and an InterContinental hotel, the tower is the second-tallest building in China and billed as the seventh-tallest in the world.
Underlying all this development is a large Chinese and student population — there are several major universities, plus a branch of Johns Hopkins’s international studies school. In fact, art and music in all sorts of places.
On a larger , local government officials and private investors are pushing the city as a rising center for contemporary art and architecture, hoping to attract from the neon-bathed streets of its neighbor Shanghai.
1.A. advance B. affectionC. airD. ability
2.A. unforgettable B. unthinkableC. unbearableD. unnecessary
3.A. Actually B. RegretfullyC. Hopefully D. Consequently
4.A. closeB. slightC. muchD. little
5.A. Because B. ButC. AsD. Since
6.A. beyond B. onC. offD. out
7.A. in addition B. in allC. in partD. in fact
8.A. startedB. enlargedC. existedD. accelerated
9.A. removingB. cuttingC. dividingD. lowering
10.A. scheduledB. inventedC. desiredD. meant
11.A. attractiveB. well-receivedC. newfoundD. discovered
12.A. thoughtB. treatedC. consideredD. elected
13.A. outB. atC. aboutD. for
14.A. remoteB. regionalC. ruralD. commercial
15.A. universalB. visibleC. traditionalD. political
16.A. KeepingB. ConsistingC. OpeningD. Housing
17.A. BritishB. westernC. AmericanD. foreign
18.A. spring upB. stand upC. set upD. keep up
19.A. extentB. degreeC. scaleD. level
20.A. businessmenB. studentsC. touristsD. painters
Health experts believe that even a little exercise is far better than _____at all.
A. noneB. little C. everythingD. anything
