Question

    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.

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.C

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章主要讲述了美国高中辍学率已经下降并解释了发生这种变化的原因。

1.

主旨大意题。根据文章第一段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.（根据周二发布的一项新研究，美国高中辍学率近年来有所下降，辍学率从2012年的100万下降到2016年的约75万。）可知，文章主要讲的是美国高中辍学率已经下降。故选B。

2.

词句猜测题。根据划线词所在的句子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.（但这一增长与同年的一项政策改变相吻合：阿拉巴马州的学生不再需要通过高中毕业考试才能获得毕业证书。）可知，coincided with意为“与……一致”，agree with与之意思相符合。故选B。

3.

推理判断题。根据文章最后一段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.（但亚利桑那州的学生也可以获得“大峡谷”文凭，这只需要每个人选修数学、科学和英语两门课程——比许多大学的入学要求还低。）可推知，获得该学位的学生不一定会被大学录取。故选C。