英语练习

Reading ComprehensionWhen they advise your kids to "get an education" if you want to raise your income, they tell you only half the truth. What they really mean is to get just enough education to provide manpower for your society, but not too much that you prove an embarrassment to your society. Get a high school diploma, at least. Without that, you are occupationally dead, unless your name happens to be George Bernard Shaw or Thomas Alva Edison and you can successfully drop out in grade school.Get a college degree, if possible. With a B.A., you are on the launching pad (发射台). But now you have to start to put on the brakes. If you go for a master's degree, make sure it is an M. B. A., and only from a first-rate university. Beyond this, the famous law of diminishing returns (报酬递减律) begins to take effect.Do you know, for instance, that long-haul truck drivers earn more a year than full professors? Yes, the average 1977 salary for those truckers was $24,000, while the full professors managed to average just $ 23,930.A Ph. D. is the highest degree you can get, but except in a few specialized fields such as physics or chemistry, where the degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial purposes, you are facing a dim future. There are more Ph. Ds unemployed or underemployed in this country than in any other part of the world by far.If you become a doctor of philosophy in English or history or anthropology or political science or languages or—worst of all—in philosophy, you run the risk of becoming overeducated for our national demands. Not for our needs, mind you, but for our demands.Thousands of Ph. D.s are selling shoes, driving cabs, waiting on tables and filling out fruitless applications month after month. And then maybe taking a job in some high school or backwater college that pays much less than the janitor (看门人) earns.You can equate the level of income with the level of education only so far. Far enough, that is, to make you useful to the gross national product, but not so far that nobody can turn much of a profit on you.1. According to the writer, what the society expects of education is to turn out people who___________.A will not be a shame to the societyB will become skilled workersC can take care of themselvesD can meet the demands as a source of manpower2. If you are as gifted as Bernard Shaw or Edison, ___________.A you can get a high school diploma without difficultyB you will be successful in a grade schoolC you can be professionally successful without a diplomaD the least you should do is to get a diploma3. Ph. D. s are most likely to___________.A have difficulties getting properly employedB be employed in the fields of commerce or industryC have to fill out application forms month after month for othersD work in schools or colleges with low pay4. Which of the following is NOT true?A Bernard Shaw didn't finish high school, nor did Edison.B There are far more Ph. D. s than the society demands.C The higher your education level, the more money you'll earn.D If you are too well-educated, you'll make things difficult for the society.5. The writer is critical of_________.A the educational systemB the Ph. D. sC the societyD the employersMillions of U. S. college students will have to shoulder more of the cost of their education under federal rules imposed late last month through a bureaucratic adjustment requiring neither congressional approval nor public comment of any kind. The changes, only a slight alteration in the formula governing financial aid, are expected to diminish the government's contribution to higher education by hundreds of millions of dollars, starting in the autumn of 2004. But they will also have a ripple effect across almost every level of financial aid, shrinking the pool of students who qualify for federal awards, tightening access to billions of dollars in state and institutional grants, and heightening the reliance on loans to pay for college.How much more money this may require of students and their parents will vary widely, changing with each family's set of circumstances. Some families may be expected to pay an extra $100 or less each year, while others may owe well over $ 1,000 more. While many college administrators characterized the change as a backdoor way to cut education spending, without public discussion, the Department of Education said it was simply executing its responsibilities under federal law.Whether furnished by colleges, states or the federal government, the vast majority of the nation's $ 90 billion in financial aid is dictated by a single, intricate equation known as the federal need analysis, Its purpose is to decipher how much of a family's income is truly discretionary, and therefore fair game for covering college expenses. Much like the federal income tax, the formula allows families to deduct some of what they pay in state and local taxes. But, this year, the department significantly reduced that amount, in some cases cutting it in half. On paper, at least, that leaves families with more money left over to pay for college, even though state and local taxes have gone up over the last year, not down.In the 2004&2005 academic year, when the changes first take effect, parents who earn $50,000 a year may be expected to contribute $700 or so beyond what they are already paying, according to an independent analysis conducted by a consulting firm that helps universities set enrollment and aid. Those earning about $ 25,000 may owe only an extra $165 or less, while families earning $ 80,000 could be expected to pay an additional $1,100 or more.6. The word "shoulder" (Line 1, Para. 1) most likely means" ______ ".A bearB liftC bareD accept7. The rule changes are likely to.A provide $ 90 billion in financial aidB lower the amount of financial aid provided by the governmentC cost each family an average of $1,000 per yearD have a ripple effect across federal income taxes8. According to the article, some have criticized the changes because they.A ignore local and state taxesB were not discussed in publicC are not in accordance with federal lawD leave many families unable to pay for college9. The purpose of the federal needs analysis is to determine.A whether or not a family is below the poverty lineB the proportion of not-necessary-expenses in a family's incomeC whether a family is on financial aidD how much family's should pay in state and local taxes10. Which of the following words best describes the tone of the article?A supportiveB angryC indifferentD informativeTranslation1._________________ (为了挣钱供我上学) ,Mother often takes on more work than is good for her.2. They believe in letting children________________(让孩子犯点错误) .3. Our school operates on the principle that________________(道德观和学习成绩) are equally important.4. If people become extremely rich, most of them don't bother to ________ (学习知识) they need to succeed any more.5.. The retired chief engineer came to__________(倒数第二)in the marathon race last year.6.. I didn't go to the party last night, __________________ (因为三思后) , I changed my mind.Suggested writing:. Online Education1. 目前网络教育形成热潮2. 这股热潮的原因是3. 我对网络教育的看法Whether Schools Will Be Replaced by Computers1. 有人认为学校会被电脑取代；2. 也有人持不同意见；3. 结合自己的经历，谈谈你对这个问题的认识。