Question

It’s high time someone spoke up for today’s college students.  They’re probably the most hardworking, ambitious people in America and their problems are not properly appreciated.

   People like the Secretary of Education simply don’t know what they’re talking about when they knock students.  Nor do those who complain about falling academic standards.

   The vast majority of the nation’s 12 million students are struggling to pay for their educations.  They are part of the invisible workforce.  Many hold down full-time jobs.  They’re frying hamburgers, photographing weddings, working in construction, and waiting on tables.  The fact that they even show up for classes is a wonderful event.

   The financial situation of most students explains a lot about what is happening in schools.  Why are the traditional courses so unpopular?  Why are students flocking to accounting and computer science and any professional programs that seem to lead to careers?

   Answer: Today’s working student has been forced into a kind of premature matter-of-fact way of viewing things.  Romance is gone.  The notion of transforming one’s self through study alone has disappeared.  Today’s students seek freedom from manual labor, and the status conferred by a good job.

   There are other consequences.  Today’s students don’t have much time or energy to be devoted, and carry out independent research or even do serious homework.  That’s the secret behind falling academic standards.  Students have become consumers.  They want grades and certifications.  Their professors can’t be expected to give a grade of failure to students who are clearly tired from the effort to pay their bills.

   There’s a lot wrong with this situation.  It’s twisting the definition of education out of shape.  Worse, it’s creating a generation that is totally unpleasant.  The brightest students turn out to be yuppies (雅皮士).  The vast majority are, at least, good-natured semi-literates.

   The time has run out for philosophical debates about fixed courses of study.  What this country needs is someone to stand up and say that being a full-time student during one’s formative years is an honorable calling worthy of support.  If families can’t or won’t give it to their children, then the government should.

1.The author’s purpose in writing this article is to __________.

awaken the whole society to the problems today’s college students face

warn Americans that academic standards are falling

advise college students to study hard

provide a suggestion that only full-time students be enrolled

2.The most suitable word to describe the author’s feelings about today’s college students  is _________.

   A. criticize            B. sympathize                   C. complain                D. urge

3.Which of the following cannot be learned from the passage?

Many students are often absent from classes.

Traditional courses are not popular.

Students commit crimes with computers.

Students don’t devote much time and energy to their homework.

4.By saying “Romance is gone” in paragraph 5, the author means ____________.

today’s students do not believe in love stories any more

today’s students become more practical in dealing with things

students think there is no affection any more and break up with their lovers

today’s students hold matter-of-fact opinions on love

5.Which of the following suggestions will the author not agree with?

We should encourage students to give up full-time jobs.

Families should offer their children more help financially.

We should stand up and say something for today’s college students.

D．We should make more strict regulations to force students to study hard.

Answer 1

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.B

5.D

 解析】文章談?wù)摿爽F(xiàn)在的大學(xué)生所遇見的種種難題，呼吁全社會(huì)一起來關(guān)注這些問題。

1.A 推理題。作者寫這篇文章是想讓別人知道大學(xué)生所遇見的種種困難，尤其是經(jīng)濟(jì)方面的困難，很多學(xué)生要做兼職來付自己的學(xué)費(fèi)。主要是喚醒社會(huì)對(duì)這些問題的認(rèn)識(shí)。故A正確。

2.B 根據(jù)文章第三段2,3,4行內(nèi)容Many hold down full-time jobs.  They’re frying hamburgers, photographing weddings, working in construction, and waiting on tables說明現(xiàn)在很多的大學(xué)生都要做兼職工作來付學(xué)費(fèi)，他們要做很多的事情，作者對(duì)他們充滿了同情。故B正確。

3.C 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)第三段最后一句推理出很多學(xué)生都逃課。根據(jù)Why are the traditional courses so unpopular說明B也提及了。以及第七段1,2行Today’s students don’t have much time or energy to be devoted, and carry out independent research or even do serious homework說明D也提及了，只有C沒有提及。

4.B 推理題。浪漫已經(jīng)不見了。說明現(xiàn)在的學(xué)生學(xué)會(huì)了現(xiàn)實(shí)，不在相信那些浪漫的愛情故事，對(duì)實(shí)際的物質(zhì)更感興趣了，故B正確。

5.D 推理題。文章中提及現(xiàn)在的學(xué)生的生活壓力很大，已經(jīng)沒有太多的時(shí)間放在真正的學(xué)習(xí)和研究上了，D選項(xiàng)中的說法等于是給學(xué)生更大的負(fù)擔(dān)和壓力，故作者應(yīng)該是不同意該說法。