Question

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(實習). 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 （批評）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(易受影響的)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.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

試題分析：文章主要介紹了通過與德國的中學的情況的比較，來說明在美國中學里，還是很缺乏有關職業生涯的基本課程。

1.主旨大意題。根據文章第一段的In some countries，schools have programs to help students onto the path to work．In the Unites States，however，such programs are still few and far between點出了主題。故選A。

2.細節理解題。根據根據第六段的even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work，the job market is daunting看出答案。故選B。

3.詞義猜測題。根據從下文的In the US，unemployment rates for 16-to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row．可猜出詞義，故選C。

4.推理判斷題。根據根據第六段的In the US，unemployment rates for 16-to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row推出答案。故選D。

考點：教育類短文閱讀。

點評：主旨大意題主要是測試考生對一篇文章或一段文字的深層理解程度及在速讀中準確把握文章大意的能力，一般針對某一語段或某一語篇主題標題或目的設題。做這類題，關鍵在于抓住文章要旨。