Question

【題目】Young people in the United States do not have a strong understanding of the world and their place in it.

Two US-based groups, the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Geographic Society, conducted an online survey last year. They wanted to know what young people in American colleges knew about geography, U.S. foreign policy, recent international events, and economics.

The survey was given to over 1,200 Americans between the ages of 18 and 26 years. All of them presently attending, or having previously graduated from, a 2- or 4-year college or university.

The average test score, out of 75 total possible answers, was 55 percent. The study identifies a few important problems. For example, only 30 percent knew that the only part of the U.S. government that can declare war is Congress. Only 60% of those taking the survey could identify Brazil on a world map.

Part of the problem, argue the organizers of the survey, is the Internet. They say it is becoming harder to find high-quality information about world events amongst all the fake news and trivia which swamp the web. Forty-three percent of those questioned said they read about the news on Facebook.

Another problem is that most college courses do not require students to learn about international issues. If such information is not required, Richard Haass from the Council on Foreign Relations said, then the United States could have leaders like Gary Johnson. He was a recent presidential candidate who did not know about the Syrian city of Aleppo when a reporter asked him about it.

The survey results were not all bad. The young people also demonstrated a good understanding of climate change and renewable energy. And the majority of them said that international issues were becoming more important to them.

Haass says these findings suggest the need to find ways to get good information to students, both in school and online. To help, the Council on Foreign Relations is creating a new program called CFR Campus, designed to help build knowledge about global issues.

【1】What do we know about the survey?

A. The participants were all recent university graduates.

B. It was an online survey conducted by two US universities.

C. It was given to over 1,200 American people aged from 18 to 26.

D. It aimed to find out what the young people know about America.

【2】What’s one reason survey organizers give for young people’s lack of knowledge?

A. The poor quality of the US university system.

B. Young people’s unwillingness to travel abroad.

C. The sources from which they get their information.

D. Their lack of interest in knowing more about the world.

【3】What topic did the young Americans understand best according to the survey?

A. Government organizations. B. Geographic information.

C. Foreign relations. D. Environmental matters.

【4】In which column of a newspaper could we find this article?

A. Economics. B. Education.

C. National Politics. D. Entertainment.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】C

【3】D

【4】B

【解析】這是一篇說明文。美國外交關(guān)系委員會和國家地理學會去年進行了一項在線調(diào)查。他們想知道美國大學的年輕人對地理，美國外交政策，最近的國際事件和經(jīng)濟了解多少。調(diào)查結(jié)果表明美國的年輕人對世界和他們所處的地方都不太了解。

【1】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段“The survey was given to over 1,200 Americans between the ages of 18 and 26 years”（這項調(diào)查是針對1200名年齡在18到26歲之間的美國人進行的）可知，C項正確。

【2】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第五段“Part of the problem, argue the organizers of the survey, is the Internet”（調(diào)查的組織者說，部分問題在于互聯(lián)網(wǎng)）可知，年輕人缺乏知識的原因是獲取知識的來源。故選C。

【3】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第七段“The young people also demonstrated a good understanding of climate change and renewable energy”（年輕人也顯示出對氣候變化和可再生能源的良好理解）可知，故選D。

【4】推理判斷題。根據(jù)最后一段“Haass says these findings suggest the need to find ways to get good information to students, both in school and online”（ Haass說，這些發(fā)現(xiàn)表明需要找到好的信息傳遞給學生的方式，無論是在學校和網(wǎng)絡）推知，這篇文章應該是在報紙的教育版塊，故選B。