A new college guide in the United States compares educational requirements in seven subjects. These include math, science, writing and United States history or government. The other subjects are economics, foreign language and literature.

The free online guide is from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The council is a nonprofit group that supports liberal arts education.

Its president, Anne Neal, says these areas of knowledge are needed to succeed in a twenty-first century society and an increasingly connected world. Yet she told VOA’s Faiza Elmasry it was surprising how many students can graduate with, in her words, a “thin education.”

Forty-two of the one hundred colleges and universities surveyed received the lowest marks. This meant they required two or fewer of the seven subjects. Five schools received a top grade for requiring six subjects. These were Brooklyn College in New York City, Texas A&M, the University of Texas-Austin, West Point and the University of Arkansas.

Robert Costrell is a professor of education reform and economics at the University of Arkansas. He says many, if not all, of the top American colleges once had a core curriculum —a set of courses required for all students.

But over the years, many have dropped these requirements. Or they have watered them down, Professor Costrell says, into what became known as distribution requirements. This system lets a student choose from a number of different courses to satisfy a requirement.

ROBERT COSTRELL: “And in many cases these courses went too far, I would say, towards the fluffy treatment of serious material, and students could satisfy their requirement by taking such courses.”

Professor Costrell says schools should not only re-examine what they teach. They should also measure what students have learned — for example, through some form of examinations or papers.

A new report this week from the College Board showed that college prices continue to rise. But Anne Neal from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni says higher prices do not guarantee a better general education. In fact, the group found that the higher the tuition, the more likely that students have to develop their own general education.

The college guide is on the Web at whatwilltheylearn.com. Anne Neal says her group is surveying more colleges. The hope, she says, is to discover what college graduates have really learned, and how ready they are to compete in the global marketplace.

67. Where does the passage probably come from?

A. A scientific fiction.                       B. A research newspaper.  

C. A fashion magazine.                      D. An entertainment newspaper.

68. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni does all the following EXCEPT _________.

A. support liberal arts education

B. concern itself with education in America

C. devote time to helping improve college education

D. make money by helping with college education

69. The words “watered them down” underlined in Paragraph 6 most likely mean “_______.”

A. reduced required courses                  B. improved required courses

C. increased required courses                 D. developed required courses

70. In this passage, the new college guide mainly tells its readers that American colleges  should ______.

A. meet the requirements of the new century

B. reduce the number of required courses

C. have different standards on required courses

D. cut down on their tuitions

Why You Should Celebrate Your Mistakes

When you make a mistake, big or small, cherish (珍視) it like it’s the most precious thing in the world. Because in some ways, it is.

Most of us feel bad when we make mistakes, beat ourselves up about it, feel like failures, get mad at ourselves.

And that’s only natural: most of us have been taught from a young age that mistakes are bad, that we should try to avoid mistakes. We’ve been scolded when we make mistakes—at home, school and work. Maybe not always, but probably enough times to make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.

Yet without mistakes, we could not learn or grow. If you think about it that way, mistakes should be cherished and celebrated for being one of the most amazing things in the world: they make learning possible; they make growth and improvement possible.

By trial and error—trying things, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes—we have figured out how to make electric light, to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, to fly.

Mistakes make walking possible for the smallest toddler, make speech possible, make works of genius possible.

Think about how we learn: we don’t just consume information about something and instantly know it or know how to do it. You don’t just read about painting, or writing, or computer programming, or baking, or playing the piano, and know how to do them right away. Instead, you get information about something, from reading or from another person or from observing usually … then you construct a model in your mind … then you test it out by trying it in the real world … then you make mistakes … then you revise the model based on the results of your real-world experimentation … and repeat, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, until you’ve pretty much learned how to do something. That’s how we learn as babies and toddlers, and how we learn as adults. Mistakes are how we learn to do something new—because if you succeed at something, it’s probably something you already knew how to do. You haven’t really grown much from that success—at most it’s the last step on your journey, not the whole journey. Most of the journey was made up of mistakes, if it’s a good journey.

So if you value learning, if you value growing and improving, then you should value mistakes. They are amazing things that make a world of brilliance possible.

56. Why do most of us feel bad about making mistakes?

A. Because mistakes make us suffer a lot.

B. Because it’s a natural part in our life.

C. Because we’ve been taught so from a young age.

D. Because mistakes have ruined many people’s careers.

57. According to the passage, what is the right attitude to mistakes?

A. We should try to avoid making mistakes.

B. We should owe great inventions mainly to mistakes.

C. We should treat mistakes as good chances to learn.

D. We should make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.

58. The underlined word “toddler” in Paragraph Six probably means _______.

A. a small child learning to walk              B. a kindergarten child learning to draw

C. a primary pupil learning to read                     D. a school teenager learning to write

59. We can learn from the passage that _______.

A. most of us can really grow from success

B. growing and improving are based on mistakes

C. mistakes are the most precious things in the world 

D. we read about something and know how to do it right away

Many of the employees think their career path and plans begin during their employment or when they already secured a job. But basically, if we look at what becomes of a person, you can root it from the upbringing of the person, to be more specific, from childhood.
    As parents, we usually groom our children’s future according to what we are or what we wanted to be. We buy them toys and educational materials according to what we dream our children would become someday. For example, we know that becoming a teacher means a lot of sacrifices and lots of time worked but the pay is not satisfying. Thus, if we see this profession not favorable financially, we discourage our children from becoming teachers. However, the earliest exposure of children is usually in the medical field profession (every time they visit the hospital for consultation or any medical requirements) and the education or teaching profession (by the time they start attending classes). Information other than the two professions mentioned came from the parents and later exposure or experiences when they grew up and learn of their interest according to their special skills.
    In career pathing, the parents’ role plays a major part for the individual’s success in identifying their chosen career. The best way is to support the child’s interest and not forcing them to take courses that the parents wanted for themselves. Support can be provided by helping them read materials on their field of interest, exposing them to the career and providing information as to the advantages and great efforts that one may take to accomplish their chosen field. This is not difficult nowadays. The internet and the publications are now very affordable and even the media provides the information for the different careers that our children may take. There are shows and programs that can provide a picture of the different field. But before you go to your television and change the channel of what your child is watching, check first if the program is fit for their age and maturity.
60. The underlined word “groom” in the second paragraph can be replaced by ___________.

  A. take care of         B. prepare         C. expect          D. feed

61. Why does the parents’ role play a major part for the individual’s success in identifying their chosen career?

  A. Because the best approach is to support the child’s interest.

  B. Because parents can help them read materials on their interest.

  C. Because parents can provide them with needed information.

  D. Because parents’ help and support is extremely important.

62. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

  A. The earlier, the better                     B. Work from childhood

  C. Career Path Begins During Childhood        D. Parent’s support in choosing a career

63. It can be inferred that __________.

A. parents play a major part in helping their children choose their career

B. parents have a great effect on their children’s life

C. one’s early education is very important

D. getting information about jobs is not difficult nowadays because of the internet

The National Outline for Medium and Long Term Education Reform and Development (2010 - 20) was released over the weekend. Here are some of the highlights:

Four – percent effort

The government says spending on education will be 4 percent of GDP by 2012. globally, average spending on education is about 4.5% of GDP. China spend 3,33% in 2008. according to Hu Angang, of Tsinghua University’s Center for China Studies, even if China reaches that goal, it will only rank about 100 th out of 188 countries.

Administrative rank

Administrative rankings for school leaders are to be phased out to tackle the bureaucracy (官僚機(jī)構(gòu)) problem that limits educational development, according to Cheng Fangping, of the national Institute for Educational Research. Areas like teaching programs, scientific research, and technological development will be more independent.

Vocational Education

The system will be free of charge. According to Wu Yan, of Beijing Institute of Educational Sciences, this will be key to developing China’s production capacity and will improve poor people’s lives dramatically.

Entering college

    Universities could eventually have the freedom to choose some of their own high school applicants. Normally, students are accepted based on the uniform national exam scores. Also, students who agree to go to a remote area could be admitted to university under special circumstances. The most likely change could come on the college entrance English test, which might be modeled on the IELTS or TOEFL. Students will be able to take it several times and pick their best score.

56．Which of the following is true in the future according to the passage?

      A．Applicants could take the IELTS or TOEFL instead of the college entrance English test.

       B．Colleges will be given the right to choose all of their own applicants.

       C．Vocational education will be party free to make people’s lives better.

       D．Applicants could sit for the college entrance English test more than once.

57．Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “uniform” in the last paragraph?

       A．formal      B．official     C．same D．united

58．We can learn from the passage even though our country spends 4% of GDP on education in 2012,          .

       A．there will still be 188 countries ahead of China in this aspect

       B．China will certainly overtake the global average spending on education

       C．there might be nearly 100 countries ahead of China in this aspect

       D．China will be the 100 th country to spend over the global average on education

59．From the third paragraph, we can infer that         .

      A．school leaders will have more freedom to manage the school

       B．schools will have more limits from the government

       C．School administrative rankings are to be strengthened to solve the bureaucracy problem

       D．schools and research centers will be fully independent from the government

A new college guide in the United States compares educational requirements in seven subjects. These include math, science, writing and United States history or government. The other subjects are economics, foreign language and literature.

The free online guide is from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The council is a nonprofit group that supports liberal arts education.

Its president, Anne Neal, says these areas of knowledge are needed to succeed in a twenty-first century society and an increasingly connected world. Yet she told VOA’s Faiza Elmasry it was surprising how many students can graduate with, in her words, a “thin education.”

Forty-two of the one hundred colleges and universities surveyed received the lowest marks. This meant they required two or fewer of the seven subjects. Five schools received a top grade for requiring six subjects. These were Brooklyn College in New York City, Texas A&M, the University of Texas-Austin, West Point and the University of Arkansas.

Robert Costrell is a professor of education reform and economics at the University of Arkansas. He says many, if not all, of the top American colleges once had a core curriculum —a set of courses required for all students.

But over the years, many have dropped these requirements. Or they have watered them down, Professor Costrell says, into what became known as distribution requirements. This system lets a student choose from a number of different courses to satisfy a requirement.

ROBERT COSTRELL: “And in many cases these courses went too far, I would say, towards the fluffy treatment of serious material, and students could satisfy their requirement by taking such courses.”

Professor Costrell says schools should not only re-examine what they teach. They should also measure what students have learned — for example, through some form of examinations or papers.

A new report this week from the College Board showed that college prices continue to rise. But Anne Neal from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni says higher prices do not guarantee a better general education. In fact, the group found that the higher the tuition, the more likely that students have to develop their own general education.

The college guide is on the Web at whatwilltheylearn.com. Anne Neal says her group is surveying more colleges. The hope, she says, is to discover what college graduates have really learned, and how ready they are to compete in the global marketplace.

67. Where does the passage probably come from?

A. A scientific fiction.                       B. A research newspaper.  

C. A fashion magazine.                      D. An entertainment newspaper.

68. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni does all the following EXCEPT _________.

A. support liberal arts education

B. concern itself with education in America

C. devote time to helping improve college education

D. make money by helping with college education

69. The words “watered them down” underlined in Paragraph 6 most likely mean “_______.”

A. reduced required courses                  B. improved required courses

C. increased required courses                 D. developed required courses

70. In this passage, the new college guide mainly tells its readers that American colleges  should ______.

A. meet the requirements of the new century

B. reduce the number of required courses

C. have different standards on required courses

D. cut down on their tuitions

If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.

It’s good to make mistakes. That’s not a typo, folks, and I have not lost my mind. It is good to make mistakes, and here’s why.

First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing.  If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you expand? How can you innovate? The simple answer is, “You can’t.” Look around you. With very few exceptions, either everything you see in your physical world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new.

Another good thing about mistakes is this, when you are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb. When asked how he felt to fail that many times, he remarked that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work.

Finally, when you make a mistake you are that much closer to success. Why? Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some finite number of things before you succeeded. Every time you made a mistake you eliminated(消除) one of those things and are one step closer.

But this all doesn’t mean that you should forge ahead with disregard for the consequences of a mistake. Quite the contrary, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that, in the event that it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you will be in a position to try again.

We all have limited resources in the form of time and money, so don’t blow them all on one approach to a problem. Realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time and allocate these resources appropriately so you can learn, modify, and try it again. Only by embracing and using your mistakes in this way can you make significant advances in your business and your career.

There is an old axiom that goes, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.”

So go forth and make mistakes. And learn. And grow, And prosper.

59. Which of the following isn’t suitable for the passage?

A. Mistakes suggest that people are trying something new.

B. People can draw lessons from their mistakes.

C. Mistakes mean that people are getting closer to success.

D. People can afford to make mistakes as long as they limit them.

60. The underlined word “typo” means ___________.

A. printing mistake B. computer error         C. poor handwriting     D. bad typing

61. It’s good to make mistakes as long as _________.

A. people use them positively              B. people avoid them quickly

C. they help people get well                D. they don’t have side effects

62. What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage as far as mistakes are concerned?

A. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. They are unavoidable.

B. Try your best to make fewer mistakes. They are expensive.

C. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. They are beneficial.

D. The more mistakes you make, the more advances you’ll make.

Why You Should Celebrate Your Mistakes

When you make a mistake, big or small, cherish (珍視) it like it’s the most precious thing in the world. Because in some ways, it is.

Most of us feel bad when we make mistakes, beat ourselves up about it, feel like failures, get mad at ourselves.

And that’s only natural: most of us have been taught from a young age that mistakes are bad, that we should try to avoid mistakes. We’ve been scolded when we make mistakes—at home, school and work. Maybe not always, but probably enough times to make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.

Yet without mistakes, we could not learn or grow. If you think about it that way, mistakes should be cherished and celebrated for being one of the most amazing things in the world: they make learning possible; they make growth and improvement possible.

By trial and error—trying things, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes—we have figured out how to make electric light, to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, to fly.

Mistakes make walking possible for the smallest toddler, make speech possible, make works of genius possible.

Think about how we learn: we don’t just consume information about something and instantly know it or know how to do it. You don’t just read about painting, or writing, or computer programming, or baking, or playing the piano, and know how to do them right away. Instead, you get information about something, from reading or from another person or from observing usually … then you construct a model in your mind … then you test it out by trying it in the real world … then you make mistakes … then you revise the model based on the results of your real-world experimentation … and repeat, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, until you’ve pretty much learned how to do something. That’s how we learn as babies and toddlers, and how we learn as adults. Mistakes are how we learn to do something new—because if you succeed at something, it’s probably something you already knew how to do. You haven’t really grown much from that success—at most it’s the last step on your journey, not the whole journey. Most of the journey was made up of mistakes, if it’s a good journey.

So if you value learning, if you value growing and improving, then you should value mistakes. They are amazing things that make a world of brilliance possible.

56. Why do most of us feel bad about making mistakes?

A. Because mistakes make us suffer a lot.

B. Because it’s a natural part in our life.

C. Because we’ve been taught so from a young age.

D. Because mistakes have ruined many people’s careers.

57. According to the passage, what is the right attitude to mistakes?

A. We should try to avoid making mistakes.

B. We should owe great inventions mainly to mistakes.

C. We should treat mistakes as good chances to learn.

D. We should make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.

58. The underlined word “toddler” in Paragraph Six probably means _______.

A. a small child learning to walk              B. a kindergarten child learning to draw

C. a primary pupil learning to read                     D. a school teenager learning to write

59. We can learn from the passage that _______.

A. most of us can really grow from success

B. growing and improving are based on mistakes

C. mistakes are the most precious things in the world 

D. we read about something and know how to do it right away

What should you think about in trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to do well at school. On the other hand, you may not have any specially strong or weak subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. Knowledge of history is not required for most jobs but if history is one of your good subjects you will have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs.

       Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at metal work or cookery and look for a job where you can improve these skills. 

       If you have had a part-time job on Saturdays or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside in a part-time job.  

       Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle tools. Perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is bitter to face any weaknesses than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not be apologetic about it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work.

51. We can infer from the first paragraph that_______.

       A. learning better at school shows power in your job

       B. the better you are at school subjects, the more helpful they are in your career

       C. learning each subject well is an ability in many jobs

       D. we should think about how to find our career

52. According to the passage, if a student’s school record is not good, he will _________.

       A. have no hope in his future work

       B. be hopeful to find a suitable job

       C. regret not having worked harder at school

       D. have an opportunity of a new beginning in his future work

53. All the subjects may have direct value for job hunting except___________.

       A. mathematics           B. English           C. history            D. technical drawing

54. The underlined words "all thumbs" in Paragraph 4 most probably mean_________.

       A. heavy-handed          B. the best            C. important        D. skilled

55. The passage mainly discusses ___________.

       A. the relationship between school performance and career

       B. how to get a job

       C. how to show strengths in your work

       D. working experience and knowledge at school

A new study of 8,000 young people in the journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love（早戀）may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression. The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.

The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “l(fā)oss of self”. According to the study, even though boys would say “l(fā)ose themselves in a romantic relationship”, this “l(fā)oss of self” is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won’t tell that to their parents.

Dr. Marianm Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendship and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family.

Parents should watch for signs of depression—eating or mood changes—and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity（成熟）gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.

41. What’s the main idea of the passage?

   A. Puppy love may bring young people depression.

   B. Parents should forbid their children’s love.

   C. Romance is a two-edged sword for adults.

   D. Romance is good for young people.

42. Which of the following are more likely to have depression?

   A. Young people who have a strong sense of self.

   B. Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior.

   C. Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions.

   D. Careless parents whose children are deep in love.

43. What can be inferred from the passage?

   A. Lacking love can lead young people to grow up more quickly.

   B. Early love makes young people keep close to their friends and parents.

   C. Parents should help their children to be aware of the signs of depression.

   D. The older a woman is, the less likely she seems to lose herself in romance.

44. What’s the author’s attitude towards puppy love?

   A. Confused.                                B. Disapproving.

   C. Uninterested.                            D. Scared.

45. Dr. Marianm Kaufman does NOT suggest parents’ encouraging their kids to ______.

   A. keep close to their friends

   B. attend more interesting activities

   C. chat more on line

   D. spend more time with their family