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1、PartIII Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ATo get a sense of how women have progressed in science, take a quick tour of the physics department at the University of California Berkeley.This is a storied place, the 36 of some of the most important discoveries in modern science-starting with Er

2、nest Lawrence's invention of the cyclotron(回旋加速器)in 1931.A generation ago female faces were 37 and.even today,visitors walking through the first floor of LeConte Hall will See a full corridor of exhibits 38 the many distinguished physicists who made history here,39 all of them white malesBut cli

3、mb up to the third floor and you'll see a 40 display.There,among the photos of current faculty members and students are portraits of the 41 head of the department,Marjorie Shapiro,and four other women whose research 42 everything from the mechanics of the universe to the smallest particles of ma

4、tter.A sixth woman was hired just two weeks ago.Although they're Still only about 10 percent of the physics faculty,women are clearly a presence here.And the real 43 may be in the smaller photos to the right, graduate and undergraduate students about 20 percent of them female.Everyyears Berkeley

5、 sends its fresh female physics PhDs to the country's top universities.That makes Shapiro optimistic but also 44 "I believethings are getting bette "she says "but they're not getting better as 45 as i would like."注意：此部分試題請在答題卡2上作答A)circumstanceB)confidenceC)coversD)curren

6、tE)dealsF)differentG)exposingH)fastI)honoringJ)hopeK)presentlyL)rareM)realisticN)siteO)virtually注意：此部分試題請在答題卡2 上作答。 A) Why are we spending so much money on college? And why are we so unhappy about it. We all seem to agree that a college education is wonderful, and yet strangely we worry when we see

7、families investing so much in this supposedly essential good. Maybe its time to ask a question that seems almost sacrilegious(大不敬的）；is all this investment in college education really worth it? B)The answer, I fear, is no. For an increasing number of kids, the extra time and money spent pursuing a co

8、llege diploma will leave them worse off than they were before they set foot on campus.C)For my entire adult life, a good education has been the most important thing for middle-class households. My parents spent more educating my sister and me than they spent on their house,and theyre not the only on

9、es and, of course, for an increasing number of families , most of the cost of their house is actually the cost of their house is actually the cost of living in a good school district.Questioning the value of a college education seems a bit like questioning the value of happiness ,or fun.D)The averag

10、e price of all goods and services has risen about 50 percent. But the price of a college education has nearly doubled in that time. Is the education that todays students are getting twice as good? Are new workers twice as smart? Have they become somebody massively more expensive to educate?E)Perhaps

11、 a bit. Richard Vedder , an Ohio University economics professor , says, “I look at the data,and I see college costs rising faster than inflation up to the mid-1980s by 1 percent a year. Now I see them rising 3 to 4 percent a year over inflation.What has happened ? The federal government has started

12、dropping money out of airplanes,”Aid has increased ,subsidized (補貼的）loans have become available, and “the universities have gotten the money,” Economist Bryan Caplan , who is writing a book about education, agrees. “ It is a giant waste of resources that will continue as long as the subsidies contin

13、ue.” F) Promotional literature for colleges and student loans often speaks of debt as an “investment in yourself.” But an investment is supposed to generate income to pay off the loans. More than half of all recent graduates are unemployed or in jobs that do not require a degree, and the amount of s

14、tudent-loan debt carried by households has increased more than five times since 1999. These graduates were told that a diploma was all they needed to succeed, but it wont even get them out of the spare bedroom at Mom and Dads. For many, the most tangible result of their four years is the loan paymen

15、ts, which now average hundreds of dollars a month on loan balances in the tens of thousands.G)Its true about the moneysort of College graduates now make 80 percent more than people who have only a high-school diploma, and though there are no precise estimates, the wage premium(高出的部分) for an outstand

16、ing school seems to be even higher. But thats not true of every student. Its very easy to spend four years majoring in English literature and come out no more employable than you were before you went in.Conversely, chemical engineers straight out of school can easily make almost four times the wages

17、 of an entry-level high-school graduate.H) James Heckman, the Nobel Prizewinning economist, has examined how the returns on education break down for individuals with different backgrounds and levels of ability. “Even with these high prices, youre still finding a high return for individuals who are b

18、right and motivated,” he says. On the other hand, “if youre not college ready, then the answer is no, its not worth it.” Experts tend to agree that for the average student, college is still worth it today,but they also agree that the rapid increase in price is eating up more and more of the potentia

19、l return. For borderline students, tuition rise can push those returns into negative territory.I）Everyone seems to agree that the government, and parents, should be rethinking how we invest in higher educationand that employers need to rethink the increasing use of college degrees as crude screening

20、 tools for jobs that dont really require college skills. “Employers seeing a surplus of college graduates and looking to fill jobs are just adding on that requirement,” says Vedder. “De facto, a college degree becomes a job requirement for becoming a bartender.”J） We have started to see some change

21、on the finance side. A law passed in 2007 allows many students to cap their loan payment at 10 percent of their income and forgives any balance after 25 years. But of course, that doesnt control the cost of education; it just shifts it to taxpayers. It also encourages graduates to choose lower-payin

22、g careers, which reduces the financial return to education still further. “Youre subsidizing people to become priests and poets and so forth,” says Heckman. “You may think thats a good thing, or you may not.” Either way it will be expensive for the government. K）What might be a lot cheaper is puttin

23、g more kids to work: not necessarily as burger flippers but as part of an educational effort. Caplan notes that work also builds valuable skillsprobably more valuable for kids who dont naturally love sitting in a classroom. Heckman agrees wholeheartedly: “People are different, and those abilities ca

24、n be shaped. Thats what weve learned,and public policy should recognize that.”L） Heckman would like to see more apprenticeship-style programs, where kids can learn in the workplacelearn not just specific job skills, but the kind of “soft skills,” like getting to work on time and getting along with a

25、 team, that are crucial for career success. “Its about having mentors and having workplace-based education,” he says. “Time and again Ive seen examples of this kind of program working.”M）Ah, but how do we get there from here? With better public policy, hopefully, but also by making better individual

26、 decisions. “Historically markets have been able to handle these things,” says Vedder, “and I think eventually markets will handle this one. If it doesnt improve soon, people are going to wake up and ask, Why am I going to college?” 注意：此部分試題請在答題卡2 上作答。 46.Caplan suggests that kids who dont love scho

27、ol go to work. 47.An increasing number of families spend more money on houses in a good school district. 48.Subsidized loans to college students are a huge waste of money, according to one economist.49.More and more kids find they fare worse with a college diploma. 50.For those who are not prepared

28、for higher education, going to college is not worth it . 51.Over the years the cost of a college education has increased almost by 100%. 52.A law passed recently allows many students to pay no more than one tenth of their income for their college loans. 53.Middle-class Americans have highly valued a

29、 good education. 54.More kids should be encouraged to participate in programs where they can learn not only job skills but also social skills . 55.Over fifty percent of recent college graduates remain unemployed or unable to find a suitable job.What does it take to be a well-trained nurse?The answer

30、 used to be two-year associate's or four-year bachelor's degree programs. But as the nursing shortage 36_, a growing number of schools and hospitals are establishing "fast-track programs" that enable college graduates with no nursing 37 _ to become registered nurses with only a year or so of 38_training.In 1991, there were only 40 fast-track curricula; now there are more than 200. Typical is Columbia University's Entry to Practice program. Students earn their bachelor of science in nursing in a year. Those who stay on for an 39_ two