The US Department of Labor statistics show that there is an oversupply of college trained workers and that this oversupply is increasing. Already there have been more than enough, teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts, and other specialists. Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to turn out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren’t there. The result is that graduates cannot enter the professions for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree.

   On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sports: carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, TV repairmen. These people have more work than they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates. The old gap that white-collar workers make a better living than blue collar workers no longer holds true. The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen.

   The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that College degree is a passport to a prosperous future. A large part of American society matches success in life equally with a college degree. Parents begin indoctrinating(灌輸) their children with this myth before they are out of grade school. High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life. Under this pressure the kids fall in line. Whether they want to go to college or not doesn’t matter. Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go. And every year college enrollments(入學(xué)) go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them.

   One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there. Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class. Many of them drop out within the first year. Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up.

68. It’s implied but not stated in the passage that _______.

   A. many other countries are facing the some problem

   B. white-collar workers in the US used to make more money than blue-collar workers

   C. fewer students will prefer to go to college in the future

   D. the law of supply and demand has a strong effect on American higher education

69. Which of the following is NOT a reason why college enrollments go up every year?

   A. Many believe the only way to success is a college education.

   B. Many parents want their children to go to college.

   C. High school teachers urge their students to go to college.

   D. Every young man and woman wants to go to college.

70. By saying that “many people go to college who do not belong there”, the author means that ______.

   A. many people unfit for college education go to college

   B. many people without enough money go to college

   C. many people going to college drop out within the first year

   D. many people going to college have their hopes destroyed

71. We can infer from the passage that the author believe that ______.

   A. every young man and woman should go to college

   B. college education is a bad thing

   C. people with a college education should receive higher pay

   D. fewer people should go to college while more should be trained for skilled jobs

  The following are the results of the tests done by “Family and Home Magazine” on some Pocket Tape-Recorders on the market now.

  Pearlcorder S702 $64

  This simple model at the bottom of the Olympus range scored the most points for its excellent quality of recording. Background noise hardly affects the sound and recording from a pocket is perfectly possible, but it doesn’t turn off automatically.

  Tape length: 30minutes per side. Weight: 240g.

  Sony M9   $49.95

  Small and very good looking, Sony’s latest offering scored most for its appearance. Sounds clear, but there is slight machine noise. The big control buttons are a great improvement on some of the complicated little controls on other tape-recorders. It doesn’t switch off automatically, but a red light shows if the machine is still running.

  Tape length: 60minutes per side. Weight: 195g.

  Sony M400  $115

  Lots of little control buttons that make a noise are difficult to use. Recording is good but machine noise loses points. Tape counter and automatic switch-off when tape has finished recording or rewinding are useful.

  Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 230g.

  Imperial OEM MC7  $ 29.95

  Cheap and simple compared with the rest, but recording is good as long as there is no background noise. Use only its own-make of cassette. No light to show it is on; no fast-forward button and the record button makes a loud noise.

  Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight: 285g.

  Philips 585  $80

  Handsome and simple to use, but recording is very poor at more than the recommended distance of 5 cm-designed for dictation. No recording light.

  Tape length: 15 minutes per side. Weight: 220g.

64. The machine that produces the best recording with the least unwanted noise is __.

   A. Pearlcorder S 702     B. Sony M9

   C. Sony M400              D. Imperial OEM MC7

65. If you want a machine which turns off automatically and weighs very little you should choose _____.

   A. Pearlcorder S 702     B. Sony M9

   C. Sony M400              D. Philips 585

66. Which of the following allows you to record longest but costs you least?

   A. Philips 585            B. Imperial OEM MC7

   C. Sony M400           D. Sony M9

67. What disadvantage does only the Imperial OEM MC7 have?

   A. No light shows when it is on.

   B. It requires a special cassette.

   C. It picks up background noise.

   D. The record button makes a noise.

The day after Thanksgiving is considered the first day of the holiday shopping season in the United States. It even has a name ― “Black Friday.” The name comes from the idea that this is the day when store owners begin to show a profit for the year.

In the past, before calculators and computers, workers recorded the profits and losses of American businesses in special books. They used red ink to record losses. They used black ink to record profits. They used the term “in the red” to mean losing money. “In the black” meant making a profit. So “Black Friday” was the day when the store owners moved from being “in the red” to “in the black.”

Many people consider “Black Friday” to be the busiest shopping day of the year. But that is probably false. Researchers say it may be the day when the largest number of people go to stores. But it is not necessarily the day when shoppers spend the largest amount of money. Some experts say Americans just want to get out of the house the day after Thanksgiving. And many stores reduce some of their prices on “Black Friday.” 

However, experts say that many people wait until much closer to Christmas, December 25, hoping to find even lower prices. They say the busiest day of the year in terms of the amount of shoppers and sales is usually the Saturday before Christmas.

A marketing services company carried out a public opinion study about shopping last month. It asked almost one thousand Americans about their gift buying plans. One-third said they plan to go to stores to shop on the day after Thanksgiving.

The study found that these shoppers are mainly young people, probably because older people do not want to deal with huge crowds. In fact, business leaders say many older Americans are doing their shopping at home -- on the computer. They say the day most people shop online is the Monday after “Black Friday.” They even have a name for it -- “Cyber Monday.” 

60. Which is the busiest shopping day of the year according to the text?

A. Black Friday

B. the day before Christmas

C. the Saturday before Christmas

D. Cyber Monday

61. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Businessmen prefer the term “in the red” to “in the black”.

B. “Black Friday” means store owners begin to earn money.

C. The largest amount of sales is made on “Black Friday”.

D. The largest number of people go to stores on “Black Friday”.

62. Why don’t people spend money on “Black Friday”?

A. They are not satisfied with the quality of the goods sold.

B. Some shops secretly increase their prices on that day.

C. Too many people in the store discourage their shopping desire.

D. They are waiting for a more competitive price.

63. From the passage we can conclude that ________.

A. Stores failed to earn much money from older people on “Black Friday”.

B. “Cyber Monday” has a larger amount of sales than “Black Friday”.

C. All young people prefer going to stores on “Black Friday”.

D. Older people like shopping on-line because of cheaper prices.

At the sight of the policeman, ___from behind the door.

      A. did the boy rush out   B. did he sit down  

C. out rushed the boy     D. rushing out was the boy

  I was doing some Christmas shopping in a toy store and decided to look at Barbie dolls for my nieces. A nicely dressed little girl was excitedly looking through the Barbie dolls as well. As she was looking, a little boy came to the Pokemon toys. He was dressed neatly, but his clothed were obviously old. He was with his father as well, and kept picking up the Pokemon video toys. Each time he picked one up and looked at his father, his father shook his head and said, “No.”

  The little girl had chosen her Barbie. However, she stopped and was watching them. Rather dejectedly, the boy had to give up the Pokemon toys and choose something else. The little girl put her Barbie back on the shelf, and ran over to the Pokemon toys. She excitedly picked up one and raced towards the checkout. I picked up my purchases and got in line behind them. Then, much to the little girl’s delight, the little boy and his father got in line behind me. After the toy was paid for and bagged, the little girl handed it back to the cashier (收銀員) and whispered something in her ear. The casher smiled and put the package under the counter.

  I paid for my purchases and was rearranging things when the little boy came up to the cashier. The cashier checked his purchases and said, “Congratulations, you are my hundredth customer today, and you win a prize!” With that, she handed the little boy the Pokemon toys, and he could only stare in surprise. It was exactly what he had wanted!

  The little girl and her father had been standing at the doorway during all of this. Then they walked out. As I walked back to my car, I heard the father ask his daughter why she had done that. I’ll never forget what she said to him. “Daddy, didn’t Grandparents want me to buy something that would make me happy?” He said, “Of course they did, honey.” To which the little girl replied, “ Well, I just did!”

  I feel very shocked to have witnessed the true spirit of Christmas in that boy store, in the form of a little girl who understands more about the meaning of this festival than most adults I know.

56. The underlined word “dejectedly” in the second paragraph probably means _____.

   A. delightedly  B. disappointedly  C. excitedly   D. unexpectedly

57. How did the little boy get the Pokemon toys?

   A. His father bought him the Poknemon toys.

   B. Fortunately, he was the hundredth customer and won the Poknemon toys.

   C. The cashier felt sympathy for the little boy and gave him the Poknemon toys.

   D. The little girl bought the Poknemon toys for him.

58. What did the little girl mean when saying “Daddy, didn’t Grandparents want me to buy something that would make me happy?”

   A. Her Grandparents wanted her to be happy.

   B. Making the little boy happy made her happy.

   C. The Poknemon toys made her happy.

   D. Her Grandparents hoped that she could help others.

59. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

   A. the story happened before Christmas.

   B. The little boy had no enough money to buy the Poknemon toys.

   C. Although the little girl liked the Poknemon toys very much, she gave them to the boy.

   D. The author was deeply moved by the behavior of the little girl.

I think the most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Perhaps, the most important thing we ever give each other is our  36 , and especially if it’s given from our hearts.

   When people are talking,  37  is no need to do anything but  38  them and take them in. Listen to what they are  39 . In most cases,  40  is more important than understanding. It has taken me a long time to believe in the  41  of simple saying “ I’m so sorry ” when some one is in pain.

   One of my patients told me that when she tried to tell her story, people often  42  her to tell her that they once had  43  just like what happened to her. Finally, she  44  talking to most people.

45 , we connect to each other through listening. When we interrupt what someone is saying to let him or her know that we understand, we move the focus of attention to ourselves.

I have  46  learned to respond to someone’s  47  by just listening to him or her. In the old days, I used to  48 the tissue (紙巾). I realized that passing a person a tissue  49  be just another way to  50  them down and take them out of their experience of  51 . Now just listen. When they have cried all they  52  to cry, they find me there with them.

This simple thing has not been that easy to learn. It certainly went  53  everything I had been taught since I was very young. I  54  think that people listened only because they did not know the answer. But now I know that a loving  55  often has more power to comfort others than words.

---We didn’t find the Blacks ____ the lecture.

---No one had told them about _____ a lecture the following day.

   A. to attend; there to be      B. attending; there being

   C. attended; there be          D. attend; there was

He often speaks of the trouble he _____ to help the orphan.

   A. had     B. found   C. made    D. took

Without proper lessons, you could ____ a lot of bad habits when playing the piano.

   A. give up   B. catch up    C. keep up    D. pick up

As the light turned green, I stood for a moment, not ____, and asked myself what I was going to do.

   A. moved   B. moving    C. to move     D. being moved