【推荐2】This summer, Monika Lutz’s life took an unusual turn. Instead of heading off to college, the high school graduate packed her bags for a Bengali jungle. Lutz, like a growing number of other young Americans, is taking a year off. Gap(间隔) years   are quite common in Britain and Australia, but they are just beginning to catch on in the U.S. Lutz, who grew up in Boulder, Colo., has put together a 14-month schedule that includes helping deliver solar power to some communities in India and interning (实习) for a fashion designer in Shanghai---experiences that are worlds away from the lecture halls and university dormitories that await other students. “I could not be happier,” she says.
Why are students attracted to the gap-year concept? According to new survey data from Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson, education-policy experts and co-authors of The Gap-Year Advantage, the most common reason for this is to avoid burnout. “I felt like I was focused on college as a means to an end,” says Kelsi Morgan, an incoming Middlebury College freshman who spent last year interning for a judge in Tulsa, Okla., and teaching English at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. The hope is that after a year out of the classroom, students will enter college more energized, focused and mature. That can be an advantage for colleges too. Robert Clagett, dean of admissions at Middlebury, did some research a few years ago and found that a single gap semester was the strongest predictor of academic success at his school.
Most experts recommend securing a spot in college before taking a gap year and warn against using the time off to lengthen your resume. “Most admissions folks can see right through that,” says Jim Jump, the academic dean of St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, Va. But for students like Lutz, who, after getting rejected from five Ivies, decided to take time off, a gap year can help focus interests. Lutz now plans to apply mostly to non-Ivies that have strong marketing programs. “This experience has really opened my eyes to the opportunities the world has to offer,” she says.
But at least one education expert doesn’t want schools spreading the gap-year message. In a study that followed 11,000 members of the high school class of 1992 for eight years after graduation, Stefanie DeLuca, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University, found that, all things being equal, those who delayed college by a year were 64% less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree than those who didn’t. DeLuca did not say whether these students voluntarily started college late, but at the very least, her work indicates that taking a gap year doesn’t guarantee success. “I’m not going to say that time off does not have benefits,” says DeLuca. “But I think we should not be so enthusiastic.”
1. The students take gap years mainly because ______.

A．they want to be more unusual

B．they want to refresh themselves

C．some experts advise them to do so

D．their parents think it good for them

2. According to Lutz, the gap year has made her more ______.

A．energetic	B．relaxed
C．practical	D．enthusiastic

3. Stefanie DeLuca probably agrees that ______.

A．students should think twice before taking gap years

B．taking gap years enables students to achieve success

C．schools should encourage their students to take gap years

D．taking gap years increases students’ chances of getting a good job

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards gap years?

A．Sceptical.	B．Positive.
C．Disapproving.	D．Objective.

【推荐3】On my first day of the senior high school,I asked an eleventh grader where my class was.And he told me it was “on the fourth floor,next to the pool.” I found out five minutes later that we don’t even have a fourth floor and there’s no pool either!Besides that,I didn’t have any trouble with the older kids.

I think the biggest differences between the junior and the senior high school are the homework load (工作量) and size of the school.I went from maybe fifteen minutes of homework a night to several hours,so I had to learn how to make full use of time!Our class size is around 55,but joining in clubs,sports,music,and other activities at school makes it easier to get to know people in every grade.

The best advice I can give about the years you spend in high school is to learn things for yourself,not just to get a good grade.There have been so many tests that I’ve prepared for the night before,gotten an A,and not remembered anything later.I’ve changed that this year,and I enjoy school so much more.Don’t take easy classes just to have a simple year.If you have a choice between chemistry and sports,the first will prove to be a lot more useful!

While drinking and smoking might be present in some junior high schools,they’re also around in senior high schools.I have a lot of friends who promised they’d never drink or smoke,but are now partying every weekend.If you have “fun” and spend your nights wasted instead of studying,you will regret it when you’re applying for (申请) a college.The “friends” who say you’re a loser for not partying are really not your friends at all.It’s hard to see your closest friends grow apart and go in different directions,but don’t follow their footsteps.Create your own path in life and make your own decisions.

1. What does the author think of the senior high school?

A．There are very few activities.

B．It’s hard to meet new people there.

C．It requires hard work.

D．There isn’t enough time for homework.

2. The text is probably written by 　　　.

A．a senior high school student

B．a chemistry teacher

C．a college student

D．a sports player

3. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?

A．The trouble caused by drinking and smoking.

B．Students shouldn’t go to any party in senior high school.

C．Students shouldn’t lose themselves in senior high school.

D．The importance of making friends.