1 . Among the constant adjustive education standards and requirements, it’s important to ask a question: exactly what do we want in a high school graduate?
Some people think the goal is to enter college and earn a bachelor’s degree. Others find that interpretation too narrow, preferring that young people leave school with the skills to move into living-wage jobs. But one thing many people can embrace is that high school graduates are skilled in basic math and English.
A proposed law, House Bill 1308,could ruin that goal. Students must do the following things to get a diploma: earn 24 credits of coursework; complete a High School and Beyond Plan matching those courses; meet one requirement of a series of “graduation pathways”. The problem is that these pathways don’t work for all kids.
In large part, that’s because they guide students toward college standards. Last year, after surveying nearly 1,000 students, researchers discovered that 18% of students said they were “not good” at math, and 33% said they were poor test-takers. For them, the current pathways are a barrier because of their emphasis on these skills.
The new pathway is instead focused on performance. It would allow kids to create a presentation—say an exhibit or report — demonstrating mastery of two core subjects, but not necessarily math or English. When the bill came up for discussion, over 350 people showed their support, because it’s possible that through the performance pathway, a student could create a project emphasizing mastery in “fine arts” and “health and fitness”. Rep. Sharon favors the proposal. In a hearing, she spoke of her granddaughter, who wrote and self-published a novel while still in school, to illustrate the kind of project is workable. While Tafona Ervin worries that the lack of emphasis on math and English could lead students to graduate without solid skills.
If the purpose of education is to ensure that young people are prepared to pursue a fulfilling life, finishing school uncertain of one’s abilities in math and English weakens education’s goal.
1. Why is the question mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．To make an argument. | B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To raise an education problem. | D．To clarify a concept. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By offering statistics. |
| C．By providing suggestions. | D．By doing experiments. |
| A．Workable. | B．Effective. | C．Awful. | D．Reasonable. |
2 . France is getting tough with food waste with great determination.A new law has been passed in the country that will ban grocery stores over 4, 305 square feet from throwing away unsold food.If it's still safe to eat, the food must be donated to charity; if not, it goes to farmers for use as animal feed or compost(肥料).
Supermarkets will no longer be allowed to destroy unsold food intentionally in order to prevent people from eating it.There are many people who search for food in the garbage cans behind stores, wanting to take advantage of the perfectly edible(可食用)food that gets thrown away on a daily basis; and yet some stores try to stop this, either by locking the garbage cans or pouring bleach(漂白剂)into them, a practice that Guillaume Garot, the former French food minister who proposed the new bill, describes as“scandalous.”
Food waste is a global problem, with an estimated 24 percent of calories produced for human consumption never getting eaten.Most of this waste happens at the final consumption stage.It is reported that“the average French person throws out 20 to 30 kilograms of food a year—7kg of which is still in its wrapping.”American shoppers throw away about one-fifth of everything they buy at the grocery store, according to a fascinating new documentary called“Just Eat It”.
The supermarkets aren’t happy about the new law because their food waste represents only 5 to 11 percent of the 7.1 million tons of food wasted annually in France.By contrast, restaurants waste 15 percent and consumers 67 percent.“The law is wrong in both target and intention, ”argues Jacques Creyssel, head of the distribution organization for big supermarkets.“Big stores are already important food donors.”
Despite this, France’s new law is a move in the right direction.Wasting food absolutely needs to become a socially immoral thing to do—much like throwing garbage on the ground.If law is what’s needed to get people thinking about conservation and edibility, then it's not a bad thing.
1. How should supermarkets handle unsold food by the new law?| A．They should leave it alone. | B．They should give it away. |
| C．They should sell it at lower prices. | D．They should drop it into garbage cans. |
| A．Inconvenient. | B．Challenging. | C．Impractical. | D．Unacceptable. |
| A．The seriousness of food waste. | B．The reasons for food waste. |
| C．The consequences of food waste. | D．The solution to food waste. |
| A．It is strict. | B．It is ineffective. |
| C．It is unfair. | D．It is well-intentioned. |
3 . Tired of your ordinary earthly vacations? Some day soon you might be able to board a rocket and get a room with a view of the whole planet — from a hotel in space.
At least, that is the sales pitch(高调) of several companies racing to become the first to host guests in orbit on purpose-built space stations.
“It sounds kind of crazy to us today because it is not a reality yet,” said Frank Bunger, founder of U.S. aerospace firm Orion Span, one of the companies vying to take travellers out of this world. “But that’s the nature of these things, it sounds crazy until it is normal.”
U.S. multimillionaire Dennis Tito became the world's first paying space tourist in 2001, travelling to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket for a reported $20 million. A few others have followed. Since then, companies like Boeing, SpaceX and Blue Origin have been working on ways to bring the stars into reach for more people — opening up a new business frontier for would-be space hoteliers.
U.S. space agency NASA announced in June that it plans to allow two private citizens a year to stay at the ISS at a cost of about $35,000 per night for up to a month. The first mission could be as early as 2020.
But the growing movement has raised questions about the adequacy of current space laws, which mainly deal with exploration and keeping space free of weapons, not hotels and holidaymakers.
“It is difficult now to want to do things in space and get a clear answer from space law,” said Christopher Johnson, a space law adviser at the Secure World Foundation, a space advocacy group. “For something as advanced as hotels in space there is no clear guidance.”
1. What does the underlined word “vying” in Para. 3 mean?| A．Promising. | B．Competing. |
| C．Hesitating. | D．Risking. |
| A．To show he was wealthy enough. |
| B．To praise his contribution. |
| C．To tell us he was very brave. |
| D．To emphasize he took the lead. |
| A．By summary. | B．By comparison. |
| C．By listing figures. | D．By giving examples. |
| A．He opposes space travel. |
| B．He is in charge of a space law. |
| C．It’s urgent to make a space law. |
| D．Space hotels are badly needed. |
4 . The United States Congress is responsible for making and approving federal laws—rules that everyone in the country must follow.But exactly how do those laws get made? The process is not easy，and it takes a long time.
A law begins when someone puts forward an idea.The idea can come from anyone，but it has to get to a U.S.lawmaker who wants it to become legislation.In time，the idea is further developed into a written proposal，called a bill.
Then，a member of Congress officially proposes the bill.After the bill is introduced，it is sent to a small group of lawmakers，called a“committee”.Sometimes committee members seek more information about the proposal by holding hearings.Sometimes the committee changes the bill.Sometimes it decides not to take any action.In that case，we say lawmakers“table”the bill，or let it“die in committee”.
But now and then，the bill is offered to lawmakers not on the committee.Those lawmakers debate the bill further.They might change the bill again.Finally，the full House or Senate votes on the bill.If it does not earn the majority of votes，the bill does not advance.
Finally，the agreed-upon bill is sent to the president.If the president signs it，the bill becomes a law.If the president does nothing and Congress is officially meeting，the bill becomes a law.But if the president does nothing and Congress is not in session，the bill does not pass.Or the president can officially reject the bill.If that happens，the bill is not stopped.Instead，it is returned to both the Senate and the House.If two-thirds of the senators and two-thirds of the House members approve the bill once again，even with the president objecting，they turn the bill into a law.
1. Who is the first to propose a bill?| A．A lawyer. |
| B．A citizen. |
| C．A member of Congress. |
| D．A committee member. |
| A．After it is sent to a committee. |
| B．When the president signs it. |
| C．After it returns to the Congress. |
| D．While Congress is not in session. |
| A．Not every bill can be turned into a law. |
| B．Anybody can put forward a proposal. |
| C．If“tabled”，the bill has to be voted on. |
| D．Once proposed，the bill can't be changed. |
