Nowadays people are troubled by the violence that spreads throughout the media．Movies, television and video games are full of gunplay and bloodshed, and one might reasonably ask what’s wrong with a society that presents videos of violence as entertainment.

Viewing large amounts of violent television and video games may well contribute to violent behavior in certain individuals．The trouble comes when researchers downplay uncertainties in their studies or overstate the case for causality（因果关系）．Skeptics（怀疑论者） were dismayed several years ago when a group of societies including the American Medical Association tried to end the debate by issuing a joint statement: “At this time, well over 1,000 studies… point to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive（放肆） behaviors in some children.”

Freedom-of-speech advocates accused the societies of appealing to politicians, and even disputed the number of studies （most were review articles and essays, they said）．When Jonathan Freedman, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto, reviewed the literature, he found only 200 or so studies of television-watching and aggression．And when he weeded out “ the most doubtful measures of aggression”, only 28% supported a connection.

The critical point here is causality．The alarmists say they have proved that violent media cause aggression．But the assumptions behind their observations need to be examined．When labeling games as violent or non-violent, should a hero eating a ghost really be counted as a violent event? And when experimenters record the time it takes game players to read “aggressive” or “non-aggressive” words from a list, can we be sure what they are actually measuring? The intention of the new Harvard Center on Media and Child Health to collect and standardize studies of media violence in order to compare their methodologies, assumptions and conclusions is an important step in the right direction.

Another appropriate step would be to tone down the criticism until we know more．Several researchers write, speak and testify quite a lot on the threat posed by violence in the media．That is, of course, their privilege．But when doing so, they often come out with statements that the matter has now been settled, drawing criticism from colleagues．In response, the alarmists accuse critics and news reporters of being deceived by the entertainment industry．Such clashes help neither science nor society.

1．Why is there so much violence shown in movies TV and video games?

A．There is a lot of violence in the real world today.

B．Something has gone wrong with today’s society.

C．Many people are fond of gunplay and bloodshed.

D．Showing violence is thought to be entertaining.

2．What is the skeptics’ view of media violence?

A．Violence on television is fairly accurate reflection of real-world life.

B．A Causal relationship exists between media and real-world violence

C．Most studies overstate the effect of media violence on the viewers.

D．The influence of media violence on children has been underestimated.

3．The author uses the term “alarmists” to refer to those who 　　　 .

A．use standardized measurements in the studies of media violence

B．insist on a direct link between violent media and aggressive behavior

C．initiate the debate over the influence of violence media on reality

D．use appropriate methodology in examining aggressive behavior

4．What does the writer think of the debate concerning the relationship between the media and violence?

A．He more than agrees with the views held by the alarmists.

B．It should come to an end since the matter has now been settled.

C．The past studies in this field have proved to be misleading.

D．More studies should be conducted before conclusions are drawn.

In the college-admissions wars, we parents are the true fighters. We’re pushing our kids to get good grades, take SAT preparatory courses and build resumes so they can get into the college of our first choice. I’ve twice been to the wars, and as I survey the battlefield, something different is happening. We see our kids’ college background as a prize demonstrating how well we’ve raised them. But we can’t acknowledge that our obsession(痴迷) is more about us than them. So we’ve created various justifications（辩解）that turn out to be half-truths, prejudices or myths. It actually doesn’t matter much whether Aaron and Nicole go to Stanford.
We have a full-developed panic; we worry that there won’t be enough prizes to go around. Fearful parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever. What causes the hysteria(歇斯底里) is the belief that scarce elite（精英）degrees must be highly valuable. Their graduates must enjoy more success because they get a better education and develop better contacts. All seems right but mostly wrong. We haven’t found any convincing evidence that selectivity or prestige matters. Selective schools don’t systematically employ better instructional approaches than less selective schools. On two measures—professors’ feedback and the number of essay exams selective schools do slightly worse.
By some studies, selective schools do enhance（提高） their graduates’ lifetime earnings. The gain is reckoned at 2-4% for every 100-point increase in a school’s average SAT scores. But even this advantage is probably a statistical fluke(偶然). A well-known study examined students who got into highly selective schools and then went elsewhere. They earned just as much as graduates from higher-status schools.
Kids count more than their colleges. Getting into Yale may signify intelligence, talent and ambition. But it’s not the only indicator and, surprisingly, its significance is declining. The reason: so many similar people go elsewhere. Getting into college is not life’s only competition. In the next competition—the job market and graduate school—the results may change. Princeton economist Alan Krueger studied admissions to one top Ph.D. program. High scores on the GRE helped explain who got in; degrees of famous universities didn’t.
So, parents, take it easy（lighten up）. The stakes (利害关系) have been vastly exaggerated. Up to a point, we can rationalize our pushiness. America is a competitive society; our kids need to adjust to that. But too much pushiness can be destructive. The very ambition we impose on our children may get some into Harvard but may also set them up for disappointment. One study found that, other things being equal, graduates of highly selective schools experienced more job dissatisfaction. They may have been so conditioned to being on top that anything less disappoints.
1. Why does the author say that parents are the true fighters in the college-admissions wars?
A. They have the final say in which university their children are to attend.
B. They know best which universities are most suitable for their children.
C. They have to carry out intensive surveys of colleges before children make an application.
D. They care more about which college their children go to than the children themselves.
2. Why do parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever?
A. They want to increase their children’s chances of entering a prestigious college.
B. They hope their children can enter a university that offers attractive scholarships.
C. Their children will have a wider choice of which college to go to.
D. Elite universities now enroll fewer student than they used to.
3. What does the author mean by “kids count more than their colleges” Line1, para.4?
A. Continuing education is more important to a person’s success.
B. A person’s happiness should be valued more than their education.
C. Kids’ actual abilities are more important than their college background.
D. What kids learn at college cannot keep up with job market requirements.
4. What does Krueger’s study tell us?
A. Getting into Ph.D. programs may be more competitive than getting into college.
B. Degrees of prestigious universities do not guarantee entry to graduate programs.
C. Graduates from prestigious universities do not care much about their GRE scores.
D. Connections built in prestigious universities may be kept long after graduation.
5. One possible result of pushing children into elite universities is that______
A. they earn less than their peers from other institutions　　
B. they turn out to be less competitive in the job market
C. they experience more job dissatisfaction after graduation　
D. they overemphasize their qualifications in job application

As society advances and basic needs are most often being met, things that were not considered important in the past have taken priority(优先). In the past, people could easily get a job and progress pretty well, as long as they were hard-working; education was important but not as crucial(关系重大) as it is today.

Nowadays, just as clothes are important to first impressions, degree is important to a person’s first job interview or even a job with a good salary. Although experience is important to survive in any trade or profession, the first thing that companies look for is that piece of paper before looking at one’s experience.

A passport into the world of any profession is what having a degree means today, especially for professions that have need of certification and pay well, such as architects, doctors, lawyers, and teachers.

That piece of paper, the degree, is also a passport to jobs in top or middle management in any company, especially so for multi-national corporations(跨国公司). Having a degree opens up opportunities that one would not have had if one did not have any kind of degree. A degree simply proves that one has gone through the necessary training and understanding of how to carry out a job.

Although there are many that may say having a degree may not necessarily equal to success, it would most definitely help any person achieve success in shorter and easier steps. Success cannot simply be a result of hard work and/or depending on one’s experience or degree alone; it is the art and knowledge of how to work that determines one’s success. Therefore, it should not be for the sake to get a degree, but the quality of the degree and experiences that one can learn from that matter as well.

1. What would be the best title for this passage?

A. People used to be hard-working

B. How important is the degree?　　

C. How can we enter the top management?

D. Degree surely leads to success

2.Why does the author mention clothes in the second paragraph?

A. To prove the importance of the first impression.

B. To stress the importance of job interviews.　　

C. To show the importance of clothes.

D. To explain the importance of degree.

3.What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

A. Having a degree

B. Success

C. Necessary training

D. Having an opportunity

As society advances and basic needs are most often being met, things that were not considered important in the past have taken priority(优先). In the past, people could easily get a job and progress pretty well, as long as they were hard-working; education was important but not as crucial(关系重大) as it is today.
Nowadays, just as clothes are important to first impressions, degree is important to a person’s first job interview or even a job with a good salary. Although experience is important to survive in any trade or profession, the first thing that companies look for is that piece of paper before looking at one’s experience.
A passport into the world of any profession is what having a degree means today, especially for professions that have need of certification and pay well, such as architects, doctors, lawyers, and teachers.
That piece of paper, the degree, is also a passport to jobs in top or middle management in any company, especially so for multi-national corporations(跨国公司). Having a degree opens up opportunities that one would not have had if one did not have any kind of degree. A degree simply proves that one has gone through the necessary training and understanding of how to carry out a job.
Although there are many that may say having a degree may not necessarily equal to success, it would most definitely help any person achieve success in shorter and easier steps. Success cannot simply be a result of hard work and/or depending on one’s experience or degree alone; it is the art and knowledge of how to work that determines one’s success. Therefore, it should not be for the sake to get a degree, but the quality of the degree and experiences that one can learn from that matter as well.
【小题1】 What would be the best title for this passage?

A few years ago, I was with a close woman friend in a grocery store in California．As we walked along the aisle (过道), we saw a mother with a small boy moving in the opposite direction and met us head-on (正面的) in each aisle．The woman barely noticed us because she was so angry with her little boy, who wanted to pull items off the lower shelves．As the mother became more and more annoyed, she started to yell at the child and several aisles later had progressed to shaking him by the arm．k+s-5#u 

At this point my friend spoke up．A wonderful mother of three and founder of a progressive school, she had probably never once in her life treated any child so harshly(严厉地)．I expected my friend would give this woman a solid mother-to-mother talk about controlling herself and about the effect this behavior has on a child．Instead, my friend said, “What a beautiful little boy．How old is he?” The woman answered cautiously, “He’s three．” My friend went on to comment on how curious he seemed and how her own three children were just like him in the grocery store, pulling things off shelves, so interested in all the wonderful colors and packages．“He seems so bright and intelligent,” my friend said．

The woman had the boy in her arms by now and a shy smile came upon her face．Gently brushing his hair out of his eyes, she said, “Yes, he’s very smart and curious, but sometimes he wears me out．” My friend responded sympathetically(表示同情地), “Yes, they can do that; they are so full of energy．”

As we walked away, I heard the mother speaking kindly to the boy about getting home and cooking his dinner．“We’ll have your favorite — macaroni(通心面) and cheese,” she told him．

The mother was angry with her baby because 　  　　．

A．the mother was very tired k+s-5#u 

B．the baby asked for more things

C．the baby ran madly in the store

D．the baby was pulling the goods off the shelves

We can learn from the passage that the author’s friend 　　   　．

A．treated her children well only     

B．was probably good to any child

C．liked the boy very much         

D．always wanted to help others

The author’s friend talked with the mother in that way to 　  　　．

A．show her sympathy for the woman

B．know something about the boy first

C．show her anger with the woman k+s-5#u 

D．make the woman realize children’s natural quality

With the story, the author most probably intends to tell us that 　　　  ．

A．we should respect a child’s nature

B．we should never blame a child

C．mothers usually share the same interest

D．mothers should try to be gentle and polite k+s-5#u