Passage 2

　　In the States, each fall a new crop of first-year college students, wavering between high hopes for the future and intense anxiety about their new status, scan college maps searching for their classroom. They have been told repeatedly that college is the key to a well-paying job, and they certainly don’t want to support themselves by flipping hamburgers or working at some other dead-end job. So, notebooks at the ready, they await what college has in store. Unfortunately many of them will not return after the first year. Why do so many students leave? There are several reasons. Some find the academic program too hard, others lack the proper study habits or motivation, and a large group leave for personal reasons.

　　Not surprisingly, the academic shortcomings of college students have strong links to high school. In the past, a high-school student who lacked the ability or desire to take a college-preparatory course could settle for a diploma in general studies and afterward find a job with decent pay. Now that possibility scarcely exists, so many poorly prepared students feel compelled to try college. Getting accepted by some schools isn’t difficult. Once in, though, the student who has taken nothing beyond general mathematics, English, and science faces serious trouble when confronted with freshman composition, and biological or physical science. Most colleges do offer courses and other assistance that may help some weaker students to survive. In spite of everything, however, many others find themselves facing ever-worsening grade-point averages and either fail or just give up.

　　Like academic shortcomings, poor study habits have their roots in high school, where even average students can often breeze through with a minimum of effort. In many schools, outside assignments are rare and so easy that they require little time or thought to complete. To accommodate slower students, teachers frequently repeat material so many times that slightly better students can grasp it without opening their books. And when papers are late, teachers often don’t mark them down. This “kindness” produces students who can’t or don’t want to study, students totally unprepared for the rigorous demands of college. There, courses may require several hours of study each week in order to be passed with even a “C.” In many programs, outside assignments are commonplace and demanding. Instructors expect students to grasp material after one explanation, and many won’t accept late papers at all. Students who don’t quickly develop disciplined study habits face a flood of low grades and failure.

　　Poor student motivation worsens faulty study habits. Students who thought high school was boring find even less attraction in the more challenging college offerings. Lacking any commitment to do well, they shrug off assigned papers, skip classes, and avoid doing required reading. Over time, classes gradually shrink as more and more students stay away. With final exams upon them, some return in a last-ditch effort to save a passing grade, but by then it is too late. Eventually, repetition of this situation forces the students out.

　　46. Which of the following is true of first-year college students?

　　A. They have been forced to go to college.

　　B. They have mixed feelings about their college life.

　　C. Few of them are confident about their past achievements.

　　D. They believe college can guarantee them well-paying jobs.

　　47. Students’ performance in college ________.

　　A. decides their work habits in the future

　　B. indicates their academic score in the past

　　C. shows their expectations for future career

　　D. reflects what they have experienced in high school

　　48. Many college students drop out in their first year because ________.

　　A. they can’t get enough help in college

　　B. their efforts bring them embarrassment

　　C. their study in college is getting no better

　　D. they prefer other ways to acquire knowledge

　　49. In order to prepare their students for college, high school teachers ________.

　　A. should not mark their late papers

　　B. should force them to study long hours

　　C. should help them develop good study habits

　　D. should not explain the course materials in detail

　　50. Which of the following can best explain the words “shrug off” in the last paragraph?

　　A. forget B. ignore

　　C. delay D. hate

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