考前模擬：2008年6月閱讀真題及名師精講

　　By some studies, selective schools do enhance their graduates' lifetime earnings. The gain is reckoned at 2-4% for every 100-poinnt 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, paradoxically, its significance is declining. The reason: so many similar people go elsewhere. Getting into college is not life only competition. Old-boy networks are breaking down. Princeton economist Alan Krueger studied admissions to one top Ph.D. program. High scores on the GRE helped explain who got in; degrees of prestigious universities didn't.

　　So, parents, lighten up. The stakes 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.

　　57. Why dose 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.

　　58. Why do parents urge their children to apply to more school than ever?

　　A) They want to increase their children 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 students than they used to.

　　59. What does the author mean by kids count more than their college (Line1, Para. 4)?

　　A) Continuing education is more important to a person 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.