系统英语阅读专题二

PAGE1/ 系统班英语（阅读专题二PassageImaginewakingupandfindingthevalueofyourassetshasbeenhalved.No,you’renotaninvestorinoneofthosehedgefundsthatfailedcompley.Withthedollarslumtoa26-yearlowagainstthepound,already-expensiveLondonhas equiteunaffordable.AcoffeeatStarbucks,justasunavoidableinEnglandasitisintheUnitedStates,runsabout$8.Theonceall-powerfuldollarisn’tngaTitanicagainstjustthepound.Itissittingatarecordlowagainsttheeuroandata30-yearlowagainsttheCanadiandollar.EventheArgentinepesoandBrazilianrealarethrivingagainstthedollar.Theweakdollarisasourceofhumiliation,foranation’sself-esteemrestsinpartonthestrengthofitscurrency.It’salsoapotentialeconomicproblem,sinceadecliningdollarmakesimportedfoodmoreexpensiveandexertsupwardpressureoninterestrates.AndyettherearesubstantialsectorsofthevastU.S.economy-fromgiantcompanieslikeCoca-Colatomom-and-poprestaurantoperatorsinMiami-forwhichtheweakdollarismostexcellentnews.ManyEuropeansmayviewtheU.S.asanarrogantsuperpowerthathas ehostiletoforeigners.ButnothingmakespeoplethinkmorewarmlyoftheU.S.thanaweakdollar.ThroughApril,thetotalnumberofvisitorsfromabroadwasup6.8percentfromlastyear.Shouldthetrendcontinue,thenumberoftouriststhisyearwillfinallytopthe2000peak?ManyEuropeansnowapparentlyviewtheU.S.thewaymanyAmericansviewMexico-asacheapcetovacation,shopandparty,allwhileignoringthefactthatthepoorerlocalscan’taffordtojointheThemoneytouristsspendhelpsdecreaseourchronictradedeficit.Sodoexports,whichthanksinparttotheweakdollar,soared11percentbetweenMay2006andMay2007.Forfirstfivemonthsof2007,thetradedeficitactuallyfell7percentfrom2006.IfyouownsharesinlargeAmericancorporations,you’reawinnerintheweak-dollargamble.LastweekCoca-Cola’sstickbubbledtoafive-yearhighafteritreportedafantasticquarter.Foreignsalesaccountedfor65percentofCoke’sbeveragebusiness.OtherAmericancompaniesprofitingfromthistrendincludeMcDonald’sandIBM.Americantourists,however,shouldn’texpectanyreliefsoon.Thedollarloststrengththewaymanymarriagesbreakup-slowly,andthenallatonce.Andcurrenciesdon’tturnonadime.Soifyouwanttoavoidthepaininflictedbytheincreasinglypatheticdollar,cancelthatsummervacationtoEnglandandlooktoNewEngland.There,thedollarisstilltreatedwithalittlerespect.WhydoAmericansfeelATheireconomyisplungingCTheycan’taffordtripstoBTheircurrencyhasslumpedDTheyhavelosthalfoftheirHowdoesthecurrentdollaraffectthelifeofordinaryATheyhavetocanceltheirvacationsinNewBTheyfinditunaffordabletodineinmom-and-popCTheyhavetospendmoremoneywhenbuyingimportedDTheymightlosetheirjobsduetopotentialeconomicHowdomanyEuropeansfeelabouttheU.Swiththedevalueddollar?ATheyfeelcontemptuousofit BTheyaresympatheticwithit.CTheyregarditasasuperpowerontheDTheythinkofitasagoodtouristwhatistheauthor’sadvicetoATheytreatthedollarwithalittleBTheytrytowinintheweak-dollarCTheyvacationathomeratherthanDTheytreasuretheirmarriagesalltheWhatdoestheauthorimplybysaying“currenciesdon’tturnonadime”(Line2,ParaAThedollar’svaluewillnotincreaseintheshortBThevalueofadollarwillnotbereducedtoaCThedollar’svaluewilldrop,butwithinasmallDFewAmericanswillchangedollarsintootherPassageInthecollege-admissionswars,weparentsarethetruefights.Wearepushingourkidstogetgoodgrades,takeSATpreparatorycoursesandbuildresumessotheycangetintothecollegeofourfirstchoice.I’vetwicebeentothewars,andasIsurveythebattlefield,somethingdifferentishappening.Weseeourkids’collegebackgroundaseprizedemonstratinghowwellwe’veraisedthem.Butwecan’tacknowledgethatourobsession(痴迷)ismoreaboutusthanthem.Sowe’vecontrivedvariousjustificationsthatturnouttobehalf-truths,prejudicesormyths.Itactuallydoesn’tmattermuchwhetherAaronandNicolegotoStanford.Wehaveafull-blownprestigepanic;weworrythattherewon’tbeenoughprizestogoaround.Fearfulparentsurgetheirchildrentoapplytomoreschoolsthanever.Underlyingthehysteria(歇斯底里)isthebeliefthatscarceelitedegreesmustbehighlyvaluable.Theirgraduatesmustenjoymoresuccessbecausetheygetabettereducationanddevelopbettercontacts.Allthatisusible——andmostlywrong.Wehaven’tfoundanyconvincingevidencethatselectivityorprestigematters.Selectiveschoolsdon’tsystematicallyemploybetterinstructionalapproachesthanlessselectiveschools.Ontwomeasures——professors’feedbackandthenumberofessayexams——selectiveschoolsdoslightlyworse.Bysomestudies,selectiveschoolsdoenhancetheirgraduateslifetimeearnings.Thegainisreckonedat2-4%forevery100-pointincreaseinaschool’saverageSATscores.Buteventhisadvantageisprobablyastatisticalfluke(偶然).Awell-knownstudyexaminedstudentswhogotintohighlyselectiveschoolsandthenwentelsewhere.Theyearnedjustasmuchasgraduatesfromhigher-statusschools.Kidscountmorethantheircolleges.Gettingintoyalemaysignifyinligence,talentandAmbition.Butit’snottheonlyindicatorand,paradoxically,itssignificanceisdeclining.Thereason:somanysimilarpeoplegoelsewhere.Gettingintocollegeisnotlifeonlycompetition.Old-boynetworksarebreakingdown.PrincetoneconomistAlanKruegeradmissionstoonetopPh.D.program.HighscoresontheGREhelpedexinwhogotin;degreesofprestigiousuniversitiesdidn’t.So,parents,lightenup.thestakeshavebeenvastlyexaggerated.uptoapoint,wecanrationalizeourpushiness.Americaisacompetitivesociety;ourkidsneedtoadjusttothat.buttoomuchpushinesscanbedestructive.theveryambitionweimposeonourchildrenmaygetsomeintoHarvardbutmayalsosetthemupfordisappointment.onestudyfoundthat,otherthingsbeingequal,graduatesofhighlyselectiveschoolsexperiencedmorejobdissatisfaction.Theymayhavebeensoconditionedtobeingontopthatanythinglessdisappoints.Whydosetheauthorsaythatparentsarethetruefightersinthecollege-admissionsTheyhavethefinalsayinwhichuniversitytheirchildrenaretoTheyknowbestwhichuniversitiesaremostsuitablefortheirtheyhavetocarryoutintensivesurveysofcollegesbeforechildrenmakeantheycaremoreaboutwhichcollegetheirchildrengotothanthechildrenWhydoparentsurgetheirchildrentoapplytomoreschoolthantheywanttoincreasetheirchildrenchancesofenteringaprestigioustheyhopetheirchildrencanenterauniversitythatoffersattractiveTheirchildrenwillhavehaveawiderchoiceofwhichcollegetogoEliteuniversitiesnowenrollfewerstudentthantheyusedWhatdoestheauthormeanbykidscountmorethantheircollege(Line1,para.4?A.Continuingeducationismoreimportanttoa happinessshouldbevaluedmorethantheireducation.C.Kidsactualabilitiesaremoreimportantthantheircollegebackground.D.WhatkidslearnatcollegecannotkeepupwithjobmarketWhatdoesKrueger’s lGettingintoPgramsmaybemorecompetitivethangettingintoDegreesofprestigiousuniversitiesdonotguaranteeentrytograduateprograms.C.GraduatesfromprestigiousuniversitiesdonotcaremuchabouttheirGREscores.D.Connectionsbuiltinprestigiousuniversitiesmaybesustainedlongaftergraduation.Onepossibleresultofpushingchildrenintoeliteuniversitiesis theyearnlessthantheirpeersfromothertheyturnouttobelesscompetitiveinthejobtheyexperiencemorejobdissatisfactionaftertheyoveremphasizetheirqualificationsinjobPassageWildBillDonovanwouldhavelovedtheInternet.TheAmericanspymasterwhobuilttheOfficeofStrategicServicesintheWorldWarⅡandlaterlaidtherootsfortheCIAwasfascinatedwithinformation.Donovanbelievedinusingwhatevertoolscametohandinthe"greatgame"ofespionage—spyingasa"profession".ThesedaystheNet,whichhasalreadyre-madesucheverydaypastimesasbuyingbooksandsendingmail,isreshaDonovan'svocationaswell.Thelatestrevolutionisn'tsimplyamatterofgentlemenreadingothergentlemen'se-Thatkindofelectronicspyinghasbeengoingonfordecades.Inthepastthreeorfouryears,theWorldWideWebhasgivenbirthtoawholeindustryofpoint-and-clickspying.Thespookscallit"open-sourceinligence",andastheNetgrows,itis ingincreasinglyinfluential.In1995theCIAheldacontesttoseewhocouldcompilethemostdataaboutBurundi.Thewinner,byalargemargin,wasatinyVirginia calledOpenSourceSolutions,whoseclearadvantagewasitsmasteryoftheelectronicworld.AmongthefirmsmakingthebiggestsshinthisnewworldisStraitford,Inc.,aprivateinligence-ysisfirmbasedinAustin,Texas.Straitfordmakesmoneybysellingtheresultsofspying(coveringnationsfromChiletoRussia)tocorporationslikeenergy-servicesfirmMcDermottInternational.ManyofitspredictionsareavailableonlineatStraitfordGeorgeFriedmansaysheseestheonlineworldasakindofmutuallyreinforcingtoolforbothinformationcollectionanddistribution,aspymaster'sdream.Lastweekhisfirmwasbusyvacuumingupdatabitsfromthefarcornersoftheworldandpredictingacrisis ."Assoonasthatreportruns,we'llsuddenlyget500newInternetsign-ups,"saysFriedman,aformerpoliticalscienceprofessor."Andwe'llhearbackfromsomeofthem."Open-sourcespyingdoeshaveitsrisks,ofcourse,sinceitcanbedifficulttolgoodinformationfrombad.That'swhereStraitfordearnsitskeep.Friedmanreliesonaleanstaffof20inAusti