D) Some call the phenomenon that Zalasky’s fighting “grade inflation”—implying the boost isundeserved. Others say students are truly earning their better marks. Regardless, it’s a trendthat’s been building for years and may only be accelerating: many students are getting very goodgrades. So many, in fact, it is getting harder and harder for colleges to use grades as a measuringstick for applicants.

　　E) Extra credit for AP courses, parental lobbying and genuine hard work by the mostcompetitive students have combined to shatter any semblance of a Bell curve, one in which A，sare reserved only for the very best. For example, of the 47,317 applications the University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles, received for this fall’s freshman class, nearly 23,000 had GPAs of 4.0 orabove.

　　F) That’s also making it harder for the most selective colleges—who often call grades the singlemost important factor in admissions—to join in a growing movement to lessen the influence ofstandardized tests.

　　G) “We，re seeing 30, 40 valedictorians at a high school because they don，t want to createthese distinctions between students,” said Jess Lord, dean of admission and financial aid atHaverford College in Pennsylvania. “ If we don’t have enough information, there’s a chance we’llbecome more heavily reliant on test scores, and that’s a real negative to me.”

　　H) Standardized tests have endured a heap of bad publicity lately, with the SAT raising angerabout its expanded length and recent scoring problems. A number of schools have stopped requiringtest scores, to much fanfare.

　　I) But lost in the developments is the fact that none of the most selective colleges havedropped the tests. In fact, a national survey shows overall reliance on test scores is higher inadmissions than it was a decade ago. “It’s the only thing we have to evaluate students that willhelp us tell how they compare to each other,” said Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.

　　J) Grade inflation is hard to measure, and experts，caution numbers are often misleadingbecause standards and scales vary so widely. Different practices of “weighting” GPAs for AP workalso play havoc. Still, the trend seems to be showing itself in a variety of ways.

　　K) The average high school GPA increased from 2.68 to 2.94 between 1990 and 2000,according to a federal study. Almost 23 percent of college freshmen in 2005 reported their averagegrade in high school was an A or better, according to a national survey by UCLA’s Higher EducationResearch Institute. In 1975, the percentage was about half that.

　　L) GPAs reported by students on surveys when they take the SAT and ACT exams have alsorisen—and faster than their scores on those tests. That suggests their classroom grades aren’t risingjust because students are getting smarter. Not surprisingly, the test-owners say grade inflationshows why testing should be kept: it gives all students an equal chance to shine.

　　M) The problems associated with grade inflation aren’t limited to elite college applicants. Morethan 70 percent of schools and districts analyzed by an education audit company calledSchoolMatch had average GPAs significantly higher than they should have been based on theirstandardized test scores—including the school systems in Chicago, Illinois, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,Denver, Colorado, San Bernardino, California, and Columbus, Ohio. That raises concerns aboutstudents graduating from those schools unprepared for college. “They get mixed in with studentsfrom more rigorous schools and they just get blown away,” said SchoolMatch CEO WilliamBainbridge.

　　N) In Georgia, high school grades rose after the state began awarding HOPE scholarships tostudents with a 3.0 high school GPA. But the scholarship requires students to keep a 3.0 GPA incollege, too, and more than half who received the HOPE in the fall of 1998 and entered theUniversity of Georgia system lost eligibility before earning 30 credits. Next year, Georgia is taking arange of steps to tighten eligibility, including calculating GPA itself rather than relying on schools, andno longer giving extra GPA weight to vaguely labeled “honors” classes.

　　O) Among those who work with students gunning for the more selective colleges, opinionsdiffer as to why there seem to be so many straight-A students. “I think there are more pressuresnow than there used to be, because 20 or 30 years ago kids with a B plus average got into some ofthe best colleges in the country,” said William Shain, dean of admissions and financial aid at BowdoinCollege in Maine. “It didn，t matter if you had a 3.9 instead of a 3.95. I don，t know if it mattersnow either, but people are more likely to think it does.”

　　P) Lord, the Haverford dean, sees grade inflation as the outcome of an irrational fear amongstudents to show any slip up—in grades or discipline. In fact, colleges like his are often moreinterested in students who have overcome failure and challenge than robots who have never beenanything less than perfect. “There，s a protection and encouragement of self-esteem that I don’tagree with, but I think it’s a lot of what’s going on here,” he said. “And the college admissionsprocess feeds into that.”

　　Q) Back in Minnesota, Edina may join a growing number of schools that no longer officially rankstudents—a move that could help students like Zalasky, who says he was told by Wisconsin his classrank makes him a longshot. “They feel they’re being left behind or not getting into the schools thatthey’re applying to because of a particular class rank,” says Edina counselor Bill Hicks. “And thereis some validity with respect to some certain schools that use certain formulas.”

　　R) But the colleges most popular with Edina students already know how strong the school is:students’ median verbal and math SAT scores are 1170 out of 1600. Hicks isn’t willing to blamethe concentration grades at the top on spineless teachers, or on grade-grubbing by parents andstudents. Expectations are high, and grades are based on student mastery of the material, not acurve. Wherever teachers place the bar for an A, the students clear it.

　　S) “Everyone here is like, ‘ if I can get a 98 why would I get a 93? said Lavanya Srinivasan, whowas ranked third in her Edina class last year. Far from being pushovers, she says, Edina teachers aretougher than those in a course she took at Harvard last summer. Zalasky agrees the students workhard for their high grades. “The mentality of this school is, if you’re not getting straight A，s you’renot doing well,” he said. “There’s just so much pressure on us day in and day out to get straight A’sthat everybody does.” Hicks compares the atmosphere at Edina to the World Series expectationsthat always surround the superstar lineup of the New York Yankees. “If they don’t win it,” he said, “then it’s failure.”

　　1. Nearly half of the applications that the University of California received this autumn had GPAsof 4.0 or above.

　　2. It，s also harder for the most selective colleges to lessen the effect of standardized tests.

　　3. More than 30 years ago, about 11.5 percent of college freshmen reported their averagegrade in high school was an A or better.

　　4. Because of the negative effects of standardized tests recently, a lot of universities have nolonger required test scores.

　　5. Some think Zalasky’s improvement unworthy, while others think his high grades win thepraise for him.

　　6. Because many of his classmates are so outstanding, Zalasky is nervous about his collegeapplication.

　　7. Some colleges would like to admit students who have conquered failure and challenge ratherthan those who have never been anything less than perfect.

　　8. In the next year, Georgia is taking a series of measures to tighten qualification, includingcalculating GPA itself and avoiding paying too much attention to vaguely labeled “honors” classes.

　　9. In Zalasky，s opinion, students are put under great pressure to work hard to get straightA"s, or they will be regarded as losers.

　　10. More and more schools no longer officially rank students by grade, which can help studentslike Zalasky.

　　內(nèi)容概要

　　文章指出，目前美國大學(xué)在錄取新生時(shí)，仍然比較看重分?jǐn)?shù)。在一些學(xué)校里由 于獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金政策的執(zhí)行，學(xué)生的分?jǐn)?shù)迅速攀升。考試的擁護(hù)者指出，考試有必要存在， 因?yàn)樗o學(xué)生提供了展示自我的平臺(tái)，而這也無疑會(huì)給學(xué)生帶來巨大的壓力。

　　答案解析

　　1. E 本題的出題點(diǎn)在E段的最后一句話，屬于數(shù)字題。從原文可以看出，申請 者的人數(shù)為47,317，而獲得4.0或者4.0以上分?jǐn)?shù)者的人數(shù)接近23,000，由此 可知比例接近50%。

　　2. F 本題是F段的總結(jié)。原文提到，對學(xué)生的選拔最為嚴(yán)格的學(xué)校也越來越難 以參與到降低標(biāo)準(zhǔn)考試的影響的活動(dòng)中來，也就是說，這些學(xué)校很難降低 標(biāo)準(zhǔn)考試的影響。

　　3. K 本題的出題點(diǎn)在K段的最后兩句話，屬于數(shù)字題。More than 30 years ago可推測應(yīng)該是上世紀(jì)七八十年代，對應(yīng)原文的1975年;從原文可以看出，在 大一新生中，2005年在高中取得A或者更好成績的人數(shù)差不多是總?cè)藬?shù)的 !%%，而在1975年時(shí)此比例減半，大約為11.5%。

　　4. H 本題的出題點(diǎn)在H段。原文提到最近標(biāo)準(zhǔn)考試有一些負(fù)面影響，許多學(xué)校已經(jīng)停止要求用考試分?jǐn)?shù)來評判學(xué)生。題干的negative effects轉(zhuǎn)述了原文 的bad publicity。

　　5. D 本題是對D段前兩句話的同義轉(zhuǎn)述。原文提到：有些人把Zalasky的努力這種現(xiàn)象稱為“分?jǐn)?shù)膨脹”，暗示他的這種進(jìn)步不值得接受，而其他人認(rèn)為那 些學(xué)生真正贏得了好的評價(jià)，題干中的win the praise for him同義轉(zhuǎn)述了原 文中的earning their better marks。

　　6. B 本題的出題點(diǎn)在B段的第一句和第五句。原文提到even Zalasky is nervous about his prospects。接著在第五句中提到了原因：It’s that so many of his classmates are so good.由此可知題目是這兩句的總結(jié)。

　　7. P 本題的出題點(diǎn)在P段的第二句話。題目中的Some colleges替換原文中的colleges like his;題目中的conquered和原文中的overcome屬于同義詞轉(zhuǎn)換; 原文中的are more interested in換成了另一種說法would like to admit;原文中 的robots是一種比喻的說法，比喻那些完美得像機(jī)器人一樣的學(xué)生。

　　8. N 本題的出題點(diǎn)在N段的最后一句話。題目中的In the next year替換原文中的Next year;題目中的a series of替換原文中的a range of;題目中的avoiding paying too much attention to替換原文中的no longer giving…weight to。

　　9. S 本題考查人物的觀點(diǎn)。S段后半部分指出，Zalasky表示，學(xué)校的想法是，如果你沒有得到全A的成績，你就沒有學(xué)得很好，學(xué)生們?yōu)榱说玫紸都有很 大的壓力。文章最后提到，Hicks將Zalasky所在的學(xué)校和紐約洋基隊(duì)的情 況作了比較，“如果他們不能取勝，那么他們就失敗了”，即對于學(xué)生來說 不能得到A就等于失敗。

　　10. Q本題出題點(diǎn)在Q段的第一句話。題目表達(dá)意思與原句表述一致，題目用非限定性定語從句解釋說明原文中破折號之后的內(nèi)容;題目中的more and more schools和原文中的a growing number of schools屬于同義轉(zhuǎn)述。

　　以上長篇閱讀的模擬題解析十分詳細(xì)，希望考生練習(xí)完以后認(rèn)真查看答案，彌補(bǔ)自己的不足。

　　How Ozone Pollution Works

　　A) The weather report on the radio or TV tells you that it is going to be sunny and hot and thatan orange ozone alert has been issued. What is ozone? What does an orange alert mean? Whyshould you be concerned about it? In this article, we will examine what ozone is, how it is produced,what health hazards it poses and what you can do to reduce ozone pollution.

　　B) Ozone is a molecule of three oxygen atoms bound together (O3). It is unstable and highlyreactive. Ozone is used as a bleach, a deodorizing agent, and a sterilization agent for air anddrinking water. At low concentrations, it is toxic. Ozone is found naturally in small concentrations inthe stratosphere, a layer of Earth’s upper atmosphere. In this upper atmosphere, ozone is madewhen ultraviolet light from the sun splits an oxygen molecule (O2), forming two single oxygenatoms. If a freed atom collides with an oxygen molecule, it becomes ozone. Stratospheric ozonehas been called “good” ozone because it protects the Earth’s surface from dangerous ultravioletlight.

　　C) Ozone can also be found in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere.Tropospheric ozone (often termed “ bad ” ozone) is man - made, a result of air pollution frominternal combustion engines and power plants. Automobile exhaust and industrial emissionsrelease a family of nitrogen oxide gases (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), by-products of burning gasoline and coal. NOx and VOC combine chemically with oxygen to formozone during sunny, high- temperature conditions of late spring, summer and early fall. High levelsof ozone are usually formed in the heat of the afternoon and early evening, dissipating during thecooler nights.

　　D) Although ozone pollution is formed mainly in urban and suburban areas, it ends up in ruralareas as well, carried by prevailing winds or resulting from cars and trucks that travel into ruralareas. Significant levels of ozone pollution can be detected in rural areas as far as 250 milesdownwind from urban industrial zones.

　　E) You can make ozone test strips to detect and monitor ozone levels in your own backyard oraround your school. You will need corn starch, filter paper (coffee filters work well) and potassiumiodide (can be ordered from a science education supplier such as Carolina Biological Supply orFisher Scientific). Basically, you make a paste from water, corn starch and potassium-iodide, andyou paint this paste on strips of filter paper. You then expose the strips to the air for eight hours.Ozone in the air will react with the potassium iodide to change the color of the strip. You will alsoneed to know the relative humidity, which you can get from a newspaper, weather broadcast orhome weather station.

　　F) When you inhale ozone, it travels throughout your respiratory tract. Because ozone is verycorrosive, it damages the bronchioles and alveoli in your lungs, air sacs that are important for gasexchange. Repeated exposure to ozone can inflame lung tissues and cause respiratory infections.

　　G) Ozone exposure can aggravate existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, reduceyour lung function and capacity for exercise and cause chest pains and coughing. Young children,adults who are active outdoors and people with respiratory diseases are most susceptible to thehigh levels of ozone encountered during the summer. In addition to effects on humans, thecorrosive nature of ozone can damage plants and trees. High levels of ozone can destroyagricultural crops and forest vegetation.

　　H) To protect yourself from ozone exposure, you should be aware of the Air Quality Index(AQI) in your area every day—you can usually find it in the newspaper or on a morning weatherforecast on TV or radio. You should also be familiar with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) guide for ozone-alert values.

　　I) What do the numbers in the AQI mean? The AQI measures concentrations of five airpollutants: ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. The EPAhas chosen these pollutants as criteria pollutants, but these are not all of the pollutants in the air.These concentrations are compared to a standard set out in federal law. An index value of 100means that all of the criteria pollutants are at the maximum level that is considered safe for themajority of the population. To reduce your exposure to ozone, you should avoid exercisingduring afternoon and early evening hours in the summer.

　　J) There are several ways you can help to decrease ozone pollution. Limit using yourautomobile during afternoon and early evening hours in the late spring, summer and early fall. Donot use gasoline-powered lawn equipment during these times. Do not fuel your car during thesetimes. Do not light fires or outdoor grills during these times. Keep the engine of your car or boattuned. Make sure that your tires are properly inflated. Use environmentally safe paints, cleaning andoffice products (some of these chemicals are sources of VOC).

　　K) Besides personal attempts to reduce ozone pollution, the EPA has initiated more stringentair-quality standards (such as the Clean Air Act and its modifications) to reduce air pollution.Compliance with these standards by industries, manufacturers and state and local governments hassignificantly reduced the levels of many common air pollutants.

　　L) With continued conservation and reduction practices, adherence to ozone-pollutionwarnings, research and government regulation, ozone-pollution levels should

　　continue to fall. Perhaps future generations will not be threatened by this environmentalpollutant.

　　M) The thing that determines whether ozone is good or bad is its location. Ozone is‘‘good，，when it is in the stratosphere. The stratosphere is a layer of the atmosphere startingat the level of about 6 miles (about 10 kilometers) above sea level. The stratosphere naturallycontains about six parts per million of ozone, and this ozone is very beneficial because it absorbsUV radiation and prevents it from reaching us.

　　N) Ozone is “bad” when it is at ground level. Ozone is a very reactive gas that is hard on lungtissue. It also damages plants and buildings. Any ozone at ground level is a problem. Unfortunately,chemicals in car exhaust and chemicals produced by some industries react with light to producelots of ozone at ground level. In cities, the ozone level can rise to a point where it becomeshazardous to our health. That’s when you hear about an ozone warning on the news.

　　1. When ultraviolet rays from the sun separate an oxygen molecule into two single oxygenatoms in the stratosphere, the combination of a single oxygen atom and an oxygen moleculeforms ozone.

　　2. You can make ozone test strips by yourself to find out about ozone levels in your own locale.

　　3. Long-time exposure to ozone is badly harmful to our respiratory system.

　　4. Chemicals in industrial waste gas and vehicle exhaust react with light to form lots of ozoneat ground level.

　　5. Internal combustion engines and power plants cause the artificial tropospheric ozone, alsoknown as “bad” ozone.

　　6. Ozone is very helpful because it absorbs UV radiation and separates us from it.

　　7. Using gasoline-powered lawn equipment in the late spring, summer and early fall mayincrease ozone pollution.

　　8. Ozone pollution occurs in urban and suburban areas as well as in rural areas.

　　9. In order to decrease ozone pollution, the EPA has set up more rigorous air-qualitystandards.

　　10. Pay close attention to the Air Quality Index in your area every day can keep you away fromozone exposure.

　　內(nèi)容概要

　　文章主要介紹了什么是臭氧，臭氧污染的形成、危害，以及臭氧有利的一 面。文章還具體介紹了如何自己手工制作檢測儀;如何避免暴露在臭氧之下;如 何預(yù)防和減少臭氧污染等。

　　答案解析

　　1. B 本題答案的信息來自B段的倒數(shù)第二、三句話。原文中提到太陽紫外線將 氧分子分成了兩個(gè)單獨(dú)的氧原子，氧原子與氧分子再結(jié)合就生成了臭氧。 題干正好表達(dá)了這個(gè)意思。ultraviolet rays即是原文中的ultravioletlight。

　　2. E 本題答案的信息來自E段第一句話。題目中的find out about意為“弄清有關(guān) 的情況”，和原文中的detect and monitor含義相對應(yīng);題目中的inyour own locale和原文中的in your own backyard相對應(yīng)。

　　3. F 本題答案的信息來自F段。F段提到人吸入臭氧后，它可以貫穿你的呼吸系統(tǒng)。接著提到它可能損害細(xì)支氣管、肺部等呼吸系統(tǒng)的部位，故可知長期 暴露在臭氧下有損呼吸系統(tǒng)。

　　4. N 本題答案的信息來自N段第五句話，題干是對本句的同義轉(zhuǎn)述。

　　5. C 本題答案的信息來自C段的第二句話。原句中先說“果”后說“因”，題目將

　　“因”提前，然后說“果”;原文中的man-made與題干中的artificial相對應(yīng); 原文中的termed與題干中的known as相對應(yīng)。

　　6. M 本題答案的信息來自M段第二句和最后一句話。原文中第二句話首先提到

　　Ozone is “good” when it is in the stratosphere.，在最后一句中提到臭氧為什 么有益;原文中的beneficial與題干中的helpfUl相對應(yīng);題目中的separates from對應(yīng)原文中的prevents from。

　　7. J 本題答案的信息來自J段第一、二、三句話。原文中J段的首句提到有幾種可以降低臭氧污染的方法，接下來提到的一種方法是Do not use gasoline- powered lawn equipment during these times.由此推測Using gasoline-powered lawn equipment會(huì)導(dǎo)致臭氧污染增加;而由第二句話可推測出原文中的 duringthese times指的是in the late spring, summer and early fall。

　　8. D 本題答案的信息來自D段第一句話。原文提到臭氧污染主要在城市和城市郊區(qū)出現(xiàn)，但因?yàn)轱L(fēng)和汽車、卡車運(yùn)輸?shù)淖饔茫r(nóng)村也會(huì)發(fā)生臭氧污染， 題干是對此的歸納。

　　9. K 本題答案的信息來自K段第一句話。原文中的initiated和題目中的set up屬于同義轉(zhuǎn)換;原文中的stringent替換為了rigorous;原文中的reduce ozone pollution替換為了decrease ozone pollution。

　　10. H本題答案的信息來自H段第一句話。題目中的keep you away from對應(yīng)原文的protect yourselffrom;題目中的Pay close attention to 對應(yīng)原文的should be aware of。