What should you think about in trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to do well at school. On the other hand, you may not have any specially strong or weak subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. Knowledge of history is not required for most jobs hut if history is one of your good subjects you must have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs.

Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at metal work or cookery (烹饪术) and look for a job where you can improve these skills.

If you have had a part-time job on weekends or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside of a part-time job.

Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle tools; perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is better to face any weaknesses than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not be ashamed of it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work.

【小题1】According to the passage, what does the author encourage us to do?

A．Have a specially strong subject.

B．Take up part-time jobs as much as possible.

C．Make efforts to be good at all subjects.

D．Use school performance to help to choose a career.

【小题2】We can learn from the third paragraph that as a student, having a part-time job __________.

A．is a good way to earn extra money

B．is helpless to find out the weak points

C．may be useful for the future work

D．is a must to experience various jobs

【小题3】If a student’s school record is not good, he __________.

A．may do well in his future work if he chooses the right career

B．will be a failure in his future work sooner or later

C．must regret not having worked harder at school

D．should receive further education after graduation

【小题4】What does the underlined part in the fourth paragraph suggest?

A．You may be weak at using your thumbs.

B．You may not be good at handling tools.

C．You are required to use all the thumbs to handle tools.

D．You are not expected to handle tools with all the thumbs.

Students who date (约会) in middle school have significantly worse study skills, are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol and tobacco use than their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
“Romantic relationships are a symbol of adolescence（青春期）, but very few studies have examined how adolescents are different in the development of these relationships.” said Pamela Orpinas, study author and professor in the College of Public Health.
Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from 6th to 12th grade. Each year, the group of students completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires (调查表) about the students' academic efforts. He found some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school.
“At all points in time, teachers rated the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills,” according to the journal article. Study skills refer to behaviors that lead to academic success such as doing work for extra credit, being well organized, finishing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters.
“Dating a classmate may have the same emotional complications of dating a co-worker,” Orpinas said, “When the couple break up, they have to continue to see each other in class and perhaps witness the ex-partner dating someone else. It is reasonable to think this could be linked to depression and divert (转移) attention from studying.”
“Dating should not be considered a ceremony of growth in middle school.”Orpinas concluded.
【小题1】According to the passage, students who date in middle school may_____.

A．have poorer academic performances

B．be more likely to hurt others

C．enjoy better school lives

D．are less likely to use alcohol and tobacco

【小题2】When doing his study, Orpinas _____.

A．followed a group of students of 6th and 12th grade

B．found that the students' study skills have connection with their frequency of dating

C．completed questionnaires about the students' academic efforts

D．completed a survey and a report each year

【小题3】What can possibly happen to the school couples after they break up?

A．They will miss their ex-partners sometimes.

B．They don't want to see each other any longer.

C．Their attention to studying will be affected.

D．They will think it's reasonable to get depressed.

【小题4】Orpinas’ attitude towards dating in middle school is _____.

A．supportive	B．negative
C．indifferent	D．positive

   Students from Oceanside High School in Rockland will be able to sleep a little longer from this autumn.

The superintendent （负责人） of Regional School Unit 13 Lew Collins said during the school’s Thursday night meeting that the schedule （时刻表） for the schools will be changed. Oceanside East and West will start half an hour later, at 8 a. m. for the new school year.

Research has shown that teenagers’ brains are often not fully awake at 6: 30 a. m. Collins said the schedule, which is used to get students to go to school for classes that begin at 7: 30 a. m., calls for some to get on buses before 6 a. m. to get to school on time. Teachers are having meetings at 6: 40 a. m., which is too early, he thinks.

Collins visited the high schools in Rockland and asked students when they would like classes to begin. Most of them said 8 a. m. "I was surprised. I thought they would have said 9:00 or 10:00, "he said.

The National Sleep Foundation says on its website that teenagers’ biological clocks （生物钟） are designed to stay up later and get up later. The Foundation calls for schools to change their schedules, which mean a later start for elementary students （小学生） as well.

"We do not have enough buses to run, because all the high school and elementary school buses run almost at the same time," Collins said. He suggested, "We should buy six more buses and get six more drivers to keep the new schedule working."

Elementary school classes in Rockland now start at 8: 30 a. m., but they will be moved to 8:45 a. m, starting in the autumn. "I know this is a problem for working parents, but we will see what we can come up with," said Jane Brown, a teacher at Bardonia Elementary School. "Anyway, I believe if students get more sleep they’ll be more ready to learn when classes start," she added.

【小题1】A new schedule will be made to __________.

A．add more interesting subjects

B．help students do better in class

C．ask parents to learn about schools

D．cut the number of meetings down

【小题2】One of the problems the schools are faced with in Rockland is that they will __________.

A．be afraid of working parents’ disagreement

B．be worried about children’s safety

C．be short of school buses

D．be short of teachers

【小题3】What does Jane Brown think of the new schedule?

A．She is not certain about it.

B．She is not interested in it.

C．She is worried about it.

D．She is hopeful about it.

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Can you tell the time on an analog clock? 【小题1】 (hope), you can! It’s the only way for you to know the time when 【小题2】 (take) exams.

However, some high schools in the UK will remove analog clocks 【小题3】 exam halls and use digital.【小题4】 instead. The reason is that 【小题5】 (teenage) are unable to read the correct time on analog clocks. They are used to seeing the time on the phone, 【小题6】 on the computer. Nearly everything they’ve got is digital.

Teachers want their students to feel as 【小题7】 (relax) as possible during exams. However, having a 【小题8】(tradition) clock in the room could make students feel stressed out during an exam Many of them might raise their hands to ask 【小题9】 time it is.

The schools are trying to make everything as easy and straightforward as possible for students during the exams. Another advantage of using digital clocks 【小题10】 (be) that students are less likely to get the time wrong.

短文改错
Dear Peter，

I’m glad to have received your letter，but feel worried about the problems describing in it. Now I’d like to give you some tip.

As the freshman，it’s normal(正常的) for you to feel homesick at first. Don’t be worried. As time went by，you will get used to your college life soon. Of course，you can chat with your parents and friends at online. You say you feel alone. You can change that by making new friends. Don’t shy and believe in yourself. Smile but say “hello” to everyone. I believe that we will get along well on your classmates.

I hope you will have a good time.

Yours,

Mark