Text 3
Today, widespread social pressure to immediately go to college in conjunction with increasingly high expectations in a fast-moving world often causes students to completely overlook the possibility of taking a gap year. After all, if everyone you know is going to college in the fall, it seems silly to stay back a year, doesn't it? And after going to school for 12 years, it doesn't feel natural to spend a year doing something that isn't academic.
But while this may be true, it's not a good enough reason to condemn gap years. There's always a constant fear of falling behind everyone else on the socially perpetuated "race to the finish line," whether that be toward graduate school, medical school or lucrative career. But despite common misconceptions, a gap year does not hinder the success of academic pursuits—in fact, it probably enhances it.
Studies from the United States and Australia show that students who take a gap year are generally better prepared for and perform better in college than those who do not. Rather than pulling students back, a gap year pushes them ahead by preparing them for independence, new responsibilities and environmental changes—all things that first-year students often struggle with the most. Gap year experiences can lessen the blow when it comes to adjusting to college and being thrown into a brand new environment, making it easier to focus on academics and activities rather than acclimation blunders.
If you're not convinced of the inherent value in taking a year off to explore interests, then consider its financial impact on future academic choices. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 80 percent of college students end up changing their majors at least once. This isn't surprising, considering the basic mandatory high school curriculum leaves students with a poor understanding of themselves listing one major on their college applications, but switching to another after taking college classes. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but depending on the school, it can be costly to make up credits after switching too late in the game. At Boston College, for example, you would have to complete an extra year were you to switch to the nursing school from another department. Taking a gap year to figure things out initially can help prevent stress and save money later on.
31. One of the reasons for high-school graduates not taking a gap year is that .
[A] they think it academically misleading
[B] they have a lot of fun to expect in college
[C] it feels strange to do differently from others
[D] it seems worthless to take off-campus courses
解析：[C] it feels strange to do differently from others。高中畢業(yè)生不進行間隔年起其中的一個原因是，這會讓他們感覺和其他人不一樣。這里找不到明顯的定位詞，但是high school graduates我們還是可以看到第一段的college,而文章的stay back a year也就是題目里的gap year，那么文章里的silly，對應選項宗的strange,之所以不間隔年會讓人覺得很蠢很奇怪。
32. Studies from the US and Australia imply that taking a gap year helps .
[A] keep students from being unrealistic
[B] lower risks in choosing careers
[C] ease freshmen's financial burdens
[D] relieve freshmen of pressures
解析：[D] relieve freshmen of pressures。來自于美國和澳大利亞的研究表明了進行間隔年會讓新生減少壓力。通過美國和澳大利亞，我們可以定位到第二段第一句：從美國和澳大利亞的研究表明，那些進行間隔年的學生通常能更好地準備和表現(xiàn)得更好比那些沒有的同學。ABCD四個選項只有D選項最相關。
33. The word "acclimation" (Line 8, Para. 3) is closest in meaning to .
[A] adaptation
[B] application
[C] motivation
[D] competition
解析：[A] adaptation。這個單詞的意思是順應。這個單詞定位在第三段，看單詞所在的那一句話：間隔年可以緩解沖擊，當涉及調整適應大學和被丟到一個新的環(huán)境中，讓人更容易聚焦在學術和活動的領域，而非_____錯誤。前面都在說間隔年的好處，拿意味著后面也應該說間隔年的好處，把四個詞都代入其中：順應錯誤、申請錯誤、激勵錯誤和競爭錯誤，而非順應錯誤是最符合原文題意的。
34. A gap year may save money for students by helping them .
[A] avoid academic failures
[B] establish long-term goals
[C] switch to another college
[D] decide on the right major
解析：[D] decide on the right major。間隔年可能可以通過幫助他們決定選擇正確的專業(yè)而省錢。
通過出題順序和行文順序一致的原則，我們往下看，原文中的financial和題干中money是同義詞。文章說：如果你并沒有找到你內(nèi)在的興趣，用一年的時間去探索你的興趣，這會對你今后學術的選擇產(chǎn)生經(jīng)濟上的影響。經(jīng)濟上的影響就是題干中的省錢，那么探索你的興趣就是幫組他們選擇一個正確的專業(yè)。這里要看懂才能作對題。
35. The most suitable title for this text would be .
[A] In Favor of the Gap Year
[B] The ABCs of the Gap Year
[C] The Gap Year Comes Back
[D] The Gap Year: A Dilemma
解析：[A] In Favor of the Gap Year。文章最好的標題是倡導間隔年。這種標題題就是看每段的首句：第一段說今天社會壓力很大，畢業(yè)生都忽略間隔年了。第二段說：沒有足夠的理由去批評間隔年，話鋒一轉。第三段說美國和澳洲的研究說間隔年能讓學生更好地準備和更好地表現(xiàn)。第四段說，如果你沒找到自己內(nèi)在的興趣，用一年的時間去探索，對你未來的學術選擇會有經(jīng)濟方面的影響。所以作者是倡導間隔年的，選A。
Text 4
Though often viewed as a problem for western states, the growing frequency of wildfires is a national concern because of its impact on federal tax dollars, says Professor Max Moritz, a specialist in fire ecology and management.
In 2015, the US Forest Service for the first time spent more than half of its $5.5 billion annual budget fighting fires—nearly double the percentage it spent on such efforts 20 years ago. In effect, fewer federal funds today are going towards the agency’s other work—such as forest conservation, watershed and cultural resources management, and infrastructure upkeep—that affect the lives of all Americans.
Another nationwide concern is whether public funds from other agencies are going into construction in fire-prone districts. As Moritz puts it, how often are federal dollars building homes that are likely to be lost to a wildfire?
“It’s already a huge problem from a public expenditure perspective for the whole country,” he says.” We need to take a magnifying glass to that. Like, “Wait a minute, is this OK?” “Do we want instead to redirect those funds to concentrate on lower-hazard parts of the landscape?”
Such a view would require a corresponding shift in the way US society today views fire, researchers say.
For one thing, conversations about wildfires need to be more inclusive. Over the past decade, the focus has been on climate change—how the warming of the Earth from greenhouse gases is leading to conditions that worsen fires.
While climate is a key element, Moritz says, it shouldn’t come at the expense of the rest of the equation.
“The human systems and the landscapes we live on are linked, and the interactions go both ways,” he says. Failing to recognize that, he notes, leads to “an overly simplified view of what the solutions might be. Our perception of the problem and of what the solution is becomes very limited.”
At the same time, people continue to treat fire as an event that needs to be wholly controlled and unleashed only out of necessity, says Professor Balch at the University of Colorado. But acknowledging fire’s inevitable presence in human life is an attitude crucial to developing the laws, policies, and practices that make it as safe as possible, she says.
“We’ve disconnected ourselves from living with fire,” Balch says. “It is really important to understand and try and tease out what is the human connection with fire today.”
36. More frequent wildfires have become a national concern because in 2015 they .
[A] exhausted unprecedented management efforts
[B] consumed a record-high percentage of budget
[C] severely damaged the ecology of western states
[D] caused a huge rise of infrastructure expenditure
解析：[B] consumed a record-high percentage of budget。更多常見的野外火災成為了國際關心的主題在2015年是因為它花費了大量的預算。根據(jù)2015和national concern 可以定位在第一段和第二段，其中第一段重合的關鍵詞更多，nationalconcern . wildfire和because，第二段只是更具體說明，所以真正的原因在第一段：因為它會影響聯(lián)邦稅收。如果你看不懂，再加上第二段說2015年花了一半多的預算，就和B選項對應了。
37.Moritz calls for the use of “a magnifying glass” to ____.
[A] raise more funds for fire-prone areas
[B] avoid the redirection of federal money
[C] find wildfire-free parts of the landscape
[D] guarantee safer spending of public funds
解析:[D] guarantee safer spending of public funds。M倡導使用放大鏡去保證安全地使用公共資金。
通過題干中的magnifyingglass 可以定位在第四段的中間：我們需要使用magnifying glass 去做這個。根據(jù)that指代上文的原則，我們往上看到第一句話：從公共支出的前景看，對于整個國家，這已經(jīng)是非常大的問題。這里的意思就是支出比較多，而magnifying glass自然就是控制支出的，選項里的spending和文章中的expenditure是同義轉換的。
38.While admitting that climate is a key element， Moritz notes that ____.
[A] public debates have not settled yet
[B] fire-fighting conditions are improving
[C] other factors should not be overlooked
[D] a shift in the view of fire has taken place
解析：[C] other factors should not be overlooked。當承認氣候是一個關鍵因素，M認為其他因素也不能被忽略。通過climate、M這個人名和出題順序和行文順序一致的原則，我們可以定位在第七段：當氣候是關鍵因素時，完全對應了題干。M說不能在損壞剩下同等重要的為前提。言外之意就是不能忽略其他因素，這里有個短語at the expense of表示“在損害某事物的情況下”醫(yī)學全.在.線.提供. payment-defi.com
39.The overly simplified view Moritz mentions is a result of failing to ___.
[A] discover the fundamental makeup of nature
[B] explore the mechanism of the human systems
[C] maximize the role of landscape in human life
[D] understand the interrelations of man and nature
解析：[D] understand the interrelations of man and nature。M提到的過度簡化的觀點其實是沒有理解人和自然間的關系。通過oversimplified我們可以定位在倒數(shù)第三段的中間。他認為，沒有注意到那一點，會導致一個過度簡化的解決方案。同樣也是考的指代，that指代，第一句的：人類和我們所居住的自然是相聯(lián)系的。所以原文來了個同義轉換。
40.Professor Balch points out that fire is something man should ____.
[A] do away with
[B] come to terms with
[C] pay a price for
[D] keep away from
解析：[B] come to terms with。B教授指出火和人應該和諧相處。通過B教授我們可以定位在倒數(shù)第二段，but后是重點：但是，承認火是不可避免地出現(xiàn)在人類的生活中是一種態(tài)度，這種態(tài)度對法律、政策和實踐的發(fā)展都非常關鍵，且可以盡可能地使火變得安全。所以A do way with 廢除、C付出代價、D遠離都不符合題意，只有come to term表示與…達成協(xié)議、妥協(xié)、讓步的意思才是正確的同義轉換。
