单选题 As visiting a school is one of the first steps in choosing your college, it should be approached with some thought and planning. Because you will probably be visiting more than one college in a short period of time—often several during one trip. It's a good idea to prepare for your college visits.
To guide you through this often harsh (but fun and exciting) process, we've put together some tips:
Before you begin visiting colleges, you need to come up with a list of schools that interest you. You should talk with your guidance counselor, teachers, coaches, parents and friends to get some ideas.
Then do some research. Guidebooks and college and university websites are excellent sources. Call each college's admissions office and request information about the school and any particular programs in which you are interested.
Deciding when to visit is also important. For convenience, many families will visit schools in the summer, often planning visits around a family vacation. Summer visits will allow you to get a sense of the campus and the location of the school.

单选题 According to the passage, one of the first steps in choosing your college is ______.
A. getting information from your teachers
B. visiting the schools that interest you
C. making good preparation for the entrance exams
D. choosing your favorite major
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】事实细节题。题目询问根据本文，选择大学的首要步骤之一是什么。本题答案可以从文章首段首句中得出。因此选项B(参观所感兴趣的大学)是正确答案。
[避错指南] 根据第三段可知选项A(向老师咨询信息)是参观大学所需做的准备工作；选项C(为升学考试做好准备)和D(选择最喜欢的专业)都无原文的依据。
单选题 It is not mentioned in the passage that you can consult your ______ in order to get some ideas.
A. relatives B. parents C. teachers D. coaches
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】推理判断题。题目询问文中没有提及你可以向哪些人咨询一些信息。本题可以根据文章第三段第二句得出。根据文章的内容，其中并没有提及可以向“亲戚”咨询相关信息。因此选项A是正确答案。
[避错指南] 选项B(父母)、C(老师)和D(教练)都是可以咨询的对象，因而不符合题目要求，为错误选项。
单选题 The word "harsh" in the first line of the second paragraph means ______.
A. easy B. right C. difficult D. joyful
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】语义推断题。题目询问第二段首行“harsh"的意思是什么。本题可以结合上下文来判断正确意思。根据该行中括号部分but fun and exciting(但也很有意思和令人兴奋)，可以推断出两者之间是转折关系。因此，应选择选项C(困难的，艰难的)。
[避错指南] 选项A(容易的)、B(正确的)和D(快乐的)与fun and exciting不构成转折关系，故予以排除。考生在考试中遇到这类考词义的题目，可以根据句意和上下文的意思来猜测。
单选题 What are excellent sources to get some ideas in planning a college visit?
A. Guidebooks. B. College and university websites.
C. Guidebooks, college and university websites. D. All the departments in the university.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】事实细节题。题目询问在准备参观大学前，获得相关信息的极好渠道是什么。该题答案可以从文章的第四段第二句中得到。根据意思，应该选选项C。
[避错指南] 选项A(招生指南)和B(学院或大学网站)只是获得相关信息的极好渠道之一，故应排除；选项D(大学所有院系)文中并未提及，故予以排除。
单选题 It is ______ to visit schools in the ______ to get a sense of the campus and the location of the school.
A. convenient, winter B. convenient, summer
C. exciting, summer D. exciting, winter
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】理解判断题。题目询问感受高校的氛围在何时会如何。本题答案可以从文章末段得到。根据for convenience(为了方便起见)和summer visits(夏日参观)，应该选选项B。
[避错指南] 因为文中没有提到冬季参观，故可以排除选项A和D；选项C中“令人激动的”与文中for convenience意思不一致，故予以排除。