单选题 Tens of thousands of 18-years-old will graduate this year and be handed meaningless diplomas. These diplomas won't look any different from those awarded their luckier classmates. Their validity will be questioned only when their employers discover that these graduates are semiliterate (半文盲).
Eventually a fortunate few will find their way into educational-repair shops—adult-literacy programs, such as the one where I teach basic grammar and writing. There, high-school graduates and high-school dropouts pursuing graduate-equivalency certificates will learn the skills they should have learned in school. They will also discover they have been cheated by our educational system.
I will never forget a teacher who got the attention of one of my children by revealing the trump card of failure. Our youngest, a world-class charmer, did little to develop his intellectual talents but always got by Until Mrs. Stifter.
Our son was a high-school senior when he had her for English. "He sits in the back of the room talking to his friends," she told me. "why don't you move him to the front row?" I urged, believing the embarrassment would get him to settle down. Mrs. Stifter said, "I don't move seniors. I flunk (使……及格) them "Our son's academic life flashed before my eyes. No teacher had ever threatened him. By the time I got home I was feeling pretty good about this. It was a radical approach for these times, but, well, why not? "she's going to flunk you." I told my son. I did not discuss it any further. Suddenly English became a priority (头等要事) in his life. He finished out the semester with an A.
I know one example doesn't make a case, but at night I see a parade of students who are angry for having been passed along until they could no longer ever pretend to keep up. Of average intelligence or better, they eventually quit school, concluding they were too dumb to finish. "I should have been held back," is a comment I hear frequently. Even sadder are those students who are high-school graduates who say to me after a few weeks of class, "I don't know how I ever got a high-school diploma."
Passing students who have not mastered the work cheats them and employers who expect graduates to have basic skills. We excuse this dishonest behavior by saying kids can't learn if they come from terrible environments. No one seems to stop to think that most kids don't put school first on their list unless they perceive something is at risk. They'd rather be sailing.
Many students I see at night have decided to make education a priority. They are motivated by the desire for a better job or the need to hang on to the one they've got. They have a healthy fear of failure.
People of all ages can rise above their problems, but they need to have a reason to do so. Young people generally don't have the maturity to value education in the same way my adult students value it. But fear of failure can motivate both.

单选题 What is the subject of this essay?

A. view point on learning
B. a qualified teacher
C. the importance of examination
D. the generation gap

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 主旨题。分析段落结构可知，段落内容如下所示：

第一段内容	作者陈述了目前高中毕业生毕业文凭的无效
第二段内容	作者指出这些毕业生有必要参加文化补习班，并且他们发现受到教育体制的欺骗
第三段内容	作者以自己孩子的经历引出Stifter老师
第四段内容	作者谈及了Stifter让孩子不及格的做法来引起孩子的注意力
第五段内容	作者指出其他的学生也曾经缺乏失败的恐惧
第六段内容	作者指出不给以孩子失败恐惧的负面影响
第七段内容	作者指出夜校上课的学生有失败恐惧的意识
第八段内容	作者总结全文指出失败恐惧可以激励青年学生和成人学生

总结段落内容发现本文主要谈及了失败恐惧对学生学习的激励作用，对应A选项。B选项的内容只对应第三、四段的内容。C选项和D选项的内容在原文没有对应，属于无中生有。

单选题 How did Mrs. Sifter get the attention of one of the author's children?

A. flunking him
B. moving his seat
C. blaming him
D. playing card with him

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。题干中的Mrs. Stifter和attention定位在第三段第一句，题干中的how对应原文by，因此答案指向revealing the trump card of failure。第四段中又谈及了Stifter和作者之间的对话。第四句作者提到Stifter不会调学生的座位，而会直接让他们不及格。最后一句指出受到这个激励，作者的孩子期末成绩优秀。因此可以知道Stifter的方式就是让孩子不及格产生失败恐惧感，对应A选项。B选项内容与第四段第四句中的I don't move seniors意思相反。C选项的blame在原文没有对应，属于无中生有。D选项是对trump card of failure的错误理解。

单选题 The author believes that the most effective way for a teacher is to ______.

A. purify the teaching environments
B. set up cooperation between teachers and parents
C. hold back student
D. motivate student

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。题干中的the most effective way在原文没有定位，题干中的a teacher可以对应Sifter和作者本人，因此该题定位在第四段和第八段。第四段Stifter通过失败的恐惧来激励学生努力学习。第八段作者总结认为失败恐惧可以激励青年学生和成人学生。 A选项中的teaching environments在原文没有对应，属于无中生有。 B选项中的cooperation在原文没有对应，第四段提到了作者将老师的话告诉给自己孩子，但是这不是老师和家长的合作。 C选项中的hold back定位在第五段第三句，该句指出学生认为早就应该有挫折，但是这个挫折来自于老师还是其他人并没有谈及，而且也无法对应the most effective way。 D选项是对第四段和第八段内容的总结，失败的恐惧就是激励。而且第八段作者最后一句明确了要激励学生。