单选题
Competition for admission to the country's top private schools has always been tough, but this year Elisabeth realized it had reached a new level. Her wake-up call came when a man called the Dalton School in Manhattan, where Elisabeth is admissions director, and inquired about the age cutoff for their kindergarten program. After providing the information, she asked about the age of his child. The man paused for an uncomfortably long time before answering. "Well, we don't have a child yet. We're trying to figure out when to conceive a child so the birthday is not a problem" Worries are spreading from Manhattan to the rest of the country. Precise current data on private schools are unavailable, but interviews with representatives of independent schools all told the same story: an over- supply of applicants, higher rejection rates. "We have people calling us for spots two years down the road," said Marilyn of the Seven Hills School in Cincinnati. "We have grandparents calling for pregnant daughters. " Public opinion polls indicate that Americans' No. 1 concern is education. Now that the long economic boom has given parents more disposable income, many are turning to private schools, even at price tags of well over $10000 a year. "We're getting applicants from a broader area geographically than we ever have in the past," said Betsy of the Latin School of Chicago, which experienced a 20 percent increase in applications this year. The problem for the applicants is that while demand has increased, supply has not. "Every year, there are a few children who do not find places, but this year, for the first time that I know of, there are a significant number without places," said Elisabeth. So what can parents do to give their 4-year-old an edge? Schools know there is no easy way to pick a class when children are so young. Many schools give preference to children of their graduates. Some make the choice by drawing lots. But most rely on a mix of subjective and objective measures: tests that at best identify developmental maturity and cognitive potential, interviews with parents and observation of applicants in classroom settings. They also want a diverse mix. Children may end up on a waiting list simply because their birthdays fall at the wrong time of year, or because too many applicants were boys. The worst thing a parent can do is to pressure preschoolers to perform — for example, by pushing them to read or do math exercises before they're ready. Instead, the experts say, parents should take a breath and look for alternatives. Another year in preschool may be all that's needed.
单选题
From this text we learn that it is______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】细节题。本题对应的信息位于短文第一句：…has always been tough，but this year…it had reached a new level(进入国内一流私立学校的竞争一向很激烈，但今年伊莉莎白发现这种状况又升级了)，这显然是说今年进入私立学校比往年更难，因此答案是[B]。该句中的tough对应于选项中的hard，而reach a new level则对应于选项中所用的比较级。其余三项都与原文不符，也无法由短文合理推知。
单选题
The sentence "We have people ... down the road"(Line 3, Paragraph 2) probably means ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】词句理解题。理解这一句的关键是看：Marilyn这个人是在什么样的情况下说这句话的，即要看引语的前一句：…an oversupply of applicants, higher rejection rates(申请者过多，而拒收率也更高)。因此直接引语肯定是补充说明或者进一步阐述这种情况的。另外，这一句中的two years down the road指的是从现在开始的两年后，含有“提前”之意；而文章主旨谈论的是入学的问题，故spots显然是指能入学的名额。结合这些方面即可知正确答案是[D]。其余三项中，[A]中的parking space指“停车位”，[B]中的use of the place指“使用这个地方”，都属于曲解引语中spots一词的意思；而[B]、[C]两项中的two years ago(两年前)则是曲解了这一句中的two years down the road一处。
单选题
The text indicates that private schools are very selective because they______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】分析推理题。题目对应的信息位于第四段。仔细阅读该段并结合短文主旨和常识即不难推知，学校可以挑剔地选择生源的原因当然是学生过多，而学校过少，即[C]项所表达的意思。事实上，该段第二句指出：Schools know…when children are so young(学校也知道，孩子们这么小，要从中挑出一个班来并非易事)，而[A]项中用的则是have no reliable methods(没有可靠的办法)，明显与原文不符；而[B]项虽对应于该段倒数第二句(They also want a diverse mix)，但选项中的boys and girls显然是原文中没有的；至于[D]项，意思是“更愿意招收亲戚的孩子”，在原文中没有提及，根据常识也可排除。
单选题
From the text, we can infer that the author ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】分析推理题。推断的依据是短文最后一段。该段第一句中的worst一词表明了作者的态度，即反对pressure preschoolers to perform(强迫学龄前孩子完成任务)，而后一句则引述专家的话提出相应的建议。所以，作者是反对给孩子们施加不当的压力的，故正确答案是[D]。考生在此要注意．parents should take a breath and look for alternatives的意思是“家长们应当放松下来，寻求别的办法”。
单选题
Which of the following can serve as a title of this text?