单选题 Talk to any parent of a student who took an adventurous gap year (a year between school and university when some students earn money, travel, etc) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are some disasters and even the most motivated, organized gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional and physical. The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has matured their kids; it is vicarious living. We all wish pre-university gap years had been the fashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our kids become; how much more prepared to benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something other than a degree.
Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities and private companies offering them. Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but the trend has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts with backpacking, and includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, very commonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English. With this trend, however, comes a danger. Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would-be undergraduate"s progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well-paid employment, as the gap companies" blurbs (产品推介) suggest it might be, then parents will start organizing and paying for the gaps.
Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies" umbrella organization, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the fault of the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation. "When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they have not been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality. "
The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thing that he or she fancies. The 18-year-old, who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks" notice to Canada to learn to be a snowboarding instructor at a cost of ￡5,800, probably came back with little more than a hangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest of his year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply for university, is the positive counterbalance.

单选题 It can be inferred from the first paragraph that parents of gap students may ______.

单选题 According to the Para. 2, when it comes to gap years, ______.

单选题 The word "packages" (Line 3, Para. 2) means ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 词汇释义题。词义的推断依赖上下文。第二段gap一词多次出现，指“学业间断”，下文第二段第三句The range of gap packages starts with backpacking, and includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, very commonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English提到一系列活动，即背包旅行、和慈善团体一起工作、修建医院和学校、做语言助教教英语。由此推断gap packages指学业间断期间学生从事的多种活动，所以正确答案应选B。

单选题 What can cause the disasters of gap years?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 细节推断题。此题采用排除法。第三段提到了造成问题的其他几个原因，分别是：计划不周(poor planning)、健康问题(medical)、从未离开过家、期望与现实不符。B、C、D与此论述相反。第二段最后两句提到：随着学业间断年的普及带来一个隐患，即父母以为好的间断年可以决定孩子未来的求学和就业，因此会主动安排孩子的间断年。由此推断父母的干涉有可能妨碍了孩子的独立成长，所以正确答案为A。