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 offspring; 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, 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 undergraduates' progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paid employment, as the gap companies blurbs 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, hut 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. Kids don't mature if mum and dad decide how they are going to mature. If the 18-year-old's way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking up sunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then that's what will be productive for that person. The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantage and that the prime mover needs to be the student.
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 ______.
A. help children to be prepared for disasters
B. receive all kinds of support from their children
C. have rich experience in bringing up their offspring
D. experience watching children grow up

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[考点] 推理引申
[解析] 第1段论述了经历学业间断年的孩子的父母的感受，包括两个方面：一是由于这个时期的学生需要家庭从经济、情感和体力上给予帮助，因此父母可能有帮助孩子成熟起来的美好经历；二是父母间接的感受，即看着孩子们变得更坚强，自己做决定，从而成长。由此可知，D项是父母可能经历的。A项中出现了原文中的disaster，但含义不同。第1段第2句中disasters指的是“困难，危机”，是下文提到的“孩子需要家庭给予帮助”造成的。B项与第1段第2句含义相反。第3句提到，父母有帮助孩子成熟起来的美好经历，而C项中的rich experience(经验丰富)并不对应。

单选题 According to the text, which of the following is true?
A. The popularity of gap years results from an increasing number of charities.
B. Prince William was working hard during his gap year.
C. Gap years are not as fashionable as they were ten years ago.
D. A well- structured gap year is a guarantee of university success.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[考点] 细节题
[解析] 本题考查事实细节。第2段首句提到，学业间断年现在很时兴，反映在提供它们的慈善团体和私人公司的数量有大的增长。A项错在将表现归为原因。第2句提到，威廉王子在智利吃苦的事情(对间断年的流行)发挥了作用。由此可推出B项正确。第3句提到，(间断年普及的)趋势10年来一直在加强。因此排除C项。第2段后半部分谈到“学业间断年的时兴”带来的隐患，即一些父母相信公司的介绍，认为精心安排的间断年对于孩子未来的求学、就业都很重要。因此D项是一些公司的宣传及部分家长的错误看法。

单选题 The word "packages" (Line 3, Para 2) means ______.
A. parcels carried in traveling B. a comprehensive set of activities
C. something presented in a particular way D. charity actions

单选题 What can cause the disasters of gap years?
A. Intervention of parents. B. Irresponsibility of the companies.
C. A lack of insurance. D. Low expectation.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[考点] 细节题
[解析] 第2段后半部分论述了随着学业间断年的普及而带来的一个隐患，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，甚至出钱。显然，这么做妨碍了孩子独立的成长。A项是造成问题的原因。第3段提到另外一个问题是计划不周，其表现有：健康问题(medical)、从未离开过家、期望与现实不符。B和C出现了原文中的词语company和insurance，但其含义与原文已有很大出入；文中只提到“期望与现实不符”，D中“过低”一词无从推知。