单选题 I've twice been to college admissions wars, and as I survey the battlefield, something different is happening. It's one upmanship among parents. We see our kids college 25 as trophies (奖杯) attesting to how well we've raised them. But we can't acknowledge that our obsession is more about us than them. So we've contrived various 26 that turn out to be half truths, prejudices or myths.
We have a full blown prestige panic; we worry that there won't be enough trophies to go around. Fearful parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever.
Underlying the hysteria is the belief that scarce 27 degrees must be highly valuable. Their graduates must enjoy more success because they get a better education and develop better contacts, All that's 28 —and mostly wrong. Selective schools don't systematically 29 better instructional approaches than less-selective schools. Some do; some don't. On two measures—professors feedback and the number of essay exams—selective schools do slightly worse.
By some studies, selective schools do enhance their graduates lifetime earnings. The gain is reckoned at 2 percent to 4 percent for every 100 point increase in a school's average SAT scores. But even this advantage is probably a 30 fluke (意外). A well known study by Princeton economist Alan Krueger and Stacy Berg Dale of Mathematica Policy Research examined students who got into highly selective schools and then went elsewhere. They earned just as much as graduates from other schools.
Kids count more than their colleges. Getting into Yale may 31 intelligence, talent and ambition. But it's not the only indicator and, 32 , its significance is declining. The reason: So many similar people go elsewhere. Getting into college isn't life's only competition. In the next competition—the job market, graduate school—the results may change. Old boy networks are breaking down. Krueger studied admissions to one top Ph. D. program. High scores on the Graduate Record Exam helped explain who got in; Ivy League degrees didn't.
So, parents, lighten up. The stakes have been vastly exaggerated. Up to a point, we can 33 our pushiness (执意强求). America is a competitive society; our kids need to adjust to that. But too much pushiness can be 34 . The very ambition we impose on our children may get some into Harvard but may also set them up for disappointment. One study of students 20 years out found that, other things being equal, graduates of highly selective schools experienced more job dissatisfaction. They may have been so Conditioned to being on top that anything less disappoints.
A. advantageous
B. contrarily
C. destructive
D. elite
E. employ
F. junction
G. justifications
H. literally
I. manipulate
J. meditate
K. plausible
L. ranks
M. rationalize
N. signify
O. statistical

问答题

【正确答案】L

【答案解析】名词辨析题。根据空格处句子结构see sth. as sth.可知，空格处缺少名词。该句句意为：我们把录取孩子的大学______视为说明我们把他们培养得多优秀的奖杯。联系上一句中的upmanship'胜人一筹”可知，L．ranks“等级”符合句意，故为答案。

问答题

【正确答案】G

【答案解析】名词辨析题。根据空格前的形容词various和空格后的that可推断此处缺少名词。结合空格前的contrived“谋划”以及空格后面的句意“半真半假的陈述、偏见和荒诞的说法”可知，G．justifications“正当的理由”符合句意，故为答案。

问答题

【正确答案】D

【答案解析】形容词辨析题。根据空格后的degrees可推断此处缺少形容词修饰degrees。该句句意为：人们会这样歇斯底里的原因是他们相信少数______学位肯定价值很高。一般来说，人们普遍认为名校的学位有着更高的价值，D．elite“出类拔萃的”符合句意，故为答案。

问答题

【正确答案】K

【答案解析】形容词辨析题。根据空格前的that's可知，该空缺少形容词。由破折号后的and mostly wrong“大多数是错误的”可推知，这些说法都是貌似合理的、似是而非的，故K．plausible“貌似有理的”为答案。

问答题

【正确答案】E

【答案解析】动词辨析题。分析句子结构可知，该空缺少动词。由空格后的better instructional approaches“更好的教育方法”可推知，空格处应填入意为“采用，使用”的动词，故E．employ“使用”为答案。

问答题

【正确答案】O

【答案解析】形容词辨析题。根据空格前的a和空格后的名词。fluke可推断此处缺少形容词作定语。结合上一句中提到的各种数据可知，这种优势也可能只是统计学上的意外，故O．statistical“统计(学)的”为答案。

问答题

【正确答案】N

【答案解析】动词辨析题。根据空格前的may可推断此处缺少动词原形。结合句意，进入耶鲁大学或许______聪明过人、才华横溢和雄心勃勃，可知N．signify“意味着”符合句意，故为答案。

问答题

【正确答案】B

【答案解析】副词辨析题。空格前后为逗号且空格所在句子结构完整，故该空缺少作插入语的副词。空格后的面的分句与上一句意思相反，由此可知B．contrarily“相反地”符合句意，故为答案。

问答题

【正确答案】M

【答案解析】动词辨析题。由空格前的can可知，该空缺少动词原形。结合下一句可知，此处想要表达的是在一定程度上，我们可以给自己的执意强求找出合理的解释。M．rationalize“为……找出辩解理由”符合句意，故为答案。

问答题

【正确答案】C

【答案解析】形容词辨析题。由空格前的can be可知，该空缺少形容词作表语。本句句意为：过于执意强求却是______。C．destructive“毁坏性的”符合句意，故为答案。