Thecaseforcollegehasbeenacceptedwithoutquestionformorethanageneration. Allhighschoolgraduatesoughttogo, saysconventionalwisdomandstatisticalevidence, becausecollegewillhelpthemearnmoremoney, become "better" people, andlearntobemoreresponsiblecitizensthanthosewhodon'tgo.
Butcollegehasneverbeenabletoworkitsmagicforeveryone. Andnowthatclosetohalfourhighschoolgraduatesareattending, thosewhodon'tfitthepatternarebecomingmorenumerous, andmoreobvious. Collegegraduatesaresellingshoesanddrivingtaxis; collegestudentsinterferewitheachother'sexperimentsandwritefalselettersofrecommendationintheintensecompetitionforadmissiontograduateschool. Otherfindnostimulationintheirstudies, anddropout—oftenencouragedbycollegeadministrators.
Someobserverssaythefaultiswiththeyoungpeoplethemselves—theyarespoiledandtheyareexpectingtoomuch. Butthatisacondemnationofthestudentsasawhole, anddoesn'texplainallcampusunhappiness. Othersblamethestateoftheworld, andtheyarepartlyright. Wehavebeentoldthatyoungpeoplehavetogotocollegebecauseoureconomycan'tabsorbanarmyofuntrainedeighteen-year-olds. Butdisappointedgraduatesarelearningthatitcannolongerabsorbanarmyoftrainedtwenty-two-year-olds, either.
Someadventuresomeeducatorsandwatchershaveopenlybeguntosuggestthatcollegemaynotbethebest, theproper, theonlyplaceforeveryyoungpersonafterthecompletionofhighschool. Wemayhavebeenlookingatallthosesurveysandstatisticsupsidedown, itseems, andthroughtherosyglowofourownrememberedcollegeexperiences. Perhapscollegedoesn'tmakepeopleintelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, orquicktolearnthings—mayitisjusttheotherwayaround, andintelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, quick-learningpeoplearemerelytheoneswhohavebeenattractedtocollegeinthefirstplace. Andperhapsallthosesuccessfulcollegegraduateswouldhavebeensuccessfulwhethertheyhadgonetocollegeornot. Thisisheresytothoseofuswhohavebeenbroughtuptobelievethatifalittleschoolingisgood, morehastobemuchbetter. Butcontraryevidenceisbeginningtomountup.
1.Accordingtotheauthor, ___.
A.peopleusedtoquestionthevalueofcollegeeducation.
B.peopleusedtohavefullconfidenceinhighereducation.
C.allhighschoolgraduateswenttocollege.
D.veryfewhighschoolgraduateschosetogotocollege.
2.Inthe 2ndparagraph, "thosewhodon'tfitthepattern" referto___.
A.highschoolgraduateswhoaren'tsuitableforcollegeeducation.
B.collegegraduateswhoaresellingshoesanddrivingtaxis.
C.collegestudentswhoaren'tanybetterfortheirhighereducation.
D.highschoolgraduateswhofailedtobeadmittedtocollege.
3.Thedropoutrateofcollegestudentsseemstogoupbecause___.
A.youngpeoplearedisappointedwiththeconventionalwayofteachingatcollege.
B.manypeoplearerequiredtojointhearmy.
C.youngpeoplehavelittlemotivationinpursuingahighereducation.
D.youngpeopledon'tliketheintensecompetitionforadmissiontograduateschool.
4.Accordingtothepassage, theproblemsofcollegeeducationpartlyoriginateinthefactthat___.
A.societycannotprovideenoughjobsforproperlytrainedgraduates.
B.Highschoolgraduatesdonotfitthepatternofcollegeeducation.
C.Toomanystudentshavetoearntheirownliving.
D.Collegeadministratorsencouragestudentstodropout.
5.Inthispassagetheauthorarguesthat___.
A.moreandmoreevidenceshowscollegeeducationmaynotbethebestthingforhighschoolgraduates.
B.Collegeeducationisnotenoughifonewantstobesuccessful.
C.Collegeeducationbenefitsonlytheintelligent, ambitious, andquick-learningpeople.
D.Intelligentpeoplemaylearnquickeriftheydon'tgotocollege.