The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and knocked into the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. "How embarrassing! I am getting so clumsy in my old age." Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank, who sat quietly listening to the others. Someone said, "Come on, Frank. Tell us your most embarrassing moment." Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood. "I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home." He looked at us and said, "I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. He would wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed overalls. His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow. No matter how much my mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish." Frank's voice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business. That truck was older than he was. It would wheeze and rattle down the road. You could hear it coming for blocks. As he would drive toward the school, I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear. Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!" He paused and then went on, "I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye... When his father drove him to the school, Frank would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear because _ . A) he was ashamed of his father's old truck B) he didn't want his schoolmates to see his father C) he thought he was old enough to go to school alone D) he hated the way his schoolmates stared at his father
A
(Question)
Is the 'Go to College' Message Overdone? Even in a weak job market, the old college try isn't the answer for everyone. A briefing paper from the Brookings Institution warns that "we may have overdone the message" on college, senior fellow Isabel Sawhill said. "We've been telling students and their families for years that college is the only way to succeed in the economy and of course there's a lot of truth to that," Ms. Sawhill said. "On average it does pay off... But if you load up on a whole lot of student debt and then you don't graduate, that is a very bad situation." One comment that people often repeat among the years of slow job growth has been the value of education for landing a job and advancing in a career. April's national unemployment rate stood at 7.5%, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate for high-school graduates over 25 years old who hadn't attended college was 7.4%, compared with 3.9% for those with a bachelor's degree or more education. The difference is even bigger among those aged 16-24. The jobless rate for those with only a high school diploma in that age group is about 20%. At the same time, recent research by Canadian economists cautions that a college degree is no guarantee of promising employment. Ms. Sawhill pointed out that among the aspects that affect the value of a college education is the field of one's major: Students in engineering or other sciences end up earning more than ones who major in the arts or education. The cost of tuition and the availability of financial aid are other considerations, with public institutions generally a better financial bargain than private ones. She suggested two avenues for improving the situation: increasing vocational -technical training programs and _ Europe's focus on early education rather than post-secondary learning. "The European countries put a little more attention to getting people prepared in the primary grades," she said. "Then they have a higher bar for whoever goes to college--but once you get into college,... Ms. Sawhill may probably agree that _ . A) too much stress has been put on the value of college degrees B) technical training is more important than college education C) a college degree will ensure promising employment D) it's easier for art students to find favorite jobs
(Answer)
A
Ques: Fresh Water provides an expansive subject for the third program in the BBC's fascinating new natural history series. Broadly, we investigate the world's lakes and rivers and the creatures which inhabit them. Thus we visit the deepest lake on the planet, Lake Baikal in Siberia. We observe colonies of Indian smooth-coated otters. A magical series which gives us a real sense of context in relation to the planet we inhabit. BBC 2 FAMILY GUY 11.45PM Road to Europe, without proper identification, Brian and Stewie stow away on a plane they think is leaving for England. They're wrong, and soon they're in Saudi Arabia (Brian: "Oh my God, we are finished. We are lost in the desert.") at the beginning of a long trip home. ITV 1 AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT 9PM Cards on the Table, Tonight's mystery concerns the death of one of London's richest and most mysterious men, Mr. Shaitana (Alexander Siddig), who has a fascination with crime. Shaitana hosts dinner and a game of bridge in his apartment, but when the time comes for the first guests to take their leave, they discover that their host has been stabbed through the heart. CHANNEL 4 THE GAMES: LIVE 9PM For the first time on The Games, the men fight in a Kendo tournament, using 1.2m shinai (bamboo swords). The women compete in the cycling, racing wheel-to-wheel on competition bikes with no brakes. Plus other news from the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. The Fresh Water series at 9 PM _ . A) explores the lakes, rivers and the creatures in them B) is devoted to the fresh water creatures in the world C) explain the relationship among inhabitants on the earth D) focuses on the deepest river on the planet
Ans:
A