Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter, Maureen. With a checklist of criteria in hand, the Dallas family looked around the country visiting half a dozen schools. They sought a university that offered the teenager’s intended major, one located near a large city, and a campus where their daughter would be safe.
“The safety issue is a big one,” says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn’t alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns, and the same question was always asked: what about crime? But when college officials always gave the same answer-“That’s not a problem here,” Mahoney began to feel uneasy.
“No crime whatsoever?” comments Mahoney today. “I just don’t buy it. ” Nor should he: in 1999 the U. S. Department of Education had reports of nearly 400,000 serious crimes on or around our campuses. “Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to college,” says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Campus. “Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation. ”
But getting accurate information isn’t easy. Colleges must report crime statistics by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity, leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. “The truth may not always be obvious,” warns S. Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, Inc, the nation’s leading campus safety watchdog group.
To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions.
31. The Mahoneys visited quite a few colleges last August .
A. to express the opinions of many parents
B. to choose a right one for their daughter
C. to check the cost of college education
D. to find a right one near a large city
32. It is often difficult to get correct information on campus crime because some colleges .
A. receive too many visitors
B. mirror the rest of the nation
C. hide the truth of campus crime
D. have too many watchdog groups
33. The underlined word “buy” in the third paragraph means .
A. mind B. admit
C. believe D. expect
34. We learn from the text that “the honest ones” in the fourth paragraph most probably refers to colleges .
A. that are protected by campus security
B. that report campus crime by law
C. that are free from campus crime
D. that enjoy very good publicity
35. What is the text mainly about?
A. Exact campus crime statistics.
B. Crimes on or around campuses.
C. Effective solutions to campus crime.
D. Concerns about kids’ campus safety.
答案:
31. [答案]B
[解析]从文章首段首句Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter可以看出正确答案。
32. [答案]C
[解析]文章第四段提到But getting accurate information isn’t easy. Colleges must report crime statistics by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity, leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. 可以看出正确选项。
33. [答案]C
[解析]考点:词汇题。做题原则:一一把选项带入原文。
34. [答案]B
[解析]细节推理判断题。
35. [答案]D
[解析]主旨大意题。Safety是本篇文章的中心词。