[外语类试卷]大学英语六级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷112及答案与解析.doc

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1、大学英语六级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 112及答案与解析 Section B 0 Save for College AIn this article, well look at the rules for 529 Qualified State Tuition Plans. Well explore the difference between this savings vehicle and some of the other traditional education savings methods and see why this plan is the best yet! The co

2、st of college BYou may never have thought you could get excited about big sums of money you wont be spending on yourself until you read about this new college savings plan. The 529 plan offers the most painless way to save money for higher education to date. And if the child decides not to go to col

3、lege, you can roll it over to someone else that does want to go, including yourself! The 529 Plan is a savings plan for college education. You have a couple of options when you open an account. * One option lets you prepay tuition at a qualified educational institution at todays tuition rates. * Ano

4、ther option lets you save money in a tax-deferred account(earnings only)to be used to pay for education at future tuition rates. CThe idea, with either option, is that the investment earnings will grow to meet the higher costs of future education. The savings account option is typically considered t

5、he more attractive of the two and is what we will focus on in this article. The 529 plan is a state-sponsored investment program. That is, the state sets up the plan with an asset management company of its choice, and you open a 529 account with that asset management company according to the states

6、predetermined plan features. You are the owner of the account, and the child for whom the account is set up is the beneficiary(收益人 ). You wont deal directly with the state, but rather with the asset management/investment company. State-to-state variations DBecause each state can control some of the

7、features of its own plan, there are variations from state to state. Most plans follow the same general scheme(and federal requirements), but make sure you compare plans among states other than your own. Most states dont require residency in order to participate, so shop around different states for t

8、he best deal. The benefits; tax treatment EAll of the accounts earnings are exempt from federal tax when they are withdrawn if they are used for qualified education expenses. This means that, unlike the taxes you have to pay on earnings from regular stock investments, you wont pay any tax on the 529

9、 account earnings unless you end up using the money for something other than higher education. Earnings are currently tax-deferred in most states, as well. FA break on the earnings tax isnt the only tax advantage, either. Although your contributions arent pre-tax(you pay state and federal tax on the

10、 money you put into the account), there are some states that let you deduct a portion of your contributions from your state taxes. More states will probably follow suit in the coming years. The benefits: account control GUnlike Education Savings Accounts(ESA), the account owner always has control of

11、 the money. This helps lessen that parental anxiety that the junior will take the money and tour Europe or buy a Porsche instead of going to college. There are no restrictions on who can open an account for whom. You can open an account for your child, a friends child, a relative, the paper boy, or

12、even yourself. The benefits; income eligibility HDid you know that with an ESA, you arent eligible to contribute if you make more than $110,000 per year($220,000 for married couples)? Unlike ESAs, your income does not affect your eligibility to open a 529 account. Contributions to 529 plans also qua

13、lify for the $ 11,000($ 22,000 for married couples in 2002)annual gift tax exclusion. You can also contribute up to five years of gifts during the first year, meaning you can put in up to $55,000($ 110,000 for married couples). This is a great benefit in situations where inheritance money enters the

14、 picture. Your account can grow up to $268,000 in some states. You can contribute as little as $ 25 to $ 50 per month. The benefits: how the money can be used IIn most states, there is no age limit or time limit for when the money has to be used. Your child can put off college indefinitely, in which

15、 case you have the option of rolling the account over to another child as long as that child is in the same family of the first beneficiary. In case youre wondering just who is considered “ family“, the plan defines family members as “ the original beneficiarys spouse, children, sisters, brothers, n

16、ephews, nieces, first cousins, and any spouses of those persons. “ JYour child can go to any accredited(官方认可的 )degree-granting educational institution, whether it is public, private, two-year, or four-year. There are even some international schools that qualify. In most states, qualified education c

17、osts include tuition, books, room, board, transportation, and even computers. In the event that your child gets a scholarship, then the remainder of the 529 account can be rolled over to another sibling(or relative), or it can be cashed out with no penalty other than the tax paid(at your rate)on the

18、 earnings. The same rule applies in the event of the childs death or disability. The benefits: investment control KIf the thought of turning over your hard earned money to the state makes you a little uneasy, rest assured that the state doesnt control your money. In fact, most states are signing on

19、with well-known, successful investment companies such as TIAA-CREF, Vanguard and Fidelity. The number and types of investment options vary by state, and once you select your option you cant change it. You can, however, roll your money over into another states plan if youre not happy with your chosen

20、 investment option. There is no penalty to roll the money over into another states plan, and you can do it once every 12 months. Most states have no residence requirement for their 529 plans. LMany plans are also offering investment choices that are age-based. This means that if youre starting early

21、, perhaps when your child is age one to three, the investments can begin aggressively in stocks then gradually shift to bonds and money market accounts as your child gets closer to college age. Some state plans offer several levels of options for aggressive, moderate and conservative investments. MI

22、f you cant reach the risk level you want in one plan, you can always open a second 529 account in the same or another state. You can have as many accounts as you want and can also contribute to both a 529 plan and an ESA. That way, you can diversify your investments in the event that the plan doesnt

23、 offer the investment mix you would like. 1 If a child hasnt used the 529 plan savings for college, the money can be transferred to another child in the family. 2 Before selecting the most favorable 529 plan, youd better compare plans in other states. 3 Transferring the money into another states 529

24、 plan is limited to once a year. 4 The state makes out the plan and assigns an asset management company in the 529 plan. 5 The 529 account owner always controls the money to avoid spending on other things. 6 The 529 plan aims at helping to save money for higher education. 7 Your 529 account investme

25、nt can be graded into three risk levels as aggressive, moderate and conservative. 8 You dont need to pay tax for the 529 plan savings if you use it for higher education. 9 As for those couples who earn more than $220,000 annually, they are entitled to the 529 plan. 10 When your child gets a scholars

26、hip, the rest 529 account can be either cashed out or given to another sibling(or relative). 10 Technology, Costs, Lack of Appeal Slow E-Textbook Adoption ATextbooks are often a luxury for college senior Vatell Martin. The accounting major at Virginia State University got by in several courses with

27、study groups and professors lectures. “Its not that I didnt want to buy,“ he says. “ Sometimes, I just didnt have the money for a $ 200 book. “ VSU knows Martin isnt the only one. More than half of its students routinely skip buying textbooks. For a solution, the school is turning to e-textbooks. BV

28、SU partnered with Flat World Knowledge, a start-up publisher that produces exclusively written e-books with “ open“ content that can be modified by professors. In a trial with 14 business courses, students would be required to pay $ 20 and receive a Flat World e-book and digital learning supplements

29、. The university and a local grant have been covering the cost, so far. “Thats nothing. Its what I put in my gas tank,“ says Martin, who participated in the trial. “If I was walking into a discussion on a topic, I can just download and take out the book and read it on my phone. “ CWith their promise

30、 of ubiquity(无处不在 ), convenience and perhaps affordability, e-textbooks have arrived in fits and starts throughout college campuses. And publishers and book resellers are spending millions attracting students to their online stores and e-reader platforms as mobile technology improves the readability

31、 of the material on devices such as tablet computers. Silicon Valley start-ups, such as Inkling and Kno, are also aggressively reinventing textbooks with interactive graphics, videos and social-media features. DDespite emerging attempts at innovation, the industry has been slowed by clumsy technolog

32、y, the lasting appeal of print books, skeptical students who search online for cheaper alternatives, and customer confusion stemming from too many me-too e-textbook platforms that have failed to stand out. EThe late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, believed textbooks to be an $ 8 billion market ripe fo

33、r “ digital destruction,“ biographer Walter Issacson writes in Steve Jobs. Apple is expected to make an announcement Thursday about its new education products. The market is small but growing. Sales for e-textbooks in the U. S. higher education market grew 44. 3% to $267.3 million in 2011, according

34、 to Simba Information, a publishing industry research firm. Print still rules FSo far, students have been less than impressed and more likely to choose print books. About 11% of college students have bought e-textbooks, according to market research firm Student Monitor. Availability isnt the chief p

35、roblem. Most popular textbooks have a digital version, and theyre available online. But students have largely stayed away because the most readily available technology today PDF(portable document format)or other document reader versions of the print book is clumsy and eye-straining to read. GWhen An

36、drea Soto, a freshman biology major at the University of Maryland, bought Principles of Biology, the $192 price tag came with a free online version. She prefers the touchable presence of a thick book on her lap. “ You cant highlight or underline things in the e-book. I find it more of a trouble,“ sh

37、e says. However, digital books arent necessarily cheaper, either. While priced lower than new print books, theyre often more expensive than buying or renting used books online, says Kathy Mickey, an analyst at Simba. HA federally funded pilot study at Daytona State College in Florida found that some

38、 students who rented an e-textbook paid only a dollar less than students who bought a print edition. And e-textbook users couldnt sell the book back after the class ended. Despite e-textbooks shortcomings, most agree that the print market is ripe for a technological overhaul(彻底改革 ). Prices of new bo

39、oks are rising sharply. Authors complain about used book sales that dont generate royalties. Professors and students are annoyed at new editions that seemingly add little in content VS the previous one. I“This is an industry thats failing everyone parents, authors, professors, and students,“ says Br

40、ad Wheeler, chief information officer at Indiana University, which is running a program that distributes cheaper e-textbooks but requires all students in the class to buy. Publishers are eager for a quicker transition to the format because e-textbooks cost less to publish and would generate income f

41、rom every student who buys one. Digital books cant be resold, at least, not legally. “Wed prefer that all of it to go digital,“ says Vineet Madan, senior vice President of new ventures at McGraw-Hill Education. “ There isnt a secondary market for e-books. “ Seeking market niche(商机 ) JIf current e-te

42、xtbooks are mostly unappealing, whats next? Like online music in its infancy, the textbook industrys key players publishers, resellers, bookstores, tech companies, even some universities are all scrambling to offer their digital solutions, an effort that has only intensified with the arrival of tabl

43、et computers and app stores. “Everybody and their brothers are coming out with an e-book platform,“ says Iam Williams, director of strategic learning solutions at Wiley, a textbook publisher. KThey all agree on one thing: The quality of e-textbooks must improve dramatically. More value-added, intera

44、ctive features will keep students interested and spur sales, they say. Tablet computers are a key stimulus in this endeavor. At Kno, tablets have allowed the Santa Clara, Calif. -based company to embed interactive tools onto an existing e-textbook in a more intuitive way, for example, the ability to

45、 write directly on the book with a finger stroke or tap on a keyword for notes. “ Tablet was a needed development, “ says Knos founder Osman Rashid. Despite threats to their print book sales, university bookstores are also coming around to embracing e-books. Follett, which runs 930 university bookst

46、ores in North America, launched Follett CafeScribe last year, a cloud-based digital textbook platform. Publishers not on sidelines LTextbook publishers are partnering with universities for exclusive trials, buying stakes in start-ups and developing their own technologies. Last year, publisher Cengag

47、e launched MindTap, an e-book/digital learning website that is now being tried by about 50 professors, says Bill Rieders, Cengages executive vice President of global new media. Instead of tables of content, MindTap provides “ a learning path“ that students can access for text, multimedia, self-asses

48、sment tools, quizzes and note sharing. MPearson has introduced a completing product, OpenClass. The cloud-based website means students can access information wherever theres an online connection features social networking, and works with Google Apps for Education. Reed College in Portland, Ore. , is

49、 one of several universities that will test OpenClass this fall. NThe CourseLoad trial has been in place since 2009 on a limited basis, with students receiving free books. It has been expanded to 130 courses this spring semester. Students now pay a discounted price for access to CourseLoad books and learning kits, typically “60% to 70%“ cheaper than new print books, Wheeler says. In exchange, students must pay a fee to enroll. Despite the lack of flexibility, scho