Thissummer，MonikaLutz'slifetookanunusualturn．Insteadofheadingofftocollege，thehighschoolgraduatepackedherbagsforaBengalijungle．Lutz，likeagrowingnumberofotheryoungAmericans，istakingayearoff．Gap（间隔）

Question

This summer，Monika Lutz's life took an unusual turn．Instead of heading off to college，the high school graduate packed her bags for a Bengali jungle．Lutz，like a growing number of other young Americans，is taking a year off．Gap（间隔） years  are quite common in Britain and Australia，but they are just beginning to catch on in the U．S．Lutz，who grew up in Boulder，Colo．，has put together a 14-month schedule that includes helping deliver solar power to some communities in India and interning （实习） for a fashion designer in Shanghai---experiences that are worlds away from the lecture halls and university dormitories that await other students．"I could not be happier，"she says．
 Why are students attracted to the gap-year concept？According to new survey data from Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson，education-policy experts and co-authors of The Gap-Year Advantage，the most common reason for this is to avoid burnout．"I felt like I was focused on college as a means to an end，"says Kelsi Morgan，an incoming Middlebury College freshman who spent last year interning for a judge in Tulsa，Okla．，and teaching English at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic．The hope is that after a year out of the classroom，students will enter college more energized，focused and mature．That can be an advantage for colleges too．Robert Clagett，dean of admissions at Middlebury，did some research a few years ago and found that a single gap semester was the strongest predictor of academic success at his school．
 Most experts recommend securing a spot in college before taking a gap year and warn against using the time off to lengthen your resume．"Most admissions folks can see right through that，"says Jim Jump，the academic dean of St．Christopher's School in Richmond，Va．But for students like Lutz，who，after getting rejected from five Ivies，decided to take time off，a gap year can help focus interests．Lutz now plans to apply mostly to non-Ivies that have strong marketing programs．"This experience has really opened my eyes to the opportunities the world has to offer，"she says．
 But at least one education expert doesn't want schools spreading the gap-year message．In a study that followed 11，000 members of the high school class of 1992 for eight years after graduation，Stefanie DeLuca，a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University，found that，all things being equal，those who delayed college by a year were 64% less likely to complete a bachelor's degree than those who didn't．DeLuca did not say whether these students voluntarily started college late，but at the very least，her work indicates that taking a gap year doesn't guarantee success．"I'm not going to say that time off does not have benefits，"says DeLuca．"But I think we should not be so enthusiastic．"
67．The students take gap years mainly because___．
A．they want to be more unusual   
B．they want to refresh themselves 
C．some experts advise them to do so  
D．their parents think it good for them
68．According to Lutz，the gap year has made her more___
A．energetic      B．relaxed  C．practical   D．enthusiastic
69．Stefanie DeLuca probably agrees that___．
A．students should think twice before taking gap years
B．taking gap years enables students to achieve success
C．schools should encourage their students to take gap years
D．taking gap years increases students'chances of getting a good job
70．What's the author's attitude towards gap years？___
A．Sceptical．B．Positive．C．Disapproving．D．Objective．

Answer 1

67．B．细节理解题．根据文章第二段"According to new survey data from Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson，education-policy experts and co-authors of The Gap-Year Advantage，the most common reason for this is to avoid burnout"可知学生们休学一年主要是为了避免疲倦，从而放松自己；故选B．
68．C．细节理解题．根据文章第二段"‘This experience has really opened my eyes to the opportunities the world has to offer，'she says．"可知这次经历让她看到了世界提供给她的机会，对她来说这是很实际的；A．energetic精力充沛的；B．relaxed放松的；C．practical切合实际的；D．enthusiastic热情的．故选C．
69．A．推理判断题．根据最后一段"but at the very least，her work indicates that taking a gap year doesn't guarantee success．"可知她说休学一年并不能保证学生成功，因此学生在休学之前要仔细考虑，故选A．
70．D．主旨大意题．通读全文，可知本文作者是客观地描述很多学生休学年，以及一些专家的观点 A．Sceptical怀疑的；B．Positive积极的；C．Disapproving不支持的；D．Objective客观的；故选D．