For high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular

For high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular skills and practice how to behave in an interview or how to find all internship(实习). In some countries, schools have programs to help students onto the path to work. In the United States, however, such programs are still few and far between.
Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses, students are likely to get higher earnings in later years. In Germany, students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships. German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment.
But in America, education reform (改革) programs focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world. Harvard Education school professor Robert Schwartz has criticized education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track. Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable(易受影响的) kids with no jobs and no skills.
Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high school. James Madison High School in New York, for example, encourages students to choose classes on career-based courses. The school then helps them gain on-the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school.
However, even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work, the job market is daunting. In the US, unemployment rates for 16-to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row. “The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the summer job experience, they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job,” said Michael, a researcher in the US.
12. What’s the main idea of the text?
A. Arguments about recent US education reform.
B. Tips on finding jobs for high school leavers.
C. The lack of career-based courses in US high schools.
D. Advice for American high school leavers.
13. According to Robert Schwartz, _________.
A. there is no need for kids to go for higher education in the US
B. teenagers in the US can’t miss out on the summer job experience
C. education reform should focus on students’ performance in exams
D. students should get contact with the working world at high school
14. The underlined word “daunting” in Paragraph 5 most probably means __________.
A. discouraging B. interesting
C. creative D. unbearable
15. What can be inferred from the text?
A. High school leavers with no practical skills can’t find a job at all.
B. Unemployment rates for US teenagers remain high at the moment.
C. Students with career-based courses never have problems finding a job.
D. US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment.
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