2. 外语
  3. (1)There will be no valedictory speech (毕业致辞) at Jericho High School’s graduation on Sunday. With seven seniors laying claim to

(1)There will be no valedictory speech (毕业致辞) at Jericho High School’s graduation on Sunday. With seven seniors laying claim to

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问题     (1)There will be no valedictory speech  (毕业致辞) at Jericho High School’s graduation on Sunday. With seven seniors laying claim to the title by compiling Aplus averages, no one wanted to sit through a solid half-hour of inspirational quotations and silly memories.
    (2)Instead, the seven will perform a 10-minute humorous play titled "2010: A Jericho Odyssey," about their collective experience at this high-achieving Long Island high school, finishing up with 30 seconds each to say a few words to their classmates and families.
    (3)"When did we start saying that we should limit the honors so only one person gets the glory?" asked Joe Prisinzano, the Jericho principal.
    (4)In top suburban schools across the country, the valedictorian, a beloved tradition, is rapidly losing its singular meaning as administrators dispense the title to every straight-A student rather than try to choose the best among them.
    (5)Principals say that recognizing multiple valedictorians reduces pressure and competition among students, and is a more equitable way to honor achievement, particularly when No.1 and No.5 may be separated by only
the smallest fraction of a grade from sophomore science. But some scholars and parents have criticized the swelling valedictorian ranks as yet another symptom of unstrained grade inflation, with teachers reluctant to lose the best and brightest’s chances of admission to top-tier colleges.
    (6)"It’s honor inflation," said Chris Healy, an associate professor at Furman University, who said that celebrating so many students as the best could leave them ill prepared for competition in college and beyond. "I think it’s a bad idea if you’re No. 26 and you’re valedictorian. In the real world, you do get ranked."
    (7)Not, though, at graduation from Stratford High School in the suburbs of Houston, which accorded its 30 valedictorians—about 6.5 percent of the class—gold honor cords. Nor at Cherry Hill High School East in southern New Jersey, which has revised its graduation tradition, picking a speaker among this year’s nine covaledictorians by lottery and printing speeches from the others in the program.
    (8)William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions at Harvard, said he had heard of schools with more than 100 valedictorians, and had seen home-schooled students praised as No.l—out of one—all of which has helped render the distinction meaningless.
    (9)Even some principals who have named multiple valedictorians acknowledge that the honor no longer carries the same weight. "If you’ve got one in a population of 500, it has special significance," said John O’Breza, die principal of Cherry Hill East. "When you have 9, 10 or 30 in a population of 500, the numbers speak for themselves. The more rare it is, the more distinguished."
    (10)Still, being tapped as valedictorian resonates (引起共鸣) deeply. "I feel like as long as you reach that point, it doesn’t matter how many you have," said Yvette Leung, one of the Jericho seven, who is bound for Harvard. "To be named valedictorian is an honor and a testament to how hard we’ve tried."
    (11)The word valedictorian—Latin for "farewell sayer"—appears as early as 1759 in the diary of the Rev. Edward Holyoke, then president of Harvard College. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as "the student usually having the highest rank in a graduating class who delivers the valedictory address at the commencement exercises."
    (12)School officials contend that there are more valedictorians than ever before because the frenzy over college admissions has made students more serious about grades and has spurred them to load up on advanced courses beginning in freshman year. In addition, some schools have adjusted their formulas to give more students a shot at the top spot by counting more courses toward the grade-point average, or limiting the weight given to any one particular subject.
Chris Healy would most probably agree that "honor inflation" _______.
选项 A、ensures equality in terms of honor achievement
B、impairs students’ academic motivation
C、manifests the fierce competition in college
D、contradicts the reality of the hierarchical society
答案D
解析 根据题干中的Chris Healy和honor inflation定位到第6段。该段表明他认为一个学校有多位valedictorian是honor inflation(荣誉泛滥)。不符合社会的竞争机制。最后一句you do get ranked表明他认为真实的世界是等级分明的，由此可见，本题应选D。A、B均无原文根据；C与文意相反。
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