山西省2017高考英语二轮复习专题训练：阅读理解（46）_高考复习指南

山西省2017高考英语二轮复习专题训练：阅读理解（46）

　　“The vast majority actually had passing grades and they were confident that they could have graduated from high school.” John Bridgeland, the executive researcher said. About 1 million teens leave school each year. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic（美籍西班牙的）students will receive a diploma, and actually all dropouts come to regret their decision. So, if failing grades don’t explain why these kids quit, what does? Again, John Bridgeland: “The most dependable finding was that they were bored.” “They found classes uninteresting; they weren’t inspired or motivated. They didn’t see any direct connection between what they were learning in the classroom to their own lives, or to their career aspirations.”

　　The study found that most teens who do drop out wait until they turn sixteen, which happens to be the age at which most states allow students to quit. In the US, only one state, New Mexico, has a law requiring teenagers to stay in high school until they graduate. Only four states: California, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, require school attendance until age 18, no exceptions. Another researcher says raising the compulsory attendance age may be one way to keep more kids in school.

　　“As these dropouts look back, they realize they’ve made a mistake. And anything of that sort gives these people an extra push to stick it out and it through to the end, which is probably helpful.”