教育类文章精选:THE TUITION TAMERS

时间:2006-09-13 01:57:46

(单词翻译:单击)

7 THE TUITION TAMERS
  After years of sharp increases, some colleges are trying to ease the burden on middle-class families

  THESE HAVE BEEN THE ,BEST OF TIMES for many of the nation’s top universities-and the worst of times for middle income families struggling to afford them. Thanks to a robust1 stock market, school endowments have ballooned. Yet few institutions have held down steep increases in tuition. But that may be changing.

  Williams College, a prestigious2 liberal arts school in Massachusetts, announced last month that for the first time in 46 years, its tuition would remain steady at $31,520. Last week students at Princeton University learned that their annual $31,599 tuition, room and board will rise just 3.3%-the smallest hike in 30 years.

  These shows of restraint may signal a turnaround from the whopping tuition increases of recent years, as some schools now consider using their endowments to control price hikes. Since 1980, college costs have more than doubled, after adjustment for inflation, while the median income of families with college-age children has increased only 12%. Last year tuition rose an average of 4.6%, the lowest jump in 12 years-but still more than twice the rate of inflation. "Remaining affordable3 for middle-class parents is the 800-lb. gorilla4 facing colleges and universities," says Terry Hartle, senior vice5 president of the American Council on Education in Washington.

  Williams held its tuition flat by paying more of its bills with the investment profits on its $1.1 billion endowment and with contributions from alumni. But college officials who oppose using endowments to freeze tuition say the students most vulnerable to hikes are not affected6 by them. "If we were to keep tuition constant, would it change the situation here for students in need?" asks Princeton president Harold Shapiro. "No, because their tuition is fully7 covered." The school plans to boost scholarships to needy8 students this year as much as $2,250 a person. To be sure, there is no shortage of families who can afford elite9 institutions. Despite annual tuition hikes at Harvard, its applicant10 pool swelled11 from 13,029 in 1992 to 18,167 last year. Families that equate13 price with quality have allowed costs at elite schools to be on "autopilot," says Gordon Winston, an economist14 at Williams College. Most wealthy families can afford the high tuitions, and poor families get financial aid, but middle-income families get squeezed-and even squeezed out.

  One reason colleges are curbing15 tuition increases is to attract those middle-income students. Rice University in Houston uses its $3 billion endowment to guarantee that tuition for sophomores17, juniors and seniors will not leap ahead of the consumer price index. Another reason for restraint is concern that public outrage18 will prompt government intervention19. Congress is already tackling the issue during two days of hearings this week, and President Clinton recently proposed a $31 billion package to make higher education more affordable. Now if only someone could do something about campus parking.

  Time; 02/14/2000, Vol. 155 Issue 6, p70, 2/3p, 1c

  注(1):本文选自Time;02/14/2000,p70;

  注(2):本文习题命题模仿对象是1999年真题text2(1,2,3,5题)和2002年真题text2第2题(第4题)

  1.We learn from the beginning of the passage that college tuition _______________.

  [A] has become a heavy burden on many middle income families with college-age children

  [B] has ballooned due to a robust stock market

  [C] has brought more endowments to the top universities

  [D] has increased relatively20 slowly in the past few years

  2.Speaking of college cost, the author implies that ___________________.

  [A] it is a big challenge facing colleges and universities

  [B] it has increased twice as much as the median income of families in the past 2 decades

  [C] changes are taking place as schools are looking for sources to control it

  [D] it will not stop increasing until parents are unaffordable

  3.In the view of Harold Shapiro, __________________________.

  [A] it’s unnecessary to control tuition increases because even needy students can pay their tuition

  [B] students in need can not benefit much from the efforts of keeping tuition constant

  [C] schools should provide more scholarships to students instead of cutting down tuition

  [D] using endowments to freeze tuition will only add to student’ economic burden

  4.The phrase “800-lb gorilla” (line 6, paragraph 3) most probably means _____________.

  [A] big, heavy animal

  [B] urgent issue

  [C] tough problem

  [D] unwanted situation

  5.We learn from the last paragraph that _______________.

  [A] tuition in Rice University has dropped

  [B] government will take measures to punish schools that allow their tuition to increase steeply

  [C] the public will urge government to tackle tuition increase if schools can not handle it

  [D] there will be more middle-income students on college campus if tuition can be curbed21

  答案:A C B C D

  篇章剖析:

  本篇文章围绕高校采取措施抑制学费增长的问题进行了分析。第一段介绍了高校学费高昂的事实。第二段以威廉姆斯学院和普林斯顿大学为例,说明高校正在采取措施抑制学费增长。第三段介绍了1980年以来高校学费增长的幅度,第四段介绍了一些高校平抑学费的措施以及引起的质疑,最后一段分析了高校平抑学费的原因。

  词汇注释:

  robust: [rE5bQst] adj. 健康和有力的;精力充沛的

  endowment: [in5daumEnt] n. 资助,捐赠

  balloon: [bE5lu:n] v. 激增,飞涨迅速增长或上升

  hike: [haik] n. 突然的或急剧的上升、上涨、增加

  restraint: [ris5treint] n. 抑制, 制止

  turnaround: [`t\:nE9raJnd] n. 转变, 转向, (经济, 营业等的)突然好转

  whopping: [5(h)wCpiN] adj. 巨大的, 庞大的

  median: [5mi:djEn] adj. 中间的,位于中间的

  gorilla: [^E5rilE] n. 大猩猩

  alumni: [E5lQmni] n. 校友

  vulnerable:[5vQlnErEb(E)l] adj. 易受伤害的;易受影响的

  boost: [bu:st] v. 增进;改善

  pool: [pu:l]] n. 集中备用的物资(如钱、 物、工人等)

  swell12: [swel] v. 增加,增大

  equate: [i5kweit] v. (常与to, with连用)使相等

  autopilot: [5C:tEpailEt] v. 自动驾驶仪; 自动操舵装置

  squeeze: [skwi:z] v. 压榨, 挤, 挤榨

  curb16: [kE:b] v. 抑制;控制

  outrage: [5autreidV] n. 愤慨;(由暴力或冒犯而引起的)愤怒

  prompt: [prCmpt] v. 鼓动, 促使

  package: [5pAkidV] n. 建议,提议

  难句突破

  1. But college officials who oppose using endowments to freeze tuition say the students most vulnerable to hikes are not affected by them.

  主体句式:college officials say…

  结构分析:这是一个复杂句,主语college officials带有一个定语从句。本句难点是vulnerable这个词。“vulnerable”的意思是“易受攻击的”。

  句子译文:但反对利用捐赠款来防止学费增长的大学官员认为这些措施对于那些受到学费增长打击最大的学生并无实质性的帮助。

  2. Families that equate price with quality have allowed costs at elite schools to be on "autopilot," says Gordon Winston, an economist at Williams College.

  主体句式:Gordon Winston says …

  结构分析:本句整体结构为倒装结构,这种结构常见于引述句,特别是主语较长的引述句。在这个句子里,主语带了一个同位语,因而比较长,如果按照正常语序就会造成语意连接不紧密地情况。says的宾语是families… “autopilot”,其中families还带有一个that引导的定语从句。

  句子译文:那些将价格和质量划等号的家庭其实默许了一流大学学费“随行就市”的情况,威廉姆斯学院的一位经济学家戈登·温斯顿说。

  题目分析:

  1. 答案为A,属事实细节题。从第一段第一句话 “the worst of times for middle income families struggling to afford them”可以看出,高校学费已经令很多家中等收入家庭不堪重负。

  2. 答案为C,属推理判断题。在文章第一段末写道:But that may be changing。第二段接着举例说明高校如何采取措施平抑学费。第三段第一句又说这些抑制学费的措施也许是最近几年学费暴涨的形势turnaround的迹象,由此可见学校正积极寻找资金来源控制学费,学费问题正在发生变化。

  3. 答案为B,属事实细节题。文中第四段引用Shapiro的话说真正困难的学生并不会因为学费保持稳定其境况就发生改变,因为学生的学费都是足额支付的。也就是说这些学生不会从中受益。

  4. 答案为C,属推理判断题。“gorilla”本意为“大猩猩”,根据上下文,中等收入家庭的收入增幅远远小于学费的增幅,因而各大高校都面临着如何使中等收入家庭付得起学费这样一个“800-1b gorilla”,下文又介绍了各高校如何采取措施平抑学费,可见这里“800-1b gorilla”是一个暗喻,指“棘手的问题”。

  5. 答案为D,属推理判断题。文章最后一段解释了高校平抑学费的原因之一就是想要吸引更多来自中等收入家庭的孩子。最末一具有说“现在要是有人能够解决以下校园停车问题就好了”,暗示校园有可能会有很多学生。不难理解,如果学费能够被平抑,会有更多来自中等收入家庭的孩子。

  参考译文:

  对于国内许多一流大学来说,现在是最好的时候;而对于那些收入中等,勉强付得起学费的家庭来说,情况已经糟得不能再糟了。幸亏股市上扬,学校获得的资助也水涨船高。可是却没有多少学校能够遏制住不断上涨的学费。不过这种情况也许正在发生变化。

  马萨诸塞州的著名文科大学威廉姆斯学院上个月宣布其学费将维持在31,520美元的水平上,这开了46六年来的先例。普林斯顿大学的学生上周得知他们每年31,599美元的学费,食宿费将只上涨3.3%,是30年来增幅最小的一次。

  这些抑制学费的措施也许是最近几年学费暴涨的形势发生逆转的迹象,因为一些学校目前已经开始考虑用所获得的资助来控制价格上涨。从1980年开始,由于通货膨胀而调整价格后,大学费用增加了一倍多,而供孩子上大学的家庭平均收入只增加了12%。去年学费平均涨幅是4.6%,虽然是12年里增幅最低的一次,但仍然是通货膨胀指数的两倍多。“各大高校都面临如何让中产阶级家庭支付得起学费这样一个棘手的问题,”华盛顿美国教育委员会高级副总裁特里·哈特尔说道。

  威廉姆斯学院平抑学费的措施就是利用从其11亿美元捐赠款所得的投资利润和该校校友会的捐款来支付大部分的账单。但反对利用捐赠款来防止学费增长的大学官员认为这些措施对于那些受到学费增长打击最大的学生并无实质性的帮助。“保持学费不变难道会让那些身处逆境的学生的境况发生改变吗?”普林斯顿大学校长哈罗德·夏皮罗质疑道。“不,因为他们的学费已经全都支付了。”该校计划今年给每位贫困学生的奖学金增加到2250美元。的确,上得起一流大学的家庭并不在少数。虽然

哈佛大学每年学费都会增加,但申请入学的人数还是从1992年的13029人增加到了去年的18167人。“那些将价格和质量划等号的家庭其实默许了一流大学学费“随行就市”的情况,”威廉姆斯学院的一位经济学家戈登·温斯顿说。最富裕的家庭负担得起学费,贫困家庭能得到财政资助,而中等收入家庭却陷入困境,甚至无力负担学费。

  各高校纷纷开始控制学费增长的一个原因就是要吸引中等收入家庭的学生。休斯敦莱斯大学动用了30亿美元的捐赠基金以确保大二,大三和大四学生的学费不会超过消费者物价指数。另一个控制学费增长的原因就是担心公众的愤怒会导致政府干预。国会已经开始在本周连续两天的听证会上处理这个问题,克林顿总统最近也提出了一个310亿美元的一揽子计划来减轻高等教育的学费负担。现在要是有人能解决一下校园停车问题就好了。


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1 robust FXvx7     
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的
参考例句:
  • She is too tall and robust.她个子太高,身体太壮。
  • China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道,中国希望保持经济强势增长,以减少贫困和失业状况。
2 prestigious nQ2xn     
adj.有威望的,有声望的,受尊敬的
参考例句:
  • The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
  • You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。
3 affordable kz6zfq     
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
参考例句:
  • The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
  • There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。
4 gorilla 0yLyx     
n.大猩猩,暴徒,打手
参考例句:
  • I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
  • A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。
5 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
6 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
7 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
8 needy wG7xh     
adj.贫穷的,贫困的,生活艰苦的
参考例句:
  • Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷,但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
  • They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。
9 elite CqzxN     
n.精英阶层;实力集团;adj.杰出的,卓越的
参考例句:
  • The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
  • We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。
10 applicant 1MlyX     
n.申请人,求职者,请求者
参考例句:
  • He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
  • In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。
11 swelled bd4016b2ddc016008c1fc5827f252c73     
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情)
参考例句:
  • The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染,他的手肿了起来。
  • After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后,河水猛涨。
12 swell IHnzB     
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强
参考例句:
  • The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
  • His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。
13 equate NolxH     
v.同等看待,使相等
参考例句:
  • You can't equate passing examination and being intelligent.你不能把考试及格看成是聪明。
  • You cannot equate his poems with his plays.你不可以把他的诗歌和他的剧本相提并论。
14 economist AuhzVs     
n.经济学家,经济专家,节俭的人
参考例句:
  • He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
  • He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家,自以为什么都懂。
15 curbing 8c36e8e7e184a75aca623e404655efad     
n.边石,边石的材料v.限制,克制,抑制( curb的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
  • A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。
16 curb LmRyy     
n.场外证券市场,场外交易;vt.制止,抑制
参考例句:
  • I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
  • You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。
17 sophomores c294e4c3991ed4b33fb6555e4af50996     
n.(中等、专科学校或大学的)二年级学生( sophomore的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生,他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Over half the students in the course are sophomores. 听这门课的一大半是二年级学生。 来自辞典例句
18 outrage hvOyI     
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒
参考例句:
  • When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
  • We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。
19 intervention e5sxZ     
n.介入,干涉,干预
参考例句:
  • The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
  • Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。
20 relatively bkqzS3     
adv.比较...地,相对地
参考例句:
  • The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
  • The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。
21 curbed a923d4d9800d8ccbc8b2319f1a1fdc2b     
v.限制,克制,抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Advertising aimed at children should be curbed. 针对儿童的广告应受到限制。 来自辞典例句
  • Inflation needs to be curbed in Russia. 俄罗斯需要抑制通货膨胀。 来自辞典例句

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