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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 robust stock market, school endowments have ballooned. Yet few institutions have held down steep increases in tuition. But that may be changing.
Williams College, a prestigious 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 affordable for middle-class parents is the 800-lb. gorilla facing colleges and universities,\" says Terry Hartle, senior vice 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 affected 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 fully covered.\" The school plans to boost scholarships to needy students this year as much as $2,250 a person. To be sure, there is no shortage of families who can afford elite institutions. Despite annual tuition hikes at Harvard, its applicant pool swelled from 13,029 in 1992 to 18,167 last year. Families that equate price with quality have allowed costs at elite schools to be on \"autopilot,\" says Gordon Winston, an economist 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 curbing tuition increases is to attract those middle-income students. Rice University in Houston uses its $3 billion endowment to guarantee that tuition for sophomores, juniors and seniors will not leap ahead of the consumer price index. Another reason for restraint is concern that public outrage will prompt government intervention. 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.
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 relatively 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 curbed
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）
swell: [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
curb: [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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发表于 2006-5-29 15:23:08