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Text 3 University used to be for a privileged few. In some countries it is now almost a rite of ...

Text 3
University used to be for a privileged few. In some countries it is now almost a rite of passage. Although that is excellent news, rew countries have worked out how to pay for it. In some of continental Europe, where the state often foots the bill, the result has usually been under investment. In America, where students themselves pay, many have little choice but to take on huge debts.
English policymakers thought they had struck the right balance, with a mix of student fees and generous state loans. But, nearly two decades after youngsters were first required to contribute to tuition costs, the system has dwindling support at home. Jeremy Corbyn, Labour's leader, speaks as though it were designed to keep the poor from spoiling the ivory towers. He has called for an end to the "debt burden" on students, and has claimed that "fewer working-class young people are applying to university," Labour's showing at the recent election suggests many young voters agree.
Mr Corbyn's argument betrays a disregard for the facts and a poor understanding of student finance. Twenty years ago English students could go to university free, with the state covering the cost. The result was many struggling institutions and strict limits on the numbers of students universities were allowed to take. Annual tuition fees allowed an expansion of higher education, from around 30% of 18-year-olds to more than 40%-and the proportion of youngsters going to university from poor parts of the country has grown from one-in-ten to three-in-ten.
That is because loans for tuition are combined with gentle repayment terms. Graduates only pay back based on their income above £21,000 a year, meaning that their debts never become unmanageable. Outstanding loans are written off after 30 years. Critics argue that tuition fees aggravate inequality between generations (rich oldsters attended university free, after all), but the alternative would be greater inequality within generations-as poorer students were once again frozen out when capacity fell, and relatively wealthy graduates were subsidised from general taxation.
The real problem with the English system is not fairness, but that fees have not driven up standards. Almost all universities charge the maximum, whatever the course-not because they are a "cartel", but because no university wants to suggest that it offers a cut-price, second-rate degree. Nevertheless, surveys indicate that students have seen little improvement in teaching.
One answer would be to promote competition by giving students better information. The government has relaxed the rules for new institutions in the hope that they will develop new teaching methods and drive down prices. It could also encourage students to hold universities to account, with devices such as learning contracts specifying what undergraduates should expect, and by helping them switch courses if they are dissatisfied. If students think they are not getting value for money, support for a scheme that is fair and progressive will dwindle. And that could lead to the most regressive step of all: scrapping tuition fees.
34. By "fees have not driven up standards", the author means "high tuition fees ".
  • A. are beyond students' affordability
  • B. contribute little to university rankings
  • C. fail to satisfy the needs of universities
  • D. are meant to meet what students expect

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1 单选题 0分
Text 1
They are falling like dominoes. Executives caught behaving badly might once have been
slapped on the wrist. Today they are shown the door. On July 19th Paramount Television fired its president, Amy Powell, over reports of insensitive comments about race. This is only the latest bigwig to go in a line of departures linked to "personal misconduct". "Boards are now holding executives to higher standards, looking not just at how they treat people but also how they talk to and about them," says Pam Jeffords of Mercer, a consultancy.
The thread connecting these incidents is that all are about perceptions of executive integrity, and by extension, trust. Since trust violations are particularly hard for firms to overcome, often more so than incompetence, firms may believe that firing an errant executive can be the safest, most pragmatic course of action.
Executives were never alt angels. What has changed is that boards are now far less willing to overlook bad behaviour for the sake of superior performance. A 2017 report from PwC, a professional-services firm, found that the share of chief-executive dismissals that were due to ethical lapses increased between 2007-11 and 2012-2016, not because bosses were behaving worse but because they were held more accountable.
Boards seem to be acting thus for two reasons. First, to protect employees and create a safe and inclusive work environment. Second, to protect their brands' reputations. A 2016 study from researchers at Stanford showed that the fallout from chief executives behaving badly, but not unlawfully, was large and lasting. On average each of the 38 incidents studied garnered 250 news stories, with media attention lasting 4. 9 years. Shares usually suffered, though not always. And in a third of cases firms faced further damage, including loss of major clients and federal investigations.
Should an executive's words be judged as harshly as their actions? From the perspective of protecting the brand, as well as discouraging a toxic work environment, they probably should. The power of social media to turn a whispered comment into a Twitterstorm, and the fact that everyone now has a mobile recording device, demands a decisive response.
But boards and the media also risk rushing to judgment and painting the wicked with too broad a brush. An insensitive remark made long ago or as a one-off is not the same as one made as the face of the firm or as part of a consistent pattern. Disney's firing of James Gunn, a director, last week over tweets from a decade ago, before he was hired and for which he has apologised, seems to be one instance in which such distinctions have been papered over. And plenty of companies benefit from environments where people can speak openly and brainstorm out loud.
Once the fallen dominos have been counted, some firms may turn out to have been too gung-ho in responding to the "Weinstein effect". Many, perhaps most, exits will be justified. But all?
21. The phrase "slapped on the wrist"(Line 2, Para. 1) is closest in meaning to
  • A. given an easy penalty
  • B. forced to resign
  • C. despised by the public
  • D. arrested by the police
2 单选题 0分
Text 1
They are falling like dominoes. Executives caught behaving badly might once have been
slapped on the wrist. Today they are shown the door. On July 19th Paramount Television fired its president, Amy Powell, over reports of insensitive comments about race. This is only the latest bigwig to go in a line of departures linked to "personal misconduct". "Boards are now holding executives to higher standards, looking not just at how they treat people but also how they talk to and about them," says Pam Jeffords of Mercer, a consultancy.
The thread connecting these incidents is that all are about perceptions of executive integrity, and by extension, trust. Since trust violations are particularly hard for firms to overcome, often more so than incompetence, firms may believe that firing an errant executive can be the safest, most pragmatic course of action.
Executives were never alt angels. What has changed is that boards are now far less willing to overlook bad behaviour for the sake of superior performance. A 2017 report from PwC, a professional-services firm, found that the share of chief-executive dismissals that were due to ethical lapses increased between 2007-11 and 2012-2016, not because bosses were behaving worse but because they were held more accountable.
Boards seem to be acting thus for two reasons. First, to protect employees and create a safe and inclusive work environment. Second, to protect their brands' reputations. A 2016 study from researchers at Stanford showed that the fallout from chief executives behaving badly, but not unlawfully, was large and lasting. On average each of the 38 incidents studied garnered 250 news stories, with media attention lasting 4. 9 years. Shares usually suffered, though not always. And in a third of cases firms faced further damage, including loss of major clients and federal investigations.
Should an executive's words be judged as harshly as their actions? From the perspective of protecting the brand, as well as discouraging a toxic work environment, they probably should. The power of social media to turn a whispered comment into a Twitterstorm, and the fact that everyone now has a mobile recording device, demands a decisive response.
But boards and the media also risk rushing to judgment and painting the wicked with too broad a brush. An insensitive remark made long ago or as a one-off is not the same as one made as the face of the firm or as part of a consistent pattern. Disney's firing of James Gunn, a director, last week over tweets from a decade ago, before he was hired and for which he has apologised, seems to be one instance in which such distinctions have been papered over. And plenty of companies benefit from environments where people can speak openly and brainstorm out loud.
Once the fallen dominos have been counted, some firms may turn out to have been too gung-ho in responding to the "Weinstein effect". Many, perhaps most, exits will be justified. But all?
22. Boards today value most executives
  • A. communication skills
  • B. professional competence
  • C. moral rntegrity
  • D. loyalty to the company
3 单选题 0分
Text 1
They are falling like dominoes. Executives caught behaving badly might once have been
slapped on the wrist. Today they are shown the door. On July 19th Paramount Television fired its president, Amy Powell, over reports of insensitive comments about race. This is only the latest bigwig to go in a line of departures linked to "personal misconduct". "Boards are now holding executives to higher standards, looking not just at how they treat people but also how they talk to and about them," says Pam Jeffords of Mercer, a consultancy.
The thread connecting these incidents is that all are about perceptions of executive integrity, and by extension, trust. Since trust violations are particularly hard for firms to overcome, often more so than incompetence, firms may believe that firing an errant executive can be the safest, most pragmatic course of action.
Executives were never alt angels. What has changed is that boards are now far less willing to overlook bad behaviour for the sake of superior performance. A 2017 report from PwC, a professional-services firm, found that the share of chief-executive dismissals that were due to ethical lapses increased between 2007-11 and 2012-2016, not because bosses were behaving worse but because they were held more accountable.
Boards seem to be acting thus for two reasons. First, to protect employees and create a safe and inclusive work environment. Second, to protect their brands' reputations. A 2016 study from researchers at Stanford showed that the fallout from chief executives behaving badly, but not unlawfully, was large and lasting. On average each of the 38 incidents studied garnered 250 news stories, with media attention lasting 4. 9 years. Shares usually suffered, though not always. And in a third of cases firms faced further damage, including loss of major clients and federal investigations.
Should an executive's words be judged as harshly as their actions? From the perspective of protecting the brand, as well as discouraging a toxic work environment, they probably should. The power of social media to turn a whispered comment into a Twitterstorm, and the fact that everyone now has a mobile recording device, demands a decisive response.
But boards and the media also risk rushing to judgment and painting the wicked with too broad a brush. An insensitive remark made long ago or as a one-off is not the same as one made as the face of the firm or as part of a consistent pattern. Disney's firing of James Gunn, a director, last week over tweets from a decade ago, before he was hired and for which he has apologised, seems to be one instance in which such distinctions have been papered over. And plenty of companies benefit from environments where people can speak openly and brainstorm out loud.
Once the fallen dominos have been counted, some firms may turn out to have been too gung-ho in responding to the "Weinstein effect". Many, perhaps most, exits will be justified. But all?
23. The report from PwC reveals
  • A. decreased tolerance to incompetent executives
  • B. increased immoral behaviors among executives
  • C. improvement in executives' job performance
  • D. increased requirements on executives' accountability
4 单选题 0分
Text 1
They are falling like dominoes. Executives caught behaving badly might once have been
slapped on the wrist. Today they are shown the door. On July 19th Paramount Television fired its president, Amy Powell, over reports of insensitive comments about race. This is only the latest bigwig to go in a line of departures linked to "personal misconduct". "Boards are now holding executives to higher standards, looking not just at how they treat people but also how they talk to and about them," says Pam Jeffords of Mercer, a consultancy.
The thread connecting these incidents is that all are about perceptions of executive integrity, and by extension, trust. Since trust violations are particularly hard for firms to overcome, often more so than incompetence, firms may believe that firing an errant executive can be the safest, most pragmatic course of action.
Executives were never alt angels. What has changed is that boards are now far less willing to overlook bad behaviour for the sake of superior performance. A 2017 report from PwC, a professional-services firm, found that the share of chief-executive dismissals that were due to ethical lapses increased between 2007-11 and 2012-2016, not because bosses were behaving worse but because they were held more accountable.
Boards seem to be acting thus for two reasons. First, to protect employees and create a safe and inclusive work environment. Second, to protect their brands' reputations. A 2016 study from researchers at Stanford showed that the fallout from chief executives behaving badly, but not unlawfully, was large and lasting. On average each of the 38 incidents studied garnered 250 news stories, with media attention lasting 4. 9 years. Shares usually suffered, though not always. And in a third of cases firms faced further damage, including loss of major clients and federal investigations.
Should an executive's words be judged as harshly as their actions? From the perspective of protecting the brand, as well as discouraging a toxic work environment, they probably should. The power of social media to turn a whispered comment into a Twitterstorm, and the fact that everyone now has a mobile recording device, demands a decisive response.
But boards and the media also risk rushing to judgment and painting the wicked with too broad a brush. An insensitive remark made long ago or as a one-off is not the same as one made as the face of the firm or as part of a consistent pattern. Disney's firing of James Gunn, a director, last week over tweets from a decade ago, before he was hired and for which he has apologised, seems to be one instance in which such distinctions have been papered over. And plenty of companies benefit from environments where people can speak openly and brainstorm out loud.
Once the fallen dominos have been counted, some firms may turn out to have been too gung-ho in responding to the "Weinstein effect". Many, perhaps most, exits will be justified. But all?
24. We can infer from Paragraphs 4 and 5 that
  • A. many executives behaved badly because of their eagerness to protect brand reputation
  • B. only a small percentage of the stories about executives have been proved true
  • C. a firm may suffer heavy losses due to an insensitive remark from its executives
  • D. social media is encouraging misconducts among chief executives with its great power