2020考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇：Unit 83

Unit 83

As long as her parents can remember, 13-year-old Katie Hart has been talking about going to college. Her mother, Tally, a financial-aid officer at an Ohio university, knows all too well the daunting calculus of paying for a college education. Last year the average yearly tuition at a private, four-year school climbed 5. 5 percent to more than $17,000. The Harts have started saving, and figure they can afford a public university without a problem. But what if Katie applies to Princeton （she’s threatening）, where one year’s tuition, room and board—almost $34,000 in 2002—will cost more than some luxury cars? Even a number cruncher like Tally admits it’s a little scary, especially since she’ll retire and Katie will go to college at around the same time.

Paying for college has always been a humbling endeavor. The good news: last year students collected $74 billion in financial aid, the most ever. Most families pay less than full freight. Sixty percent of public-university students and three quarters of those at private colleges receive some form of financial aid—mostly, these days, in the form of loans. But those numbers are not as encouraging as they appear for lower-income families, because schools are changing their formulas for distributing aid. Eager to boost their magazine rankings, which are based in part on the test scores of entering freshmen, they’re throwing more aid at smarter kids—whether they need it or not.

The best way to prepare is to start saving early. A new law passed last year makes that easier for some families. ① So-called 529 plans allow parents to sock away funds in federal-tax-free-investment accounts, as long as the money is used for “qualified education expenses” like tuition, room and board. The plans aren’t for everyone. For tax reasons, some lower-and middle-income families may be better off choosing other investments. But saving is vital. When’s the best time to start? “Sometime,” says Jack Joyce of the College Board, “between the maternity ward and middle school.”

Aid packages usually come in some combination of grants, loans and jobs. These days 60 percent of all aid comes in the form of low-interest loans. All students are eligible for “unsubsidized” federal Stafford loans, which let them defer interest payments until after graduation. Students who can demonstrate need can also qualify for federal Perkins loans or “subsidized” Staffords, where the government pays the interest during school. Fortunately, this is a borrower’s market. “Interest rates are at their lowest level in the history of student loans,” says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid. Kantrowitz expects rates to fall even further when they’re reviewed this summer.

Traditional scholarships, academic or athletic, are still a part of many families’ planning. Mack Reiter, a 17-year-old national wrestling champion, gets so many recruiting letters he throws most away. He’ll almost certainly get a free ride. ② Without it, “we would really be in a bind,” says his mother, Janet. For everyone else, it’s worth the effort to pick through local and national scholarship offerings, which can be found on Web sites like collegeboard. com.

注（1）：本文選自Newsweek；

注（2）：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對象為2004年真題Text 2。

1. What does the author intend to illustrate with the example of the Harts?

A) The difficulty of paying the tuition.

B) The far-sight of Katie’s parents.

C) The promising future of Katie.

D) The increasing college tuition.

2. What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A) Some families are too poor to pay the full amount of the tuition.

B) Many parents do not favor the form of loans.

C) Paying the tuition makes the parents feel humble.

D) Those who are in great need may not get what they need.

3. The last paragraph suggests that ______.

A) many recruiting letters failed to provide Mack Reiter with scholarships

B) Mack Reiter wanted to help his family go out of the trouble

C) traditional scholarships are a good solution to the tuition problems in some families

D) Mack Reiter was very proud of his national wrestling championship

4. What does the author mean by “better off”（Lines 4~5, Paragraph 3）?

A) Richer.

B) Wiser.

C) Happier.

D) Luckier.

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A) The Harts prefer a public university to a private one.

B) It is much easier to pay the tuition at present.

C) All students can get the aid package.

D) Traditional scholarships are still attractive to some families.

篇章剖析

本文采用提出問題—分析問題的模式，指出高昂的大學(xué)學(xué)費對很多家庭來說都有些力不從心，并介紹了一些助學(xué)貸款及其他資助項目所起的作用。第一段提出問題，以哈特家為例，說明支付大學(xué)學(xué)費對家庭造成的壓力；第二段指出大多數(shù)家庭支付大學(xué)學(xué)費的方式以及存在的一些問題；第三段指出家庭存錢的作用；第四段指出資助項目的形式；第五段指出傳統(tǒng)獎學(xué)金的吸引力。

詞匯注釋

daunting /?d??nt??/ adj. 使人畏縮的

calculus /?k?lkj?l?s/ n. 微積分學(xué)；結(jié)石

tuition /tju?????n; (US)?tu?-/ n. 學(xué)費

number cruncher 搗弄數(shù)字者；能夠進行復(fù)雜、大量運算的人

boost /bu?st/ v. 推進

sock away 把錢存放起來

be better off （doing something）（做某事是）較為明智的

the College Board 大學(xué)委員會

maternity ward 產(chǎn)科病房

eligible /?el?d??b(?)l/ adj. 符合條件的，合格的

defer /d??f??(r)/ vt. 使推遲，使延期

wrestling /?res(?)l??/ n. 【體】摔跤

in a bind處于困境

難句突破

① So-called 529 plans allow parents to sock away funds in federal-tax-free-investment accounts, as long as the money is used for “qualified education expenses” like tuition, room and board.

主體句式：Plans allow parents to sock away...

結(jié)構(gòu)分析：本句是個條件復(fù)合句。主句是529 plans allow parents to sock away funds，federal-tax-free-investment是一個復(fù)合名詞；as long as引導(dǎo)條件從句，be used for意為“用作某一目的”，like是介詞，意為“例如”，后跟名詞，共同修飾qualified education expenses。

句子譯文：所謂的529方案準許父母把錢存在聯(lián)邦免稅投資賬戶上，但他們所存的錢只能用于支付類似學(xué)費、食宿費等“合乎條件的教育費用”。

② Without it, “we would really be in a bind,”...

結(jié)構(gòu)分析：本句的謂語would be是虛擬語氣，in a bind是固定搭配，意思是“處于困境”。

句子譯文：要不是這樣的話，“我們真的就陷入困境了。”

題目分析

1. A 推理題。本段的末句提到Even a number cruncher like Tally admits it’s a little scary。第二段首句也開門見山地點明觀點Paying for college has always been a humbling endeavor.

2. D 推理題。原文對應(yīng)信息是第二段的最后一句：Eager to boost their magazine rankings, which are based in part on the test scores of entering freshmen, they’re throwing more aid at smarter kids—whether they need it or not.

3. C 推理題?？捎稍摹癟raditional scholarships, academic or athletic, are still a part of many families’ planning.”推測出C無誤。

4. B 語義題。文中提到的方案有助于存錢，但這樣的方案并不適于每一個人，然后給出了其中的一個原因，以此說明對于低收入和中等收入的家庭來講，選擇其他投資方式會比這種方式好。由此可猜出詞義。

5. D 細節(jié)題。選項A意思不準確，文中提到公立大學(xué)和私立大學(xué)的學(xué)費問題，但并沒有表明家長的態(tài)度和傾向；選項B意思不對，文中對應(yīng)信息是第二段；申請貸款并不是無條件的，這是選項C的錯誤所在。

參考譯文

卡蒂的父母記得，卡蒂·哈特13歲就開始一直在談?wù)撋洗髮W(xué)的事。她的母親塔利是俄亥俄大學(xué)的負責給學(xué)生貸款的工作人員，她對大學(xué)教育費用是一個多么令人加速心跳的數(shù)字再熟悉不過了。去年，私立四年制大學(xué)的年平均學(xué)費增長了5.5%，達到了17,000美元以上。哈特家已經(jīng)開始存錢了，估計支付公立大學(xué)的費用不成問題。但是，如果卡蒂要申請普林斯頓大學(xué)的話（她是這樣威脅的），那該怎么辦呢？這樣的大學(xué)一年的學(xué)費和食宿費在2002年大約是34,000美元，這比買幾輛豪華轎車還貴。就連塔利這樣搞數(shù)字工作的人也承認這真讓人有點恐慌，尤其是她即將退休而幾乎與此同時卡蒂要上大學(xué)。

支付大學(xué)費用一直都是讓人難以啟齒的尷尬事。有條好消息：去年學(xué)生獲得的財政資助達740億美元，這比以往獲得的都多。大多數(shù)家庭都不是一次全部付清學(xué)費。60%的公立大學(xué)學(xué)生和四分之三的私立大學(xué)的學(xué)生要接受某種形式的財政資助——現(xiàn)在大多是以貸款的形式發(fā)放。但是這些數(shù)字對于那些低收入家庭來說，并不像它表面上看起來那樣令人鼓舞，因為學(xué)校正在改變它們的資助發(fā)放方案。那些想急于提高其雜志排名的學(xué)?！獙W(xué)校排名在一定程度上取決于入學(xué)新生的成績——把更多的資助給了成績較好的學(xué)生——不管他們是否需要這種資助。

最好的準備辦法就是早點開始存錢。去年通過了一項改善家庭存錢方法的新法令。所謂的529方案準許父母把錢存在聯(lián)邦免稅投資賬戶上，但他們所存的錢只能用于支付類似學(xué)費或食宿費等“合乎條件的教育費用”。這一方案并不適用于每一個人。由于稅收原因，對于那些低收入和中等收入家庭來說，選擇其他的投資是更為明智之選。但是存錢是頭等大事。那么什么時候開始存錢最合適呢？大學(xué)委員會的杰克·喬伊斯說，“從產(chǎn)科病房開始到上中學(xué)這個階段的任何時候。”

一攬子資助計劃通常以助學(xué)金、貸款和兼職相結(jié)合的形式提供?，F(xiàn)在有60%的資助項目是以低息貸款形式提供的。所有學(xué)生都有資格獲得聯(lián)邦“非補貼性”斯塔福德貸款。這種貸款的利息支付可以延期到畢業(yè)以后。經(jīng)濟上確實能證明有困難的學(xué)生還有資格申請聯(lián)邦帕金斯貸款或聯(lián)邦“補貼性”斯塔福德貸款，這種貸款的利息在學(xué)生就讀期間由政府償付。所幸的是，現(xiàn)在是借方市場?！顿Y助》雜志出版商馬克·坎特羅威茨說：“現(xiàn)在的利率是學(xué)生貸款史上最低的。”坎特羅威茨認為，今年夏天進行回顧時，利率可能還要降低。

學(xué)術(shù)或體育類傳統(tǒng)獎學(xué)金仍然是很多家庭計劃的一部分。17歲的邁克·賴特是全國摔跤冠軍，他收到了很多招收信，但大部分信都被他扔到了一邊。他幾乎肯定會獲得全額免費。他的母親珍妮特說，要不是這樣的話，“我們真的就陷入困境了?！睂τ谄渌藖碚f，地方和國家提供的獎學(xué)金值得發(fā)掘。這類獎學(xué)金可以在collegeboard. com等網(wǎng)站上找到。