Question

When next year’s crop of high-school graduates arrive at Oxford University in the fall of 2009, they’ll be joined by a new face; Andrew Hamilton, the 55-year-old provost (教務長) of Yale, who’ll become Oxford’s vice-chancellor—a position equivalent to university president in America.

　　Hamilton isn’t the only educator crossing the Atlantic. Schools in France, Egypt, Singapore, etc, have also recently made top-level hires from abroad. Higher education has become a big and competitive business nowadays, and like so many businesses, it’s gone global. Yet the talent flow isn’t universal. High-level personnel tend to head in only one direction: outward from America.

　　The chief reason is that American schools don’t tend to seriously consider looking abroad. For example, when the board of the University of Colorado searched for a new president, it wanted a leader familiar with the state government, a major source of the university’s budget. “We didn’t do any global consideration,” says Patricia Hayes, the board’s chair. The board ultimately picked Bruce Benson, a 69-year-old Colorado businessman and political activist (活動家) who is likely to do well in the main task of modern university presidents: fund-raising. Fund-raising is a distinctively American thing, since U.S. schools rely heavily on donations. The fund-raising ability is largely a product of experience and necessity.

　　Many European universities, meanwhile, are still mostly dependent on government funding. But government support has failed to keep pace with rising student number. The decline in government support has made funding-raising an increasing necessary ability among administrators and has hiring committees hungry for Americans.

　　In the past few years, prominent schools around the world have joined the trend. In 2003, when Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard, another former Yale provost, as its vice-chancellor, the university publicly stressed that in her previous job she had overseen “a major strengthening of Yale’s financial position.”

　　Of course, fund-raising isn’t the only skill outsiders offer. The globalization of education means more universities will be seeking heads with international experience of some kind of promote international programs and attract a global student body. Foreigners can offer a fresh perspective on established practices.

1.What is the current trend in higher education discussed in the passage?

A.Institutions worldwide are hiring administrators from the U.S.

B.A lot of political activists are being recruited as administrators.

C.American universities are enrolling more international students.

D.University presidents are paying more attention to funding-raising.

2.What is the chief consideration of American universities when hiring top-level administrators?

A.The political correctness.

B.Their ability to raise funds.

C.Their fame in academic circles.

D.Their administrative experience.

3.What do we learn about European universities from the passage?

A.The tuitions they charge have been rising considerably.

B.Their operation is under strict government supervision.

C.They are strengthening their position by globalization.

D.Most of their revenues come from the government.

4.Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard as its vice-chancellor chiefly because _____.

A.she was known to be good at raising money

B.she could help strengthen its ties with Yale

C.she knew how to attract students overseas

D.she had boosted Yale’s academic status

5.In what way do top-level administrators from abroad contribute to university development?

A.They can enhance the university’s image.

B.They will bring with them more international faculty.

C.They will view a lot of things from a new perspective.

D.They can set up new academic disciplines.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.A

5.C

【解析】

試題分析：文章大意：牛津大學將聘請安德魯。漢密爾頓，高等教育已成為極具競爭力的商業行為，并且日漸國際化。但是人才的流動主要來自于美國。其主要原因是許多學校并不真地想從國外引進人才。還有籌措資金的能力在很大程度上依靠經驗，也是美國校長必須具備的能力。與此同時，很多歐洲大學仍然依靠政府投入。

1.事實細節題。根據題干中the current trend in higher education，定位答案在第二段最后兩句。根據這兩句話Yet the talent flow isn't universal. High-level personnel tend to head in only one direction: outward from America. 如今，高等教育已成為極具競爭力的商業行為，并且日漸國際化。但是人才的流動并不是世界性的。高層的管理人員往往來自一個地方：美國。選項A意思與之相近，故選擇A。

2.語義理解題。根據題干中the chief consideration，定位答案在第三段第三段。在第三段The board ultimately picked Bruce Benson, a 69-year-old Colorado businessman and political activist who is likely to excel at the main task of modern university presidents: fund-raising。選項B中的raise funds表示"籌款"。答案為B選項。

3.語義理解題。根據題干European universities，答案可定位在第四段第一、二句。根據第四段第一、二句Many European universities are still mostly dependent on government funding. But government support has failed to keep pace with rising student number。即很多歐洲大學仍然依靠政府投入。而政府的投入卻沒能跟上不斷擴大的學生規模。因此可知學校的大部分資金來源于政府，故選擇D選項。

4.事實細節題。根據題干中的Alison Richard as its vice-chancellor，答案可定位在第五段第二句。根據the university publicly stressed that in her previous job she had overseen " a major strengthening of Yale's financial position."，學校公開強調艾莉森之前的工作確保了"耶魯大學財政狀況良好"。由此可知她有很強的籌措資金的能力，故選A選項。

5.語義理解題。根據題干top-level administrators from abroad contribute to university development答案定位在末段末句。該句Foreigners can offer a fresh perspective on established practices，告訴讀者外國人能夠給學校業已成立的體系帶來新的活力。此意與C選項的意思相近，故選C選項。

考點：考查教育類短文