2019年英语一阅读理解Text2

第一段

Grade inflation--the gradual increase in average GPAs(grade-point averages) over the past few decades—is often considered a product of a consumer era in higher education, in which students are treated like customers to be pleased. But another, related force—a policy often buried deep in course catalogs called “grade forgiveness”—is helping raise GPAs.

单词&词组

1. inflation  n. 膨胀，通货膨胀

2. grade-point average  平均学分绩点

3. please  v. 使满意，使愉快

4. forgiveness  n. 宽恕，宽仁之心

本段翻译

年级膨胀——在过去几十年里，平均GPA（平均成绩）的逐渐增加，通常被认为是高等教育消费时代的产物，在这个时代，学生们被当作顾客来对待。但另一个与此相关的力量——一个经常被深藏在课程目录中的政策——正在帮助提高GPA。

第二段

Grade forgiveness allows students to retake a course in which they received a low grade, and the most recent grade or the highest grade is the only one that counts in calculating a student’s overall GPA.

单词&词组

1. retake  v. 重（考），重学（课程等）

本段翻译

分数宽恕允许学生重修他们得到低分的课程，而最新的分数或最高的分数是计算学生整体GPA的唯一因素。

第三段

The use of this little-known practice has accelerated in recent years, as colleges continue to do their utmost to keep students in school (and paying tuition) and improve their graduation rates. When this practice first started decades ago, it was usually limited to freshmen, to give them a second chance to take a class in their first year if they struggled in their transition to college-level courses. But now most colleges save for many selective campuses, allow all undergraduates, and even graduate students, to get their low grades forgiven.

单词&词组

1. practice  n. 通常的做法，惯例，常规

2. accelerate  v. （使）加速，加快

3. do their utmost  尽全力，竭力

4. struggle  v. 艰难地行进，吃力地进行

5. transition  n. 过渡

6. selective  a. 严格筛选的

7. undergraduate  n. 大学本科生

本段翻译

近年来，随着各大学继续尽最大努力让学生留在学校（并支付学费）并提高他们的毕业率，这种鲜为人知的做法的使用已经加速。几十年前这种做法刚开始时，通常只限于新生，如果他们在向大学课程过渡的过程中遇到困难，就给他们第二次机会在第一年上课。但是现在大多数大学都保留了许多选择性的校园，允许所有的本科生，甚至是研究生，可以原谅他们的低分数。

第四段

College officials tend to emphasize that the goal of grade forgiveness is less about the grade itself and more about encouraging students to retake courses critical to their degree program and graduation without incurring a big penalty. “Untimely,” said Jack Miner, Ohio State University’s registrar,“we see students achieve more success because they retake a course and do better in subsequent contents or master the content that allows them to graduate on time.”

单词&词组

1. program  n. 计划，方案，课程

2. incur  v. 招致，蒙受

3. penalty  n. （由行为、处境等造成的）不利后果，损失

4. registrar  n. 教务主任

5. subsequent  a. 随后的，后来的

本段翻译

大学官员往往强调，年级宽恕的目标不是年级本身，而是鼓励学生重修对学位课程和毕业至关重要的课程，而不必受到大的惩罚。俄亥俄州立大学的注册官杰克·米纳说：“不合时宜，我们看到学生们取得了更多的成功，因为他们重修了一门课程，在后续的内容上做得更好，或者掌握了让他们能够按时毕业的内容。”

第五段

That said, there is a way in which grade forgiveness satisfies colleges’ own needs as well. For public institutions, state funds are sometimes tied partly to their success on metrics such as graduation rates and student retention—so better grades can, by boosting figures like those, mean more money. And anything that raises GPAs will likely make students—who, at the end of the day, are paying the bill—feel they’ve gotten a better value for their tuition dollars, which is another big concern for colleges.

单词&词组

1. tie  v. 连接，联合，使紧密结合

2. metric  n. 衡量标准，［数］度量

3. retention  n. 保留

4. boost  v. 推动，提高，增强

5. mean  v. 产生……结果，意味着

6. at the end of the day  最终，到头来，不管怎么说

本段翻译

也就是说，分数宽恕也有一种方式可以满足大学自身的需要。对于公共机构来说，国家基金有时与它们在毕业率和学生留校率等指标上的成功有一定的联系，因此，通过提高这些数据，提高成绩意味着更多的钱。任何提高平均成绩的举措都可能会让那些最终买单的学生觉得自己的学费得到了更好的回报，这也是大学的另一大担忧。

第六段

Indeed, grade forgiveness is just another way that universities are responding to consumers’ expectations for higher education. Since students and parents expect a college degree to lead a job, it is in the best interest of a school to turn out graduates who are as qualified as possible—or at least appear to be. On this, students’ and colleges’ incentives seem to be aligned.

单词&词组

1. turn out  生产，制造

2. incentive  n. 动机

本段翻译

事实上，分数豁免只是大学回应消费者对高等教育期望的另一种方式。既然学生和家长都希望大学文凭能引领工作，那么培养出尽可能合格或至少看起来合格的毕业生才是学校的最大利益所在。在这一点上，学生和大学的激励似乎是一致的。

五道题

26. What is commonly regarded as the cause of grade inflation?

[A] The change of course catalogs.

[B] Students’ indifference to GPAS.

[C] Colleges’ neglect of GPAS.

[D] The influence of consumer culture.

27. What was the original purpose of grade forgiveness?

[A] To help freshmen adapt to college learning.

[B] To maintain colleges’ graduation rates.

[C] To prepare graduates for a challenging future.

[D] To increase universities’ income from tuition.

28. According to Paragraph 5, grade forgiveness enable colleges to_____.

[A] obtain more financial support

[B] boost their student enrollments

[C] improve their teaching quality

[D] meet local governments’ needs

29. What does the phrase “to be aligned”(Para.6) most probably mean?

[A] To counterbalance each other.

[B] To complement each other.

[C] To be identical with each other.

[D] To be contradictory to each other.

30. The author examines the practice of grade forgiveness by_____.

[A] assessing its feasibility

[B] analyzing the causes behind it

[C] comparing different views on it

[D] listing its long-run effects

参考答案

DAACB

答案解析

26、细节题。根据题干中的关键词grade inflation 可以定位到首段第一句，题干中的be regarded as对应原文中的is considered，题干中的the cause of（接结果）与原文中的a product of （前边接结果）都表示因果关系。选项[D]中consumer是原文中的复现。

27、细节题。根据题干中的关键词，定位到文章的第二段，但是第二段讲的是grade forgiveness具体是什么，并没有提及它的目的，第三段首句中this little-known practice指的就是grade forgiveness。而且题干中的the original purpose对应原文中的在第三段第二句话: “it was usually limited to freshmen, to give them a second chance to take a class in their first year if they struggled in their transition to college-level courses.”选项A中的freshmen是原词复现，help是对应原文中的give them a second chance，adapt to对应原文中的struggled in their transition to，college learning对应原文中的college-level courses。因此答案为A。

28、细节题。根据题干中的关键词paragraph 5，grade forgiveness和colleges定位到第五段第一句，即grade forgiveness能够满足学生的需求，但是对应选项并没有对应的答案，所以接着往下看，提到了国家基金与他们的成功有关，得到更好地分数意为这拿到更多的钱。选项A中的financial support指的就是state funds。因此答案为A。

29、词义题。根据题干，定位到第六段最后一句：“On this, students’ and colleges’ incentives seem to be aligned.”This指代的是前一句话，即：因为学生和家长都希望通过大学学历来找工作，所以学校的最佳利益是尽可能地把学生培养成有能力胜任的人，或者至少看起来是那样。由此可以的出学生和学校的目标是一致的，选项[C]中的be identical with表示的是与…相同，因此答案为C。

30、主旨题。题干的字面意思是作者是通过什么样的方式来检验grade forgiveness的实践操作。阅读每段的段落大意句，可以得出作者主要是通过说明grade forgiveness的背后原因。因此答案为[B]。