单选题 When Oxford University raised the idea of establishing a business school six years ago, outraged Ionians unleashed (发起，释放) volleys of Ciceronian oratory, arguing that the groves of academe should be out of bounds to commerce. How times have changed. Frustrated by the British government's reluctance to let the university charge red-world tuition fees, demoralized by mounting charges of elitism, with research and teaching stifled by inadequate state subsidies, the dons are realizing that capitalism might just be the key to their future. At the traditional 800-year-old institution, increasing numbers of them are calling for their university to be privatized.
That's a hugely controversial proposal in a country that still clings fiercely to the ideal of providing a free, state-funded education to anyone who merits it. Prime Minister Tony Blair wants 50 percent of Britain's under-30s in full-time education by 2000, and given his no new-taxes style, universities suspect they'll be responsible for finding a large proportion of the $ 15 million that will cost. Already Oxford is having trouble paying salaries sufficient to attract top teachers; a full-time Professor gets $ 68 400--roughly half the salaries of their U. S. counterparts. For Oxford, long the global epitome(缩影) of top-drawer education, the question is whether the university's days as a bastion(堡垒) of world-class excellence might be over.
Lately the issue seems to have taken on a new urgency. Newspapers reported mini-scandal just last week that a 19-year: old deaf student, Anastasia Fedotova, failed to win place despite high exam scores. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown criticized the admissions system as "more reminiscent of the old-boy network.., than genuine justice in our society". This highlighted just how vulnerable Oxford remains to charges of elitism.
"More and more people are saying the only solution is independence," says classics professor Richard Jenkyns. In the end, Oxford may be hoping for some in-between solution. Since 1998 it has been pumping funds into a private company called ISIS Innovation, set up to commercialize researchers' discoveries. Of a total of 28 fledging spin-offs, all are still in business. While big payoffs are still a long way off, "that could quickly change", says managing director Tim Cook," if one of them hits the jackpot." More immediately, Oxford bigwigs report that permission to charge the full cost of tuition will almost certainly be given in government report due this November. Oxford still isn't likely to let business interests run wild over its hallowed greensward. But it is learning that the academic freedom it so prizes can be preserved only at a price.

单选题 We can learn from the passage that ______.

A. Oxford University will gradually become a private university like Harvard
B. Oxford University is beginning to think of commercial ways to collect money
C. the only solution to Oxford University's problems is being independent
D. the British government will offer Oxford University more subsidies

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 由题干We can learn from the passage that定位到全文。[精解] 推断题。第一段第一句提到，牛津大学6年前提出创办商业学校这一想法时，遭到很多牛津人的反对，最后一段又说到，牛津大学试图用商业的方式获取资金，因此，B)论述符合本文内容。[避错]文章第二段最后一句提到，越来越多的人呼吁将牛津大学私有化，也就是说让企业掌管大学。但从最后——段可知(倒数第二句)，牛津大学还不可能让企业在这个神圣的殿堂插手，A)不对；况且本文没有说Hazard是私立大学。从最后一段前两句可知，越来越多的人认为保持独立是解决牛津大学存在的问题的唯一办法，但牛津大学认为应该寻求一种中间的办法，也就是说，独立不是唯一也不是最好的办法，C)和原文不符；第二段第二句提到，大学需要支付开销中的大部分，也就是说政府补贴很少，所以D)也不对。

单选题 The major reason for Oxford University's lack of funding is that ______.

A. the idea of building of a business school has been rejected by the teachers
B. the government is reluctant to let it charge the students high tuition fees
C. it has to pay sufficient salaries to attract top teachers
D. the government can't afford the high research subsidies

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 由题干The major reason for Oxford University's lack of funding定位到原文第一段第二句和第三句How times have changed．Frustrated by the British government's reluctance to let the university charge red-world tuition fees，demoralized by mounting charges of elitism，with research and teaching stifled by inadequate state subsidies，the dons are realizing that capitalism might just be the key to their future．[精解] 细节题。文章第一段提到了牛津大学面临的资金短缺原因，政府不愿让该大学收学费。接着第二段提到了其中的原因：英国政府认为应该提供免费的教育，但是政府对大学的资助很少，大部分费用要大学自己解决，而同时政府又不让收费，这就导致了牛津大学的资金短缺问题。所以，牛津大学资金短缺的主要原因是B)。[避错]A)是解决资金短缺的一个想法；C)只是牛津大学开销的一个部分；D)表述不确切，政府不是支付不起高额的研究补助金，而是不愿支付，需要学校自己解决。

单选题 When mentioning the attitude of Prime Minister Tony Blair, some universities worry ______.

A. the future orientation of universities
B. the financial problems of universities
C. the influence of government's policy on universities
D. the purity of universities in its field of academe research

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 由题干Prime Minister Tony Blair定位到原文第二段第二句Prime Minister Tony Blair wants 50 percent of Britain's under-30s in fulltime education by 2006, and given his no new-taxes style，universities suspect they'll be responsible for finding a large proportion of the $15 million that will cost．[精解] 细节题。本题针对这个难句出题，布莱尔要想让一般的年轻人上学，又不加税(言外之意是不给大学额外的补贴)，因此大学就面临经济问题。“given”是“考虑到”的意思，故选B)。[避错]即A)“大学未来的方向”、C)“政府的政策对影响大学”和D)“大学在其领域的学术研究的单纯性”都只是文章中的细节，但不能回答题干，所问非所答。

单选题 The example that Anastasia Fedotova was rejected by Oxford University illustrates that the university ______.

A. has taken on a new urgency
B. holds a strong discrimination against the disabled
C. is in favor of a network of older applicants
D. puts too much emphasis on elitism

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 由题干The example that Anastasia Fedotova was rejected by Oxford University illustrates定位到原文第三段后两句Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown criticized the admissions system as "more reminiscent of the old-boy network．．．than genuine justice in our society．”This highlighted just how vulnerable Oxford remains to charges of elitism．[精解] 推断题。第三段提到了一位名叫Anatasia Fedotova的聋人学生被牛津大学拒绝的例子。本段最后两句说，这说明社会缺乏真正的公正，牛津大学的那种高人一等的优越感依然存在。这表明牛津大学的招生制度不完善，它过分强调自己的优越感。第一段也提到牛津大学那种高人一等的优越感遭到指责，所以这个事例表明了D)。[避错]A)和本段第一句不符，原文说这个问题(牛津大学的优越感)而非牛津大学更加紧迫；B)以偏概全；C)曲解了原文。

单选题 The phrase "hits the jackpot" (Line 6, Para. 4) probably means"______".

A. get out of business suddenly
B. be discovered accidentally by foresighted businessman
C. make a lot of money unexpectedly
D. prove to be very useful in daily life by chance

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 由原文“hits the jackpot”(Line 5，Para．4) probably means定位到原文最后一段第三、四、五句Since 1998 it has been pumping funds into a private company called ISIS Innovation，set up to commercialize researchers' discoveries．Of a total of 28 fledging spin-offs，all are still in business． While big payoff are still a long way off，“that could quickly change”，says managing director Tim Cook，“if one of them hits the jackpot．”[精解] 语义题。该短语出现在最后一段，其含义可以通过上文来加以理解。前文说，牛津大学创办了一家公司，这样研究者的成果可以商业化，从而解决费用问题。接着本短语所在的句子说，虽然要解决巨额的工资问题还要很长时间，但是如果其中的一个项目hits the jackpot，那么这种状况很快就会有改观，(即工资问题可以得到一定的解决，这就说明有了一笔资金，hit the jackpot在此处的意思应该和钱有关，所以答案C)“意外获得一大笔钱”是正确答案。[避错]A)“突然脱离商业”、B)“被国外商人偶然发现”和D)“偶然被证明在日常生活中非常有用”，均不符合题意。