The U.S. birthrate began to decline in
the middle 1950's, resulting in a smaller College age population starting in the
middle 1970's. Something else happened in the 1970's: the price of oil increased
tremendously, driving up the price of almost everything and making Americans
aware that their large automobiles used a lot of gasoline. At the same time,
foreign car manufacturers had begun to produce small fuel efficient cars in
large quantities for the export market. Suddenly, the large, gas guzzling
American cars were no longer attractive to American buyers, who began buying
foreign cars by the thousands. The American automobile industry went into a
recession. Thousands of automotive workers were laid off, as were thousands of
people in industries indirectly connected with the auto industry. People who are
laid off tend to keep what money they have for necessities, like food and
housing. They do not have the extra money needed to send their children to
college. Their children cannot pay their own college costs, because during a
recession they cannot find jobs. High unemployment means that more state funds
must be used for social service—unemployment benefits and to aid dependent
children, for example—than during more prosperous times. It also means that the
states have fewer funds than usual, because people are paying fewer taxes.
Institutions of higher education depend on two major sources of income to keep
them functioning: tuition from students and funds from the states. At the
present time, there are fewer students than in the past and fewer state funds
available for higher education. The colleges and universities are in
trouble.
单选题
American cars were not popular in their domestic markets because they were ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。从文中“Suddenly, the large, gas guzzling American cars were no longer attractive to American buyers, who began buying foreign cars by the thousands.”可知美国汽车又大又耗油，对美国消费者已没有吸引力了。文章中还说，外国汽车生产商们开始大规模生产一些省燃料的小型汽车用于出口，美国人开始批量购买外国汽车。所有这些，都可推出B正确。
单选题
The colleges and universities were in trouble because of the following masons EXCEPT that ______.