Britain's private schools are one of its most successful exports. The children of the well-heeled flock to them, whether from China, Nigeria or Russia: the number of foreign pupils rose by 1. 4% in the last year alone. One headmaster recently asked a room full of pupils whether they flew business class to Britain. Only a few hands went up, suggesting they were not quite as spoiled as he had thought. Then a boy explained; many of the pupils fly first class instead. Yet foreign students, whether educated in British private schools or elsewhere, are decreasingly likely to go to English universities. According to the Higher Education Funding Council for England, 307,200 overseas students began their studies in the country in 2012-2013, down from 312,000 two years earlier and the first drop in 29 years. Student numbers from the rest of the EU fell—probably a result of the increase in annual tuition fees in England from 6,000 a year to 9,000. But arrivals from India and Pakistan declined most sharply. In contrast to the visa regime for private schools, which is extremely lax (the Home Office counts private schools as favoured sponsors) , student visas have been tightened. Foreign students used to be allowed to work for up to two years after graduating. They now have only four months to find a job paying upwards of 20,600 if they want to stay in Britain. This change was intended to deal with sham colleges that were in effect offering two-year work visas. But it seems to have put off serious students too. Nick Hillman of the Higher Education Policy Institute says the government has sent unclear messages about the sort of immigration it wants to restrict. An emphasis on holding down net immigration influences young Indians and Pakistanis in particular. Australia and America, which have more relaxed entry criteria for students, are becoming more favoured destinations. Colin Riordan, Cardiff University's vice-chancellor, adds that Britain's student-visa regime has become more strict and difficult. As a result, Britain is losing out to other countries in the contest for talent—an oddity, given how often the prime minister bangs on about the " global race". Its unwelcoming standpoint will harm its long-term prospects. And the drift of foreign students from leading British private schools to American colleges may have another, somewhat happier, consequence: America might become rather better at cricket.
单选题
It can be learned from Paragraph 1 that______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：推理题。[A]many foreign students are from wealthy families“许多留学生来自富裕家庭”；第一段第二句提到：The children of the well-heeled flock to them…其中well-heeled表示“富裕的”：该段最后一句提到：many of the pupils fly first class instead．“许多学生都坐头等舱。”该句也暗示了许多留学生家境富裕。故该项表述正确。[B]most students in the class are not spoiled at home“班上大多数学生在家里没有被宠坏”：最后两句提到：Only a few hands went up，suggesting they were not quite as spoiled as he had thought．Then a boy explained：many of the pupils fly first class instead．大意是：只有少数学生乘坐商务舱，大多数学生乘坐头等舱。暗示这些学生家境富裕而且备受宠爱，故该项表述与文章不符。[C]those who flew business class are from poor families“那些坐商务舱的学生来自贫困家庭”；该项纯属无中生有。[D]Britain has the world’s most successful private schools“英国拥有世界上最成功的私立学校”：文章首句说：Britain’s private schools are one of its most successful exports．原文说英国私立学校是其最成功的“出口商品”之一，并没有说英国私立学校是世界上最成功的，该项属于偷换概念。综上，本题答案为[A]。
单选题
The number of foreign students in Britain is decreasing possibly due to______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据foreign students，Britain，decreasing等关键词定位到第二段首句：Yet foreign students，whether educated in British private schools or elsewhere，are decreasingly likely to go to English universities．而题目问的是原因，因此要注意本段体现因果关系的句子，该段整段都在举例说明英国留学生数量减少，down，drop，fell，declined都是关键词提示。而涉及因果的句子只有倒数第二句中的a result of一词，句中a result of=due to；probably=possibly：故该句为答案句：Student numbers from the rest of the EU fell--probably a result of the increase in annual tuition fees in England from 6，000 a year to 9，000．答案关键为increase in annual tuition fees“每年学费上涨”。选项[A]the increase of living cost“生活成本增加”；[B]the rising cost of schooling“教育成本增加”；[C]the impact of financial crisis“金融危机的影响”；[D]the decrease of tuition subsidy“学费补助减少”。与答案句同义替换的选项为[B]。其中，cost of schooling“教育成本”=tuition fees“学费”；rising“上涨”=increase“增加”。
单选题
Compared with the student visa, the visa for private schools is______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据student visa，visa for private schools等词定位到第三段首句：In contrast to the visa regime for private schools，which is extremely lax(the Home Office counts private schools as favoured sponsors)，student visas have been tightened．其中，答案句为private schools，which is extremely lax，关键词为extremely lax“极其宽松”。选项[A]fairly difficult“相当困难”；[B]extremely strict“极其严格”；[C]surprisingly loose“出乎意料的宽松”；[D]extraordinarily similar“极度相似”。四个选项中，选项[C]的loose=lax，为同义替换关系。故本题选择[C]。
单选题
The policy for foreign students has changed in order to______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：细节题。题干the policy for foreign students涉及的内容来自第三段后两句，题干has changed等于第四段首句的change，故答案句来自该句：This change was intended to deal with sham colleges that were in effect offering two-year work visas．其中intended to=题干in order to，故答案为deal with sham colleges“应对冒牌大学”。选项[A]attract more talents“吸引更多人才”；[B]restrict immigration“限制移民”；[C]protect local students“保护当地学生”；[D]reply to fake colleges“应对冒牌大学”。与答案句同义替换的选项为[D]。其中，reply to“回应，应对”=deal with“处理，应对”：fake colleges“冒牌大学”=sham colleges“冒牌大学”。
单选题
The author holds that Britain's current student-visa regime may______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：观点题。题干Britain’s current student-visa regime对应第四段尾句，而第五段体现作者观点，强调英国当前的学生签证制度带来的结果，故答案锁定第五段。选项[A]deprive the country of foreign elites“使国家失去外国精英”；该项对应首句：As a result，Britain is losing out to other countries in the contest for talent…其中talent强调的是文章讨论的“留学生”，即“外国人才”。该项的deprive=lose；elites=talent；故该项表达正确。[B]lose both domestic and foreign talents“失去国内外人才”；该项错在domestic“国内的”一词，文章从头到尾都在讨论留学生，从没有提到本国的人才，故该项错误。[C]harm its long-term economic prospects“不利于长远经济前景”：原文第二句提到harm its long-term prospects，该项多出economic一词，属于偷换概念。[D]lose its advantage in sports competition“在体育比赛中失去优势”；该项与最后一句有关，文章提到cricket“板球”运动，该项变成sports competition“体育比赛”，属于明显的夸大范围。综上，本题选择[A]。