A young woman goes to university and earns a degree in religious and women's studies. In the process she piles up some $ 100,000 in student-loan debt. Upon graduation, she cannot find a job in her field and struggles to pay her bills. An example of unwise decision-making perhaps, but is it also proof of a long-debated bubble in American higher education? It is for Glenn Reynolds, the productive blogger, law professor and author of a new book, "The New School". With tuition costs rising much faster than inflation, Americans are taking on record amounts of debt over $1 trillion by 2013—to fund their education. Many are finding that their job prospects do not justify the investment. Whereas a university degree once meant automatic entry into the middle class, it now comes with no such guarantee. But is higher education as bad a deal as Mr. Reynolds makes it out to be? "Some people are graduating with debts of $100,000 or more," he says, "sometimes much more." Most are not, though. The average graduate holds student-loan debt of $29,400, a number not found in this book. College Board, a non-profit organisation, finds that the median earnings of university graduates emerging from four-year courses and without a further degree, such as a master's, are 65% higher over their lifetimes than those of high-school graduates. Short on numbers, the book contributes little to the bubble debate. But Mr. Reynolds puts forward criticism of American universities that will ring true to anyone who has attended one recently. Universities can help people make money in three ways: by teaching them skills, giving them credentials that employers want and providing access to a valuable social network. Some studies have shown that university students fail to learn much of anything. Acquiring skills, of course, can be quite expensive. Prices should not continue going up forever, so new thinking is needed. The web provides one way forward, and although Mr. Reynolds is doubtful about the ability of colleges to reinvent themselves, some are catching on. Take the Georgia Institute of Technology, which has joined up with Udacity, an online educator, to offer a master's degree in computer science for $ 7,000. "It's a real, accredited degree," says Mr. Reynolds, "just like the ones that cost six times as much if earned on campus."

单选题 The example of a young woman in the opening paragraph is to show ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：第一段的最后一句体现出前面提到a young woman的目的，其中的“an example of unwise decision—making”容易让人误选C作为答案，但要注意的是文章中提到的but一词之后才是重点，故重点是下文的higher education，而由此也容易让人误选A作为答案。A和B两项都提到了关键词education，选项A强调的是“高等教育的失败”，选项B强调“教育负债状况"，根据上文的student-loan debt以及第二段出现的debt我们可以知道，本文讨论的话题是education debt，而不是failure of higher education，从而我们排除了选项A，答案为选项B。

单选题 Many Americans are finding that ______.

单选题 We can learn from Paragraph 3 that ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：选项A对应第三段第二句：Some people are graduating with debts of $100,000 or more.原文提到的是“some people”，而不是该项提到的“most graduates”，故该项错误。选项B和C对应最后一句：the median earnings of university graduates emerging from four-year courses and without a further degree，such as a master's，are 65％ higher over their lifetimes than those of high-school graduates. 该句大意为：大学毕业生的终生平均收入比高中毕业生高65％。由此可见选项B，salaries have nothing to do with educational background(工资水平与教育背景没有关系)错误，选项C，generally speaking，one with higher education earns more(一般来讲，教育水平越高收入越高)正确。选项D未提及。

单选题 Mr. Reynolds' attitude towards American universities seems ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：根据题干中的“Mr. Reynolds”，“American universities”以及出题顺序，我们都可以定位到第四段。该段第二句指出：But Mr. Reynolds puts forward criticism of American universities that will ring true to anyone who has attended one recently. 其中根据“puts forward criticism(提出批评)”可以明确Reynolds的态度是否定的，选项B，enthusiastic(热情的)和选项C，supportive(支持的)可以先排除。选项A，suspicious(怀疑的)和选项D，prejudiced(有偏见的)两个选项中，与“criticism批评”更接近的是选项A。我们在第五段的第三行可以找到更明确的一句话：Reynolds is doubtful about the ability of colleges… 其中，“doubtful”=“suspicious”，故该题答案为选项A。

单选题 We can conclude from the last paragraph that ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：选项A说“获得技术的价格对很多学生来说难以负担”，是对最后一段第一句的夸大，原文仅仅表达了“价格的昂贵”。选项B说“学习技术的价格会不断上涨”，是对原文“prices should not continue going up forever”的主观臆断。选项C夸大了原文中“Mr. Reynolds is doubtful about the ability of colleges to reinvent themselves”的意思，原文只表明Mr. Reynolds个人的怀疑。最后一句提到：It's a real, accredited degree, says Mr. Reynolds, just like the ones that cost six times as much if earned on campus. 其中的“cost six times as much if earned on campus”表明在线教育比上大学更便宜，即选项D，online education may save a lot of money for some students(在线教育可以为学生省下一大笔钱)是正确的。