Teachers grumble over pay everywhere,
but in West Virginia Wesleyan College the anger is acute. Salaries here have
barely moved since 2000, and the average assistant professor's pay has fallen
below that at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. On a
campus with just 86 full-time faculty, a sociology professor said, a few hundred
thousand dollars more spent on teaching could make a real difference.
Wesleyan President William Haden says the college plans to raise faculty
pay. But he says Wesleyan is nothing without students -- "they vote with their
feet" -- and the college has no choice but to address their wants and needs. He
says technology has been a big part of that, and some recent graduates agree
that it's valuable -- though maybe not essential. Daniel Simmons, a 1999
graduate and also a middle-school teacher, praised the technology program. "If I
had gone to another school it wouldn't have been available to me," he said. "It
was very convenient and it was top of the line." But as with the
faculty, the quality of human instructors is a big concern among Wesleyan
alumni. "A little bit more money should have been put into keeping people," said
Evan Keeling, a 2002 graduate now pursuing a doctorate at the University of
Virginia. He found the quality in the classroom uneven, and, notably, neither he
nor the Daniel Simmons came to Wesleyan because of technology. The program was a
bonus, not the primary draw. Skinner, the director of admission and financial
planning, acknowledged that seems widely true. Prospective students pay more
attention to more tangible signs of growth. "It did open some doors for us, but
would I have liked to have had a new residence hall or recreational facility? I
probably would have preferred that," Skinner said. His daily. struggle remains
filling the freshman class, which may be down 50 people or more this year, due
to changes in government financial aid programs and the shuttering of the
nursing program. The college still accepts about 80 percent of its applicants,
and no longer requires online applications. Haden acknowledges
that, with the benefit of hindsight, he might have handled details of how the
program was financed differently. But he makes no apologies for taking bold
steps which he says have indeed set Wesleyan apart. "We needed to make a
statement about our commitment to technology and our belief that it would
enhance the quality of education and the preparation of our students," he said.
"And I'm still believing that."
单选题
Faculties in Wesleyan have lower salaries mainly because the college
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】本题问卫斯理安学院的教职员工薪水较低的主要原因。第一段“…a few hundred thousand dollars more spent on teaching could make a real difference”中表明在教学上多花几十万美元就会有很不相同的结果，由第二段也可知由于不得不满足学生对technology的要求，Wesleyan未能实行提高教师薪水的计划，故A项“在科技上投入过多”正确。做此题的关键在于把握好全文的中心思想。纵观全文，作者主要讨论该学院实施科技计划的利弊，教师的薪水较低实际上正是实施科技计划的结果。解题时要把握这样一个基本思路：符合中心思想的容易是答案，而与主题无关的细节则不太可能是答案。
[B]为了取得有形的增长而花费过多：由第三段“Prospective students pay more attention to more tangible signs of growth．”可知，关注有形的发展的是那些可能来就读的大学生，学校并未在这方面花费太多。实际上“tangible growth”是与“technology program”是两个对立的东西，该学院正是为了实施科技计划，所以没有经费投入有形的发展。
[C]没能吸引足够的学生来就读：学生可能减少是因为政府改变了财政补贴计划以及学校停开了护理课，学生减少是将要发生的事，并非是教职员工薪水较低的原因。
[D]没能得到足够的政府财政支持：由第三段倒数第二句“…down 50 people or more this year，due to changes in government financial aid programs”可知这是学生减少的原因。可以看出，本项仅是文中具体的细枝末节，作者无意讨论政府的财政支持对教职员工薪水的影响。
单选题
By "they vote with their feet" (Line 2, Paragraph 2), the author means that the students
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】本题问作者提到“以脚投票”意味着学生……。第二段第二句指出没有了学生Wesleyan就办不下去。学院不得不满足学生的要求。由此可推出，破折号间的句子应当是说如果要求得不到满足，即学生就会不来入学(即不会选择Wesleyan)。故C项“会因为对学院的不满而不选择卫斯理安”正确。实际上“vote with one's feet”意为：(以离开及进人某处)以表达意见。
[A]自己选出校长、[B]选举校长时起到决定性作用：歪曲了文意，文章未提及由学生选举校长的事情。这两个选项利用了“vote(选举)”的字面意思来干扰考生。因此，做这种类型的题时，应该结合上下文进行理解，不要望文生义。
[D]需求满足不了时会拒交学费：由第二段第二句中“Wesleyan is nothing without students”可知这里讨论的是如果招不到学生，那学校就办不下去。可见这里的学生是指潜在的生源。而此项明显是针对在校学生而言，故错误。实际上仔细分析此项，会发现本项内容比较肤浅，一般来说，比较肤浅的选项不太可能是解。
单选题
The quotation of Skinner's words(Lines 7--8, Paragraph 3) is used to show that
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】本题问引用Skinner的话是为了表明什么。第三段“Prospective students pay more attention to more tangible signs of growth．．．but would I have liked to have had a new residence hall or recreational facility?．．．”，这里划线部分用虚拟语气，隐含了“假如我是学生”这个虚拟的条件，可以看出Skinner更偏向于有形的发展，而且 Skinner的话也是支持“The program was a bonus，not the primary draw”这一说法，因此B项“对学生而言技术计划并不那么吸引人”正确。
[A]Wesleyan需要改善陈旧的学校设施：Skinner的话表明学生更注重有形的增长，这只是说(相对科技计划)有形的增长更能吸引学生。并不是说Wesleyan设施陈旧，需要改善。请注意做这种目的题更要贴近中心思想，作者显然无意讨论Wesleyan设施的好坏，因此本项仅是针对原文字面(residence hall or recreational facility)的肤浅理解，不太可能是正确选项。
[C]有远见的学生更注重明显的增长：是对“Prospective students pay more attention to more tangible signs of growth．”(可能来就读的学生更注重有形的增长)的错误理解。
[D] Skinner更偏爱优良的设施：是对Skinner的话的表面理解，不是这句话的实际意义。
单选题
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】本题问根据文章哪项正确。第三段倒数第二句提到“down 50 people or more this year，due to…the shuttering of the nursing program”，可以看出招生数量减少原因之一是停开护理课。故C项“取消护理课妨碍了学校的招生”正确。
[A]在卫斯里安真正重要的不是学生的需要而是老师的需要：卫斯理安的院长认为学生的需求对学校至关重要。文中虽谈到有些人质疑他的科技计划，有些人认为应给老师加薪，但并没有质疑满足学生需求的重要性，更没有说老师需求比学生重要。
[B]该科技计划为能力强的新生提供奖学金：第三段中提到“The program was a bonus，not the primary draw”是为了表明科技计划并不是吸引学生的首要因素，而只是锦上添花，并不是说该计划为学生提供奖金。故不符文意。
[D]如果想要进入卫斯里安仍旧必须进行网上申请：与第三段末句“and no longer requires online applications”矛盾。
单选题
What is Haden's attitude towards the technology program?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】本题问哈登对科技计划的态度。从末段“We needed…our belief that it would enhance…”，“And I'm still believing that．”可知Haden坚信科技计划能带来好处。由此推出他对科技计划的态度是“自信的”。
[B] 骄傲的：从文章可知Haden主张的科技计划是有争议的。Haden是面对这些争议表明自己极力主张(自信)的态度。这个计划目前的效果还没有好到能让他自豪的地步。
[C]后悔的：Haden虽承认自己将在投资细节方面作出改变，但“he makes no apologies…”(他并不为自己实行科技计划而感到不安)，即不后悔。
[D]怀疑的：从末段可知哈登并不怀疑该计划的正确性。