单选题
States are considering major changes in prepaid
college tuition programs—raising prices, restricting participation or canceling
them—as they grapple with financial woos.Nationwide, families will likely have
to pay more to participate, or accept that they might not cover tuition when
children go to college. Colorado has closed its prepaid plan to
new investors and told existing ones that it may not cover future tuition
increases. Wisconsin stopped selling its plan Dee. 20. Maryland and Illinois are
among states hiking prices by 20% or more. Prepaid plans let
parents lock in tuition by paying for it now, protecting them against rising
costs. But the bear market has hurt investment returns, leaving the plans unable
to keep up with big increases in tuition. So far, Colorado is the only state
that has told participants their investments may not cover tuition, and no plan
has missed a payment. Other states have said they will fulfill
obligations, even if it requires a legislative bail out. Still, the financial
problems have forced thousands to grapple with uncertainty—something prepaid
plans were designed to avoid. More than 1 million families have an estimated $ 8
billion invested in the plans, says 〈SavingforCollege. com〉.
Some states, including Colorado, may replace the prepaid plan with a guaranteed
investment contract, a CD-like investment that's backed by an insurance company.
Investors get a minimum rate of return, but no guarantee that it will cover
tuition. Wisconsin's EdVest program is encouraging investment
in a stable value fund, which is similar to a guaranteed investment contract, in
its investment plan. Wisconsin's prepaid plan never guaranteed to cover tuition
inflation. It also never got a lot of investors, possibly because it lacked that
guarantee. In Florida, a task force is considering limiting the
state's prepaid program to low-in-come families. Ohio officials are also looking
at limiting participation, but it's a measure they hope to avoid. "Program
administrators are looking for alternatives," says Andrea Feirstein, a
state-plan consultant. Maryland recently boosted its prices by
up to 30%; Illinois by up to 23%. The increases have made some prepaid plans
uneconomical for parents of older children. In Ohio, the price of one year's
tuition for a child over 12 months old is$8000, more than 400% above current
tuition at Ohio State. So it may not be a good deal for children starting
college in three or four years because tuition may not jump that much that
fast.
单选题
Prepaid college tuition is generally designed on the principle
that______.
单选题
Colorado now has told participants in the prepaid tuition plan
that______.
A.they would not have to make any other payment later
B.they would not be guaranteed against further payment
C.the plan would cover further tuition increases
D.the plan would be replaced by a guaranteed investment contract
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的四个选项中，只有B项为正确答案。从文中的"Colorado has closed its prepaid plan to new investors and told existing ones that it may not cover future tuition increases"可知，B项“不能担保这些参加者们将来不再交费”是正确答案。
单选题
The expression "a CD-like investment " (Line 2, Para. 5) most probably
refers to an investment______.
单选题
It can he inferred from the last paragraph that in Ohio______.
A.prepaid plans require a participation at most 3 or 4 years before starting
college
B.children may start college 3 or 4 years earlier than at a normal age if
they prepay tuition
C.college tuition 3 or 4 years later may not be so high as today's price of
prepaid tuition
D.the younger a child to join the plan, the greater loss he/she will suffer
at the age for college
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中的"So it may not be a good deal for children starting college in three or four years because tuition。may not jump that much that fast"推知，即“三四年之后的大学学费可能不会像现在的预付大学学费那么高”正确。