阅读理解   This week's A-level results will have disappointed some students, but despite that there may in one sense never be a better time to be a UK teenager who wants to go on to higher education. The recent massive expansion in higher education, as well as the lack of alternatives and the decline in the number of school leavers, means that for now and the next two or three years, sixth formers holding A-level certificates and equivalent qualifications will be in high demand.
    The generous offers being made by institutions to attract students at all stages of the admissions process are a symptom of that demand. Since cutting tuition fees puts off students fearing a cut-price education, universities are instead offering incentives in various forms, as well as offering bursaries to support those students whose family circumstances mean they would otherwise be unable to afford to go.
    But the current shortage of students obscures a major flaw in the pipeline from school to campus: the UK's outdated insistence on conducting applications and admissions without knowing a candidate's final exam results. It's not enough to say that if the system isn't broken it doesn't need fixing, because it is broken. The evidence is the bureaucratic scaffolding that has been erected purely to work around the lack of exam results. First come the grade predictions made by teachers—these are ridiculously unreliable but they set the boundaries of where students apply, aggravating inequality. Then there is the growth in unconditional offers, which overcome the instability of the system by ignoring exam results entirely but are said to downgrade the importance of the exams.
    There are two straightforward options to tackle this problem. One is to imitate Scotland and reintroduce the halfway AS-level scrapped by Michael Gove as education secretary, and allow those to be used as a better guide. The other is to move A-level exams earlier in the year, to March or April. Then the results would be published during term time, with sixth formers using the intervening period to research possible choices, assisted by school staff able to aid those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
    Other countries avoid these difficulties because they have education systems that don't insist on 16- and 17-year-olds making definitive choices in a narrow range of subjects to study and then propel them into choosing overly specialised courses from their first day as undergraduates. That is a wider issue, but for now let us reform the admissions process, as Labour has suggested. There could not be a better time now that student numbers are low.
单选题     It's the best time ever for UK students to pursue a higher degree due to ______.
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】本题为细节题。根据题干关键词the best time ever和a higher degree可定位至原文第一段①句。该句提出论点：对于想要继续接受高等教育的英国青少年来说，可能从来没有比现在更好的时机了，②句为论据，其中massive expansion in higher education as ell as the lack of alternatives and the decline in the number of school leavers解释了具体原因。B项enrollment expansion(高校扩招)是对massive expansion in higher education的同义替换。故正确答案为B。 该段①句前半句提到 This week's A-level results will have disappointed some students，由此可知中学高级水平考试对学生来说是有难度的，所以A项easy A-level exams (简单的中学高级水平考试)与原文事实相悖；C项high-quality teaching(高质量的教学)属于无中生有，原文并未提及相关信息；D项declining drop-outs(辍学的学生数量减少)是对the decline in the number of school leavers的错误理解，school leavers指的是“中学毕业生”，而不是“辍学的学生”。 [参考译文] 本周的中学高级水平考试成绩可能会让一些学生感到失望，但尽管如此，从某种意义上说，对于想要继续接受高等教育的英国青少年来说，可能从来没有比现在更好的时机了。最近高等教育的大规模扩张，以及缺少替代选择和中学毕业生人数的下降，意味着目前和未来两到三年，持有中学高级水平考试证书和同等学历的六年级学生(高中毕业生)将会供不应求。 各大院校纷纷慷慨解囊，在招生过程的各个阶段吸引学生，从中就可以看出对生源的需求。由于削减学费会让担心教育质量下降的学生望而却步，各大学转而提供各种形式的奖励以及为那些家庭条件不好无法负担学费的学生提供奖学金。 但目前的生源短缺掩盖了从高中到大学输送过程中的一个主要缺陷：英国坚持在不知道考生期末考试成绩的情况下进行大学申请和录取的过时做法。仅仅说系统没有坏就不需要修理是不够的，因为它确实是坏了。为了规避不知道考试结果的影响，一些打擦边球的官僚做法就是证据。首先是教师做出的成绩预测——这些预测滑稽可笑没有信服力，但它们划定了学生申请的范围，加剧了不平等。此外，无条件录取的人数也在增加，这种做法完全不考虑考试结果，克服了考试制度的不稳定性，但被认为是降低了考试的重要性。 有两个简单的方法可以解决这个问题。一是效仿苏格兰，重新引入迈克尔?戈夫担任教育大臣时废除的中学准高级水平考试，并让这些考试结果更好地指导高校的招生录取。另一种是将中学高级水平考试提前到每年的3月或4月。然后，考试结果将在学期期间公布，六年级学生可以利用这段时间研究可能的选择，老师也能够为那些家庭条件不好的学生提供一些帮助。 其他国家之所以避免了这些困难，是因为他们的教育体系不坚持让16岁和17岁的孩子在有限的学习范围内做出明确的选择，然后从他们成为本科生的第一天起就强迫他们选择过于专业的课程。这是一个更大的问题，但就目前而言，我们还是按工党的建议，改革招生流程吧。现在学生人数这么少，正是改革的好时机。
单选题     The word 'bursaries' (Para.2) is closest in meaning to ______.
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】本题为词义句意题。根据题干关键词 bursaries可定位至原文第二段②句。该句主要介绍了学校为吸引学生采取的一些措施，前半句指出“由于削减学费会让担心教育质量下降的学生望而却步，各大学转而提供各种形式的奖励”，再结合划线词后文提到的to support those students whose family circumstances mean they would otherwise be unable to afford to go 可推出划线词表示的是能够帮助家庭条件不好的学生的奖励措施。C 项scholarships(奖学金)为实质性的奖励，能够满足学校吸引学生的需求，同时也不需要降低学费。故正确答案为C。 A项messages(信息)、B项instructions(指导)和D项commitments(承诺)都不是实质性的奖励措施，不符合上下文要求。
单选题     A major flaw in British university admissions process is that ______.
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】本题为细节题。根据题干关键词 A major flaw 可定位至原文第三段①句。该句介绍了英国高校录取招生系统中的一大主要缺陷，前半句提出论点，后半句具体阐述了这一缺陷。C项universities recruit students before getting their final grades(大学在知道学生最终考试成绩之前进行招生)是对该句中 the UK's outdated insistence on conducting applications and admissions without knowing a candidate's final exam results 的同义替换。故正确答案为 C。 A项bureaucratic practices prevail among school faculties(官僚作风在学校教师中盛行)是对该段③句中the bureaucratic scaffolding that has been erected的错误解读，原文强调的是招生录取系统出了问题，并未提到教师的官僚作风；B项unconditional offers are provided to underachievers(给成绩差的学生发放无条件录取通知书)中关键词unconditional offers来自该段⑤句，但provided to underachievers属于无中生有，原文并未提及相关信息；D项teachers' grade predictions mislead students' school choice(老师的分数预测误导学生择校)中关键词grade predictions 来自该段④句，原文说的是“它们划定了学生申请的范围，加剧了不平等”，而不是“误导学生择校”，属于信息理解错误。
单选题     It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that ______.
 
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】本题为推断题。根据题干关键词 Paragraph 4可定位至原文第四段。该段主要介绍了对英国高校录取招生系统中存在的问题的两大解决方案。该段②句指出第一种解决方案：效仿苏格兰，重新引入中学准高级水平考试。再结合后半句提到的allow those to be used as a better guide可知A项AS-level system may better instruct the college admissions process(中学准高级水平考试系统也许可以更好地指导大学招生录取过程)是合理推断， better instruct是原文中be used as a better guide的同义替换。故正确答案为A。 B项AS-level exams were abolished due to their degree of difficulty(中学准高级水平考试由于难度大被取消)属于错误推断，该段②句只是提到中学准高级水平考试之前被取消了，并未解释原因；C项moving A-level exams earlier ensures the right choice for every student(提前进行中学高级水平考试能够确保每个学生都能做出正确的选择)属于夸大事实，该段③句和④句提出了提前进行中学高级水平考试的建议并解释了原因，但原文只是说毕业生能够利用这段时间研究可能的选择，而无法确保每个学生都能做出正确的选择；D项moving A-level exams earlier can help students get rid of poverty(提前进行中学高级水平考试能够帮助学生摆脱贫困)属于错误推断，根据该段④句中assisted by school staff able to aid those from disadvantaged backgrounds可知提前进行中学高级水平考试可以让老师有时间帮助那些家庭条件不好的学生择校，而无法直接帮助他们摆脱贫困。
单选题     The author's attitude towards Labour's proposal is ______.
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】本题为态度题。根据题干关键词Labour's proposal可定位至原文第五段②句，Labour's proposal与该句中as Labour has suggested对应。该句介绍了具体的建议，但从中无法准确判断作者的态度。再看下文③句There could not be a better time now that student numbers are low，作者认为现在是按照工党的建议改革高校录取流程的最佳时机，可见作者对工党的建议是持支持态度的，B项supportive(支持的)。故正确答案为B。 A项concerned(担忧的)、C项sarcastic(挖苦的)和D项discontent(不满 的)都不符合该段③句的意思，与作者表达的态度相悖。