单选题 This year, Harvard turned down more than 200 high-school seniors who had perfect SAT scores. Penn rejected 400 valedictorians salutatorians. And it's not just the Ivy League and other top universities that are besieged by well-qualified seniors. At Washington University in St. Louis, the number of applicants has doubled in the last five years. St. John's University, a commuter college in the New York City borough of Queens, now has so many out-of-town applicants that it is building the first dorm in its 129-year history.
Just your luck: you face the stiffest competition in the history college admissions. Your competitors are more numerous than eve about two thirds of all high-school graduates will go on to some form higher education next fall, compared with just over half in the late 1960s. And by most yardsticks, your fellow applicants have the best qualifications ever. The class of 2004 will start freshman year with twice as many college credits-earned from advanced-placement courses and other special high-school work--as their counterparts had a decade before. Their SAT and ACT scores will be the highest in 15 years. "When we receive phone calls from students in April asking why they were not admitted, we sometimes have difficulty finding a reason," says Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania.
But the tough competition isn't just your problem. It's also a huge challenge for the colleges. They are swamped with applicants, many of whom are applying to a dozen or more institutions--partly as a kind of failsafe, and partly because the students can't decide what they want. Admissions offices have to separate the serious prospects from the window shoppers and the multiple hookers. For you, the good news is that there's a place somewhere for just about everyone. The question is, how will you and your ideal college find each other?
There are lots of choices out there. When Bob Kinnally, Stanford's director of admissions and financial aid, gets complaints from parents whose kids were rejected, he asks them where their offspring did get in. "They rattle off this amazing list of choices," he says. "I tell them Congratulations, school so-and-so is an excellent match for your child. It's all about a good match."

单选题 Harvard has turned down more than 200 high-school seniors who had perfect SAT scores this year because ______.

A. good scores don't secure good performance
B. there are students with higher scores
C. Harvard has changed its admission policy
D. Harvard is unable to enroll all of them

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 联系上下文判断，D应当是正确答案，申请进入哈佛大学读书的优秀学生很多，不可能全部如愿以偿。

单选题 The author says, "Just your luck. you face the stiffest competition in the history of college admissions, "because ______.

A. he is just trying to be humorous
B. he is jealous of your opportunity
C. he thinks that you should be honored to compete with other worthy applicants
D. he thinks this situation is favorable for universities

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 作者的这种祝贺是反语，出于幽默的需要，因此A应当是正确答案。

单选题 Which is NOT the reason for the stiff competition?

A. More high-school graduates are seeking higher education.
B. More applicants are with better qualifications.
C. Many students are valedictorians or salutatorians.
D. Many applicants apply to more than one university.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] C只能表明这些学生在中学里的表现，并不是造成人学竞争激烈的直接原因。

单选题 What does "window shoppers" in the third paragraph mean?

A. Students who only ask for application materials.
B. Students who apply without actual intention to enter the university.
C. Students who apply to many universities and list this university as one of his choice.
D. Students who apply to the university when refused by all other universities.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] “window shopper”的英文原意是指只看不买的人，在这里应当是指某一类申请人。

单选题 Bob Kinnally says "Congratulations, school so-and-so is an excellent match for your child", because ______.

A. he thinks the school is excellent
B. he is just trying to console the parents
C. he really thinks it an excellent match
D. he feels sorry for not enrolling such an excellent student

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 联系前面Lee Stetson的话，可以判断Kinnally 说话的主要目的在于安慰学生家长。