单选题 In an ideal world, the nation's elite schools would enroll the most qualified students. But that's not how it works. Applicants whose parents are alumni get special treatment, as so athletes and rich kids. Underrepresented minorities are also given preference. Thirty years of affirmative action have changed the complexion of mostly white universities; now about 13 percent of all undergraduates are black or Latino. But most come from middle-and upper middle-class families. Poor kids of all ethnicities remain scarce. A recent study by the Century Foundation found that at the nation's 146 most competitive schools, 74 percent of students came from upper-middle-class and wealthy families, while only about 5 percent came from families with an annual income of roughly $ 35,000 or less.
Many schools say diversity—racial, economic and geographic—is key to maintaining intellectually vital campuses. But Richard Kahlenberg of the Century Foundation says that even though colleges claim they want poor kids, "they don't try very hard to find them." As for rural students, many colleges don't try at all. "Unfortunately, we go where we can generate a sizable number of potential applicants, " says Tulane admissions chief Richard Whiteside, who recruits aggressively—and in person-from metropolitan areas. Kids in rural areas get a glossy brochure in the mail.
Even when poor rural students have the grades for top colleges, their high schools often don't know how to get them there. Admissions officers rely on guidance counselors to direct them to promising prospects. In affluent high schools guidance counselors often have personal relationships with both kids and admissions officers. In rural areas, a teacher, a counselor or even an alumnus "can help put rural students on our radar screen," says Wesleyan admissions dean Nancy Meislahn. But poor rural schools rarely have college advisers with those connections; without them, admission " {{U}}can be a crapshoot,{{/U}}" says Carnegie Mellon's Steidel.
In the past few years some schools have begun to open that door a little wider. At MIT it's something of a mission for Marilee Jones, the dean of admissions. Twenty years ago, 25 percent of each MIT class was first-generation college goers from poor backgrounds who used the celebrated engineering school as a ticket out of the blue-collar world. Five years ago, when that number dipped below 10 percent, Jones began scouring the country for bright kids, and then paired the potential applicants with MIT faculty and students who could answer questions about college life. In four years Jones has doubled the number of poor first-generation students at MT.
单选题 According to the passage, American schools ______.
  • A. favor the most competent students
  • B. enroll the children of their alumni
  • C. don't conform to some national law
  • D. discriminate against lower-class students
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节 首段开篇指出了美国大学的招生现状：学校并没有招收最优秀的学生，而是对体育特长生、富人家的孩子、学校校友的孩子、少数族裔都给予照顾。故B项为正确答案。 该题针对第一段内容命题，属于事实细节类考查题目。此类题目的正确答案一般是根据题干在原文定位的句子或句子上下句来查找。这道题目既可根据题干在原文中进行定位，也可将各个选项带入题干分别进行分析，运用排除法。 A项与首段第二句But that's not how it works矛盾；第四句提到了affirmative action(平权法案)，明确指出由于设立了该法案，很多大学面貌已经发生了转变，排除C项；首段倒数第二句指出“各个种族的贫困生比较少见”，但并未说明或暗示这是由歧视造成的，排除D项。
单选题 Colleges go to cities to enroll students because ______.
  • A. they think students in urban areas have more intellectual potential
  • B. they don't want to travel far to search for applicants in rural areas
  • C. students in rural areas may have many economic problems
  • D. it is much easier to find enough prospective students in cities
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节 第二段第四句图兰大学招生办主任的话解释了大学不愿意去农村招生的原因：...we go where we can generate a sizable number of potential applicants...from metropolitan areas. 由此可以推断出他认为城市里有大量潜在生源，而农村地区生源较少。故D项为正确答案。 该题是针对第二段内容的命题，属于事实细节类的题目。根据题干在原文中定位至该段第四句，本题考查原因，因此在阅读应重点关注表示原因的短语。 这里只是谈及生源数量的多少，没有涉及生源质量问题，也没有提到经济原因，排除A、C项；也没有提及大学不去农村地区招生是因为路途遥远等客观因素，B项排除。
单选题 By saying "can be a crapshoot" (Line 6, Para.3), the author suggests ______.
  • A. rural students have an access to college
  • B. poor rural students can't afford admission fees
  • C. it is very hard for rural students to go to college
  • D. poor rural schools are not on good terms with colleges
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 词义句义 第三段解释了农村优秀贫困生不能进入名牌大学的原因：没有人引荐。从第二句可以看出大学的招生官员喜欢有人引荐优秀的学生，这样可以保证生源质量。从最后一句“在贫困的农村学校里，与学生和大学的招生官员都有私人关系的升学顾问极其少见，如果没有顾问的推荐”，那么就是“有风险的”。可见农村的优秀学生要进入大学很难，故C项为正确答案。 该题属于典型的语义理解，通过对特定语义的理解判断作者态度。首先在文章中找到该词组，然后分析该词组所在句子的上下文。 A选项与C选项为相反选项；B选项文章并没有提到；D选项干扰性最强，该选项是乡村学生难以进入大学的原因，而不是结果。
单选题 At MIT, many first-generation poor students ______.
  • A. were grateful to the college for their enrollment
  • B. regarded the college as an opportunity to change fate
  • C. were glad to get away from their poor families
  • D. got some help from MIT faculty and students
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节 第四段第三句明确指出first-generation college goers from poor backgrounds把MIT的文凭当作逃离蓝领阶层的通行证，即一个改变命运的机会。故B项为正确答案。 该题针对第四段的内容命题，属于事实细节类题目。此类题目的正确答案一般是根据题干在原文定位的句子或句子的上下句来查找。根据题干定位在第四段第三句...first-generation college goers from poor backgrounds who used the celebrated engineering school as a ticket out of the blue-collar world. 第一代贫穷的学生把MIT文凭作为逃离蓝领阶层的通行证，也就是改变命运的机会。 文中没有提及学生对被录取的态度如何，排除A项；也没有指出学生离开自己贫困家庭的兴奋之情，排除C项；第四段倒数第二句中提到了校内工作人员和在校生对申请的学生提供帮助，但这些学生并非所指的第一代贫困学生，而是提交入学申请的学生，故排除D项。
单选题 Which of the following might Marilee Jones agree with?
  • A. Colleges should spare no efforts to look for brilliant poor students.
  • B. Renowned universities certainly attract brilliant poor students.
  • C. Colleges can benefit greatly from the enrollment of poor students.
  • D. Many colleges have realized the importance of enrolling poor students.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题 从末段In four years Jones has doubled the number of poor first-generation students at MIT. 可以看出玛丽利·琼斯把以积极的态度来接收贫困农村学生当作一项使命，接着指出五年以前当贫困学生的数量降到10%以下时琼斯的解决办法。可见琼斯招收贫困优秀学生并希望通过各种办法提高贫困家庭第一代大学生的数量。故A项为正确答案。 此题的考点是Marilee Jones的观点，在给出的四个选项中判断作者的态度。解答此类题目方法之一是将四个选项分别带入原文进行筛选。 从MIT招生办主任琼斯的做法就可以看出B项不正确；文中并没有提到优秀贫困学生被名牌大学录取，给学校带来哪些好处，排除C项；首句虽然提到有些学校招收贫困农村学生的态度稍微积极了些，但无法推断D项，故排除。