单选题 Directions: Read the following text. Choose
the best word(s) for each numbered blank.
Weak dollar or no, $ 46,000-the price
for a single year of undergraduate instruction amid the red brick of Harvard
Yard-is{{U}} (1) {{/U}}But nowadays cost is{{U}} (2)
{{/U}}barrier to entry at many of America's best universities. Formidable
financial-assistance policies have{{U}} (3) {{/U}} fees or slashed them
deeply for needy students. And last month Harvard announced a new plan designed
to{{U}} (4) {{/U}}the sticker-shock for undergraduates from middle and
even upper-income families too. Since then, other rich
American universities have unveiled{{U}} (5) {{/U}}initiatives.
Yale, Harvard's bitterest{{U}} (6) {{/U}}, revealed its plans on
January 14th. Students whose families make {{U}}(7) {{/U}}than $60,000 a
year will pay nothing at all. Families earning up to $ 200,000 a year will have
to pay an average of 10% of their incomes. The university will{{U}} (8)
{{/U}}its financial- assistance budget by 43%, to over $ 80m.
Harvard will have a similar arrangement for families
making up to $180,000. That makes the price of going to Harvard or Yale{{U}}
(9) {{/U}}to attending a state-run university for middle-and
upper-income students. The universities will also not require any student to
take out{{U}} (10) {{/U}}to pay for their{{U}} (11) {{/U}}, a
policy introduced by Princeton in 2001 and by the University of Pennsylvania
just after Harvard's{{U}} (12) {{/U}}. No applicant who gains admission,
officials say, should feel{{U}} (13) {{/U}}to go elsewhere because he or
she can't afford the fees. None of that is quite as
altruistic as it sounds. Harvard and Yale are, after all, now likely to lure
more students away from previously{{U}} (14) {{/U}}options, particularly
state-run universities, {{U}}(15) {{/U}}their already impressive
admissions figures and reputations. The schemes also
provide a{{U}} (16) {{/U}}for structuring university fees in which high
prices for rich students help offset modest prices for poorer ones and families
are less{{U}} (17) {{/U}}on federal grants and government-backed loans.
Less wealthy private colleges whose fees are high will
not be able to{{U}} (18) {{/U}}Harvard or Yale easily. But America's
state-run universities, which have traditionally kept their fees low and stable,
might well try a differentiated{{U}} (19) {{/U}}scheme as they raise
cash to compete academically with their private{{U}} (20) {{/U}}.
Indeed, the University of California system has already started to implement a
sliding-fee scale.
【答案解析】首先本句的结构是一个让步的关系，即需要填人的这个动词的程度应当比or后面的成分更深。那么看or后面的slashed them deeply for needy students，为需要的学生大大降低了学费，那么可以推断出B项和C项不合适。而D项和A项相比，D项是普通意义上的减少，并不会比大大降低有多少程度上的递进，故选择A项。
【答案解析】本文第一段说“And last month Harvard announced a new plan”，那么可以判断出这里指代前文哈佛的announcement；若选择implementation，由于本处并未提及该公告，故应当有implementation of…之类。policy会造成语义残缺，而adjustment并未在文中提及。
【答案解析】既然对于学生的学费进行了区分收取，那么中低收入家庭所要负担的学费就较之前少一些，故可以不用再大规模地向联邦借贷。“The universities will also not require any student to take out loans to pay for their tuition”从这句话可以推断。故应该是依赖程度更低，故选D。