Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage：
（S1） British universities， groaning under the burden of a huge increase in student numbers， are warning that the tradition of a free education is at risk.The universities have threatened to impose an admission fee on students to plug a gap in revenue if the government does not act to improve their finances and scrap some public spending cutbacks.
The government responded to the universities threat by setting up the most fundamental review of higher education for a generation， under a non-party troubleshooter（麻烦调解人），Sir Ron Dearing. One in three school-leavers enters higher education，five times the number when the last review took place thirty years ago.
Everyone agrees a system that is feeling the strain after rapid expansion needs a lot more money， but there is little hope of getting it from the taxpayers and not much scope for attracting more finance from business.
Most colleges believe students should contribute to tuition costs， something that is common elsewhere in the world but would mark a revolutionary change in Britain.Universities want the government to introduce a loan scheme for tuition fees and have suspended their own threatened action for now. They await Dearing‘s advice， hoping it will not be too late——some already reported to be in financial diffculty.
As the century nears its end， the whole concept of what a university should be is under the microscope.Experts ponder how much they can use computers instead of classrooms， talk of the need for lifelong learning and refer to students as consumers. The Confederation（联盟）of British Industry， the key employers’ organization， wants even more expansion in higher education to help fight competition on world markets from booming Asian economies.But the government has doubts about more expansion.
（S2）The Times newspaper agrees， complaining that quality has suffered as student numbers soared， with close tutorial supervision giving way to mass production methods more typical of European universities.
1、The chief concern of British universities is ____.
A）how to tackle their present financial difficulty
B）how to expand the enrollment to meet the needs of enterprises
C）how to improve their educational technology
D）how to put an end to the current tendency of quality deterioration
2、We can learn from the passage that in Britain ____.
A）the government pays dearly for its financial policy
B）universities are mainly funded by businesses
C）higher education is provided free of charge
D）students are ready to accept loan schemes for tuition
3、What was the percentage of high school graduates admitted to universities in Britain thirty years ago？
A）20% or so. B）About 15%. C）Above 30%. D）Below 10%.
4、It can be inferred from the passage that ____.
A）the British government will be forced to increase its spending on higher education
B）British employers demand an expansion in enrollment at the expense of quality
C）the best way out for British universities is to follow their European counterparts
D）British students will probably have to pay for their higher education in the near future
5、Which of the following is the viewpoint of the Times newspaper？
A）Expansion in enrollment is bound to affect the quality of British higher education.
B）British universities should expand their enrollment to meet the needs of industry.
C）European universities can better meet the needs of the modern world.
D）British universities should help fight competition on world markets.
该短文是一篇讲述英国大学学生膨胀，经济上不堪重负的说明文。
S1 题由两句组成，语言点主要有：
（1）分词短语groaning…；
（2）impose…on …to plug a gap；
（3）条件句中 scrap some public spending cutbacks；
（4）汉语译文的结构。
这段文字较长，但意义上是一个整体，翻译时要特别注意各层次的关系：（1）不堪重负—（2）提醒—（3）威胁—（4）如果—（5）就强行（impose）。
参考译文：
（S1）因为学生数量猛增而不堪重负，英国大学正提醒人们传统的免费教育已面临危机。他们威胁如果政府不采取行动增加拨款而继续削减公共事业开支的话，他们将强行向学生收取入学费以填补收入中的不足。
（S2）题只有一句，但较长，具体分析如下：
题目主要由一个分词短语（complaining…）组成，该短语中有that从句，that从句中又有as从句及with复合结构，结构较复杂。同时，该句位于句末，需要对上文有所了解。
语言点：
（1）agree；
（2）suffer；
（3）with 短语；
（4）整句结构。参考译文
参考译文：
（S2）泰悟士报持相同观点，声称随着学生数的猛增及周密的导师制管理模式为欧洲大学特有的规模生产方式所替代，教育质量已大受影响。
参考答案：1.A 2.C 3.D 4.D 5.A
