The Carnegie Foundation report says that many colleges have tried to be "all things to all people". In doing so, they have increasingly catered to a narrow-minded careerism while failing to cultivate a global vision among their students. The current crisis, it contends, does not derive from a legitimate desire to put learning to productive ends. The problem is that in too many academic fields, the work has no context; skills, rather than means, have become ends. Students are offered a variety of options and allowed to pick their way to a degree. In short, driven by careerism, "the nation's colleges and universities are more successful in providing credentials(文凭)than in providing a quality education for their students." The report concludes that the special challenge confronting the undergraduate college is one of shaping an "integrated core" of common learning. Such a core would introduce students "to essential knowledge, to connections across the disciplines, and in the end, to application of knowledge to life beyond the campus."

　　Although the key to a good college is a high-quality faculty, the Carnegie study found that most colleges do very little to encourage good teaching. In fact, they do much to undermine it. As one professor observed "Teaching is important, we are told, and yet faculty know that research and publication matter most." Not surprisingly, over the last twenty years colleges and universities have failed to graduate half of their four-year degree tenure(终身任期), promotion, or substantial salary increases. Yet 70 percent of all faculty say their interests lie more in teaching than in research. Additionally, a frequent complaint among young scholars is that “There is pressure to publish, although there is virtually no interest among administrators or colleagues in the content of the publications.”

　　1.When a college tries to be "all things to all people", it aims to _______.

　　A. satisfy the needs of all kinds of students simultaneously

　　B. focus on training students in various skills

　　C. encourage students to take as many courses as possible

　　D. make learning serve academic rather than productive ends

　　答案C。本文问及当一个大学想满足各种人的各种需要时，它的目标是什么。从文章第一段第二句话可知很多大学的all things to all people(满足各种人的各种需要)这一宗旨是迎合了找工作的需要，为了满足这种急功近利、缺乏远见的需求，学校为学生提供了大量可供选择的学科(offered a variety of options)(第一段第五句话)。由此两处可知这些学校这样做的目的是鼓励学生研习尽可能多的课程，故C项正确。B项表明的内容只是一种结果而不是学校的目的。D项是对put learning to productive ends(学习为长远的、富有成效的目的服务)的一种曲解。

　　2.By saying that "in too many academic fields, the work has no context" the author means that the teaching in these areas______.

　　A. ignores the actual situation

　　B. is not based on the right perspective

　　C. only focuses on an integrated core of common learning

　　D. gives priority to the cultivation of a global vision among students

　　答案B。下文中skills, rather than means, have become ends(学习的目的是获得技能，而不是获得某种方法)是对题干中引号内部分的具体阐释，这正是B项所表达的意思：教学并非建立在正确的观点上，因此B项正确。C、D两项是作者认为应该持有的正确教学观点，而这恰好是很多大学忽视了的地方。故选B项。

　　3. One of the reasons for the current crisis in American colleges and universities is that _______.

　　A. a narrow vocationalism has come to dominate many colleges

　　B. students don’t have enough freedom in choosing what they want to learn

　　C. skills are being taught as a means to an end

　　D. students are only interested in obtaining credentials

　　答案A。文章第一段第二句话告诉我们，现在美国的许多大学里出现的教学危机正是因为为了迎合找工作的需要所致，也就是说，仅仅为了寻找工作这种狭隘的思想支配了很多大学的教学方向，故A项正确。B项与文章意思正好相反;C项是对skills, rather than means, have become ends的曲解;获得文凭是找工作的条件之一，但学生自己是否仅仅对获得文凭感兴趣，文中并未明确表明这一观点，故D项也不对。此题选A项。

　　4. American colleges and universities failed to graduate half of their four-year degree candidates because _______.

　　A. most of them lack high-quality faculties

　　B. the interests of most faculty members lie in research

　　C. there are not enough incentives for students to study hard

　　D. they attach greater importance to research and publication than to teaching

　　答案D。文章第二段讲述了学校只重视科研而忽视教学(这正是选项D的意思)导致危机产生，所以Not surprisingly, over the last twenty years colleges and universities have failed to graduate half of their four-year degree candidates，故D项正确。文中并未提到学校没有高水平的教员，也未提到学生因没有足够动力而不努力学习的问题，故A、C两项均不是答案;从文章最后三句话可知教师更多的是对教学而不是对科研感兴趣，他们重视科研是因为学校重视科研，而不是他们兴趣之真正所在，因此B项也是错误的。故本题选D项。

　　5.It can be inferred from the passage that high-quality college education calls for ________

　　A. putting academic work in the proper context

　　B. a commitment to students and effective teaching

　　C. the practice of putting learning to productive ends

　　D. dedication to research in frontier areas of knowledge

　　答案B。从文章第二段可知要想有高质量的教育，就要重视高质量的教学，而献身教学的教员如不搞科研便会失去许多好处，这一点促使学生不能得到good teaching，这正是教学的失误，要改变这一点，必须向学生负责，提供高质量的教学，故B项正确。A、C两项是对文章相应句子的片面理解，都不是作者文中提到的应重视教学的观点，D项显然与作者应重视教学的观点相反。因此本题应选B项。

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