Opponents of affirmative action say the battle over the use of race in college admissions is hardly over, despite the Supreme Co

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问题    Opponents of affirmative action say the battle over the use of race in college admissions is hardly over, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday upholding the goal of a diverse student body. Higher education leaders overwhelmingly hailed the decision, saying it reaffirmed policies used by most selective colleges and universities. But some critics raised the possibility of more lawsuits, and promised to continue pressuring the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to investigate questionable policies. "We’re talking about admissions programs, scholarships, any program…only for minorities or in which the standards used to judge admissions are substantially different," says Linda Chavez, founder and president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative non-profit group.
   Others say they’ll take their case to voters. "We have to seriously contest all this at the ballot box," says University of California regent Ward Cannerly, who helped win voter approval of California’s Proposition 209, which prohibits considering race or gender in public education, hiring and contracting. Because of that law, Monday’s ruling had no practical impact in the state. "It may be time for us to… let the (Michigan) voters decide if they want to use race as a factor in admissions," Connerly said Monday.
   Meanwhile, U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige, consistent with President Bush’s stance opposing affirmative action, said the Department of Education will "continue examining and highlighting effective race-neutral approaches to ensure broad access to and diversity within our public institutions". Even Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, in one of the opinions, recommended that states look for lessons in race-neutral programs being tried in California and elsewhere. While the ruling said admissions officials may consider race in the selection process, colleges and universities are not obligated to do so. "Ultimately in the debate, diversity is a choice, not a legal mandate," says Arthur Coleman, a former Department of Education official who now helps colleges and universities ensure constitutional policies.
   The public, too, remains conflicted, largely along racial lines. According to a January poll by the non-profit research organization Public Agenda, 79% of Americans said it is important for colleges to have a racially diverse student body, while just 54% said affirmative action programs should continue. In a Gallup. poll conducted days before the ruling, 49% of adults said they favor affirmative action and 43% did not, with blacks and Hispanics far more likely to favor the practice than white. And some educators doubt that with Monday’s ruling, those opposing affirmative action will change their minds.
   For now, admissions officials and university lawyers are poring over the ruling to determine how or whether to adjust policies. While most tend to be closed-mouthed about admissions policies, many say they don’t expect significant changes.
What the critics said in the first paragraph amounts to the idea that ______.

选项 A、no admission policies based on race should be implemented.
B、minority applicants should be given favorable considerations.
C、different standards for admitting minority students should be set up.
D、selective colleges and universities should be punished for their discriminatory policies.

答案A

解析 本文的关键是理解“affirmative action”指的是什么。据剑桥英语词典解释:If a government or an organization takes affirmative action,it gives preference to women,black people,or other groups which are often treated unfairly,when it is choosing people for a job.即是给妇女、黑人或其他在找工作中受歧视的弱势群体予特殊照顾的做法。本文一开始说“偏向性做法的反对者说在大学入学标准上考虑种族这一因素的战斗还没完,尽管最高法院星期一的判决支持了多样生源的目标。绝大多数高等教育领袖都赞同这个判决,说它重新确认了美国大多数大学的选择政策。”可见最高院的判决反对偏向性政策,认为不应给少数种族以特殊照顾,即不应将种族作为一考虑因素,而应持一种种族中立的态度。这也是大多数大学的做法。后面的评论是平等机会中心的主席作出的,她的说法很含蓄,但她是反对基于种族的入学标准的。所以选A。
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