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  3. A detailed and thorough research project undertaken by the Open University recently reported that their evidence appears to show

A detailed and thorough research project undertaken by the Open University recently reported that their evidence appears to show

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问题     A detailed and thorough research project undertaken by the Open University recently reported that their evidence appears to show that competition between nearby schools does not significantly improve academic standards. Indeed, their report inclines to the opposite outcome: the exam results may actually decline where competition is fiercest.
    When the further education sector was "privatized" a few years ago, competition between colleges became truly fierce, at least in urban areas where potential students could choose between several of them. Colleges appointed highly paid marketing directors and gave them large budgets; some even "bribed" interested students with promises of hundreds of pounds if they completed certain courses satisfactorily.
    Fully competitive markets being a philosophical foundation of Britain’s recent governments, it was no surprise to hear claims that many educational developments of the 1990s would move us towards a free market in secondary education—giving youngsters and their parents a free choice of where to study. However, the secondary sector did not become particularly competitive while, admittedly, the consumers have been given more information, which is one aspect of a truly free market. It is very rare that two nearby schools with at least some empty places are similar enough to be comparable yet different enough to be rankable; only where that occurs can there be true competition.
    The Open University research was probably not flawed—but its conclusions are. This is because the team did not really compare areas having true competition (as just defined) with areas that do not.
    But, let us all breathe a sigh of relief. Secondary schools had started of late to move in the marketing direction—considering allocating scarce resources of staff and money to persuading the pupils that their schools are the best in the area. No schools could afford to do that properly, so it is a relief to realize this research tells us we don’t have to.
    Competition? We haven’t got time for it! Let’s spend our small budget in teaching and learning, not in competing and marketing.
According to the passage, the free market in secondary education _____.
选项 A、only provides consumers with more information
B、is more competitive than the higher education market
C、means there will be more intensive competition than in colleges
D、is a real surprise to Britain’s recent government
答案A
解析 第3段admittedly(不可否认地)之后一句指出了消费者得到了更多的信息，A与此相符。文中只是分别介绍高等教育及中等教育的竞争情况，但没有做横向对比，因此B和C没有原文依据。D与该段第1句相悖。
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