2. 外语
  3. On August 18th US News & World Report released its 2007 rankings of America’s top colleges. The survey began in 1983 as an unoff

On August 18th US News & World Report released its 2007 rankings of America’s top colleges. The survey began in 1983 as an unoff

admin2010-11-02  76
问题      On August 18th US News & World Report released its 2007 rankings of America’s top colleges. The survey began in 1983 as an unofficial opinion poll, when the magazine asked 662 college presidents to identify the country’s best places of learning. It has since changed into an annually frightening experience for reputable universities. A strong showing in the rankings spurs student interest and alumni giving while a slip has grave consequences for public relations.
     University administrators deeply dislike the survey. Many reject the idea that schools can be stacked up against one another in any meaningful way. And the survey’s methodology is suspect. The rankings are still based partly on peer evaluations. They compare rates of alumni giving, which has little to do with the transmission of knowledge. Besides, the magazine’s data are sup plied by the schools and unproved.
     But whether the rankings are fair is beside the point, because they are wildly influential. In the 1983 survey barely half of the presidents approached bothered to respond. Today, only a handful dare refuse.
     Most, in fact, do more than simply fill out the survey. Competition between colleges for top students is increasing, partly because of the very popularity of rankings. Colin Diver, the president of Reed College in Oregon, considers that "rankings create powerful incentives to manipulate data and distort institutional behaviour." A school may game the system by luring applications from students who stand no chance of admission, or by leaning on alumni to arrange jobs for graduates. Reed is one of the few prominent colleges that dares to despise taking part in the US News  survey.
     In some ways, the scramble to attract applicants has helped students. Universities such as Duke in North Carolina and Rice in Houston are devoting more money to scholarships.  That seems a reasonable response to the challenge of the rankings, as the National Centre for Education Statistics reckons that roughly two-thirds of undergraduates rely on financial aid.
     Other colleges, though, are trying to drum up excitement by offering privileges that would have been unheard of a generation ago. Students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) now appreciate weekly maid service in the dorms. "The elevators", replied an enthusiastic respondent to an online survey, "smell lemon fresh." Students at Pennsylvania State  University enjoy free access to Napster, the music-sharing service. Multi-million dollar gyms have become so common that they are unremarkable.
     University officials, defending this strategy, often imply that they are only responding to student demand. Discouraging words for those who believe that a college’s job is to educate, not indulge.  
What does Colin Diver think of the purpose of a school’s leaning on alumni to arrange jobs for graduates?
选项 A、To attract more top applicants.
B、To make the rankings reliable.
C、To take advantage of its public relations.
D、To become more popular in the rankings.
答案D
解析 题干中的by 1eanlng on alumni to arrange jobs for graduates是第4段第4句提到的game the system的另一个途径，game the system 可能不好理解，但只要结合上一句末尾的manipulate data and distort institutional behaviour就可以推断game the system 是指为学校用欺骗的手段争取好的排名，即选D。
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