"The Heart of the Matter," the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences(AAAS), deserves praise for affi

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问题     "The Heart of the Matter," the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences(AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report’s failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.
    In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by " federal, state and local governments, universities, foundations, educators, individual benefactors and others" to "maintain national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship and education. " In response, the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the commission’s 51 members are top-tier-university presidents, scholars, lawyers, judges, and business executives, as well as prominent figures from diplomacy, filmmaking, music and journalism.
    The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Because representative government presupposes an informed citizenry, the report supports full literacy; stresses the study of history and government, particularly American history and American government; and encourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition, the report calls for increased investment in research, the crafting of coherent curricula that improve students’ ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring their learning to bear on the great challenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.
    Unfortunately, despite 2years in the making, " The Heart of the Matter" never gets to the heart of the matter; the illiberal nature of liberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commission ignores that for several decades America’s colleges and universities have produced graduates who don’t know the content and character of liberal education and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiry once at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities and social sciences as vehicles for publicizing " progressive," or left-liberal propaganda.
    Today, professors routinely treat the progressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberal ideas—such as free markets and self-reliance—as falling outside the boundaries of routine, and sometimes legitimate, intellectual investigation.
    The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet its report may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate.
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

选项 A、Ways to Grasp "The Heart of the Matter"
B、Illiberal Education and "The Heart of the Matter"
C、The AAAS’s Contribution to Liberal Education
D、Progressive Policy vs. Liberal Education

答案B

解析 主旨题。本题考查的是考生对文章的全面理解,不能根据某一段落匆忙得出结论。文章开篇即提到了《问题的核心》这篇报告,第二段是讲这篇报告的来历,第三段中讲述了报告中的亮点,第四至六段点明报告的不足,并讲述了目前美国高等教育中存在的问题,即通才教育中所存在的狭隘性,由此可以确定,教育的狭隘性与《问题的核心》这篇报告是文章的主旨,[B]为本文的最佳标题。
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