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  3. For many years, colleges and universities across the United States have sought to increase the numbers of African American, Hisp

For many years, colleges and universities across the United States have sought to increase the numbers of African American, Hisp

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问题     For many years, colleges and universities across the United States have sought to increase the numbers of African American, Hispanic and Native American students who pursue scientific careers. Yet the College Board reported in 1999 that underrepresentation of minority students had become even "more intractable".
    African Americans now constitute 12 percent of the U.S. population yet earned only one percent of the doctorates in 1997. Hispanics make up 11 percent of the population but earned 0.9 percent of the 1997 doctorates. Although the numbers of African American and Hispanic students earning bachelor’s degrees in 1996—1997 hit an all-time high, there was a decline in those entering graduate school, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Native Americans also remain underrepresented in the sciences.
    Despite the best of intentions, many programs designed to prepare minority undergraduates for advanced scientific training have had uneven results. Some have been unclear about whether their goal is to produce scientists or just to help minority students graduate. Others have been inadequately funded or lacked institutional commitment; many have never been evaluated rigorously.
    Some programs do succeed in helping minority students graduate and pursue scientific careers. Examples include programs at Xavier University of Louisiana, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County(UMBC). Although different in important respects, these programs share key features, such as clearly articulated objectives, strong institutional commitment, effective mentors and an emphasis on building community among participants.
    All are being carried out in a legal environment that has become increasingly complex. The University of California, for example, now operates under a state law that forbids using state funds for special programs for minority students. In other states, court cases have led colleges and universities to redesign or even drop such programs. HHMI has assisted thousands of minority students through its undergraduate biological sciences education program by awarding more than $476 million to 232 colleges and universities. In 1998, it began requiring its grantees to certify that they are complying with all relevant laws in the conduct of these programs.
    Eugene Cota-Robles, cochair of the task force that commissioned the College Board report, says colleges and universities must do more to help minority students become scientific leaders. "Up to now, everyone working on the pipeline approach has been thinking that bringing more students into college would solve the problem," he says. Cota-Robles, a professor emeritus of biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, calls for more effort to help minority students move beyond the bachelor’s degree.
The word "intractable"(line 4, para. 1)most likely means "______".
选项 A、disturbing
B、unfavorable
C、infuriating
D、insoluble
答案D
解析 属词义推断题。文章第一段第一句指出：多年来，美国的学院和大学试图增加从事科学工作的非洲裔、西班牙裔和印第安学生的数量。第二句信号词yet(然而)的使用表明下文要表达与上文相反的观点，由此可知，上文提到的计划很有可能不能实现，即选项D(无法解决的)正确。选项A、B、C分别意为“烦扰的”、“令人不快的”、“令人发怒的”。
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