2.We can learn from the passage that in Britain ____.

　　A)the government pays dearly for its financial policy B)universities are mainly funded by businesses C)higher education is provided free of charge D)students are ready to accept loan schemes for tuition

　　3.What was the percentage of high school graduates admitted to universities in Britain thirty years ago?

　　A)20% or so. C)Above 30%.B)About 15%. D)Below 10%.

　　4.It can be inferred from the passage that ____.

　　A)the British government will be forced to increase its spending on higher education B)British employers demand an expansion in enrollment at the expense of quality C)the best way out for British universities is to follow their European counterparts D)British students will probably have to pay for their higher education in the near future

　　5.Which of the following is the viewpoint of the Times newspaper?

　　A)Expansion in enrollment is bound to affect the quality of British higher education. B)British universities should expand their enrollment to meet the needs of industry. C)European universities can better meet the needs of the modern world. D)British universities should help fight competition on world markets.

　　該短文是一篇講述英國大學學生膨脹，經濟上不堪重負的說明文。

　　S1題由兩句組成，語言點主要有①分詞短語groaning…，②impose…on …to plug a gap，③條件句中scrap some public spending cutbacks，④漢語譯文的結構。這段文字較長，但意義上是一個整體，翻譯時要特別注意各層次的關系:①不堪重負——②提醒——③威脅——④如果——⑤就強行(impose)。參考譯文:(S1)因為學生數量猛增而不堪重負，英國大學正提醒人們傳統的免費教育已面臨危機。他們威脅如果政府不采取行動增加撥款而繼續削減公共事業開支的話，他們將強行向學生收取入學費以填補收入中的不足。

　　S2題只有一句，但較長，主要由一個分詞短語(complaining…)組成，該短語中有that從句，that從句中又有as從句及with復合結構，結構較復雜。同時，該句位于句末，需要對上文有所了解。語言點:①agree，②suffer，③with短語，④整句結構。參考譯文:(S2)泰悟士報持相同觀點，聲稱隨著學生數的猛增及周密的導師制管理模式為歐洲大學特有的規模生產方式所替代，教育質量已大受影響。

　　附閱讀理解參考答案:

　　1.A 2.C 3.D 4.D 5.A