oice about which college to attend doesn’t come down merely to dollars and cents. Does going to Columbia University (tuition, room and board $49,260 in 2007-08) yield a 40% greater return than attending the University of Colorado at Boulder as an out-of-state student ($35,542)? Probably not. Does being an out-of-state student at the University of Colorado at Boulder yield twice the amount of income as being an in-state student ($17,380) there? Not likely.

　　No, in this consumerist age, most buyers aren’t eva luating college as an investment, but rather as a consumer product—like a car or clothes or a house. And with such purchases, price is only one of many crucial factors to consider.

　　As with automobiles, consumers in today’s college marketplace have vast choices, and people search for the one that gives them the most comfort and satisfaction in line with their budgets. This accounts for the willingness of people to pay more for different types of experiences (such as attending a private liberal-arts college or going to an out-of-state public school that has a great marine-biology program). And just as two auto purchasers might spend an equal amount of money on very different cars, college students (or, more accurately, their parents) often show a willingness to pay essentially the same price for vastly different products. So which is it? Is college an investment product like a stock or a consumer product like a car? In keeping with the automotive world’s hottest consumer trend, maybe it’s best to characterize it as a hybrid (混合动力汽车); an expensive consumer product that, over time, will pay rich dividends.

　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

　　57. What’s the opinion of economists about going to college?

　　A．Huge amounts of money is being wasted on campus socializing.

　　B．It doesn’t pay to run into debt to receive a college education.

　　C．College education is rewarding in spite of the startling costs.

　　D．Going to college doesn’t necessarily bring the expected returns.

　　58. The two Harvard economists note in their study that, for much of the 20th century, ________.

　　A．enrollment kept decreasing in virtually all American colleges and universities

　　B．the labor market preferred high-school to college graduates

　　C．competition for university admissions was far more fierce than today

　　D．the gap between the earnings of college and high-school graduates narrowed

　　59. Students who attend an in-state college or university can ________.

　　A．save more on tuition

　　B．receive a better education

　　C．take more liberal-arts courses

　　D．avoid traveling long distances

　　60. In this consumerist age, most parents ________.

　　A．regard college education as a wise investment

　　B．place a premium on the prestige of the College

　　C．think it crucial to send their children to college

　　D．consider college education a consumer product

　　61. What is the chief consideration when students choose a college today?

　　A．Their employment prospects after graduation.

　　B．A satisfying experience within their budgets.

　　C．Its facilities and learning environment.

　　D．Its ranking among similar institutions.

 

　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

　　Some historian say that the most important contribution of Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency (总统任期) in the 1950s was the U.S. interstate highway system. It was a __62__ project, easily surpassing the scale of such previous human __63__ as the Panama Canal. Eisenhower’s interstate highways __64__ the nation together in new ways and __65__ major economic growth by making commerce less __66__. Today, an information superhighway has been built—an electronic network that __67__ libraries, corporations, government agencies and __68__. This electronic superhighway is called the Internet, __69__ it is the backbone (主干) of the World Wide Web.

　　The Internet had its __70__ in a 1969 U.S. Defense Department computer network called ARPAnet, which __71__ Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. The Pentagon built the network for military contractors and universities doing military research to __72__ information. In 1983 the National Science Foundation (NSF), __73__ mission is to promote science, took over.

　　This new NSF network __74__ more and more institutional users, may of __75__ had their own internal networks. For example, most universities that __76__ the NSF network had intracampus computer networks. The NSF network __77__ became a connector for thousands of other networks. __78__ a backbone system that interconnects networks, internet was a name that fit.

　　So we can see that the Internet is the wired infrastructure (基础设施) on which web __79__ move. It began as a military communication system, which expanded into a government-funded __80__ research network.

　　Today, the Internet is a user-financed system tying intuitions of many sorts together __81__ an “information superhighway.”

　　62. A．concise C．massive B．radical D．trivial

　　63. A．behaviors C．inventions B．endeavors D．elements

　　64. A．packed C．suppressed B．stuck D．bound

　　65. A．facilitated C．mobilized B．modified D．terminated

　　66. A．competitive C．exclusive B．comparative D．expensive

　　67. A．merges C．relays B．connects D．unifies

　　68. A．figures C．individuals B．personalities D．humans

　　69. A．and C．or B．yet D．while

　　70. A．samples C．origins B．sources D．precedents

　　71. A．stood by C．stood against B．stood for D．stood over

　　72. A．exchange C．switch B．bypass D．interact

　　73. A．their C．when B．that D．whose

　　74. A．expanded C．attracted B．contracted D．extended

　　75. A．what C．these B．which D．them

　　76. A．joined C．participated B．attached D．involved

　　77. A．moreover C．likewise B．however D．then

　　78. A．With C．In B．By D．As

　　79. A．contexts C．messages B．signs D．leaflets

　　80. A．citizen C．amateur B．civilian D．resident

　　81. A．into C．over B．amid D．toward

　　Part VI Translation (5 minutes)

　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答，只需写出译文部分。

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