Atatimewhenmanystudentsstillseecollegeastheirbesthopefo...

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At a time when many students still see college as their best hope for a rewarding career, higher education has become more expensive, far more than the steady increase in the cost of living. As a consequence, average student debt at graduation is currently pushing $30,000. In some cases, student debt reaches six figures.

But falling beyond the reach of these frightening statistics are many capable students who don’t accumulate student debt because they can’t afford to go to college in the first place.

Which raises a question: Wouldn’t our nation be better off if all American students were encouraged, or even assisted, by public policy to push their intellectual capacities to their maximums? What if all higher education in our country were extremely affordable? Or even free?

As it happens, the Associated Press reported that both Oregon and Tennessee are considering the feasibility (可行*) of no-tuition policies for their community colleges.

The logic behind these efforts is well explained by Oregon State Senator Mark Hass: “I think everybody agrees that with a high school education by itself, there is no path to the middle class. There is only one path, and it leads to poverty. And poverty is very expensive.”

Hass may overstate the case slightly. Despite the lack of good blue-collar jobs in our country梛obs that would firmly establish a worker in whatt’s left of the middle class and provide paid vacation, a pension, and health insurance梐 high school graduate might still  piece together enough work to keep himself more or less above the poverty line, even though access to the true “American Dream” will still be very difficult.

But the second part of Hass’s argument is undeniable. Our failure to educate ourselves to our full potential is very expensive. Hass refers to research from the Oregon University System that indicates that Oregonians with only a high school degree make less money and, therefore, pay fewer taxes than those with college degrees. They are also more likely to require food stamps and other sorts of public assistance. Republicans and Democrats agree on this.

Clearly, the closer we come to reaching our full educational capacity, as individuals and as a nation, the less likely we are to become criminals and prisoners. In fact, it’s hard to think of a social ill that’s unlikely to be improved by more education.

But, of course, there’s no such thing as “free college”. The taxpayers have to come up with the money.

But, would our country be better off if all students had a real opportunity to push their educational capacities to the limit? Of course. There are long-term social benefits that ideology fools us into believing are unattainable. But versions of these goods and others have been achieved elsewhere, and they could be achieved in the United States as well. They may require some remedy (矫正，补救) to our nation’s unfair redistribution of wealth in the direction of the already-wealthy, but more equality in income and wealth would be a healthy step, as well.

So, good for you, Oregon and Tennessee. Most of the world’s problems come from ignorance, intolerance, greed and backwardness. Education is a very important remedy.

62. What’s the problem with the current college education?

  A. It can’t prepare students for a promising future.

  B. It fails to recognize and admit talented students.

  C. It becomes less accessible to students financially.

  D. It lacks a set of evaluating criteria for students.

63. According to the passage, a graduate with only a high school degree will ______.

  A. likely become an established worker

  B. have no means to make a living

  C. never be a member of middle class

  D. find it hard to realize American Dream

64. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

  A. Poor people are a costly burden to society.

  B. Poor families can’t afford schooling.

  C. Education for poor children is expensive.

  D. Poverty is related to high education fees.

65. What’s the purpose of the author writing this passage?

  A. To describe the long-term plans for education.

  B. To argue for free higher education.

  C. To explain the importance of education.

  D. To fight against unfair wealth distribution.

【回答】

 CDAB

知识点：*经济文化类阅读

题型：阅读理解