Text 4 (课外阅读)
There have been a great many explanations, some of them very complicated, of the great demand for college education in America, and they are probably all true in some measure. An oversimplified explanation is that over the last fifty years, three generations of the parents of growing children have realized that better education meant better living and, as individuals, and through group action, have pushed and urged that facilities be made available. Happily the nation has been able to provide the colleges, and the students have been admitted to them in ever-increasing numbers. And the consumers of the products of education ---government, business in all its forms, and labor -- all welcomed the expansion of opportunity because it simplified their problems of employing new workers, and training and placing them.
Forty years ago, when the parents of today's high-school seniors were themselves in school, a high-school education was enough to get ready for most occupations, and, for those occupations, job training took place either in the high school or on the job. A college degree was necessary only for those who wanted to be ministers, doctors, or lawyers, high school teachers, scientists, or scholars. Today most jobs that offer opportunity for growth and advancement are open only to college graduates, for colleges have assumed the task of offering the specific preparation that is needed. There is very little job training in high schools today. Instead they concentrate on preparing students for college.
What has happened is that, as business, industry, government, and the professions have expanded, they have developed a need for many varieties of specialists. Colleges and universities, responding to these developments, have organized new programs of study to train these specialists, and in turn these new programs draw students who would not have gone to college forty years ago.
For example, almost all of the college programs in business and commerce have been developed within the last forty years. The same is true of teacher preparation and the more advanced programs in agriculture and home economics. And there is a long list of other offerings that were not available except in a few experimental programs. Accounting, social science, various forms of administration, public hospital and public health medical technology, and advanced nurses' training have been developed in higher education within those same forty years. And as evidence that the process is still continuing, we can see the emergence of atomic technology, nuclear engineering, computer technology, and, most recently, international administration. (413 words)
1. In paragraph 1, the word "consumers" most probably refers to ______________.
A. high-school graduates B. college graduates
C. those who engage college graduates D. those who consume commercial goods
2. According to paragraph 2, the parents of today's high-school students ______________.
A. did not receive enough high-school education
B. received a level of education which is almost equivalent to that of today's college
C. who had secondary education were able to cope with most occupations at the time
D. are all qualified for such professional positions as ministers, doctors or lawyers
3. Which of the following does not seem to be an explanation of the great demand for college education in America?
A. The parents have realized that higher education means a higher standard of living.
B. A high-school education is not "high" enough for most occupations.
C. A great need has been developed for many varieties of specialists.
D. High schools concentrate mainly on preparing students for colleges.
4. Which of the following specialties and programs was the least possibly available in American colleges and universities 40 years ago?
A. International administration. B. Computer science and technology.
C. Nuclear engineering. D. Advanced nurses training.
5. What is the theme of the text?
A. A general survey of American colleges and universities.
B. The main reasons for the development of American higher education.
C. The historical development of American colleges and universities.
D. The higher education, the better living conditions.
