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  3. What the Germans call Schadenfreude taking pleasure in the pain of others is never more delicious than when those in pain are pr

What the Germans call Schadenfreude taking pleasure in the pain of others is never more delicious than when those in pain are pr

admin2011-01-02  91
问题    What the Germans call Schadenfreude taking pleasure in the pain of others is never more delicious than when those in pain are prominent, powerful, prosperous and conceited. So it is understandable that a wave of pure delight is now coursing through the rest of higher education as Harvard-probably America’s greatest university, and certainly its most arrogant-licks a self-inflicted wound known as grade inflation. The wound in time will heal, but it has exposed weakness and hypocrisy that make Harvard something of a joke.
   The matter first came to light a couple of months ago when the Boston Globe reported, in a first-rate series by Patrick Healy, on "Harvard’s dirty little secret: Since the Viet Nam era, grade inflation has made its top prize for students-graduating with honours-virtually meaningless."
   That is because in the Class of 2001, "a record 91 M of Harvard students graduated summa, magna, or cum laude, for more than at Yale (51%), Princeton (44%), and other elite universities." Healy continued: "While the world regards these students as the best of the best of America’s 13 million undergraduates, Harvard honours have actually become the laughingstock of the Ivy League."
   It’s hard to say which of these figures is more astonishing: the 51% A’s, the 91% graduating with honours, or the B-minus for honours. Taken individually or collectively, these figures depict an undergraduate college in which there is no longer any meaningful distinction among the excellent, the satisfactory and the mediocre.
   Grade inflation does not seem to be as out of control at most other places as it is at Harvard, but it is a widespread problem. Its causes are complex. Prospective employers are now looking for high grades and honours diplomas; one corporate recruiter told Healy, "A degree from Harvard is very good,  but honours certainly helps it along; it indicates someone has really worked hard."
   A report, by the Educational Policy Committee of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences revealed that grade inflation is most visible in the humanities. The chairman of the classics department told the Crimson, "The humanities are less empirically based--there’s less of a distinction between right and wrongand more latitude for subjectivity."
   Yes, it’s true-as Harvard’s defenders have been quick to point out  that undergraduates there are of the first rank and that they should be expected to do superior work by the simple fact of their having been admitted in the first place. Yet not all superior students do equally superior work.
   If a college must give grades and honours-and a credentials-obsessed society insists that it do so—then it should make every effort to ensure that those grades and honours have meaning.
   No American university is so well placed as Harvard to set high standards and demand that students, if they wish to receive academic honours, meet them. In this hour of its embarrassment, it has an opportunity to set an example by doing precisely that.
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
选项 A、Harvard sets high standards to meet the students’ demand for academic honours
B、Grade inflation has brought embarrassment to Harvard
C、The problem of grade inflation offers a good chance for Harvard to set an example of high standards for its students
D、The problem of grade inflation in Harvard would help fight the same tendency in other universities
答案A
解析 最后一段的意思是：哈佛大学作为名牌大学更应给学生制定高标准。如果学生想在学业上取得优异的成绩，就得达到已制定的高标准和要求。而在成为众矢之的的情况下，哈佛大学仍有机会解决给高分的问题并为其他学校作出榜样。由此可见，B、 C、D都符合文章的意思。A不对是因为哈佛大学制定高标准的目的并不是为了满足学生的需求。
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