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  3. Laura Strong, a 29-year-old in suburban Chicago, owes $245,000 on student loans for the psychology Ph. D. she finished in 2013.

Laura Strong, a 29-year-old in suburban Chicago, owes $245,000 on student loans for the psychology Ph. D. she finished in 2013.

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问题     Laura Strong, a 29-year-old in suburban Chicago, owes $245,000 on student loans for the psychology Ph. D. she finished in 2013. This year, she says she hopes to earn $ 35 ,000 working part-time jobs as a therapist and yoga teacher—not enough to manage a loan payment of about $ 2,000 a month. But Strong isn’t paying anything close to that. She’s one of at least 3. 8 million Americans who’ve qualified for federal programs that tie payments to income and eventually forgive debt for some struggling borrowers , leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab.
    President Obama has praised the programs for offering a lifeline to borrowers who’d otherwise default, scarring their credit. Strong pays about $ 100 a month on her federal loans, which she used to finance her graduate studies at Argosy University. " I wouldn’t know how I would pay it back otherwise, she says.
    Income-based repayment was introduced under President Clinton, but the programs weren’t heavily promoted until late 2013, when the Obama administration began sending e-mails to borrowers, telling them, " Your initial payment could be as low as $ 0 a month. " The number of people using these plans has quadrupled since 2012. About half of outstanding balances in the Department of Education’s Grad Plus loans, which finance advanced-degree studies, are in income-driven plans. Most borrowers in the programs have payments capped at 15 percent of income, with allowances for housing and other expenses. In December the Obama administration is expected to expand the number of borrowers eligible for a payment cap of 10 percent. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the plans protect people going into socially valuable but low-paying lines of work from crushing debt. " That’s good for them. That’s good for our economy. It’s good for our society," he said.
    Critics say the plans are a hidden subsidy to well-off students and colleges, which can justify tuition increases by reassuring students that they may not have to repay their debt. In a seminar at Georgetown Law, Charles Pruett, assistant dean for financial aid, was captured on video telling alumni they could "ignore" debt balances if they spent 10 years in government or nonprofit jobs, which would qualify them for early loan forgiveness. Pruett says Georgetown promotes the programs to encourage graduates to take public-service jobs. "It’s an earned benefit, not a giveaway," he says.
    Borrowers hold $1.2 trillion in federal student loans, the second-biggest category of consumer debt, after mortgages. For taxpayers the loans are " a slow-ticking time bomb," says Stephen Stanley, a former Federal Reserve economist.
Why do critics worry that income-driven plans would lead to tuition increases?
选项 A、The plans offer direct subsidy to wealthy students and colleges.
B、The plans allow tuition to increase at a rational range.
C、The plans make students less worried about tuition increases.
D、The plans guaranteed students that they need not repay their debt.
答案C
解析 推断题。根据题干定位到第四段。关键句：Critics say the plans are a hidden subsidy towell-off students and colleges，which can justify tuition increases by reassuring students that theymay not have to repay their debt．“批评家说联邦计划可能无形之中补贴了那些富裕的学生和学校，因为让学生放心地认为他们可能不需要偿还贷款，而支持了学费上涨。”由此可知，在批评家看来，该计划是通过让学生们放宽心，对贷款没有那么担忧，从而使他们对学费上涨持宽容态度。[C]选项符合原文，为正确选项。[A]选项direct subsidy与原文的hidden subsidy相矛盾，可排除。[B]选项内容在原文中并未有涉及，可排除。[D]选项说法太绝对，联邦计划只是让学生们觉得他们有可能不需要还贷款，而不是向他们保证一定不需要偿还贷款，所以该选项可排除。
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