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  3. There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits b

There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits b

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问题     There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits back a six-figure sum.
    But economists say families about to go into debt to fund four years of partying, as well as studying, can console themselves with the knowledge that college is an investment that, unlike many bank stocks, should yield huge dividends(红利).
    A 2008 study by two Harvard economists notes that the " labor-market premium (额外收益) to skill"—or the amount college graduates earned that’ s greater than what high-school graduates earned—decreased for much of the 20th century, but has come back with a vengeance (报复) since the 1980s. In 2005, the typical full-time year-round U.S. worker with a four-year college degree earned $50 900, 62% more than the $31 500 earned by a worker with only a high-school diploma.
    There’s no question that going to college is a smart economic choice. But a look at the strange variations in tuition reveals that the choice about which college to attend doesn’t come down merely to dollars and cents. Does going to Columbia University (tuition, room and board $49 260 in 2007-2008) yield a 40% greater return than attending the University of Colorado at Boulder as an out-of-state student ($ 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 evaluating 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.
In this consumerist age, most parents_________.
选项 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
答案D
解析 推理题。根据题干中的consumerist age定位到第四段第一句。本题考点是大多数父母在这个崇尚消费的时代的做法。第四段第一句中的most buyers实际上是指题干中的most parents，而句子的主要结构为not…but rather…(不是……而是……)。在这一句中提到，在这个崇尚消费的时代，大多数人不会把上大学当作一笔投资，而是看作一件消费品——就像汽车、服装或房子一样。换句话说，大多数父母会把大学教育看做一件消费品，故D项为正确答案。
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