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  3. Teachers grumble over pay everywhere, but in West Virginia Wesleyan College the anger is acute. Salaries here have barely moved

Teachers grumble over pay everywhere, but in West Virginia Wesleyan College the anger is acute. Salaries here have barely moved

admin2010-11-27  53
问题     Teachers grumble over pay everywhere, but in West Virginia Wesleyan College the anger is acute. Salaries here have barely moved since 2000, and the average assistant professor’s pay has fallen below that at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. On a campus with just 86 full-time faculty, a sociology professor said, a few hundred thousand dollars more spent on teaching could make a real difference.
    Wesleyan President William Haden says the college plans to raise faculty pay. But he says Wesleyan is nothing without students—"they vote with their feet"—and the college has no choice but to address their wants and needs. He says technology has been a big part of that, and some recent graduates agree that it’s valuable—though maybe not essential. Daniel Simmons, a 1999 graduate and also a middle-school teacher, praised the technology program. "If I had gone to another school it wouldn’t have been available to me", he said. "It was very convenient and it was top of the line".
    But as with the faculty, the quality of human instructors is a big concern among Wesleyan alumni. "A little bit more money should have been put into keeping people", said Evan Keeling, a 2002 graduate now pursuing a doctorate at the University of Virginia. He found the quality in the classroom uneven, and, notably, neither he nor the Daniel Simmons came to Wesleyan because of technology. The program was a bonus, not the primary draw. Skinner, the director of admission and financial planning, acknowledged that seems widely true. Prospective students pay more attention to more tangible signs of growth. "It did open some doors for us, but would I have liked to have had a new residence hall or recreational facility? I probably would have preferred that", Skinner said. His daily struggle remains filling the freshman class, which may be down 50 people or more this year, due to changes in government financial aid programs and the shuttering of the nursing program. The college still accepts about 80 percent of its applicants, and no longer requires online applications.
    Haden acknowledges that, with the benefit of hindsight, he might have handled details of how the program was financed differently. But he makes no apologies for taking bold steps which he says have indeed set Wesleyan apart. "We needed to make a statement about our commitment to technology and our belief that it would enhance the quality of education and the preparation of our students", he said. "And I’m still believing that".
选项 A、invests too much in the technology program.
B、spends a great deal in achieving tangible growth.
C、fails to attract enough students to fill its classrooms.
D、cannot get enough government financial aid.
答案A
解析 本题问卫斯理安学院的教职员工薪水较低的主要原因。第一段"…a few hundred thousand dollars more spent on teaching could make a real difference"中表明在教学上多花几十万美元就会有很不相同的结果，由第二段也可知由于不得不满足学生对technology的要求，Wesleyan未能实行提高教师薪水的计划，故"在科技上投入过多"正确。做此题的关键在于把握好全文的中心思想。纵观全文，作者主要讨论该学院实施科技计划的利弊，教师的薪水较低实际上正是实施科技计划的结果。解题时要把握这样一个基本思路：符合中心思想的容易是答案，而与主题无关的细节则不太可能是答案。为了取得有形的增长而花费过多：由第三段"Prospective students pay more attention to more tangible signs of growth"．可知，关注有形的发展的是那些可能来就读的大学生，学校并未在这方面花费太多。实际上"tangible growth"是与"technology program"是两个对立的东西，该学院正是为了实施科技计划，所以没有经费投入有形的发展。没能吸引足够的学生来就读：学生可能减少是因为政府改变了财政补贴计划以及学校停开了护理课，学生减少是将要发生的事，并非是教职员工薪水较低的原因。没能得到足够的政府财政支持：由第三段倒数第二句"…down 50 people or more this year，due to changes in government financial aid programs"可知这是学生减少的原因。可以看出，本项仅是文中具体的细枝末节，作者无意讨论政府的财政支持对教职员工薪水的影响。
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