Unit 77
THESE HAVE BEEN THE ,BEST OF TIMES for many of the nation's top universities-and the worst of times for middle income families struggling to afford them. Thanks to a robust stock market, school endowments have ballooned. Yet few institutions have held down steep increases in tuition. But that may be changing.
Williams College, a prestigious liberal arts school in Massachusetts, announced last month that for the first time in 46 years, its tuition would remain steady at $31,520. Last week students at Princeton University learned that their annual $31,599 tuition, room and board will rise just 3.3%-the smallest hike in 30 years.
These shows of restraint may signal a turnaround from the whopping tuition increases of recent years, as some schools now consider using their endowments to control price hikes. Since 1980, college costs have more than doubled, after adjustment for inflation, while the median income of families with college-age children has increased only 12%. Last year tuition rose an average of 4.6%, the lowest jump in 12 years-but still more than twice the rate of inflation. "Remaining affordable for middle-class parents is the 800-lb. gorilla facing colleges and universities," says Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education in Washington.
Williams held its tuition flat by paying more of its bills with the investment profits on its $1.1 billion endowment and with contributions from alumni. But college officials who oppose using endowments to freeze tuition say the students most vulnerable to hikes are not affected by them. "If we were to keep tuition constant, would it change the situation here for students in need?" asks Princeton president Harold Shapiro. "No, because their tuition is fully covered." The school plans to boost scholarships to needy students this year as much as $2,250 a person. To be sure, there is no shortage of families who can afford elite institutions. Despite annual tuition hikes at Harvard, its applicant pool swelled from 13,029 in 1992 to 18,167 last year. Families that equate price with quality have allowed costs at elite schools to be on "autopilot," says Gordon Winston, an economist at Williams College. Most wealthy families can afford the high tuitions, and poor families get financial aid, but middle-income families get squeezed-and even squeezed out.
One reason colleges are curbing tuition increases is to attract those middle-income students. Rice University in Houston uses its $3 billion endowment to guarantee that tuition for sophomores, juniors and seniors will not leap ahead of the consumer price index. Another reason for restraint is concern that public outrage will prompt government intervention. Congress is already tackling the issue during two days of hearings this week, and President Clinton recently proposed a $31 billion package to make higher education more affordable. Now if only someone could do something about campus parking.
注（1）：本文選自Time；02/14/2000，p70；
注（2）：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對(duì)象是1999年真題text2（1，2，3，5題）和2002年真題text2第2題（第4題）
1.We learn from the beginning of the passage that college tuition _______________.
[A] has become a heavy burden on many middle income families with college-age children
[B] has ballooned due to a robust stock market
[C] has brought more endowments to the top universities
[D] has increased relatively slowly in the past few years
2.Speaking of college cost, the author implies that ___________________.
[A] it is a big challenge facing colleges and universities
[B] it has increased twice as much as the median income of families in the past 2 decades
[C] changes are taking place as schools are looking for sources to control it
[D] it will not stop increasing until parents are unaffordable
3.In the view of Harold Shapiro, __________________________.
[A] it's unnecessary to control tuition increases because even needy students can pay their tuition
[B] students in need can not benefit much from the efforts of keeping tuition constant
[C] schools should provide more scholarships to students instead of cutting down tuition
[D] using endowments to freeze tuition will only add to student' economic burden
4.The phrase “800-lb gorilla” （line 6, paragraph 3） most probably means _____________.
[A] big, heavy animal
[B] urgent issue
[C] tough problem
[D] unwanted situation
5.We learn from the last paragraph that _______________.
[A] tuition in Rice University has dropped
[B] government will take measures to punish schools that allow their tuition to increase steeply
[C] the public will urge government to tackle tuition increase if schools can not handle it
[D] there will be more middle-income students on college campus if tuition can be curbed
答案：A C B C D
篇章剖析：
本篇文章圍繞高校采取措施抑制學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的問題進(jìn)行了分析。第一段介紹了高校學(xué)費(fèi)高昂的事實(shí)。第二段以威廉姆斯學(xué)院和普林斯頓大學(xué)為例，說明高校正在采取措施抑制學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)。第三段介紹了1980年以來高校學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的幅度，第四段介紹了一些高校平抑學(xué)費(fèi)的措施以及引起的質(zhì)疑，最后一段分析了高校平抑學(xué)費(fèi)的原因。
詞匯注釋：
robust: [rE5bQst] adj. 健康和有力的；精力充沛的
endowment: [in5daumEnt] n. 資助，捐贈(zèng)
balloon: [bE5lu:n] v. 激增，飛漲迅速增長(zhǎng)或上升
hike: [haik] n. 突然的或急劇的上升、上漲、增加
restraint: [ris5treint] n. 抑制, 制止
turnaround: [`t\:nE9raJnd] n. 轉(zhuǎn)變, 轉(zhuǎn)向, （經(jīng)濟(jì), 營(yíng)業(yè)等的）突然好轉(zhuǎn)
whopping: [5（h）wCpiN] adj. 巨大的, 龐大的
median: [5mi:djEn] adj. 中間的，位于中間的
gorilla: [^E5rilE] n. 大猩猩
alumni: [E5lQmni] n. 校友
vulnerable:[5vQlnErEb（E）l] adj. 易受傷害的；易受影響的
boost: [bu:st] v. 增進(jìn)；改善
pool: [pu:l]] n. 集中備用的物資（如錢、 物、工人等）
swell: [swel] v. 增加，增大
equate: [i5kweit] v. （常與to, with連用）使相等
autopilot: [5C:tEpailEt] v. 自動(dòng)駕駛儀; 自動(dòng)操舵裝置
squeeze: [skwi:z] v. 壓榨, 擠, 擠榨
curb: [kE:b] v. 抑制；控制
outrage: [5autreidV] n. 憤慨；（由暴力或冒犯而引起的）憤怒
prompt: [prCmpt] v. 鼓動(dòng), 促使
package: [5pAkidV] n. 建議，提議
難句突破
1. But college officials who oppose using endowments to freeze tuition say the students most vulnerable to hikes are not affected by them.
主體句式：college officials say…
結(jié)構(gòu)分析：這是一個(gè)復(fù)雜句，主語college officials帶有一個(gè)定語從句。本句難點(diǎn)是vulnerable這個(gè)詞。“vulnerable”的意思是“易受攻擊的”。
句子譯文：但反對(duì)利用捐贈(zèng)款來防止學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的大學(xué)官員認(rèn)為這些措施對(duì)于那些受到學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)打擊的學(xué)生并無實(shí)質(zhì)性的幫助。
2. Families that equate price with quality have allowed costs at elite schools to be on "autopilot," says Gordon Winston, an economist at Williams College.
主體句式：Gordon Winston says …
結(jié)構(gòu)分析：本句整體結(jié)構(gòu)為倒裝結(jié)構(gòu)，這種結(jié)構(gòu)常見于引述句，特別是主語較長(zhǎng)的引述句。在這個(gè)句子里，主語帶了一個(gè)同位語，因而比較長(zhǎng)，如果按照正常語序就會(huì)造成語意連接不緊密地情況。says的賓語是families… “autopilot”，其中families還帶有一個(gè)that引導(dǎo)的定語從句。
句子譯文：那些將價(jià)格和質(zhì)量劃等號(hào)的家庭其實(shí)默許了一流大學(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)“隨行就市”的情況，威廉姆斯學(xué)院的一位經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家戈登·溫斯頓說。
題目分析：
1. 答案為A，屬事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。從第一段第一句話 “the worst of times for middle income families struggling to afford them”可以看出，高校學(xué)費(fèi)已經(jīng)令很多家中等收入家庭不堪重負(fù)。
2. 答案為C，屬推理判斷題。在文章第一段末寫道：But that may be changing.第二段接著舉例說明高校如何采取措施平抑學(xué)費(fèi)。第三段第一句又說這些抑制學(xué)費(fèi)的措施也許是最近幾年學(xué)費(fèi)暴漲的形勢(shì)turnaround的跡象，由此可見學(xué)校正積極尋找資金來源控制學(xué)費(fèi)，學(xué)費(fèi)問題正在發(fā)生變化。
3. 答案為B，屬事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。文中第四段引用Shapiro的話說真正困難的學(xué)生并不會(huì)因?yàn)閷W(xué)費(fèi)保持穩(wěn)定其境況就發(fā)生改變，因?yàn)閷W(xué)生的學(xué)費(fèi)都是足額支付的。也就是說這些學(xué)生不會(huì)從中受益。
4. 答案為C，屬推理判斷題?！癵orilla”本意為“大猩猩”，根據(jù)上下文，中等收入家庭的收入增幅遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)小于學(xué)費(fèi)的增幅，因而各大高校都面臨著如何使中等收入家庭付得起學(xué)費(fèi)這樣一個(gè)“800-1b gorilla”，下文又介紹了各高校如何采取措施平抑學(xué)費(fèi)，可見這里“800-1b gorilla”是一個(gè)暗喻，指“棘手的問題”。
5. 答案為D，屬推理判斷題。文章最后一段解釋了高校平抑學(xué)費(fèi)的原因之一就是想要吸引更多來自中等收入家庭的孩子。最末一具有說“現(xiàn)在要是有人能夠解決以下校園停車問題就好了”，暗示校園有可能會(huì)有很多學(xué)生。不難理解，如果學(xué)費(fèi)能夠被平抑，會(huì)有更多來自中等收入家庭的孩子。
參考譯文：
對(duì)于國(guó)內(nèi)許多一流大學(xué)來說，現(xiàn)在是的時(shí)候；而對(duì)于那些收入中等，勉強(qiáng)付得起學(xué)費(fèi)的家庭來說，情況已經(jīng)糟得不能再糟了。幸虧股市上揚(yáng)，學(xué)校獲得的資助也水漲船高?？墒菂s沒有多少學(xué)校能夠遏制住不斷上漲的學(xué)費(fèi)。不過這種情況也許正在發(fā)生變化。
馬薩諸塞州的文科大學(xué)威廉姆斯學(xué)院上個(gè)月宣布其學(xué)費(fèi)將維持在31,520美元的水平上，這開了46六年來的先例。普林斯頓大學(xué)的學(xué)生上周得知他們每年31,599美元的學(xué)費(fèi)，食宿費(fèi)將只上漲3.3%，是30年來增幅最小的一次。
這些抑制學(xué)費(fèi)的措施也許是最近幾年學(xué)費(fèi)暴漲的形勢(shì)發(fā)生逆轉(zhuǎn)的跡象，因?yàn)橐恍W(xué)校目前已經(jīng)開始考慮用所獲得的資助來控制價(jià)格上漲。從1980年開始，由于通貨膨脹而調(diào)整價(jià)格后，大學(xué)費(fèi)用增加了一倍多，而供孩子上大學(xué)的家庭平均收入只增加了12%.去年學(xué)費(fèi)平均漲幅是4.6%，雖然是12年里增幅最低的一次，但仍然是通貨膨脹指數(shù)的兩倍多?！案鞔蟾咝６济媾R如何讓中產(chǎn)階級(jí)家庭支付得起學(xué)費(fèi)這樣一個(gè)棘手的問題，”華盛頓美國(guó)教育委員會(huì)高級(jí)副總裁特里·哈特爾說道。
威廉姆斯學(xué)院平抑學(xué)費(fèi)的措施就是利用從其11億美元捐贈(zèng)款所得的投資利潤(rùn)和該校校友會(huì)的捐款來支付大部分的賬單。但反對(duì)利用捐贈(zèng)款來防止學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的大學(xué)官員認(rèn)為這些措施對(duì)于那些受到學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)打擊的學(xué)生并無實(shí)質(zhì)性的幫助?！氨３謱W(xué)費(fèi)不變難道會(huì)讓那些身處逆境的學(xué)生的境況發(fā)生改變嗎？”普林斯頓大學(xué)校長(zhǎng)哈羅德·夏皮羅質(zhì)疑道?！安?，因?yàn)樗麄兊膶W(xué)費(fèi)已經(jīng)全都支付了。”該校計(jì)劃今年給每位貧困學(xué)生的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金增加到2250美元。的確，上得起一流大學(xué)的家庭并不在少數(shù)。雖然哈佛大學(xué)每年學(xué)費(fèi)都會(huì)增加，但申請(qǐng)入學(xué)的人數(shù)還是從1992年的13029人增加到了去年的18167人?！澳切r(jià)格和質(zhì)量劃等號(hào)的家庭其實(shí)默許了一流大學(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)”隨行就市“的情況，”威廉姆斯學(xué)院的一位經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家戈登·溫斯頓說。最富裕的家庭負(fù)擔(dān)得起學(xué)費(fèi)，貧困家庭能得到財(cái)政資助，而中等收入家庭卻陷入困境，甚至無力負(fù)擔(dān)學(xué)費(fèi)。
各高校紛紛開始控制學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的一個(gè)原因就是要吸引中等收入家庭的學(xué)生。休斯敦萊斯大學(xué)動(dòng)用了30億美元的捐贈(zèng)基金以確保大二，大三和大四學(xué)生的學(xué)費(fèi)不會(huì)超過消費(fèi)者物價(jià)指數(shù)。另一個(gè)控制學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的原因就是擔(dān)心公眾的憤怒會(huì)導(dǎo)致政府干預(yù)。國(guó)會(huì)已經(jīng)開始在本周連續(xù)兩天的聽證會(huì)上處理這個(gè)問題，克林頓總統(tǒng)最近也提出了一個(gè)310億美元的一攬子計(jì)劃來減輕高等教育的學(xué)費(fèi)負(fù)擔(dān)。現(xiàn)在要是有人能解決一下校園停車問題就好了。
THESE HAVE BEEN THE ,BEST OF TIMES for many of the nation's top universities-and the worst of times for middle income families struggling to afford them. Thanks to a robust stock market, school endowments have ballooned. Yet few institutions have held down steep increases in tuition. But that may be changing.
Williams College, a prestigious liberal arts school in Massachusetts, announced last month that for the first time in 46 years, its tuition would remain steady at $31,520. Last week students at Princeton University learned that their annual $31,599 tuition, room and board will rise just 3.3%-the smallest hike in 30 years.
These shows of restraint may signal a turnaround from the whopping tuition increases of recent years, as some schools now consider using their endowments to control price hikes. Since 1980, college costs have more than doubled, after adjustment for inflation, while the median income of families with college-age children has increased only 12%. Last year tuition rose an average of 4.6%, the lowest jump in 12 years-but still more than twice the rate of inflation. "Remaining affordable for middle-class parents is the 800-lb. gorilla facing colleges and universities," says Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education in Washington.
Williams held its tuition flat by paying more of its bills with the investment profits on its $1.1 billion endowment and with contributions from alumni. But college officials who oppose using endowments to freeze tuition say the students most vulnerable to hikes are not affected by them. "If we were to keep tuition constant, would it change the situation here for students in need?" asks Princeton president Harold Shapiro. "No, because their tuition is fully covered." The school plans to boost scholarships to needy students this year as much as $2,250 a person. To be sure, there is no shortage of families who can afford elite institutions. Despite annual tuition hikes at Harvard, its applicant pool swelled from 13,029 in 1992 to 18,167 last year. Families that equate price with quality have allowed costs at elite schools to be on "autopilot," says Gordon Winston, an economist at Williams College. Most wealthy families can afford the high tuitions, and poor families get financial aid, but middle-income families get squeezed-and even squeezed out.
One reason colleges are curbing tuition increases is to attract those middle-income students. Rice University in Houston uses its $3 billion endowment to guarantee that tuition for sophomores, juniors and seniors will not leap ahead of the consumer price index. Another reason for restraint is concern that public outrage will prompt government intervention. Congress is already tackling the issue during two days of hearings this week, and President Clinton recently proposed a $31 billion package to make higher education more affordable. Now if only someone could do something about campus parking.
注（1）：本文選自Time；02/14/2000，p70；
注（2）：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對(duì)象是1999年真題text2（1，2，3，5題）和2002年真題text2第2題（第4題）
1.We learn from the beginning of the passage that college tuition _______________.
[A] has become a heavy burden on many middle income families with college-age children
[B] has ballooned due to a robust stock market
[C] has brought more endowments to the top universities
[D] has increased relatively slowly in the past few years
2.Speaking of college cost, the author implies that ___________________.
[A] it is a big challenge facing colleges and universities
[B] it has increased twice as much as the median income of families in the past 2 decades
[C] changes are taking place as schools are looking for sources to control it
[D] it will not stop increasing until parents are unaffordable
3.In the view of Harold Shapiro, __________________________.
[A] it's unnecessary to control tuition increases because even needy students can pay their tuition
[B] students in need can not benefit much from the efforts of keeping tuition constant
[C] schools should provide more scholarships to students instead of cutting down tuition
[D] using endowments to freeze tuition will only add to student' economic burden
4.The phrase “800-lb gorilla” （line 6, paragraph 3） most probably means _____________.
[A] big, heavy animal
[B] urgent issue
[C] tough problem
[D] unwanted situation
5.We learn from the last paragraph that _______________.
[A] tuition in Rice University has dropped
[B] government will take measures to punish schools that allow their tuition to increase steeply
[C] the public will urge government to tackle tuition increase if schools can not handle it
[D] there will be more middle-income students on college campus if tuition can be curbed
答案：A C B C D
篇章剖析：
本篇文章圍繞高校采取措施抑制學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的問題進(jìn)行了分析。第一段介紹了高校學(xué)費(fèi)高昂的事實(shí)。第二段以威廉姆斯學(xué)院和普林斯頓大學(xué)為例，說明高校正在采取措施抑制學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)。第三段介紹了1980年以來高校學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的幅度，第四段介紹了一些高校平抑學(xué)費(fèi)的措施以及引起的質(zhì)疑，最后一段分析了高校平抑學(xué)費(fèi)的原因。
詞匯注釋：
robust: [rE5bQst] adj. 健康和有力的；精力充沛的
endowment: [in5daumEnt] n. 資助，捐贈(zèng)
balloon: [bE5lu:n] v. 激增，飛漲迅速增長(zhǎng)或上升
hike: [haik] n. 突然的或急劇的上升、上漲、增加
restraint: [ris5treint] n. 抑制, 制止
turnaround: [`t\:nE9raJnd] n. 轉(zhuǎn)變, 轉(zhuǎn)向, （經(jīng)濟(jì), 營(yíng)業(yè)等的）突然好轉(zhuǎn)
whopping: [5（h）wCpiN] adj. 巨大的, 龐大的
median: [5mi:djEn] adj. 中間的，位于中間的
gorilla: [^E5rilE] n. 大猩猩
alumni: [E5lQmni] n. 校友
vulnerable:[5vQlnErEb（E）l] adj. 易受傷害的；易受影響的
boost: [bu:st] v. 增進(jìn)；改善
pool: [pu:l]] n. 集中備用的物資（如錢、 物、工人等）
swell: [swel] v. 增加，增大
equate: [i5kweit] v. （常與to, with連用）使相等
autopilot: [5C:tEpailEt] v. 自動(dòng)駕駛儀; 自動(dòng)操舵裝置
squeeze: [skwi:z] v. 壓榨, 擠, 擠榨
curb: [kE:b] v. 抑制；控制
outrage: [5autreidV] n. 憤慨；（由暴力或冒犯而引起的）憤怒
prompt: [prCmpt] v. 鼓動(dòng), 促使
package: [5pAkidV] n. 建議，提議
難句突破
1. But college officials who oppose using endowments to freeze tuition say the students most vulnerable to hikes are not affected by them.
主體句式：college officials say…
結(jié)構(gòu)分析：這是一個(gè)復(fù)雜句，主語college officials帶有一個(gè)定語從句。本句難點(diǎn)是vulnerable這個(gè)詞。“vulnerable”的意思是“易受攻擊的”。
句子譯文：但反對(duì)利用捐贈(zèng)款來防止學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的大學(xué)官員認(rèn)為這些措施對(duì)于那些受到學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)打擊的學(xué)生并無實(shí)質(zhì)性的幫助。
2. Families that equate price with quality have allowed costs at elite schools to be on "autopilot," says Gordon Winston, an economist at Williams College.
主體句式：Gordon Winston says …
結(jié)構(gòu)分析：本句整體結(jié)構(gòu)為倒裝結(jié)構(gòu)，這種結(jié)構(gòu)常見于引述句，特別是主語較長(zhǎng)的引述句。在這個(gè)句子里，主語帶了一個(gè)同位語，因而比較長(zhǎng)，如果按照正常語序就會(huì)造成語意連接不緊密地情況。says的賓語是families… “autopilot”，其中families還帶有一個(gè)that引導(dǎo)的定語從句。
句子譯文：那些將價(jià)格和質(zhì)量劃等號(hào)的家庭其實(shí)默許了一流大學(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)“隨行就市”的情況，威廉姆斯學(xué)院的一位經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家戈登·溫斯頓說。
題目分析：
1. 答案為A，屬事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。從第一段第一句話 “the worst of times for middle income families struggling to afford them”可以看出，高校學(xué)費(fèi)已經(jīng)令很多家中等收入家庭不堪重負(fù)。
2. 答案為C，屬推理判斷題。在文章第一段末寫道：But that may be changing.第二段接著舉例說明高校如何采取措施平抑學(xué)費(fèi)。第三段第一句又說這些抑制學(xué)費(fèi)的措施也許是最近幾年學(xué)費(fèi)暴漲的形勢(shì)turnaround的跡象，由此可見學(xué)校正積極尋找資金來源控制學(xué)費(fèi)，學(xué)費(fèi)問題正在發(fā)生變化。
3. 答案為B，屬事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。文中第四段引用Shapiro的話說真正困難的學(xué)生并不會(huì)因?yàn)閷W(xué)費(fèi)保持穩(wěn)定其境況就發(fā)生改變，因?yàn)閷W(xué)生的學(xué)費(fèi)都是足額支付的。也就是說這些學(xué)生不會(huì)從中受益。
4. 答案為C，屬推理判斷題?！癵orilla”本意為“大猩猩”，根據(jù)上下文，中等收入家庭的收入增幅遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)小于學(xué)費(fèi)的增幅，因而各大高校都面臨著如何使中等收入家庭付得起學(xué)費(fèi)這樣一個(gè)“800-1b gorilla”，下文又介紹了各高校如何采取措施平抑學(xué)費(fèi)，可見這里“800-1b gorilla”是一個(gè)暗喻，指“棘手的問題”。
5. 答案為D，屬推理判斷題。文章最后一段解釋了高校平抑學(xué)費(fèi)的原因之一就是想要吸引更多來自中等收入家庭的孩子。最末一具有說“現(xiàn)在要是有人能夠解決以下校園停車問題就好了”，暗示校園有可能會(huì)有很多學(xué)生。不難理解，如果學(xué)費(fèi)能夠被平抑，會(huì)有更多來自中等收入家庭的孩子。
參考譯文：
對(duì)于國(guó)內(nèi)許多一流大學(xué)來說，現(xiàn)在是的時(shí)候；而對(duì)于那些收入中等，勉強(qiáng)付得起學(xué)費(fèi)的家庭來說，情況已經(jīng)糟得不能再糟了。幸虧股市上揚(yáng)，學(xué)校獲得的資助也水漲船高?？墒菂s沒有多少學(xué)校能夠遏制住不斷上漲的學(xué)費(fèi)。不過這種情況也許正在發(fā)生變化。
馬薩諸塞州的文科大學(xué)威廉姆斯學(xué)院上個(gè)月宣布其學(xué)費(fèi)將維持在31,520美元的水平上，這開了46六年來的先例。普林斯頓大學(xué)的學(xué)生上周得知他們每年31,599美元的學(xué)費(fèi)，食宿費(fèi)將只上漲3.3%，是30年來增幅最小的一次。
這些抑制學(xué)費(fèi)的措施也許是最近幾年學(xué)費(fèi)暴漲的形勢(shì)發(fā)生逆轉(zhuǎn)的跡象，因?yàn)橐恍W(xué)校目前已經(jīng)開始考慮用所獲得的資助來控制價(jià)格上漲。從1980年開始，由于通貨膨脹而調(diào)整價(jià)格后，大學(xué)費(fèi)用增加了一倍多，而供孩子上大學(xué)的家庭平均收入只增加了12%.去年學(xué)費(fèi)平均漲幅是4.6%，雖然是12年里增幅最低的一次，但仍然是通貨膨脹指數(shù)的兩倍多?！案鞔蟾咝６济媾R如何讓中產(chǎn)階級(jí)家庭支付得起學(xué)費(fèi)這樣一個(gè)棘手的問題，”華盛頓美國(guó)教育委員會(huì)高級(jí)副總裁特里·哈特爾說道。
威廉姆斯學(xué)院平抑學(xué)費(fèi)的措施就是利用從其11億美元捐贈(zèng)款所得的投資利潤(rùn)和該校校友會(huì)的捐款來支付大部分的賬單。但反對(duì)利用捐贈(zèng)款來防止學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的大學(xué)官員認(rèn)為這些措施對(duì)于那些受到學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)打擊的學(xué)生并無實(shí)質(zhì)性的幫助?！氨３謱W(xué)費(fèi)不變難道會(huì)讓那些身處逆境的學(xué)生的境況發(fā)生改變嗎？”普林斯頓大學(xué)校長(zhǎng)哈羅德·夏皮羅質(zhì)疑道?！安?，因?yàn)樗麄兊膶W(xué)費(fèi)已經(jīng)全都支付了。”該校計(jì)劃今年給每位貧困學(xué)生的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金增加到2250美元。的確，上得起一流大學(xué)的家庭并不在少數(shù)。雖然哈佛大學(xué)每年學(xué)費(fèi)都會(huì)增加，但申請(qǐng)入學(xué)的人數(shù)還是從1992年的13029人增加到了去年的18167人?！澳切r(jià)格和質(zhì)量劃等號(hào)的家庭其實(shí)默許了一流大學(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)”隨行就市“的情況，”威廉姆斯學(xué)院的一位經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家戈登·溫斯頓說。最富裕的家庭負(fù)擔(dān)得起學(xué)費(fèi)，貧困家庭能得到財(cái)政資助，而中等收入家庭卻陷入困境，甚至無力負(fù)擔(dān)學(xué)費(fèi)。
各高校紛紛開始控制學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的一個(gè)原因就是要吸引中等收入家庭的學(xué)生。休斯敦萊斯大學(xué)動(dòng)用了30億美元的捐贈(zèng)基金以確保大二，大三和大四學(xué)生的學(xué)費(fèi)不會(huì)超過消費(fèi)者物價(jià)指數(shù)。另一個(gè)控制學(xué)費(fèi)增長(zhǎng)的原因就是擔(dān)心公眾的憤怒會(huì)導(dǎo)致政府干預(yù)。國(guó)會(huì)已經(jīng)開始在本周連續(xù)兩天的聽證會(huì)上處理這個(gè)問題，克林頓總統(tǒng)最近也提出了一個(gè)310億美元的一攬子計(jì)劃來減輕高等教育的學(xué)費(fèi)負(fù)擔(dān)。現(xiàn)在要是有人能解決一下校園停車問題就好了。