C. Decisiveness Required of Top Executives D. Frustration of Risk-taking Bankers 【答案】B
【解析】根据题干关键词best title可知这是一道典型的主旨大意题。根据全文可以得出答案。 Grade inflation--the gradual increase in average GPAs（grade-point averages）over the past few decades—is often considered a product of a consumer era in higher education, in which students are treated like customers to be pleased. But another,
related force—a policy often buried deep in course catalogs called “grade forgiveness”—is helping raise GPAs.
Grade forgiveness allows students to retake a course in which they received a low grade, and the most recent grade or the highest grade is the only one that counts in calculating a student's overall GPA.
The use of this little-known practice has accelerated in recent years, as colleges continue to do their utmost to keep students in school （and paying tuition）and improve their graduation rates. When this practice first started decades ago, it was usually limited to freshmen, to give them a second chance to take a class in their first year if they struggled in their transition to college-level courses. But now most colleges save for many selective campuses, allow all undergraduates, and even graduate students, to get their low grades forgiven.
College officials tend to emphasize that the goal of grade forgiveness is less about the grade itself and more about encouraging students to retake courses critical to their degree program and graduation without incurring a big penalty. “Untimely,” said Jack
Miner, Ohio State University's registrar,“we see students achieve more success because they retake a course and do better in subsequent contents or master the content that allows them to graduate on time.”
That said, there is a way in which grade forgiveness satisfies colleges' own needs as well. For public institutions, state funds are sometimes tied partly to their success on metrics such as graduation rates and student retention—so better grades can, by boosting figures like those, mean more money. And anything that raises GPAs will likely make students—who, at the end of the day, are paying the bill—feel they've gotten a better value for their tuition dollars, which is another big concern for colleges. Indeed, grade forgiveness is just another way that universities are responding to consumers' expectations for higher education. Since students and parents expect a college degree to lead a job, it is in the best interest of a school to turn out graduates who are as qualified as possible—or at least appear to be. On this, students' and colleges' incentives seem to be aligned.
26. What is commonly regarded as the cause of grade inflation? A.The change of course catalogs. B.Students' indifference to GPAS. C.Colleges' neglect of GPAS. D.The influence of consumer culture.
【答案】D
【解析】根据题干信息词定位到首段第一句，句子主干“Grade inflation is often
considered a product of a consumer era in higher education”可以得出答案。 27.What was the original purpose of grade forgiveness? A. To help freshmen adapt to college learning. B. To maintain colleges' graduation rates. C. To prepare graduates for a challenging future. D. To increase universities' income from tuition. 【答案】A
【解析】根据题干要求定位到第三段第二句。该句中的this practice对应题干中的grade forgiveness，first started对应题干中的original，而不定式短语to give them（freshmen）a second chance…if they struggled in their transition to college-level courses（如果大一新生在都向大学课程的过渡中有问题的话在给他们一次机会……）为目的，对应题干中的purpose，故正确答案应为[A]选项To help freshmen adapt to college learning（帮助大一新生适应大学学习）。 28. According to Paragraph 5,grade forgiveness enable colleges to_________. A. obtain more financial support B. boost their student enrollments C. improve their teaching quality D. meet local governments' needs 【答案】A
“paragrph 5”，以及“grade forgiveness”和“colleges”定位到第 根据题干关键词【解析】 五段第一句话。可以得出答案。
29.What does the phrase “to be aligned”（Line 5, Para.6）most probably mean? A. To counterbalance each other. B. To complement each other.
C. To be identical with each other. D. To be contradictory to each other. 【答案】C
【解析】根据题目定位到第6段最后一句：On this, students' and colleges' incentives seem to be aligned.解决本题的关键是this指代的内容，根据上文Since students and parents expect a college degree to lead to a job, it is in the best interest of a school to turn out graduates who are as qualified as possible-or at least appear to be. 可以得出答案。 30.The author examines the practice of grade forgiveness by________. A. assessing its feasibility B. analyzing the causes behind it C. comparing different views on it D. listing its long-run effects 【答案】B
【解析】根据题干，表面上问作者通过什么论述方式来探讨grade forgiveness的实践操作，其实是考全文的主旨写作手法，属于主旨大意题。根据全文可以得出答案。 Text 3
This year marks exactly two countries since the publication of Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley. Even before the invention of the electric light bulb, the author produced a remarkable work of speculative fiction that would foreshadow many ethical questions to be raised by technologies yet to come.
Today the rapid growth of artificial intelligence （AI）raises fundamental questions:”What is intelligence, identify, or consciousness? What makes humans humans?”
What is being called artificial general intelligence, machines that would imitate the way humans think, continues to evade scientists. Yet humans remain fascinated by the idea of robots that would look, move, and respond like humans, similar to those recently depicted on popular sci-fi TV series such as “Westworld” and “Humans”。 Just how people think is still far too complex to be understood, let alone reproduced, says David Eagleman, a Stanford University neuroscientist. “We are just in a situation where there are no good theories explaining what consciousnesss actually is and how you could ever build a machine to get there.”
But that doesn't mean crucial ethical issues involving AI aren't at hand. The coming use of autonomous vehicles, for example, poses thorny ethical questions. Human drivers sometimes must make split-second decisions. Their reactions may be a complex combination of instant reflexes, input from past driving experiences, and what their eyes and ears tell them in that moment. AI “vision” today is not nearly as sophisticated as that of humans. And to anticipate every imaginable driving situation is a difficult programming problem.
Whenever decisions are based on masses of data, “you quickly get into a lot of -based agency that
ethical questions,” notes Tan Kiat How, chief executive of a Singapore
is helping the government develop a voluntary code for the ethical use of AI. Along with Singapore, other governments and mega-corporations are beginning to establish their own guidelines. Britain is setting up a data ethics center. India released its AI ethics strategy this spring.
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