Question

Harvard University in the United States has been ranked as the university with the best “reputation” in the world.

The Times Higher Education magazine has listed 200 top universities all over the world based on how they are regarded by a group of international college teachers. That is to say, the list measures how universities are regarded, rather than how they actually performed.

“A subjective, word-of-mouth (口碑的) quality such as “reputation” has genuine economic value for universities,” said Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

“Reputation is not just an impression, though it might not be as reliable as performance by objective indicators (客观指标),” said Prof Marginson.

Based on the views of 13,000 college teachers around the world, it confirms the power of the big US universities, which dominate this list. Seven of the top 10 are US universities, headed by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Furthermore, 14 of the top 20 are from the US. Cambridge is the highest ranking UK university in the list, in third place, with Oxford ranked as sixth.

“For students applying to university, reputation might be hard to quantify, but was an important part of the attractiveness,” said the president of Cambridge University’s students’ union, Rahul Mansigani.

“Reputation makes a huge difference. If there is an idea that somewhere is great, it will get lots of good people applying whether it’s true or not. Factors such as a sense of history and the presence of outstanding college teachers were part of the reputation of Cambridge,” he said.

1.What is special about the latest ranking of universities?

A. It is very subjective.    B. It involves many indicators.

C. It is made by international professors.    D. It includes universities across the world.

2.Which of the following shows the correct order of the ranking?

A. Cambridge → MIT → Oxford → Harvard

B. Cambridge → Harvard → Oxford → MIT

C. Harvard → MIT → Cambridge → Oxford

D. Harvard → Cambridge → MIT → Oxford

3.The underlined word “dominate” in Paragraph 5 probably means__________.

A. have an effect on    B. make up the most part of

C. make an arrangement for    D. make an improvement in

4.What can be inferred from the text?

A. No Asian universities are among the Top 10.

B. At least five UK universities are among Top 20.

C. The Times Higher Education magazine is from the US.

D. Reputation affects students’ decisions when choosing universities.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】此文为新闻报道。文章主要介绍了《泰晤士高等教育》杂志公布了全世界最负盛名的前200名大学的名单，其中哈佛大学名列榜首。

1.细节理解题。根据墨尔本大学的教授所说的“A subjective, word-of-mouth (口碑的) quality such as “reputation” has genuine economic value for universities,”可知，这份最新的大学排名是主观的，所以A正确。

2.细节理解题。根据文章Seven of the top 10 are US universities, headed by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).可知，Harvard 和MIT排名在最前，再根据 Cambridge is the highest ranking UK university in the list, in third place, with Oxford ranked as sixth.可知，Cambridge第三和Oxford第六，所以C正确。

3.词意推测题。A. have an effect on影响；B. make up the most part of占压倒性的优势；C. make an arrangement for为……做安排；D. make an improvement in提高。根据上下文“Based on the views of 13,000 college teachers around the world, it confirms the power of the big US universities, which dominate this list. Seven of the top 10 are US universities, headed by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).”which引导的非限制性定语从句，指代上文中的“the power of the big US universities”（美国大学的影响力）。而其后一句所说的具体内容“排名前十的大学中有七所是美国的大学，以哈佛大学和麻省理工大学为首。”，所以定语从句的句意应是“美国大学的影响力在排名中‘占压倒性的优势’。”故正确答案为B。

4.推理判断题。根据文章倒数第二段the president of Cambridge University's students' union, Rahul Mansigani所说的话“For students applying to university, reputation …was an important part of the attractiveness”可知，大学的名望是其吸引学生的一个重要方面，即大学的声望会影响孩子在选择大学时的决定。故正确答案为D。