51. What does the author think of college students funding their education through loans?
- A. They only expect to get huge returns.
- B. They are acting in an irrational way.
- C. They benefit at taxpayers' expense.
- D. They will regret doing so someday.
答案：B
答案句：There're currently 21.5 million students in America, and many will be funding their college on borrowed money. Given that there's now over $1.3 trillion in student loans on the books, it's pretty clear that many students are far from sensible.
参考译文：目前美国有2150万学生，许多人将靠借钱来资助大学学业。鉴于账面上已有超过1.3万亿美元的学生贷款，很明显许多学生远非明智。
定位线索：题干“college students funding their education through loans”→答案句“funding their college on borrowed money”；文中“far from sensible”对应选项B“acting in an irrational way”（不明智=非理性）。
解析：题干问作者对学生贷款上学的看法。答案句直接说“many students are far from sensible”，即许多学生不明智，与选项B“acting in an irrational way”（以非理性方式行事）同义。选项A“只期望巨额回报”、C“以纳税人代价受益”、D“将来会后悔”在原文均无依据，属无中生有。
52. In the author's opinion, free college education is ________.
- A. impractical
- B. unsustainable
- C. a goal to strive for
- D. a way to social equality
答案：A
答案句：But the only way college could be free is if the faculty and staff donated their time, the buildings required no maintenance, and campuses required no utilities. As long as it's impossible to produce something from nothing, costs are absolutely a barrier.
参考译文：但大学免费的唯一方式是教职员工捐献时间、建筑无需维护、校园无需水电。只要不可能凭空产生东西，成本绝对是障碍。
定位线索：题干“free college education”→答案句“college could be free”；文中“impossible to produce something from nothing”和“costs are absolutely a barrier”对应选项A“impractical”（不切实际）。
解析：题干问作者对免费大学教育的看法。答案句指出免费需要不切实际的条件（员工捐献时间等），且“成本绝对是障碍”，说明免费不现实，对应选项A“impractical”。选项B“不可持续”、C“奋斗目标”、D“社会平等途径”均与原文不符，原文明确否定免费可行性。
53. What should students do if taxpayers are to bear their college costs?
- A. Work even harder to repay society.
- B. Choose their subjects more carefully.
- C. Choose majors that will serve society's practical needs.
- D. Allow taxpayers to participate in college administration.
答案：C
答案句：If we're going to force taxpayers to foot the bill for college degrees, students should only study those subjects that're of greatest benefit to taxpayers. After all, students making their own choices in this respect is what caused the problem in the first place. We simply don't need more poetry, gender studies, or sociology majors.
参考译文：如果我们打算强迫纳税人为大学学位买单，学生只应学习那些对纳税人最有益的专业。毕竟，学生在这方面自己做选择正是最初造成问题的原因。我们根本不需要更多的诗歌、性别研究或社会学专业。
定位线索：题干“if taxpayers are to bear their college costs”→答案句“force taxpayers to foot the bill”；文中“subjects that're of greatest benefit to taxpayers”对应选项C“majors that will serve society's practical needs”（服务社会实际需求的专业）。
解析：题干问若纳税人承担费用学生该怎么做。答案句明确说学生应学习“对纳税人最有益的专业”，并举例不需要诗歌、性别研究等，即选择服务社会实际需求的专业，对应选项C。选项A“更努力回报社会”、D“参与管理”无中生有；选项B“更仔细选择专业”太笼统，未体现“服务社会需求”这一核心。
54. What does the author say about the value of a student's college education?
- A. It is underestimated by profit-seeking employers.
- B. It is to be proved by what they can do on the job.
- C. It is well reflected in their average starting salary.
- D. It is embodied in how they remove social barriers.
答案：C
答案句：Average starting salaries give a clear indication of what type of training society needs its new workers to have. Certainly, there're benefits to a college major beyond the job a student can perform. But if we're talking about the benefits to society, the only thing that matters is what the major enables the student to produce for society. And the value of what the student can produce is reflected in the wage employers are willing to pay the student to produce it.
参考译文：平均起薪清楚地表明社会需要新员工接受何种培训。当然，大学专业除了学生能从事的工作外还有其他好处。但如果我们谈论对社会的益处，唯一重要的是专业使学生能为社会生产什么。而学生能生产的价值反映在雇主愿意支付给学生的工资上。
定位线索：题干“the value of a student's college education”→答案句“the value of what the student can produce”；文中“reflected in the wage”和“Average starting salaries”对应选项C“well reflected in their average starting salary”。
解析：题干问作者对学生大学教育价值的看法。答案句指出学生能生产的价值“反映在雇主愿意支付的工资上”，而前文提到“平均起薪”是衡量标准，对应选项C。选项A“被逐利雇主低估”与原文“雇主愿意支付”矛盾；选项B“由工作表现证明”偷换概念，原文强调工资而非工作表现；选项D“体现在消除社会障碍”无中生有。
55. What message does the author want to convey in the passage?
- A. Students should think carefully whether to go to college.
- B. Taxpayers should only finance the most gifted students.
- C. The worth of a college education is open to debate.
- D. College students should fund their own education.
答案：D
答案句：Either a college major is worth its cost or it isn't. If yes, taxpayer financing isn't needed. If not, taxpayer financing isn't desirable. Either way, taxpayers have no business paying for students' college education.
参考译文：要么大学专业值得其成本，要么不值得。如果值得，就不需要纳税人资助；如果不值得，纳税人资助也不可取。无论哪种方式，纳税人都没有理由为学生的大学教育买单。
定位线索：题干“message the author want to convey”→答案句为末段总结“taxpayers have no business paying for students' college education”；文中“students should only study those subjects”和“students both to choose their majors and pay for their education themselves”对应选项D“College students should fund their own education”。
解析：题干问全文主旨。末段总结“无论哪种方式，纳税人都没有理由为学生的大学教育买单”，且前文提出“让学生自己选择专业并自己支付教育费用”，综合得出学生应自费，对应选项D。选项A“是否上大学需慎重”、B“只资助最有天赋学生”无中生有；选项C“大学教育价值有争议”只是部分内容，非全文主旨，范围过窄。