《考研英語閱讀理解100篇 基礎版》第6章　教育類 Unit 71

 
On campuses，cheerful undergraduates are pressing leaflets into freshers’ hands．At Heathrow airport，where many foreign students enter Britain，the welcome has been less warm．Officials herded recent arrivals into a separate queue that at times took six hours to get through—and those were the lucky ones．Many potential students are languishing at home，and will miss out on university places this autumn unless they receive visas in the next few days.  
Universities had seen trouble looming since March，when a new student-visa system was introduced．By insisting that potential students prove their academic credentials and show that they have enough money to support themselves，the Home Office intended to deter those who were actually coming to Britain to work．It also hoped the reforms would keep out potential terrorists．But the advice it issued to applicants was poor （it has since been revised）and staff at many visa-processing centres were not properly trained.  
The result has been a backlog at many centres—in Los Angeles，for example，students waited up to 40 days for a visa．But the problem has been particularly acute in the Indian subcontinent．In Pakistan，5,000 aspiring students have yet to have their applications processed and 9,000 more are appealing against outright refusals.  
The logjam affects mostly wealthy，well-educated folk in strategically important countries．The elite universities，some of which have long had a cosmopolitan clientele，are concerned．“We are all extremely worried about the damage that this could do to the reputation of British higher education overseas，particularly in the Indian subcontinent．It comes at a time when universities’ finances are under enormous pressure,” says Simeon Underwood，head of admissions policy at the London School of Economics．  
International students are vital to British universities．Although British and European students pay tuition fees of up to ￡3,225 a year，the cost of educating them is far higher．The state partially plugs the gap and，for that reason，it also caps the number of these students．Fees from overseas students，who pay around ￡12,000 a year，contribute more than ￡1.5 billion annually，8% of universities’ total income.  
To attract these crucial customers，universities offer to meet them at airports，run events to settle them in and arrange for police to visit campuses to expedite visa controls．But if students cannot make it into Britain，such canny marketing is in vain．This year，even though a weak pound makes British universities a cheap option，some have seen the number of new students from outside the European Union fall by a fifth because of difficulties in getting visas.  
On a visit to Islamabad on October 5th Alan Johnson，the home secretary，promised to cut the time it takes to process a visa from 60 days to 15 by hiring more staff，and to help Pakistan establish a national anti-terrorism agency，which would relieve the pressure on the visa system．But his intervention will not help this year's blocked students．And if problems persist，more foreign students may plump for universities in America or Australia in future.  
注（1）：本文選自Economist；  
注（2）：本文習題命題模仿對象為1999年真題Text 4第1～ 4題和Text 1第4題。  
1．We can learn from the first paragraph that ______.  
A) Heathrow airport does not like international students as much as university undergraduates  
B) the unavailability of visa may force many students to lose their admission into UK universities  
C) students feel lucky to wait for only six hours in the airport to get into Britain  
D) many students will arrive at the universities much later than expected because they cannot receive the visa  
2．According to the new student-visa system，an international student should prove all of the following EXCEPT ______.  
A) he should have adequate financial resources  
B) he should meet the bottom requirements set by the universities  
C) he should provide his birth certificate showing he is not from a terrorist country  
D) he should convince the visa official that his purpose of coming to UK is to study  
3．According to the text，the new student-visa system may lead to ______.  
A) a negative influence on UK's strategic relations with some important countries  
B) more governmental subsidies to British universities  
C) an increasing pressure on Britain's governmental finance  
D) the damage of the reputation of British higher education  
4．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.  
A) the new student-visa system may undermine the competitiveness of British higher education  
B) the new student-visa system will soon achieve a much better efficiency by hiring more staff  
C) the new student-visa system aims to send students to other countries such as Australia and America  
D) the new student-visa system will help Pakistan establish a national anti-terrorism agency  
5．The author's attitude towards the new student-visa system seems to be ______.  
A) biased  
B) indifferent  
C) concerned  
D) pessimistic