2020考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇：Unit 53

Unit 53

Nobody ever went into academia to make a fast buck. Professors, especially those in medical-and technology-related fields, typically earn a fraction of what their colleagues in industry do. But suddenly, big money is starting to flow into the ivory tower, as university administrators wake up to the commercial potential of academic research. And the institutions are wrestling with a whole new set of issues.

The profits are impressive:① the Association of University Technology Managers surveyed 132 universities and found that they earned a combined $576 million from patent royalties in 1998, a number that promises to keep rising dramatically. Schools like Columbia University in New York have aggressively marketed their inventions to corporations, particularly pharmaceutical and high-tech companies.

Now Columbia is going retail—on the Web. It plans to go beyond the typical “dot.edu” model, free sites listing courses and professors’ research interests. Instead, it will offer the expertise of its faculty on a new for-profit site which will be spun off as an independent company. The site will provide free access to educational and research content, say administrators, as well as advanced features that are already available to Columbia students, such as a simulation of the construction and architecture of a French cathedral and interactive 3-D models of organic chemicals. Free pages will feed into profit-generating areas, such as online courses and seminars, and related books and tapes. Columbia executive vice provost Michael Crow imagines “millions of visitors” to the new site, including retirees and students willing to pay to tap into this educational resource. “We can offer the best of what’s thought and written and researched,” says Ann Kirschner, who heads the project. Columbia also is anxious not be aced out by some of the other for-profit “knowledge sites,” such as About.com and Hungry Minds. “If they capture this space,” says Crow, “they’ll begin to cherry-pick our best faculty.”

Profits from the sale of patents typically have been divided between the researcher, the department and the university, and Web profits would work the same way, so many faculty members are delighted. But others find the trend worrisome: is a professor who stands to profit from his or her research as credible as one who doesn’t? ② Will universities provide more support to researchers working in profitable fields than to scholars toiling in more musty areas?

“If there’s the perception that we might be making money from our efforts, the authority of the university could be diminished,” worries Herve Varenne, a cultural anthropology professor at Columbia’s education school. Says Kirschner: “We would never compromise the integrity of the university.” Whether the new site can add to the growing profits from patents remains to be seen, but one thing is clear. It’s going to take the best minds on campus to find a new balance between profit and purity.

注（1）：本文選自Newsweek；

注（2）：本文習題命題模仿對象為2002年真題Text 2。

1. In the past, if you want to make fast money, you should work in ______.

A) academia

B) ivory tower

C) company

D) medical field

2. The word “aggressively”（Line 4, Paragraph 2）most probably means ______.

A) harmfully

B) carelessly

C) desperately

D) boldly

3. According to the text, the traditional feature of the Web of Columbia is ______.

A) offering free access to the advanced features that are available to Columbia’s students

B) that free page will feed into profit-producing page

C) providing the expertise of the teachers on the profit site

D) offering free sites listing courses and professors’ research interests

4. Besides the delight of most people for the profit, some ______.

A) worry that the professors are not reliable

B) think this tendency may be terrible

C) hope the university to give more support to researchers who work for profit

D) show mercy to the scholars toiling in the musty area

5. The author uses the words of the professor Herve Varenne and Kirschner to show ______.

A) if the faculties all try to make money the university will have no authority

B) the new site may not add to the growing profits

C) there exist some problems behind the profit

D) new balance between profit and purity will be the best opinion

篇章剖析

本篇文章主要介紹了大學利用知識獲取經濟利益的情況，并說明了這種做法的利弊。第一段介紹大學開始意識到學術研究的商業(yè)潛力，金錢開始流入校園；第二段用數(shù)據(jù)表明大學的收入是相當可觀的；第三段介紹哥倫比亞大學通過互聯(lián)網贏利的做法；第四段說明大學贏利的利弊；最后一段敘述大學正在尋找經濟利益與學術誠信的平衡。

詞匯注釋

academia /??k??di?mj?/ n. 學術界，學術環(huán)境

potential /p??ten?(?)l/ n. 潛能，潛力

wrestle /?resl/ vi. 摔跤，格斗，斗爭；斟酌

royalty /?r???lti/ n. （常用復）王權；王國；王的領土，特許權使用費，專利權使用費；專利權稅

aggressively /??gres?vli/ adv. 好斗地，敢作敢為地，有闖勁地，侵略性地

pharmaceutical /?fɑ?m??sju?t?k?l/ adj. 制藥（學）的

expertise /eksp???ti?z/ n. 專門技能；專門知識

simulation /?s?mj??le???n/ n. 仿真，假裝，模擬

interactive /??nt?r??kt?v/ adj. 交互式的

provost /?pr?v?st/ n. 教務長

faculty /?f?k?lti/ n. 全體教員；（大學的）系，科；（授予的）權力

credible /?kred?bl/ adj. 可信的，可靠的

toil /t??l/ vi. 苦干，跋涉，費力地做

musty /?m?sti/ adj. 發(fā)霉的；老朽的，陳腐的

diminish /d??m?n??/ v. （使）減少，（使）變小

integrity /?n?tegr?ti/ n. 正直，誠實，完整

難句突破

① The Association of University Technology Managers surveyed 132 universities and found that they earned a combined $576 million from patent royalties in 1998, a number that promises to keep rising dramatically.

主體句式：The Association surveyed 132 universities and found that...

結構分析：這是個復合句，主語是The Association of University Technology Managers；有兩個并列謂語surveyed和found；found后面是賓語從句；a number是$576 million的同位語；之后接that引導的定語從句。

句子譯文：大學技術經理人協(xié)會對132所大學進行調查，結果表明在1998年他們從專利稅中總共贏利5.76億美元，而且這個數(shù)字有望保持快速增長的勢頭。

② Will universities provide more support to researchers working in profitable fields than to scholars toiling in more musty areas?

主體句式：Will universities provide more support to researchers than to scholars？

結構分析：這是個簡單句。包含了比較級的結構，working in profitable fields是現(xiàn)在分詞短語，作定語，修飾researchers；toiling in more musty areas也是現(xiàn)在分詞短語作定語，修飾scholars。

句子譯文：大學會為從事可贏利領域的研究者提供比從事冷門的研究者更多的支持嗎？

題目分析

1. C 細節(jié)題。文中第一段提到，過去人們要掙大錢就不會去學術界，因為他們的收入只是在企業(yè)工作的同行的一小部分。所以，要快速賺錢就去公司。

2. D 語義題。文中第二段講到，現(xiàn)在學校的收入很可觀，而且具有很強的增長勢頭。一些學校已大膽地把發(fā)明賣給了公司。因為這種做法還沒有成為一種潮流，所以是大膽的。

3. D 細節(jié)題。文章第三段講到，哥倫比亞大學正在通過互聯(lián)網進行零售。它計劃超越典型的網站免費列出課程和教授們研究興趣的“dot.edu”模式，這說明傳統(tǒng)的特征是D選項。其他都是網站的新計劃。

4. B 細節(jié)題。文章第四段提到，很多人對這種利潤很滿意，另外一些人則對這種趨勢深感憂慮。他們擔憂的是，一位從自己研究中獲利的教授和不從研究中獲益的教授是否同樣可信呢？大學會為從事可贏利領域的研究者提供比從事冷門領域的研究者更多支持嗎？所以B選項正確。其他都是對憂慮的錯誤理解。

5. C 細節(jié)題。文中第五段提到兩個人的話，“如果我們存在可以通過努力掙錢從中牟利的這種觀念的話，大學的權威性可能會降低”和“我們在大學的清廉方面永遠不會妥協(xié)”。引用這兩個人的話是為了表明大學在為賺到錢而興奮的同時，背后也存在著問題——威信和清廉。

參考譯文

從未有人為快速致富而進入學術界。教授們，特別是那些在醫(yī)學和技術相關領域的工作的教授，他們只能掙到在企業(yè)工作的同行收入的一小部分。但是突然之間，大量金錢現(xiàn)在開始流入大學這座象牙塔，因為大學管理者開始意識到學術研究的商業(yè)潛力。研究機構正在全力解決一系列的新問題。

利潤是相當可觀的：大學技術經理人協(xié)會對132所大學進行調查，結果表明在1998年他們從專利稅中共贏利5.76億美元，而且這個數(shù)字有望保持快速增長的勢頭。一些大學，如紐約哥倫比亞大學已經積極地向公司——特別是那些生產藥品的和高科技公司——推銷他們的發(fā)明。

現(xiàn)在，哥倫比亞大學正在嘗試通過互聯(lián)網發(fā)展零售業(yè)。它計劃超越典型的教育網站一般僅提供關于免費列出課程和教授們研究興趣的信息的“dot.edu”模式。取而代之的是，哥倫比亞大學將在一家新的贏利網站上提供學校教員的專業(yè)技能，這種網站就像一個獨立的公司。管理者說，網站允許免費訪問教育和研究內容，以及已經為哥倫比亞大學學生所利用的一些先進的功能，諸如展示建筑物模型、法國教堂的建筑結構和有機化學變化的交互式3D模型。免費網頁插入收費網頁中，比如在線課題、研討會和相關書籍、磁帶。哥倫比亞大學執(zhí)行副教務長米切爾·克羅預計會有數(shù)百萬人訪問這個新網站，包括會為訪問教育資源付費的退休人員和學生。牽頭這項計劃的安·克斯科娜說：“我們能提供給人們思考、寫作和研究的最好內容?！备鐐惐葋喆髮W也擔心，不愿被其他一些贏利的“知識網站”如About.com和Hungry Minds打敗。克羅說：“如果他們抓住空子，他們會搶走我們最好的教職人員?！?

出售專利所得利潤通常是分給研究人員、院系和大學，網站利潤也同樣分配。這樣一來，許多大學教員都很滿意，但是，另外一些人則對這種趨勢深感憂慮：一位從自己研究中獲利的教授和不從研究中獲利的教授是否同樣可信呢？大學會為從事可贏利領域的研究者提供比從事冷門領域的研究者更多支持嗎？

“如果我們存在可以通過努力掙錢從中牟利的這種觀念，大學的權威性可能會降低,”哥倫比亞教育學院的一位文化人類學教授赫維·瓦雷納擔心地說?？怂箍四日f：“我們在大學的清廉方面從未妥協(xié)?！边@種新網站能否增加正在增長的專利收入還有待觀察，但是有一個事實是顯而易見的，那就是利用大學里最聰明的頭腦去尋求利益與清廉之間新的平衡。