2020考研英语阅读理解精读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）：本文选自Newsweek；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2002年真题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

本篇文章主要介绍了大学利用知识获取经济利益的情况，并说明了这种做法的利弊。第一段介绍大学开始意识到学术研究的商业潜力，金钱开始流入校园；第二段用数据表明大学的收入是相当可观的；第三段介绍哥伦比亚大学通过互联网赢利的做法；第四段说明大学赢利的利弊；最后一段叙述大学正在寻找经济利益与学术诚信的平衡。

词汇注释

academia /ˌækəˈdiːmjə/ n. 学术界，学术环境

potential /pəˈtenʃ(ə)l/ n. 潜能，潜力

wrestle /ˈresl/ vi. 摔跤，格斗，斗争；斟酌

royalty /ˈrɔɪəlti/ n. （常用复）王权；王国；王的领土，特许权使用费，专利权使用费；专利权税

aggressively /əˈgresɪvli/ adv. 好斗地，敢作敢为地，有闯劲地，侵略性地

pharmaceutical /ˌfɑːməˈsjuːtɪkəl/ adj. 制药（学）的

expertise /ekspɜːˈtiːz/ n. 专门技能；专门知识

simulation /ˌsɪmjʊˈleɪʃən/ n. 仿真，假装，模拟

interactive /ˌɪntərˈæktɪv/ adj. 交互式的

provost /ˈprɒvəst/ n. 教务长

faculty /ˈfækəlti/ n. 全体教员；（大学的）系，科；（授予的）权力

credible /ˈkredəbl/ adj. 可信的，可靠的

toil /tɔɪl/ vi. 苦干，跋涉，费力地做

musty /ˈmʌsti/ adj. 发霉的；老朽的，陈腐的

diminish /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/ v. （使）减少，（使）变小

integrity /ɪnˈtegrɪti/ n. 正直，诚实，完整

难句突破

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.

主体句式：The Association surveyed 132 universities and found that...

结构分析：这是个复合句，主语是The Association of University Technology Managers；有两个并列谓语surveyed和found；found后面是宾语从句；a number是$576 million的同位语；之后接that引导的定语从句。

句子译文：大学技术经理人协会对132所大学进行调查，结果表明在1998年他们从专利税中总共赢利5.76亿美元，而且这个数字有望保持快速增长的势头。

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

主体句式：Will universities provide more support to researchers than to scholars？

结构分析：这是个简单句。包含了比较级的结构，working in profitable fields是现在分词短语，作定语，修饰researchers；toiling in more musty areas也是现在分词短语作定语，修饰scholars。

句子译文：大学会为从事可赢利领域的研究者提供比从事冷门的研究者更多的支持吗？

题目分析

1. C 细节题。文中第一段提到，过去人们要挣大钱就不会去学术界，因为他们的收入只是在企业工作的同行的一小部分。所以，要快速赚钱就去公司。

2. D 语义题。文中第二段讲到，现在学校的收入很可观，而且具有很强的增长势头。一些学校已大胆地把发明卖给了公司。因为这种做法还没有成为一种潮流，所以是大胆的。

3. D 细节题。文章第三段讲到，哥伦比亚大学正在通过互联网进行零售。它计划超越典型的网站免费列出课程和教授们研究兴趣的“dot.edu”模式，这说明传统的特征是D选项。其他都是网站的新计划。

4. B 细节题。文章第四段提到，很多人对这种利润很满意，另外一些人则对这种趋势深感忧虑。他们担忧的是，一位从自己研究中获利的教授和不从研究中获益的教授是否同样可信呢？大学会为从事可赢利领域的研究者提供比从事冷门领域的研究者更多支持吗？所以B选项正确。其他都是对忧虑的错误理解。

5. C 细节题。文中第五段提到两个人的话，“如果我们存在可以通过努力挣钱从中牟利的这种观念的话，大学的权威性可能会降低”和“我们在大学的清廉方面永远不会妥协”。引用这两个人的话是为了表明大学在为赚到钱而兴奋的同时，背后也存在着问题——威信和清廉。

参考译文

从未有人为快速致富而进入学术界。教授们，特别是那些在医学和技术相关领域的工作的教授，他们只能挣到在企业工作的同行收入的一小部分。但是突然之间，大量金钱现在开始流入大学这座象牙塔，因为大学管理者开始意识到学术研究的商业潜力。研究机构正在全力解决一系列的新问题。

利润是相当可观的：大学技术经理人协会对132所大学进行调查，结果表明在1998年他们从专利税中共赢利5.76亿美元，而且这个数字有望保持快速增长的势头。一些大学，如纽约哥伦比亚大学已经积极地向公司——特别是那些生产药品的和高科技公司——推销他们的发明。

现在，哥伦比亚大学正在尝试通过互联网发展零售业。它计划超越典型的教育网站一般仅提供关于免费列出课程和教授们研究兴趣的信息的“dot.edu”模式。取而代之的是，哥伦比亚大学将在一家新的赢利网站上提供学校教员的专业技能，这种网站就像一个独立的公司。管理者说，网站允许免费访问教育和研究内容，以及已经为哥伦比亚大学学生所利用的一些先进的功能，诸如展示建筑物模型、法国教堂的建筑结构和有机化学变化的交互式3D模型。免费网页插入收费网页中，比如在线课题、研讨会和相关书籍、磁带。哥伦比亚大学执行副教务长米切尔·克罗预计会有数百万人访问这个新网站，包括会为访问教育资源付费的退休人员和学生。牵头这项计划的安·克斯科娜说：“我们能提供给人们思考、写作和研究的最好内容。”哥伦比亚大学也担心，不愿被其他一些赢利的“知识网站”如About.com和Hungry Minds打败。克罗说：“如果他们抓住空子，他们会抢走我们最好的教职人员。”

出售专利所得利润通常是分给研究人员、院系和大学，网站利润也同样分配。这样一来，许多大学教员都很满意，但是，另外一些人则对这种趋势深感忧虑：一位从自己研究中获利的教授和不从研究中获利的教授是否同样可信呢？大学会为从事可赢利领域的研究者提供比从事冷门领域的研究者更多支持吗？

“如果我们存在可以通过努力挣钱从中牟利的这种观念，大学的权威性可能会降低,”哥伦比亚教育学院的一位文化人类学教授赫维·瓦雷纳担心地说。克斯克娜说：“我们在大学的清廉方面从未妥协。”这种新网站能否增加正在增长的专利收入还有待观察，但是有一个事实是显而易见的，那就是利用大学里最聪明的头脑去寻求利益与清廉之间新的平衡。