2020考研英语阅读理解精读100篇：Unit 71
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）：本文选自Economist；
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为1999年真题Text 4第1~ 4题和Text 1第4题。
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
篇章剖析
本文主要讲的是英国新颁布的签证制度导致很多留学生不能及时来英国上学的问题。第一段首先描述了目前学生进入英国学习的困难；第二至四段说明了出现这种现象的原因：新的签证制度导致了一些问题，把很多学生拒之门外，带来了不好的影响；第五、六段则指出，国际学生对于英国大学非常重要，学校通常会有吸引他们的策略；最后一段则说明了政府将采取的解决措施。
词汇注释
herd /hɜːd/ v. 使集在一起，把…赶在一起
languish /ˈlæŋgwɪʃ/ v. 焦思，因渴望而苦恼
loom /luːm/ v. 隐隐呈现；逼近
credential /krɪˈdenʃəl/ n. 证明书，证件
deter /dɪˈtɜː/ v. 阻止；威慑
backlog /ˈbæklɒg/ n. 积压的工作
subcontinent /sʌbˈkɒntɪnənt/ n. 次大陆
outright /ˈaʊtˈraɪt/ adj. 彻底的；无保留的；直率的
logjam /ˈlɒgdʒæm/ n. 阻塞；僵局
cosmopolitan /ˌkɒzməˈpɒlɪtən/ adj. 世界性的
clientele /ˌklaɪənˈtel/ n. 顾客，客户
expedite /ˈekspɪdaɪt/ v. 加快；促进
intervention /ˌɪntəˈvenʃən/ n. 干涉；介入
plump /plʌmp/ v. 只投票选一方
难句突破
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.
主体句式：This year some have seen the number fall.
结构分析：本句的复杂之处在于句子中有很多定语和状语。在this year后面用了一个even though引导的状语从句来说明前提，接着才引出主体句式。该句中宾语和宾语补足语之间相隔一定的距离，中间的of new students from outside the European Union是the number的定语，用来说明其特征。宾语补足语fall后面跟了两个状语，分别是：by a fifth，说明fall的程度；because of difficulties in getting visas，说明原因。
句子译文：今年，尽管英镑疲软使英国学费相对较低，一些大学的非欧盟国家新生人数仍旧因为签证困难而下跌了五分之一。
题目分析
1. B 推理题。本题主要针对文章第一段，文章中提到“At Heathrow airport, where many foreign students enter Britain, the welcome has been less warm”，而A项说机场不那么喜欢这些国际学生，是对这句话的误读，所以该选项错误。而该段说的lucky不是因为只等六小时——事实上这个时间已经很长了，而是他们最终能够顺利通过，所以C项也不正确。文中说“如果不能在接下来的几天内拿到签证，那么他们很可能就会失去今年秋季的入学资格”（...will miss out on university places this autumn unless they receive visas in the next few days.），原文miss out on university places指的不是他们会晚到学校，而是他们会因此无法入学，所以D项不正确，B项正确。
2. C 细节题。文章第二段指出，根据新的留学生签证制度，“英国内政部要求留学生出具学业资格证书并证明有足够的资金保障，以此来防止那些意在来英国打工的人员进入”，A、B、D三个选项与此句内容一一对应。虽然文章后面提到“内政部希望这些改革措施能够将潜在的恐怖分子拒之门外”，但并没有提到要出具出生证明，况且也很难定义恐怖国家，因此C项表述不正确，故选C。
3. D 细节题。本题可以将选项与原文信息一一对应。首先文章第四段提到“这场僵局主要影响了许多富裕且受过良好教育的学生，他们都来自对英国具有战略重要性的国家”，但这并不表示英国与这些国家的关系因此受到了影响，因此A项是错的。文章第五段虽然提到国际学生的减少会影响英国大学的收入，但没有说英国政府因此就会增加补助，同时这也并不表示英国政府的财政会受到影响，因此B项和C项都不正确。而第四段还提到大学负责人担心新签证政策损害英国高等教育在海外的声誉，可见正确答案是D。
4. A 推理题。本题主要针对文章最后一段，正确答案是A，对应信息为文章最后一句话“如果这些问题得不到解决，那么可能会有更多的外国学生将选择美国或澳大利亚的大学”，由此可以推断，签证问题使外国学生被拒之门外而被迫选择其他国家的大学，从而会降低英国高等教育的竞争力。B项的错误在于，虽然内政部长艾伦·约翰逊承诺增加人手，但这并不表示一定会提高效率。C项的错误在于，留学生们转向别国的大学这一结果并不是该政策的目的，而是英国不愿意看到的结果。D项的错误在于，帮助巴基斯坦建立全国反恐机构并不是留学生签证制度的规定，而是英国政府的政策。
5. C 情感态度题。纵观全文，作者并没有直接表明自己的观点，但是我们可以发现作者在用一种非常关切的口气讨论、分析问题，对该问题没有偏见，也并没有表现出漠然或者悲观的态度，因此C是最佳选项。
参考译文
在各个大学校园，本科生们正兴高采烈地将一份份传单塞给刚入校的新生。但在外国学生抵达英国的希思罗机场，他们所受到的欢迎却并非如此热情。官员们让刚到达的学生排成单独的一列，有时得排队等六个小时才能顺利通关——而这都已经算是幸运的了。许多计划赴英留学的学生们正在家里受着煎熬，因为如果不能在接下来的几天内拿到签证，那么他们很可能就会失去今年秋季的入学资格。
自从今年五月实施新的留学生签证制度以来，各大学的麻烦接踵而至。英国内政部要求留学生出具学业资格证书并证明有足够的资金保障，以此来防止那些意在来英国打工的人员进入。同时，内政部希望这些改革措施能够将潜在的恐怖分子拒之门外。但是，它给申请人的建议却没什么用处（之后已进行了修改），而且许多签证中心的工作人员也并未受过良好的培训。
结果就是，许多签证中心的工作堆积如山——比如在洛杉矶，学生们需要等待多达40天才能拿到签证。但在印度次大陆这个问题尤为突出。在巴基斯坦，5000名志向远大的学生所递交的签证申请仍未被受理，另外还有9000名学生正因无理由遭拒而进行申诉。
这场僵局主要影响了富裕且受过良好教育的学生，他们都来自对英国具有战略重要性的国家。许多精英大学对此忧心忡忡，它们中有的一直拥有全球客户。“我们都极为担心这会损害英国高等教育在海外的声誉，特别是在印度次大陆，而此时此刻英国大学的财政状况正面临巨大的压力，”伦敦经济学院招生政策主管西米恩·安德伍德说。
国际学生对英国大学至关重要。虽然英国以及欧洲学生每年的平均学费高达3225英镑，但是对他们进行教育的成本远远高于这个数字。国家对差额给予部分补贴，而且为此它也限制了本国及欧盟学生的人数。而海外学生每年平均学费为1.2万英镑，每年为英国贡献超过15亿英镑的收入，占所有大学总收入的8%。
为了吸引这些重要顾客，各个大学都提供机场接机服务，举办各项活动安置学生，并安排警方上门服务以加快签证管理手续的办理。但是如果这些学生无法来到英国，那这些用心良苦的营销策略都将付诸东流。今年，尽管英镑疲软使英国学费相对较低，一些大学的非欧盟国家新生人数仍旧因为签证困难而下跌了五分之一。
10月5日，正在对伊斯兰堡进行访问的内政部长艾伦·约翰逊承诺增加人手，将签证办理时间从60天减至15天，并帮助巴基斯坦建立一个全国反恐机构，减轻签证制度所面临的压力。然而，他的介入将无法帮助今年那些被挡在英国门外的学生。而且，如果这些问题得不到解决，那么可能会有更多的外国学生将选择美国或澳大利亚的大学。
