Question

(The Guardian)：              More UK universities should be profiting from ideas

　　A repeated criticism of the UK's university sector is its noticeable weakness in translating new knowledge into new products and services.

　　Recently, the UK National Stem Cell Network warned the UK could lose its place among the world leaders in stem cell research unless adequate funding and legislation could be assured, despite an annual £40m spent by the Department of Health on all kinds of research.

　　However, we do have to challenge the unthinking complaint that the sector does not do enough in taking ideas to market. The most recent comparative data on the performance of universities and research institutions in Australia, Canada, USA and UK shows that, from a relatively weak starting position, the UK now leads on many indicators of commercialization activity.

　　When viewed at the national level, the policy interventions (interference) of the past decade have helped transformed the performances of UK universities. Evidence suggests the UK's position is much stronger than in the recent past and is still showing improvement. But national data masks the very large variation in the performance of individual universities. The evidence shows that a large number of universities have fallen off the back of the pack, a few perform strongly and the rest chase the leaders.

　　This type of uneven distribution is not strange to the UK and is mirrored across other economies. In the UK, research is concentrated: less than 25% of universities are receiving 75% of the research funding. These same universities are also the institutions producing the greatest share of PhD graduates, science citations, patents and license income. The effect of policies generating long-term resource concentration has also created a distinctive set of universities which are research-led and commercially active. It seems clear that the concentration of research and commercialization work creates differences between universities.

　　The core objective for universities which are research-led must be to maximize the impact of their research efforts. Their purpose is not to generate funds to add to the bottom line of the university or to substitute other income streams. Rather, these universities should be generating the widest range of social, economic and environmental benefits. In return for the scale of investment, they should share their expertise (expert knowledge or skill) in order to build greater confidence in the sector.

　　Part of the economic recovery of the UK will be driven by the next generation of research commercialization spilling out of our universities. On the evidence presented in my report, there are three dozen universities in the UK which are actively engaged in advanced research training and commercialization work.

　　If there was a greater coordination（协调）of technology transfer offices within regions and a simultaneous (happening at the same time) investment in the scale and functions of our graduate schools, universities could, and should, play a key role in positioning the UK for the next growth cycle.

1.What does the author think of UK universities in terms of commercialization?

A．They have lost their leading position in many ways.

B．They still have a place among the world leaders.

C．They do not regard it as their responsibility.

D．They fail to change knowledge into money.

2.What does the author say about the national data on UK universities’ performance in commercialization?

A．It masks the fatal weaknesses of government policy.

B．It indicates their ineffective use of government resources.

C．It does not rank UK universities in a scientific way.

D．It does not reflect the differences among universities.

3.We can infer from Paragraph 5 that “policy interventions (in Paragraph 4)” refers to _____.

A．concentration of resources in a limited number of universities

B．compulsory cooperation between universities and industries

C．government aid to non-research-oriented universities

D．fair distribution of funding for universities and research institutions

4.What dose the author suggest research-led universities do?

A．Fully use their research to benefit all sectors of society.

B．Generously share their facilities with those short of funds.

C．Advertise their research to win international recognition.

D．Spread their influence among top research institutions.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍的是更多的英国大学应凭创意获利

1.细节题：该题问的是作者对英国大学在商业化方面的看法。由顺序原则可定位至文首。首段提出人们对英国大学在知识到产品服务转化过程方面的批评，二段整体用调查数据证明首段对英国的大学的负面观点，提出英国大学在干细胞研究领域将会失去世界领先地位。但这些都并非作者观点，同时在第三段短首出现转折，然后引入作者方面的观点。可知作者观点与首二段相反，他并不认为英国失去世界领先地位，三段末句更提出英国大学在许多商业活动方面仍领先全球。可知作者认为英国大学仍大体领先世界，总体持正面肯定态度。选B

2.细节题：该题问的是作者对英国大学商业化表现的国家统计数据的看法。由national data可定位至第四段转折后，But national data masks the very large variation in the performance of individual universities.提到数据掩盖了单个大学之间表现的差距。Mask同义改写为does not reflect，variation同义改写为differences。选D

3.猜词题：该题考察“policy interventions”的意思。仅从字面意思“政府干预”还不足以选出答案，需要结合上下文。该短语所在的第四段提到这种“政府干预”促进了英国大学整体表现的提高，但之后转折指出，英国大学个体之间存在较大差异。第五段首更是将第四段强调的现象总结为“分配不平均”(uneven distribution)。由此可知这种“政府干预”指的应是政府对一部分大学的偏向性支持，而对更多的大学则支持不够，造成资源分配不均。对应A选项“资源集中在少数大学中”。

4.该题问的是作者对研究导向型大学的建议。由research-led universities可定位至全文第六段。该段中部用rather转折引出作者觉得这些大学应该(should)产生最广的社会、经济与环境等各方面效益(widest range)，应该分享他们的专业技术资源，让整个领域(build greater confidence in the sector)都构筑起信心，此即为建议。对应A选项，仅有A强调了范围是all sectors of society。B提到的与缺乏资金的学校分享设施、C提到的扩大国际影响与D提到的扩大在顶级研究机构中的影响范围均太窄。

考点：考查教育类短文

点评：文章较长，生词比较多，但是题目多是细节题，要求考生读懂文章中的每个句子的意思还要推理它们之间的关系，结合自己的生活常识和经验，再通过逻辑推理和判断，理解文章的言外之意，从而揭示文章的深层涵义。任何一篇文章都有其特定的写作目的，读者应当知道如何去做或按照某种方式传递思考问题。推理判断题的答案不可能在文章中直接找到，因此推理时我们务必要忠于原文，在文章中寻找并确定可推论的依据，即：已知部分－推论的前提，从中推测出未知部分－推理的结论，切忌妄加评论，把自己的观点当成作者的观点。