Because of the financial crisis in the US and UK, college students are beginning to struggle to find ways to pay their tuition fees and accommodations.

Recently, two major US student loan lenders — Citibank and JPMorgan Chase — announced they were leaving the student loan industry altogether. Because banks currently have a lack of credit, they are reluctant to offer students low-interest loans that need a several-year wait for any return of interest.
In the US, many undergraduates top up their financial needs with a private loan, although the majority can get government-funded loans. In the 2005­-2006 academic year, $17 billion in private student loans was used to finance higher education. The shortfall in private funding has yet to be covered and will hit many US students hard.
Across the Atlantic, UK students have been less troubled by the crisis. Most undergraduates in the UK cover their university expenses with government-funded loans and grants (助学金). Their biggest concern is a sudden steep increase in student rent.
Most young professionals now rent houses, since 80 percent of UK mortgage schemes (住房抵押贷款计划) have disappeared — a direct result of the credit crisis. This has boosted the house rent market.
In large cities, UK students are paying almost 6.5 percent more in rent than the previous year. Figures from the UK organization Accommodation for Student show students in big cities such as London paying an average weekly rent of ￡103. Yet, despite students’ suffering, the number of this year’s university applications is expected to grow. During economic slumps (经济萧条时期), people regard further education as a way to survive tough job markets.
【小题1】According to the passage, banks are unwilling to offer students loans because ________.

Because of the financial crisis in the US and UK, college students are beginning to struggle to find ways to pay their tuition fees and accommodations．

Recently, two major US student loan lenders — Citibank and JPMorgan Chase — announced they were leaving the student loan industry altogether．Because banks currently have a lack of credit, they are reluctant to offer students low-interest loans that need a several-year wait for any return of interest．

In the US, many undergraduates top up their financial needs with a private loan, although the majority can get government-funded loans．In the 2005­-2006 academic year, $17 billion in private student loans was used to finance higher education．The shortfall in private funding has yet to be covered and will hit many US students hard．

Across the Atlantic, UK students have been less troubled by the crisis．Most undergraduates in the UK cover their university expenses with government-funded loans and grants （助学金）．Their biggest concern is a sudden steep increase in student rent．

Most young professionals now rent houses, since 80 percent of UK mortgage schemes （住房抵押贷款计划） have disappeared — a direct result of the credit crisis．This has boosted the house rent market．

In large cities, UK students are paying almost 6．5 percent more in rent than the previous year．Figures from the UK organization Accommodation for Student show students in big cities such as London paying an average weekly rent of ￡103．Yet, despite students’ suffering, the number of this year’s university applications is expected to grow．During economic slumps （经济萧条时期）, people regard further education as a way to survive tough job markets．

1．According to the passage, banks are unwilling to offer students loans because ________．

       A．the students are poor and sometimes they can’t pay off the debt

       B．banks prefer lending the money to the young professionals

       C．banks don’t have enough money left at the present time

       D．they think college students are not studying hard

2．The underlined phrase “top up” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________．

       A．put up                B．make up              C．fill up                  D．pick up

3．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

       A．UK college students have to pay more if they want to rent houses．

       B．More UK students want to further their study in college．

       C．It is not so easy for US students to loan money now．

       D．College students’ tuition fees have risen greatly．

4．It can be inferred that ________．

       A．there are no private student loan lenders in the UK

       B．loans for US college students will be increased next year

       C．private funding falls a little because of higher-interest loans in the US

       D．private loans play a very important role in financing US students’ education

When many people are worried that there are no more heroes in the modern

times two university students who lost their lives to rescue drowning children have

shown that heroes still exist（存在）．
　　 According to the Inner Mongolia Morning Post，the tragedy（悲剧） occurred on the afternoon of December 14,2002 when three school students skating on a frozen lake in Qingcheng Park in Hohhot fell through the ice into the freezing water．More than 20 university students who happened to be near the spot immediately went to the rescue of the children．
　 Two children were quickly rescued，but the third died．The child's body was not found for three hours．Two of the rescuers，Liu Ye and Hao Longbiao，also died of cold and exhaustion（筋疲力尽）．The body of Hao who took the lead in jumping into the lake was not found until the next day．
　 A student who was unwilling to tell his name said he and his classmates from the local college were taking photos at the lake. When they heard the children's cries for help, they went to the ice hole hand in hand to rescue the children．But the ice kept breaking, causing most of them to fall into the icy water．
　 Local residents held mourning ceremonies（祭奠仪式） at the lake． Eight of the students were seriously affected by the freezing water and were being kept in hospital for further observation, but their lives were no longer in danger．
46. The underlined word “occurred” here means“＿＿＿＿”．
　　 A. employed　　 B. mixed　　　 C. guided　　　　D. happened
47 When the three students fell into water, the university students were ＿＿．
　　 A. skating on the ice　　　　　　 B. taking photos at the lake
　　 C. having a picnic　　　　　　　　 D. walking along the lake
48 Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
　　 A. Three students died on the same day in all．
　　 B. Hao Longbiao’s body was found on December 14,2002．
　　 C. The university students didn’t think it dangerous to save the drowning

children in the lake．
　　 D. Local residents were not brave in face of danger．
49. It can be inferred that ＿＿＿＿．
　　 A. people think little of the two university students' death
　　 B. the ice on the lake wasn't strong enough to skate on
　　 C. some students regretted for what they had done
　　 D. heroes don't agree with the steps of modern times
50. The author wrote the passage to ＿＿＿＿．
A. warn people of the danger of skating on ice

B. call on people to learn from the brave university students

C. tell us a tragedy

D. advise university students to cherish（珍惜） their lives

When many people are worried that there are no more heroes in the modern era，two university students who lost their lives to rescue drowning children have shown that heroes still exist．
  According to the Inner Mongolia Morning Post，the tragedy（悲剧） occurred on the afternoon of December 14,2002 when three school students skating on a frozen lake in Qingcheng Park in Hohhot fell through the ice into the freezing water．
 More than 20 university students who happened to be near the spot immediately went to the rescue of the children．Two children were quickly rescued，but the third died．The child's body was not found for three hours．Two of the rescuers，Liu Ye and Hao Longbiao，also died of cold and exhaustion．The body of Hao who took the lead in jumping into the lake was not found until the next day．
  A student who was unwilling to tell his name said he and his classmates from the local college were taking photos at the lake．When they heard the children's cries for help，they went to the ice hole hand in hand to rescue the children．But the ice kept breaking，causing most of them to fall into the icy water．
Local residents held mourning ceremonies（祭奠仪式）at the lake．
Eight of the students were seriously affected by the freezing water and were being kept in hospital for further observation，but their lives were no longer in danger．
56．When the three students fell into water，the university students were _______．
A．skating on the ice                          B．taking photos at the lake
C．having a picnic                              D．walking along the lake
57．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
A．Three students died on the same day in all．
B．Hao Longbiao’s body was found on December 14,2002．
C．The university students didn’t think it dangerous to save the drowning children in the lake．
D．Local residents were not brave in face of danger．
58．It can be inferred that _______．
A．people think little of the two university students' death
B．the ice on the lake wasn't strong enough to skate on
C．some students regretted for what they had done
D．heroes don't agree with the steps of modern times