Hungry for the brightest students, many of the country's stronger universities are actively discounting tuition （学费）．And it's the high achievers, rather than the needy students, who are getting a good chunk of the money．The practice is remarkably widespread, reaching almost all but the 30 or so Ivy and other top colleges that forbid good grades-based financial aid．Schools are also becoming more aggressive in raising their discounts．At the DePauw University Website, enter an SAT or ACT score, grade point average and class rank, and a computer program immediately tells you what kind of "award"．Only "the real unlucky" pay full price any more．

About 76% of first-year students got some form of discount this year at 331 private schools．Average award per student: $7,000．At small schools with tuition under about $20,000, the average discount is even higher, with some schools returning over half their tuition．                                                          

Carnegie Mellon even tells students it will "negotiate（讨价还价）" and perhaps match financial-aid packages if kids are offered bigger awards at other schools．Much as banks and insurers offer special rates to their best customers, schools are giving the biggest breaks to their top students．Public four-year colleges, too, are offering discounts．

The flip side of big discounts is that less money is available to improve academic programs and keep school infrastructure （基础设施） up to date．Universities that have sharply increased their tuition discount rates have seen graduation rates fall, and that's true even among highly selective schools．They get the students in the door, but don't have the services to keep them．

From the first paragraph, we can judge that _______．

       A．all the universities don’t offer tuition discounts．

       B．Ivy and other top colleges offer financial aid to the high achievers

       C．the needy students get more money from the universities

       D．the graduation rates of the students from highly selected schools fall

The underlined words “flip side” in the last paragraph probably mean “_______”．

       A．advantage    B．disadvantage   C．bad practice        D．good function

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

       A．The brightest students are not at all hungry for stronger universities．

       B．About 76% of first-year students got an award of $ 20,000 per year．

       C．Public colleges never offer discounts to the students．

       D．Colleges should concentrate more on the services to keep the students      

This passage mainly talks about _______．

       A．the great benefit of offering lower tuition

       B．college tuition discounts in popularity 

       C．the top students in need of tuition discounts

       D．reducing graduation rates due to big discounts 

--I was so sure that our experiment was going to succeed, but something went wrong at the last moment.

--_________, but don't give it up.

1. A.
   You don't mean that
2. B.
   Find out the reason
3. C.
   Never mind
4. D.
   I'm sorry to hear that

Against the assumption that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.

       This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.

       This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.

       Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧）levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.

       “We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.

According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may _______.

   A. result in a warming climate      

B. cause the forest fires to occur more frequently

   C. lead to a longer fire season                      

D. protect the forests and the environment there

Earlier studies about northern forest fires ________.

   A. analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate

   B. indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere

   C. suggest that people should take measures to protect environment

   D. suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming

The underlined phrase “soaked up” in the last paragraph most probably means ________.

       A. released        B. absorbed          C. created              D. disturbed

From the text we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may ______.

       A. warm the climate as the assumption goes

       B. allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate

       C. destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice

       D. help to gain more energy rather than release more energy .

The last time we had great fun was _____ we were visiting the Water Park.

   A. where        B. how         C. when         D. why