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        College education:
    The ladder of fame
    ON AUGUST 18th US News & World Report released its2007 rankings of America’s top colleges. The surveybegan in 1983 as a simple straw poll, when the magazine asked 662 collegepresidents to identify the country’s best places oflearning. It has since mutated into an annual ordeal for reputableuniversities. A strong showing in the rankings spurs student interest andalumni giving; a slip has grave consequences for public relations.
    University administrators deeply dislike the survey.Many reject the idea that schools can be stacked up against one another in anymeaningful way. And the survey’s methodology issuspect. The rankings are still based partly on peer evaluations. They comparerates of alumni giving, which has little to do with the transmission ofknowledge. Besides, the magazine’s data are supplied bythe schools and uncorroborated.
    But whether the rankings are fair is beside the point,because they are wildly influential. In the 1983 survey barely half of thepresidents approached bothered to respond. Today, only a handful dare abstain.
    Most, in fact, do more than simply fill out the survey.Competition between colleges for top students is increasing, partly because ofthe very popularity of rankings. Colin Diver, the president of Reed College inOregon, considers that “rankings create powerfulincentives to manipulate data and distort institutional behaviour.” A school may game the system by soliciting applications fromstudents who stand no chance of admission, or by leaning on alumni to arrangejobs for graduates. Reed is one of the few prominent colleges that dares todisdain to take part in the US News survey.
    In some ways, the scramble to attract applicants hashelped students. Universities such as Duke in North Carolina and Rice in Houstonare devoting more money to scholarships. That seems a reasonable response tothe challenge of the rankings, as the National Centre for Education Statisticsreckons that roughly two-thirds of undergraduates rely on financial aid.
    Other colleges, though, are trying to drum upexcitement by offering perks that would have been unheard of a generation ago.Students at the University of California, Los Angeles now appreciate weeklymaid service in the dorms. “The elevators”, enthused a respondent to an online survey, “smell lemon fresh.” Students at PennsylvaniaState University enjoy free access to Napster, the music-sharing service.Multi-million dollar gyms have become so common that they are unremarkable.
    University officials, defending this strategy, oftenimply that they are only responding to student demand. Discouraging words forthose who believe that a college’s job is to educate,not coddle.
    考研词汇：
    spur[spə:]
    n.①靴刺，马刺;②刺激，刺激物;v.刺激，激励
    grave[greiv]
    n.坟墓;a.严肃的，庄重的
    [真题例句]Lots of Americans boughtthat nonsense, and over three decades, some 10 million smokers went to earlygraves (n.).[2005年阅读2]
    [例句精译] 竟然有许多美国人买这些谬论的帐，30年来，大约有一千万烟民早早就进了坟墓。
    reject[riˈdʒekt]
    v.①拒绝，抵制，驳回;②丢弃;③排斥，退掉
    [真题例句]In fact it is simplyshallow: the confused center is right to reject (②)it.[1997年翻译]
    [例句精译] 事实上，它很肤浅;困惑的中间派正要放弃它。
    [真题例句](65) Until these issuesare resolved, a technology of behavior will continue to be rejected (③), and with it possibly the only way to solve our problems.[2002年翻译]
    [例句精译] (65)(如果)这些问题得不到解决，研究行为的技术手段就会继续受到排斥，解决问题的惟一方式可能也随之继续受到排斥。
    peer[piə]
    n.同等的人，贵族;vi.凝视，窥视;vt. 与……同等，封为贵族
    [真题例句]38. Inthe author’s opinion, advertising__________.[2006年阅读4]
    [B]is a cause of disappointment for the general peer(n.)
    [例句精译] 38. 根据作者的观点，广告_________。
    [B]是造成大部分人沮丧的原因
    distort[diˈstɔ:t]
    v.歪曲，扭曲
    [真题例句]Hallucinogens have theirprimary effect on perception, distorting and altering it in a variety of waysincluding producing hallucinations.[1997年阅读3]
    [例句精译] 迷幻剂主要影响人的感知，通过多种方式对感知加以扭曲或改变，其中包括产生幻觉。
    scramble[ˈskræmbəl]
    n./v.攀爬，争夺
    背景常识介绍：
    近年来，各个机构、各个组织都打着各种旗号来进行所谓的大学排名，希望从一定方面来把大学的层次、水平进行有序排列，列出个英雄榜来。一列英雄榜，那自然是排名有分先后，水平高低也不一了。面对各种繁多的排名花样，仅从高校方就反映不一，有的宠辱不惊，安之若素，有的怒发冲冠、坚决抵制。对于排名榜本身的科学性和权威性来说，人们也不知该如何参照，却也全当是小儿游戏“排排坐”，合己胃口便充分采纳，反之则以其无科学依据缺乏权威等理由视而不见罢了。
    参考译文：
    高校教育名誉之阶
    《美国新闻与世界报道(US News & World Report)》于8月18日刊登了2007年度美国名校的排名。这项调查最早在1983年以一种非正式投票的形式开始。当时，为挑出全国最好的大学，杂志向662所高校的校长发出了调查。从此以后，这项调查就成了那些名校一年一度必经的考核：如果学校名列前茅将吸引学生的兴趣和校友的赞助;排名下滑的话就会严重影响学校的声誉。
    大学的主管们对这项调查深恶痛绝。他们认为将学校依次排序没有任何意义，而且调查的方法也令人生疑。排名仍要参考来自同僚的评估，调查还要比较各校的校友捐赠率，而这与传授知识并无干系。此外，杂志所采用的数据均由学校提供，并未经过核实。
    然而排名公平与否并不重要，因为这些排名早已深入人心。1983年的调查中，不到一半的校长愿意给予答复;而今天，敢于不参与此项调查的学校寥寥无几。
    实际上，大多数学校所做的不仅是简单地填写调查表。大学之间招收优等生的竞争日益激烈，部分原因是学生很看重大学排名。俄勒冈州里德大学校长科林·戴福尔(Colin Diver)认为，“排名(的重要性)使人们有强烈的欲望去捏造数据，或采用非正当手段(参与竞争)。”学校也许会给原本无望入学的学生发出邀请函，或者依靠校友为毕业生安排工作，以此来赢取好的排名。里德大学是为数不多的敢于拒绝《美国新闻》排名调查的名牌大学之一。
    从某种程度上来说，生源的竞争使学生得益。加利福尼亚州北部的杜克(Duke)大学和休斯敦的莱斯(Rice)大学等均增加了奖学金的投入。这显然是为争取排名而采取的合理应对措施。因为据美国教育中心统计数据表明，约有三分之二的本科生依赖助学金就学。
    然而，其他一些大学所采取的扩大生源的手段在几十年前闻所未闻。加州大学洛杉矶分校的学生现在非常赞赏寝室里每周一次的女佣服务。一名热心网友在网络问卷中这样说道“电梯闻起来有新鲜的柠檬味。宾夕法尼亚州立大学的学生可以免费使用Napster(一种音乐共享服务)。学校投入数百万美元建设健身房也已司空见惯。
    校方人员为此类行为辩解时通常表示，他们只是满足学生的需求。对于那些认为学校的职责是教育而非溺爱的人而言，这样的话实在让人气馁。