Grade inflation--the gradual increase in average GPAs(grade-point averages) over the past few decades—26.is often considered a product of a consumer era in higher education, in which students are treated like customers to be pleased. But another, related force—a policy often buried deep in course catalogs called “grade forgiveness”—is helping raise GPAs.
Grade forgiveness allows students to retake a course in which they received a low grade, and the most recent grade or the highest grade is the only one that counts in calculating a student’s overall GPA.
The use of this little-known practice has accelerated in recent years, as colleges continue to do their utmost to keep students in school (and paying tuition) and improve their graduation rates. When this practice first started decades ago,27. it was usually limited to freshmen, to give them a second chance to take a class in their first year if they struggled in their transition to college-level courses. But now most colleges save for many selective campuses, allow all undergraduates, and even graduate students, to get their low grades forgiven.
College officials tend to emphasize that the goal of grade forgiveness is less about the grade itself and more about encouraging students to retake courses critical to their degree program and graduation without incurring a big penalty. “Untimely,” said Jack Miner, Ohio State University’s registrar,“we see students achieve more success because they retake a course and do better in subsequent contents or master the content that allows them to graduate on time.”
That said, there is a way in which grade forgiveness satisfies colleges’ own needs as well. For public institutions, state funds are sometimes tied partly to their success on metrics such as graduation rates and student retention—28.so better grades can, by boosting figures like those, mean more money. And anything that raises GPAs will likely make students—who, at the end of the day, are paying the bill—feel they’ve gotten a better value for their tuition dollars, which is another big concern for colleges.
29.Indeed, grade forgiveness is just another way that universities are responding to consumers’ expectations for higher education. Since students and parents expect a college degree to lead a job, it is in the best interest of a school to turn out graduates who are as qualified as possible—or at least appear to be. On this, students’ and colleges’ incentives seem to be aligned.
26. What is commonly regarded as the cause of grade inflation?
A. The change of course catalogs.
B. Students’ indifference to GPAS.
C. Colleges’ neglect of GPAS.
D. The influence of consumer culture.
27. What was the original purpose of grade forgiveness?
A. To help freshmen adapt to college learning.
B. To maintain colleges’ graduation rates.
C. To prepare graduates for a challenging future.
D. To increase universities’ income from tuition.
28. According to Paragraph 5,grade forgiveness enable colleges to_________.
A. obtain more financial support
B. boost their student enrollments
C. improve their teaching quality
D. meet local governments’ needs
29. What does the phrase “to be aligned”(Line 5, Para.6) most probably mean?
A. To counterbalance each other.
B. To complement each other.
C. To be identical with each other.
D. To be contradictory to each other.
30. The author examines the practice of grade forgiveness by________.
A. assessing its feasibility
B. analyzing the causes behind it
C. comparing different views on it
D. listing its long-run effects
答案：DAACB
分数膨胀——过去几十年平均 GPA（平均绩点）的逐渐增加——通常被认为是高等教育消费时代的产物，在这个时代，学生被当作顾客一样对待，让他们感到高兴。但另一个相关的政策——一项经常隐藏在课程目录中被称为“成绩宽恕”的政策——正在帮助提高 GPA。
成绩宽恕允许学生重修他们获得低分的课程，并且最近的成绩或最高成绩是计算学生整体 GPA 的唯一因素。
近年来，随着大学继续尽最大努力让学生留在学校（并支付学费）并提高他们的毕业率，这种鲜为人知的做法的使用速度加快了。几十年前这种做法刚开始时，通常仅限于新生，如果他们在向大学水平课程的过渡过程中遇到困难，可以在第一年给他们第二次上课的机会。但现在大多数大学都保留了许多选择性校园，允许所有本科生，甚至研究生，获得低分的豁免。
大学官员倾向于强调，成绩宽恕的目标与成绩本身无关，而更多的是鼓励学生重修对他们的学位课程和毕业至关重要的课程，而不会受到很大的惩罚。 “不合时宜，”俄亥俄州立大学的注册官杰克·米纳 (Jack Miner) 说，“我们看到学生取得更大的成功，因为他们重修一门课程并在后续内容中做得更好，或者掌握了使他们能够按时毕业的内容。”
也就是说，有一种方法可以让成绩宽恕也满足大学自己的需求。对于公共机构来说，国家资金有时与他们在毕业率和学生保留率等指标上的成功有部分联系——因此，通过提高这些数字，更高的成绩可以意味着更多的钱。任何提高 GPA 的事情都可能让学生——最终还是要付账——觉得他们的学费更值了，这是大学的另一个大问题。
事实上，成绩宽恕只是大学回应消费者对高等教育期望的另一种方式。由于学生和家长都希望大学学位能胜任工作，因此培养出尽可能合格的毕业生符合学校的最大利益——或者至少看起来如此。在这一点上，学生和大学的激励措施似乎是一致的。
26. 一般认为是什么导致等级膨胀？
A. 课程目录的变化。
B. 学生对 GPAS 的冷漠。
C. 大学对 GPAS 的忽视。
D.消费文化的影响。
27. 等级宽恕的最初目的是什么？
A.帮助新生适应大学学习。
B. 维持大学的毕业率。
C. 为毕业生做好迎接充满挑战的未来的准备。
D. 增加大学的学费收入。
28. 根据第 5 段，成绩宽恕使大学能够_________。
A.获得更多的资金支持
B. 提高学生入学率
C.提高教学质量
D. 满足地方政府的需求
29. “to be aligned”（第 5 行，第 6 段）这句话最有可能是什么意思？
A. 相互抵消。
B. 相辅相成。
C. 彼此相同。
D. 相互矛盾。
30. 作者通过____来考察等级宽恕的实践。
A. 评估其可行性
B. 分析其背后的原因
C. 比较不同的观点
D. 列出其长期影响
以上是阅读题各个问题的答案所对应的句子及全文翻译，祝各位考生都能考上心仪的学校
