Text 4 Britain's private schools are one of its most successful exports.The children of the well-heeled flock to them,whether[rom China,Nigeria or Russia:the number of foreign pupils rose by l.4%in the last year alone.One headmaster recendy asked a room full of pupils whether they flew business class to Britain.Only a few hands went up,sugSesting they were not quite as spoiled as he had thought.Then a boy explained:many of the pupils fly first class instead.Yet foreign studenLs,whether educated in British pnvate schools or elsewhere,are decreasingly likely to go to English universities.According Lo the Higher Education Funding Council for England,307,200 0verseas students began their studies in the country in 2012-2013,down from 312,000 two years earlier and the first drop in 29 years.Student numbers from the rest of the EU fell-probably a result of the increase in annual tuition fees in England from 6,000 a year 10 9,000.But arrivals from India and Pakistan declined mosL sharply.In conLrast to the visa regime for private schools,which is extremely lax（the Home Office counts private schools as favoured sponsors）,student visas have been tightened.Foreign students used to be allowed to work for up to two years after graduating.They now have only four months to find a job paying upwards of 20,600 if they want to stay in Britain.This change was intended to deal with sham colleges ihat were in effect offenng two-year work visas.BuL it seems to have put off serious students too.Nick HiUman of the Higher Education Policy Institute says the government has sent unclear messages about the sort of immigration it wants to restrict.An emphasis on holding down net immigration influences young Indians and Pakistanis in particular.Australia 8nd America,which have more relaxed entry criteria for students,are becorrung more favoured destinations.Colin Riordan,Cardiff University's vice-chancellor,adds that Britain's student-visa regime has become more strict and difficult.As a result,Britain is losing oul to other counLries in the contest for Lalent-an oddity,given how often the prime minister bangs on about the"global race".Its unwelcoming standpoint will harm its long-term prospects.And the drift of foreign studenLs from leadinS;British private schools to American colleges may have another,somewhat happier,consequence:America might become raLher better at cricket.
the author holds that Britain's current studenL-visa regime may_____
- A.deprive the country of foreign elites
- B.lose both domestic and foreign talenls
- C.harm iLs long-term economic prospects
- D.lose its advantage in sports competilion
正确答案及解析
正确答案
解析
观点题。题干BIitain's current student-visa regime对应第四段尾句，而第五段体现作者观点，强调英国当前的学生签证制度带来的结果，故答案锁定第五段。选项[A]deprive the country of foreign elites“使国家失去外国精英”；该项对应首句：As a result．Br．tain is losing out to other countries in the contest for talent...其中talent强调的是文章讨论的“留学生”，即“外国人才”。该项的deprive=lose；elites=talent；故该项表达正确。[B]lose both domestic and foreign talents“失去国内外人才”；该项错在domestic国内的”一词，文章从头到尾都在讨论留学生，从没有提到本国的人才，故该项错误。[C]hann its long-term economic prospects“不利于长远经济前景”；原文第二句提到harm its long-term prospects，该项多出economic一词，属于偷换概念。[D]lose its advantage in sports competiLion”在体育比赛中失去优势”；该项与最后一句有关，文章提到cricket“板球”运动，该项变成sports competition“体育比赛”，属于明显的夸大范围。综上，本题选择[A]。
