18．Picking a university is a tense period of asking yourself which institution is most relevant．That's why university rankings play such a vital role in students searching for their next academic direction．Rankings are also an inescapable part of the reputation and brand image of universities．"No university website is complete without the claim to be in the top 100for something or other，"reported the BBC．The reason is simple：Rankings help them to attract students，staff and research investment．
Currently there are numbers of university rankings，and each has its own list of criteria．But the main categories are the same：academic reputation，graduates'performance and faculty resources．
However，experts point out the ranking process isn't entirely reliable．Mark Kantrowitz，a US financial aid researcher，said university rankings were mostly just for show．He wrote in The New York Times．"It may give your parents better bragging rights，but that's about it．"
Moreover，it's not difficult to see the limitations of university rankings．Many rankings focus on the number of times research work is cited （引用） by other researchers．It helps British and US universities to dominate global rankings because English is the favored language of academia，John O'Leary，a member of the QS academic advisory board，told The Gunrdian．Also，rankings such as QS mainly focus on the qualities of the university rather than its students．"Any university ranking is likely to help students make better decisions about where to study，but the need to balance them with other more human factors is also important，"said Phil Moss，an education and admissions consultant．"Advice from graduates or current students can be as valuable in providing a genuine insight into the experience or quality of a particular degree program．It can also add an element that rankings can never convey--the actual emotion of a university experience．"
32．Why do universities consider rankings important A
A．Rankings make them more appealing．
B．Rankings are students'only reference．
C．Rankings can increase their academic level．
D．Rankings help them complete their websites．
33．What does the underlined"It"in paragraph 4refer to？C
A．Acadenuc research work．
B．The number of researches．
C．The way of ranking universities．
D．The limitation of university ranking．
34．According to John O'Leary，what helps British and US universities rank well？A
A．The wide use of English in academia．
B．Their outstanding qualities．
C．Their graduates'excellent performance．
D．The academia's favor to them．
35．Besides ranking，what does Phil Moss suggest you should refer to if you're picking a university？D
A．Investment in education．
B．Guidance from professors．
C．Information on websites．
D．Suggestions from students．
分析 本文講述了如何挑選大學(xué)及大學(xué)的排名的作用．
解答 32．答案 A 根據(jù)第一段的最后一句"The reason is simple：rankings help them to attract students，staffand research investment"可知排名能夠讓大學(xué)更有吸引力．故答案為A
33．答案 C 根據(jù)第四段的第二句"Many rankings focus on the number of times research work is cited（引用） by other researchers"可知，許多大學(xué)的排名關(guān)注科研成果被其他研究人員引用的次數(shù)，所以It指的是"大學(xué)排名的方式"．故答案為C
34．答案 A 根據(jù)第四段第三句中的"It helps British and US universities to dominate global rankingsbecause English is the favored language of academia"可知答案．故答案為A
35．答案 D 根據(jù)最后一段的"Advicefrom graduates or current studen ts can be valuable in providing a genuineinsight"可知，可以征詢學(xué)生的建議．故答案為D
點(diǎn)評(píng) 科普知識(shí)與現(xiàn)代技術(shù)是高中課程標(biāo)準(zhǔn)規(guī)定的話題之一．此類題材的文章涉及內(nèi)容廣泛，如天文地理、生物醫(yī)藥、發(fā)明創(chuàng)造、計(jì)算機(jī)技術(shù)等等．這類文章的總體特點(diǎn)是：科技詞匯多，句子結(jié)構(gòu)復(fù)雜，理論性強(qiáng)，邏輯嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)．具體說來它有以下幾個(gè)特點(diǎn)：
1．文章中詞匯的意義比較單一、穩(wěn)定、簡明，不帶感情色彩，具有單一性和準(zhǔn)確性的特點(diǎn)．
2．句子結(jié)構(gòu)較復(fù)雜，語法分析較困難．為了描述一個(gè)客觀事物，嚴(yán)密地表達(dá)自己的思想，作者經(jīng)常會(huì)使用集多種語法現(xiàn)象于一體的長句．
3．常使用被動(dòng)語態(tài)，尤其是一些慣用被動(dòng)句式．
4．科技環(huán)保類文章在高考英語試題中出現(xiàn)的頻率最高，一直是高考的主要測試內(nèi)容，此類文章一般為說明文，但也常常夾雜著敘述和議論，并經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)一些較新的科技名詞或術(shù)語．著重從不同側(cè)面考查學(xué)生篩選、提取、推斷信息的能力．考生若經(jīng)常閱讀英語報(bào)刊，具備豐富的課外知識(shí)，并積累一定的時(shí)新詞匯，對(duì)解讀此類文章會(huì)大有幫助．
