13 YOU WIN! PAY BANK $140,000
For parents, the scary part begins after the letter comes.
As long as her parents can remember, 13-year-old Katie Hart has been talking about going to college. Her mother, Tally1, a financial-aid officer at an Ohiouniversity, knows all too well the daunting2 calculus3 of paying for a college education. Last year the average yearly tuition at a private, four-year school climbed 5.5 percent to more than $17,000. The Harts have started saving, and figure they can afford a public university without a problem. But what if Katie applies to Princeton , where one year's tuition, room and board--almost $34,000 in 2002--will cosplayt more than some luxury cars? Even a number cruncher like Tally admits it's a little scary, especially since she'll retire and Katie will go to college at around the same time.
Paying for college has always been a humbling4 endeavor. The good news: last year students collected $74 billion in financial aid, the most ever. Most families pay less than full freight. Sixty percent of public-university students and three quarters of those at private colleges receive some form of financial aid--mostly, these days, in the form of loans. But those numbers are not as encouraging as they appear for lower-income families, because schools are changing their formulas for distributing aid. Eager to boost their magazine rankings, which are based in part on the test scores of entering freshmen5, they're throwing more aid at smarter kids--whether they need it or not.
The best way to prepare is to start saving early. A new law passed last year makes that easier for some families. So-called 529 plans allow parents to sock away funds in federal-tax-free-investment accounts, as long as the money is used for qualified6 education expenses like tuition, room and board. The plans aren't for everyone. For tax reasons, some lower- and middle-income families may be better off choosing other investments. But saving is vital. When's the best time to start? Sometime, says Jack7 Joyce of the College Board, between the maternity8 ward9 and middle school.
Aid packages usually come in some combination of grants, loans and jobs. These days 60 percent of all aid comes in the form of low-interest loans. All students are eligible10 for unsubsidized federal Stafford loans, which let them defer11 interest payments until after graduation. Students who can demonstrate need can also qualify for federal Perkins loans or subsidized Staffords, where the government pays the interest during school. Fortunately, this is a borrower's market. Interest rates are at their lowest level in the history of student loans, says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid. Kantrowitz expects rates to fall even further when they're reviewed this summer.
Traditional scholarships, academic or athletic12, are still a part of many families' planning. Mack Reiter, a 17-year-old national wrestling champion, gets so many recruiting letters he throws most away. He'll almost certainly get a free ride. Without it, we would really be in a bind13, says his mother, Janet. For everyone else, it's worth the effort to pick through local and national scholarship offerings, which can be found on Web sites like collegeboard.com.
By Kevin Peraino With Pat Wingert and Karen Springen, in Chicago Newsweek; 4/8/2002, Vol. 139 Issue 14, p50, 2p
注：本文选自Newsweek,4/8/2002,p50;
注：本文习题命题模仿对象2004年真题Text 2.
1.What does the author intend to illustrate14 with the example of the Harts?
[A]the difficulty of paying the tuition
[B]the far-sight of the parents
[C]the promising15 future of Katie
[D]the increasing tuition in the university
2.What can we infer from the second paragraph?
[A]Some families are too poor to pay the full amount of the tuition.
[B]The parents do not favor the form of loans.
[C]Paying the tuition makes the parents feel humble16.
[D]Those who are in great need may not get what they need.
3.The last paragraph suggests that ___________.
[A]many recruiting letters failed to provide Mack Reiter with scholarships
[B]Mack Reiter wanted to help his family go out of the trouble
[C]traditional scholarships are a good solution to the tuition problems in some families
[D]Mack Reiter was very proud of his national wrestling championship
4.What does the author mean by better off?
[A]richer
[B]wiser
[C]happier
[D]luckier
5.Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A]The Harts prefer a public university to a private one.
[B]It is much easier to pay the tuition at present.
[C]All students can get the aid package.
[D]Traditional scholarships are still attractive to some families.
答案：ADCBD
篇章分析
本文使用提出问题剖析问题的模式，指出支付高昂的大学学费对不少家庭来讲都有的力不从心，与一些助学贷款及其它资助项目所起有哪些用途。第一段提出问题，以哈特家为例，说明支付大学学费对家庭导致的重压；第二段指出大部分家庭支付大学学费的方法与存在的一些问题；第三段指出家庭存钱有哪些用途；第四段指出资助项目的形式；第五段指出传统奖学金的吸引力。
词语注解
daunting [5dC:ntIN]adj.使人畏缩的
calculus [5kAlkjJlEs]n.微积分学, 结石
tuition [tju:5IFn; 5tu:-]n.学费
number cruncher n.捣弄数字者；可以进行复杂、很多运算的人
boost[bu:st]v.推进
sock away把钱存放起来
better off adj.是较为明智的
maternity ward n.产科病房
the College Board大学委员会
eligible[5elIdVEbl]adj.符合条件的,合格的
defer[dI5f\:]vt.使推迟, 使延期
wrestling [5reslIN]n.[体]摔跤
in a bind adv.处于困境
难句突破
1.So-called 529 plans allow parents to sock away funds in federal-tax-free-investment accounts, as long as the money is used for qualified education expenses like tuition, room and board.
主体句式：plans allow parents to sock away
结构剖析：本句是个条件复合句。主句是529 plans allow parents to sock away funds，federal-tax-free-investment是一个复合名词; as long as引导条件从句，be used for 意为用做某一目的，like是介词，后跟名词，一同来修饰qualified education expenses.
句子译文：这就是所谓的529策略。该策略准许爸爸妈妈把钱存在联邦免税投资账户上，但他们所存的钱只可以用于支付类似学费、食宿费等符合资格教育成本。
2.Without it, we would really be in a bind,
主体句式：Without it, we would really be in a bind,
结构剖析：从without大家可看出此句是虚拟语气，in a bind是固定搭配，意思是处于困境。
句子译文：要不是如此的话，那样大家真的就陷入困境了。
题目剖析
1.答案为A,属推理判断题。原文对应信息是：Even a number cruncher like Tally admits it's
a little scary, especially since she'll retire and Katie will go to college at around the same time.
2.答案为D，属推理判断题。原文对应信息是：Eager to boost their magazine rankings, which are based in part on the test scores of entering freshmen, they're throwing more aid at smarter kids--whether they need it or not.
3.答案为C，属推理判断题。原文对应信息是：Traditional scholarships, academic or athletic,are still a part of many families' planning.
4.答案为B，属猜词题。文中提到的策略能够帮助存钱，但如此的策略并不适于每个人，
然后给出了其中的一个缘由，来讲明对于低收入和中等收入的家庭来讲，选择其它投资方法会比这种方法好。由此可猜出词义。
5.答案为D, 属推理判断题。选项A意思不准确，文中提到公立大学和私立大学的学费问题，但并没表明父母的态度和倾向；选项B意思不对，文中对应信息是第二段；申请贷款并非无条件的，这是选项C的错误所在。
参考译文
你赢了！那就向银行付140,000USD吧！
对爸爸妈妈来讲，录取信到了将来，让人恐慌的事情也就随之开始了
卡蒂的爸爸妈妈记得，13岁的卡蒂哈特一直在谈论上大学的事。她的妈妈塔利是俄亥俄大学的一名负责给学生贷款的员工，她对大学教育成本是一个多么让人心跳畏缩的数字再熟知不过了。去年，私立四年制大学的年平均学费增长了5.5%，超越17,000USD。哈特家已经开始存钱了，估计支付公立大学的成本不成问题。但，假如卡蒂要申请普林斯顿大学的话，那该如何解决呢？上如此的大学一年的学费和食宿费在2002年大约是34,000USD，这比买几辆豪华轿车还贵。就连塔利如此搞数字工作的人也承认这真有点叫人恐慌，特别是她马上面临退休、卡蒂要上大学这两件事几乎在同时发生。
支付大学成本一直都是叫人很难启齿的尴尬事。有条好消息：去年学生获得的财政资助达740亿USD，这比以往获得的都多。大部分家庭都不是一次全部付清学费。60%的公立大学学生和四分之三的私立大学的学生要同意某种形式的财政资助目前大多是以贷款的形式发放。但这类数字对于那些低收入家庭来讲，并不象它表面上看着那样让人激励，由于学校正在改变它们的资助发放策略。那些想急于提升其杂志排名的学校学校排名在一定量上取决于入学新生的成绩把更多的资助给了成绩较好的学生不管他们是不是需要这种资助。
最好的筹备方法就是早点开始存钱。去年通过的一项新的法律使一些家庭存钱的办法变得容易了一些。这就是所谓的529策略。该策略准许爸爸妈妈把钱存在联邦免税投资账户上，但他们所存的钱只可以用于支付类似学费、食宿费等符合资格教育成本。这一策略并非对每个人都合适。因为税收缘由，对于那些低收入和中等收入家庭来讲，假如选择其它的投资方向，他们会生活得更富裕些。但存钱是头等大事。那样什么时间开始存钱比较合适呢？大学委员会的杰克乔伊斯说，从产科病房开始到上中学这个阶段的任何时候都行。
一揽子资助计划一般以助学金、贷款和兼职相结合的形式提供。目前有60%的资助项目是以低息贷款形式提供的。所有学生都有资格获得联邦非补贴性斯戴福德贷款。这种贷款可以使学生把利息支付推迟到毕业将来。确实能证明经济上有困难的学生还有资格申请联邦帕金斯贷款或联邦补贴性斯戴福德贷款，这种贷款的利息在学生就读期间由政府偿付。所幸的是，目前是借方的市场。《资助》杂志出版商马克坎特罗威茨说：目前的利率是学生贷款史上最低的。坎特罗威茨觉得，今年夏季进行回顾评论时，利率可能还要减少。
争取获得学术或体育等传统奖学金仍然是不少家庭计划的一部分。17岁的迈克赖特是全国摔跤冠军，他收到了不少招收信，但大多数信都被他扔到了一边。他几乎一定会获得全额免费。他的妈妈珍妮特说，要不是如此的话，大家真的就陷入困境了。对于别的人来讲，值得费些工夫去搜寻地方和国家提供的奖学金。这种奖学金可以在collegeboard.com如此的网站上找到。
