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When she graduates from Columbia University next year with a master's degree in Public
health, Eric Wheeler is hoping to get a job in international reproductive(生殖) health. The
26-year-old post-graduate has always wanted to work in public service. But public service
doesn't pay much, and her two-year program at Columbia costs about $50,000 a year with
living expenses. She has a scholarship from Columbia that covers just $4,000 a year and has
taken out loans to pay for the rest. She worries that she will spend years paying back her student
loans and not have money left over to put away in an IRA. Wheeler is wondering what she can
do to ease the pain of being in debt. Is there anything she can do to handle the debt?
The good news is that in 2007, Congress recognized that there were so many students in
Wheeler's position that it passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. There were two
programs established by this act that Wheeler should look into.
The first is the income-based repayment plan, which allows lower-income graduates with a
lot of debt to reduce their monthly payments. Depending on a graduate's income and level of
debt, the program, which goes into effect July 1, could limit his or her annual educational loan
debt repayment to 15 percent of discretionary income(可随意支配的收入),said Peter Mazareas,
vice charman of the College Saving Foundation.
The second is the public service loan forgiveness plan, in which the federal government will
forgive the remaining debt of borrowers who make 10-year loan payment while working full time
in public-service jobs. But the graduate must have a certain loan which is listed in the plan.
Depending on the level of debt Wheeler ends up with and how much she repays over 10 years,
Mazareas said she could end up with about $75,000 of her debt forgiven. " Tipically, it is projected
that a borrower who performs public service under this program will repay only about one-fourth
to one-half as much money as a borrower who does not", he said. He also pointed out that public
service is broadly defined and includes any government and nonprofit organization job.

1. How much debt will Erin Wheeler be probably in when she graduate?
A. $ 8,000
B.$ 50,000
C. $75,000
D. $92,000
2. Which of the following is true about the College Reduction and Access Act?
A. The programs in the act take effect in 2008.
B.The act aims to help college students who are in debt.
C.There are two helpful programs in the act.
D. The graduates who work in public service benefit the most.
3. How can people benefit from the first plan mentioned in the passage?
A. The interest of the debt will be lowered.
B. The total amount of debt could be reduced.
C. The income tax will be cut down.
D.People will have more time to pay back the debt.
4. Why does the author say Erin wheeler should look into the second plan in the act?
A. Because she will be heavily in debt upon graduation.
B.Because she will have a master degree.
C. Because she plans to work in public service.
D. Because she has borrowed money from the federal government.
5. What's the main idea of the passage?
A. The total expense in American universities is too high.
B. There are a lot of different programs to help students pay their tution.
C. The US government encourages students to choose public service jobs.
D.The federal government is trying to relieve graduates from heavy debt.

参考答案

1-5: DBDCD

答案详解

1. D推理判断题。由题干中的in debt定位到第一段第三、四句。此处说，她每年连生活费总共的开 销是5万美元，她需要两年的时间拿到硕士学位，也就是说一共需要10万美元。每年她的奖学金 有4千美元，去掉后总共还余9.2方美元。文章说，这部分钱她都是通过贷款还支付的，也就是说 她欠债共达9. 2方臭元。故D为正确答案。

2. B事实细节题。由题干中的the College Cost Reduction and Access Act定位到第二段第一句。本 句说因为国会意识到有很多学生的处境和惠勒一样，才会通过这个法案。由第一段的描述可 知，惠?正处在负债读书的处境。因此B“法案旨在帮助那些负债的学生”为正确答案。第三段提 到法案在7月i曰生效，应该是2007年，M以排除A;文章提到了法案中的两个方案，但并不能说 法案中就只有两个方案，故排除C;同祥，文章说从事公共服务行业的毕业生可以享受很大幅度的 贷款减免，但并不能就下结论说从事公共服务行业的学生受益最大，故排除D。

3. D事实细节题-由题干中的the first plan定位到第三段。本段说:方案允许低收入而且负债高的 学生降低每月还款的额度。并且把每月的还款额降低到个人可支配收入的15%之内。这样，借贷 人每个月的还款额度减小了，但同时也意味着还款时间延长了。因此D为正确答案。文章没有提 到贷款利息和收入税是否降低，故排除A和C;而总数减免是第二个方案的计划，故排除B。

4. C事实细节题。由题干中的the second plan定位到第四段。第二个方案中，政府对从事公共服务 行业的毕业生给予了大幅度的减免，而文章第一段第一句又提到了惠勒打算从事公共服务性行业 的工作。因此C“她打算从事公共服务性行业的工作”正确。A“负债高，，是第一个方案的照顾条件， 故排除；第四段在介绍第二个方案的内容时，没有提到硕士学位这一要求，排除B;文章第一段只说 惠勒借了贷款，没有说贷款是否是政府提供，故排除D。

5. D主旨大意题。文章自第二段起，就在介绍美国国会在2007年通过的《降低大学学费和扩大人学 机会法案》，因此文章的主要内容是D“联邦政府正在努力地减轻大学毕业生的负债压力”。虽然第 一段以惠勒为例说明大学费用很高，但这是为了引出下文中的法案。本文的主要内容不是A“美国 大学学费很高”，故排除；文章只提到了学生通过获取奖学金和贷款来支付学费，与B中的“很多方 案”不符，而且学生支付学费的途径也不是文章的主要内容，故排除在文章中提到了两个方案 中，只有第四段中的第二个方案与公共性服务行业有关，因此不能说c“美国政府鼓励毕业生从事公共性服务行业”为全文的主要内容，故排除。