英语周报英语四级考试听力模拟试题(十三)_大学英语听力

英语周报英语四级考试听力模拟试题(十三)

　　With regard to this, perhaps their most traditionally sanctioned task, colleges and universities today generally find themselves in a serious bind. On the one hand, there is the American commitment, entered into especially since World War II, to provide higher education for all young people who can profit from it. The result of the commitment has been a dramatic rise in enrollment in our universities, coupled with a radical shift from the private to the public sector of higher education. On the other hand, there are serious and continuing limitations on the resources available for higher education.

　　While higher education has become a great growth industry, it is also simultaneously a tremendous drain on the resources of this nation. With the vast increase in enrollment and the shift in priorities away from education in state and federal budgets, there is in most of our public institutions a significant decrease in per capita outlay for their students. One crucial aspect of this drain on resources lies in the persistent shortage of trained faculty, which has led, in turn, to a declining standard of competence in instruction.

　　Intensifying these difficulties is, as indicated above, the concern with research, with its competing claims on resources and faculty. In addition, there is a strong tendency for the institutions organization and functionality to conform to the demands of research rather than those of teaching.