As long as her parents can remember， 13-year-old Katie Hart has been talking about going to college. Her mother， Tally， a financial-aid officer at an Ohio university， knows all too well the daunting calculus 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 (she’s threatening)， where one year’s tuition， room and board——almost $34，000 in 2002——will cost 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 humbling 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 freshmen， 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 “qualified 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 Jack Joyce of the College Board， “between the maternity ward 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 eligible for “unsubsidized” federal Stafford loans， which let them defer 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 athletic， 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 bind，” 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.

注(1)：本文选自Newsweek，4/8/2002，p50;

注(2)：本文习题命题模仿对象2004年真题Text 2.

1. What does the author intend to illustrate with the example of the Harts?

[A]the difficulty of paying the tuition

[B]the far-sight of the parents

[C]the promising 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 humble.

[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”(Line 5， Paragraph 3)?

[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