In statehouses all over America this spring, politicians once again wrestled with the vexing problem of how to fund higher education. Their deliberations took place against a backdrop of finger-pointing and pain, as they searched for someone to blame for skyrocketing tuition. There are plenty of candidates, including the states, the federal government, universities and students themselves. But I worry that amid the din of recrimination, a major point is being lost: Our cherished higher education system, once a source of national pride and international envy, is now threatened with what I call “graceful decline.” Unless this threat is addressed, we face the likely prospect that our leadership in the knowledge-based economy will erode. If we lose that edge, we won’t be able to sustain our extraordinary standard of living. Since the middle of the last century, we have funded public higher education based on models that reflected a prevailing societal consensus. Each model has held for about 25 to 30 years, until either the consensus changed or the model could no longer be sustained. Our current funding model is now at the point of collapse. It’s time to ask: Where do we go from here?
【題組】47. What is the passage mainly about?
(A) Background of the political chaos in the U. S. and ways to solve the problem
(B) The importance of finding ways to solve the worsening U. S. higher education system
(C) The parties that were responsible for skyrocketing higher education tuition
(D) Reasons why Americans cherished higher education system
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