Advantage Unfair
According to the writer Walter Ellis, author of a book called the Oxbridge Conspiracy, Britain is still dominated by the old-boy network: it isn't what you know that matters, but who you know. He claims that at Oxford and Cambridge Universities (Oxbridge for short) a few select people start on an escalator ride which, over the years, carries them to the tops of British privilege and power. His research revealed that the top professions all continue to be dominated, if not 90 per cent, then 60 or 65 per cent, by Oxbridge graduates.
And yet ,says Ellis, Oxbridge graduates make up only two per cent of the total number of students who graduate from Britain's universities. Other researches also seem to support his belief that Oxbridge graduates start with an unfair advantage in the employment market. In the law, a recently published report showed that out of 26 senior judges appointed to the High Court last year, all of them went to private schools and 21 of them went to Oxbridge.
But can this be said to amount to a conspiracy? Not according to Dr. John Rae, a former headmaster of one of Britain's leading private schools, Westminster:
"I would accept that there was a bias in some key areas of British life, but that bias has now gone. Some time ago - in the 60s and before - entry to Oxford and Cambridge was not entirely on merit. Now, there's absolutely no question in any objective observer's mind that entry to Oxford and Cambridge is fiercely competitive."
However, many would disagree with this. For, although over three-quarters of British pupils are educated in state schools, over half the students that go to Oxbridge have been to private, or "public" schools. Is this because pupils from Britain's private schools are more intelligent than those from state schools, or are they simply better prepared?
On average, about ￡5,000 a year is spent on each private school pupil, more than twice the amount spent on state school pupils. So how can the state schools be expected to compete with the private schools when they have far fewer resources? And how can they prepare their pupils for the special entrance exam to Oxford University, which requires extra preparation, and for which many public school pupils traditionally stay at school and do an additional term?
Until recently, many blamed Oxford for this bias because of the university's special entrance exam (Cambridge abolished its entrance exam in 1986). But last February, Oxford University decided to abolish the exam to encourage more state school applicants. From autumn 1996, Oxford University applicants, like applicants to other universities, will be judged only on their A level results and on their performance at interviews, although some departments might still set special tests.
However, some argue that there's nothing wrong in having elite places of learning, and that by their very nature, these places should not be easily accessible. Most countries are run by an elite and have centres of academic excellence from which the elite are recruited. Walter Ellis accepts that this is true:
"But in France, for example, there are something like 40 equivalents of university, which provide this elite through a much broader base. In America you've got the Ivy League, centred on Harvard and Yale, with Princeton and Stanford and others. But again, those universities together - the elite universities - are about ten or fifteen in number, and are being pushed along from behind by other great universities like, for example, Chicago and Berkeley. So you don't have just this narrow concentration of two universities providing a constantly replicating elite."
When it comes to Oxford and Cambridge being elitist because of the number of private school pupils they accept, Professor Stone of Oxford University argues that there is a simple fact he and his associates cannot ignore:
"If certain schools do better than others then we just have to accept it. We cannot be a place for remedial education. It's not what Oxford is there to do."
However, since academic excellence does appear to be related to the amount of money spent per pupil. This does seem to imply that Prime Minister John Major's vision of Britain as a classless society is still a long way off. And it may be worth remembering that while John Major didn't himself go to Oxbridge, most of his ministers did.
译文：
不公平的优势
据《牛津剑桥阴谋帮派》一书作者沃尔特·埃利斯所说，英国如今仍然处于老同学关系网的控制下：你懂什么并不重要，重要的是认识谁。他声称在牛津大学和剑桥大学求学的少数精英一开始便平步青云，扶摇直上，几年之内，就登上了特权和权力的顶峰。他的调查结果显示，英国高级职能部门仍然由牛津和剑桥的毕业生控制着，如果没有90%，至少也有60或者65%。
埃利斯指出，牛津、剑桥的毕业生只占英国大学毕业生总数的2%。其他的研究者似乎也证明了这一点，即牛津、剑桥的毕业生一开始就在劳动市场上占据着不公平的优势。最近公布的一份调查结果显示：在法律界，去年任命的26名高级法官都就读过私立学校，其中21人曾就读过牛津和剑桥。
但仅凭这些就能说是一个阴谋帮派吗？根据英国一家有代表性的私立学校--威斯敏斯特的前任校长约翰·雷博士的看法，情况并不是这样的：
"我承认过去英国的某些重要领域内存在着偏见，可如今这种偏见已经不存在了。一段时间以前--即60年工或更早的时候进牛津、剑桥并不完全是凭本事的。而现在，在任何能够客观看问题的人的眼里，毫无疑问，去牛津和剑桥读书竞争理很激烈的。"
然而，很多人都不同意这种说法。尽管有3/4的英国毕业生就读于公立学校，而上牛津剑桥的学生中有半数以上的人曾就读于私立学校，即"公学"。难道这是因为英国私立学校的学生比公立学校的学生更聪明些？或者，仅仅因为他们准备得更加充分吗？
私立学校平均每年在一个学生身上的花费是5000英镑，是公立学校每个学生费用的两倍还多。那么财源少得多的情况下，公立学校的学生怎么可能与私立学校的学生竞争呢？这些考试需要精心准备，为此许多公立学校的学生传统上要住校，以便有额外的学习时间。
直到最近，仍有很多人就牛津大学的专门入学考试一事谴责牛津存在偏见。但牛津大学直到去年2月才决定取消入学考试，鼓励更多的公立学校毕业生报考本校。从1996年秋天开始，申请上牛津大学的学生像其他大学的申请者一样，将只根据他在中学学习期间的成绩和面试的表现来决定是否录取，尽管有些系仍可能需要专门考试。
课文讲解：
一、单词部分
1. dominate:
1) dominate+(over)+名词＋by ＋名词： 凭借。。。控制：A great man can dominate over others by force of character.
2) Be+dominated+by+名词：俯瞰： The whole valley is dominated by this mountain.
2．Make up :组成、补足、捏造、化妆、收拾： She always makes up carefully before every performance.
3．Amount
1) 数量、总数：The visitors arrive in great amount.
2) 共达、等于、达到：What he said amounted to very little indeed.
4．Resource （复数）资源、财源。（可数）有助于某事的办法、（不可数）机智
We must take measures to protect our limited natural resources.
A man of resources
Leave him to his own resources 随他自己想办法去吧。
5．Blame
1) 责备：Bad workmen often blame their tools.
He blamed his teacher for his failure.
They blamed the incident on me
Who is it to blame for the young girl’s accidental death?
You are to blame
注意介词的用法！！
2）过失：There is no blame to attach to his life.
6．Recruit
1) 新手、新兵：our club needs recruits 我们的俱乐部需要招新成员 enroll recruits 招募新兵
2) 补充、吸收、培训 The personnel department plans to recruit the new graduates 人事部门计划对刚毕业的人员进行培训。
6．Push along :抓紧进行。（口）离开 ：He pushed the work along.他抓紧完成工作。 I’m afraid I really ought to be pushing along. 恐怕我真的该走了。
7. nature 自然、自然界、自然力、本性、性质 ： It’s the nature of dogs to bark.
二、课文讲解
1、 .. Britain is still dominated by the old-boy network: it isn’t what you know that matters, but who you know. 。。英国至今仍处于老同学关系网的控制之中：你知道多少知识无关紧要，重要的是你认识谁。
“It isn’t what you know that matters是强调据式。这种结构在上册中已有较详细的讲解。后半句：but who you know中省略”that matters”. 连词结构”not…but…”表示一种对比，常用来连接两种截然相反的情况。例如： It is not me, but her who has won the excellent reward. 获得优秀奖的不是我，而是她。
2． …a recently published report showed that out of 26senior judges appointed to the High Court last year, all of them went to the private schools and 21 of them went to oxbridge. 。。。最近发表的一份研究报告表明，去年任命的26名高级法院的法官中，都上过私立学校，21人曾就读于牛津和剑桥大学。
1） appointed to the High Court last year”是过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰“judges”
2） 介词词组“out of“在此表示数目，意为”在。。。。当中“。例如：Nine out of teen boys can do it very easily. You can choose one book out of the six.
3. Now, there’s absolutely no question in any objective observers mind that entry to oxford and Cambridge is fiercely competitive. 如今，任何客观看待这个问题的人都会认为，上牛津和剑桥大学需要面临激烈的竞争。
1）that entry to W xford…是question 的同位语从句，而in any observer’s mind 是插入语。
3） There is no question是表示肯定的判断，在意思上相当于 “it is certain that…” “surely”,或“There is no doubt that…”
4.For, although over three-quarters of British pupils are educated in state schools, over half the students that go to oxbridge have been to private, or “public” schools. 因为，尽管有3/4的大学毕业生曾在公立学校受教育，而进牛津剑桥的学生只有一般的人就读于私立学校。
1） 本句中含有一个由although 引导的让步状语从句和一个定语从句，修饰students.
2） 分数的表达方式是分子用基数词、分母用序数词。
5．On average, about ￡5，000 a year is spent on each private school pupil, more than twice the amount spent on state school pupils.
私立学校平均每一年用于一名学生身上的费用为5000英镑，是用于公立学校学生费用两倍之多。
本句中含有一个比较结构more than… 当表示倍数比较时，比较结构为“倍数＋as +形容词原级＋as”，”more than +倍数＋名词”， “倍数＋形容词比较级＋than+名词。。。”，“倍数＋as+形容词原级＋as+名词”。
He is thrice as old as his grandson. 他的年龄是他孙子的三倍。
He is twice older than his grandson. 他的年龄是他孙子的两倍。
His age is twice more than that of his grandson. 他的年龄比他孙子的多两倍
His age is thrice as many as that of his grandson. 他的年龄时他孙子的三倍。
6．But in France , for example, there are something like 40equivalents of university, which provide this elite through a much broader base. 但是，例如在法国，大约由40所地位相当的大学，这可以在较为广泛的基础上培养精英人才。
1） 本句含有定语从句，which引导的从句是非限制性定语从句，补充说明university.
2） 不定代词something与like连用，这里表示约数，可译成“左右、大约” There are something like 40 people in the class.
7. When it comes to oxford and Cambridge being elitist because of the number of private school pupils they accept.. 当谈到牛津大学和剑桥大学能培养出精英来是因为他们接受了大量的私立学校学生。。。。
1) oxford and Cambridge being elitist 是动名词做介词to的宾语，而oxford and Cambridge则是动名词being elitist的逻辑主语。在这种结构中，充当动名词逻辑主语的可以是物主代词，也可以是名词的所有格，如果动名词结构不是在句子开头，还可以用名词的普通格，这种结构可以用来做主语、表语、宾语和介词宾语。
2) Come to 有很多种意思，在本句种的意思是：“就。。。而言、论及。。。。、关于”：When it comes to physics, I’m completely at sea. 论及物理学，我完全是个门外汉。
8．And it may be worth remembering that while John Major didn’t himself go to oxbridge, most of his ministers did. 也许应该知道，尽管约翰梅捷本人没有上牛津或剑桥大学，而他的大部分大臣们都是这两所大学的毕业生。
1） while 引导的让步状语从句在宾语从句中做状语，宾语从句中的主句是“most of his ministers did”,作remember的宾语。
2） worth后常跟名词或动名词，表示“值得、价值“ This bike is worth 300 yuan. This story is worth reading again.While除了引导时间状语从句，还可以引导表示转折的并列句或者让步状语从句 He likes fishing, while his twin brother is keen on painting.
语法
一致关系
一致关系指句子成分之间须在人称、数、性等方面保持一致。英语中最主要的一致关系主谓一致和人称代词一致。
一、主谓一致：
教材上讲的比较详细，例子也很多。在这里我提醒大家，主谓一致是英语与汉语最根本的不同之一。大家一定要克服固有的汉语语言习惯，努力用英语思维。下面，给大家提供一些其他的关于主谓一致的资料，希望大家对比教材来看。
主谓一致是指谓语动词在人称和数上必须与主语一致。下面让我们看看不同类型的主谓一致。
1. 名词做主语
1） 单复数主谓一致
A) 一般词汇：有些词汇的复数形式是固定不变的，如：crossroads (十字路口；聚焦点), barracks (兵营), headquarters (总部), means (方法，手段), species (种类，品种), series (系列), works (工厂)等，但其动词的单复数取决于两点：
a) 取决于限定词：
例：Every means has been tried but without much result.（各种方法都试过，可没有多大效果。）
These works have been closed since the beginning of this year due to the strike of the workers.（由于工人罢工，这些工厂从今年年初起就一直停工。）
b) 取决于上下文内容、作者所要表达的意思、特指还是泛指：
例：Are/ Is there any other means of solving the problem?（还有什么其它解题的方法吗？注意：这里可以用are表示其它方法，也可以用is表示和现在所用的方法相对比的另一种方法。）
My favorite book is The old Man and the Sea.（我喜爱的书是《老人与海》。注意：本句是特指。）
our TV series are much better than those of Japan.（我国的电视剧比日本的好得多。注意：本句是泛指。）
注意：a series of
这是一个短语，表示“一系列”，后面跟复数名词。但其动词谓语用单数还是用复数，取决于本短语表示的是一系列“同一种类”的事物还是“不同种类”的事物。前者用单数谓语；后者用复数谓语。
例：A series of wet days spoils our holiday.（阴雨连绵破坏了我们的假期。）
There are a series of strange objects in his suitcase.（他的提箱里有一些奇怪的东西。）
c) 从句做主语
例：1991年6月四级第69题
How close parents are to their children _______ a strong influence on the character of the children.
A) have B) has C) having D) to have
本题中how引导的从句做主语，为单数，所以答案是B) has。全句的意思是：“孩子与父母的接近程度会对孩子的性格有很大影响。”
d) 学科名词一般用单数谓语动词。但如果这个词还可表示相关活动、具体或个别事实或事件时，则可用复数谓语。这样的词有：economics（经济学）, electronics（电子学）, mathematics（数学）, politics（政治学）等等。
例：politics is a good topic for discussion.（政治是谈论的好题目。）
Economics has fascinated me.（我迷上了经济学。）
e) 有些名词具有复数形式，但其实是单数意义，有自己的复数形式。其用法与一般名词相同，单数时可以使用不定冠词，谓语用单数；复数时谓语动词用复数。这种名词的伪装很不好识别，只能靠平时词汇量和经验的积累。例如：chaos - chaoses（琐事，杂乱）, campus - campuses（校园）, chorus - choruses（合唱队）, status - statuses（身份、地位）, virus - viruses（病毒）, analysis - analyses（分析）, basis - bases（基础）, crisis - crises（危机）, hypothesis - hypotheses（假设）,等。
例：There was chaos everywhere in the town after the earthquake.（地震后，城内一片混乱。）
f) 有些表示成双成对的词，常常只用复数形式，动词一律用复数，也不能用不定冠词。比如要表示“一……”，要使用量词，通常使用a pair of。这样的词有： eyeglasses（眼镜）, pants（裤子）, scissors（剪刀）, shoes（鞋）, shorts（短裤）, socks（短袜）, stockings（长统袜）, trousers（裤子）等。
B) 无复数形式的名词
a) 有些名词，特别是一些表示动物的名词，其单复数形式是固定不变的，但其动词的单复数取决于其限定词和上下文内容。
例：Much of this data is conclusive.（这数据中有许多都是决定性的。）
Many of these data are conclusive. （这些数据中有许多都是决定性的。）
That Japanese has been to China for twenty times.（这位日本人已来过中国20次了。）
Those Japanese are visitors to our university.（那些日本人是到我们大学来参观的客人。）
注意：Chinese, Japanese这样的词不仅可做名词，还可和定冠词一起连用，表示“……一类人”，是种集合名词的表达形式。因此，用于后者时，其动词的单复数不能取决于内容，而是一定要用复数。
B) 集合名词：大部分集合名词都可使用单数或复数动词，这主要取决于作者的强调点：强调整体时，用单数谓语；强调这个集体里的成员时，用复数谓语。这样的集合名词有：army（军队）, audience（观众、听众）, board（委员会）, committee（委员会）, crew（全体队员、船员、机组人员等）, crowd（人群）, firm（公司）, government（政府）, group（组、群）, majority（多数人）, minority（少数人）, public（公众）, staff（全体工作人员）, union（联盟）等。
例：The audience was excited by the excellent show.（精彩的演出使全体观众情绪激昂。）
The public is/are requested not to leave litter in the public places.（公众不能在公共场所乱扔垃圾。）
注意：
1) 后一个例句中，The public指的是在公共场所的人，谓语可用单数或复数。
2) 还有一些集合名词也没有复数形式，但只能做复数名词使用，谓语动词应该用复数。这样的man（人类）, police（警察）等。
C) 专有名词和不可数名词的谓语一律用单数谓语。前者指人名、地名、国家名、城市名、书名、机构名或重大事件。后者又可分为物质和抽象名词两大类。
例：The Tales of Ancient China was written by that old professor.（《古代中国神话》是由那位老教授编写的。）
The United Nations is trying to find a better way to bring the two parties together.（联合国正在寻求更有效的方法来调停双方。）
注意：在具体应用中，有些不可数名词可加复数词尾，这时其意义稍有变化，动词的单复数则根据具体句子意思而定。有时甚至可加不定冠词。
例：There were bright lights in that mansion all the night.(那栋大厦整夜都亮着灯光。)
She was a beauty even after she had three children.(她生了三个孩子以后还是个美人。)
C) 另外，还有特殊复数形式的名词也需要你的特殊注意。这些词的复数形式可能并不明显，所以常导致谓语单复数错误。
特殊复数形式的名词：phenomenon - phenomena（现象）, goose - geese（鹅）, mouse - mice（老鼠）等
2） 不定代词和带限定词的名词做主语
A) 不定代词或every加名词做主语：every, each, either, neither, one, no one, somebody, anybody, nobody, everyone, someone, anyone, everyone, something, anything, nothing, everything在句中做主语，或做限定词限定一个名词时，后面的谓语一律用单数。
例：Each family was forced to send one labor to the army.（每家都被迫送一个劳动力到军队去。）
Either of them isnt going to give up their chance of education.（他们两个都不想放弃受教育的权利。）
注意：上述词语做限定词加of时，后面的名词或代词都应该用复数，但谓语却用单数。即使有定语从句，其主句、从句谓语仍用单数。
例：Each one of us who is now living is destined to witness remarkable scientific discoveries.（现在活着的人一定会见到伟大的科学发现。）
B) 限定词加名词做主语：all, any, many, more, most, some的谓语动词的单复数取决于它们所修饰的名词。
A) all, any, many, more, most, some修饰单数名词时，谓语为单数；当修饰复数名词谓语为复数。
例：All of the world is against wars.（全世界都反对战争。）
There is some girl at the telephone who wants to speak to you.（有个女孩打电话来，找你。）
b) all, any, many, more, most, some加复数名词时，谓语用复数动词。
例：All roads lead to Rome.（条条大路通罗马。）
There are scarcely any flies left.（几乎没有什么苍蝇了。）
c) all, any, many, more, most, some修饰不可数名词时，谓语用单数动词。
例：If there is any trouble, please don't hesitate to turn to me.（如果有什么困难，请立刻来找我。）
More experience is essential for getting a higher position.（要得到更高的职位，重要的是要有更多的经验。）
d) 注意：many不能修饰不可数名词。Many a person/ thing, more than one person / thing这样的短语是固定搭配，名词为单数；most不能和单数名词连用来表示单数。
二、代词一致
代词的一致相对简单些。同样，教材上讲解的比较详细。大家可参阅教材学习代词的一致也有语法一致、意义一致和就近原则，大家可对比主谓一致来进行练习。 |
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