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2005TheUniversityasBusinessAnumberofcollegesanduniversitieshaveannouncedsteeptuitionincreasesfornextyearmuchsteeperthanthecurrent,verylow,rateofinflation.Theysaytheincreasesareneededbecauseofalossinvalueofuniversityendowmentsheavilyinvestingincommon1stock.Iamskeptical.Abusinessfirmchoosesthepricethatmaximizesitsnetrevenues,irrespectivefluctuationsinincome;andincreasinglythe2outlookofuniversitiesintheUnitedStatesisindistinguishablefromthoseof3businessfirms.Theriseintuitionsmayreflectthefacteconomicuncertainty4increasesthedemandforeducation.Thebiggestcostofbeingintheschoolisforegoingincomefromajob(thisisprimarilyafactorin5graduateandprofessional-schooltuition);thepoorone'sjobprospects,6themoresenseitmakestoreallocatetimefromthejobmarkettoeducation,inordertomakeoneselfmoremarketable.Thewayswhichuniversitiesmakethemselvesattractivetostudents7includesoftmajors,studentevaluationsofteachers,givingstudentsagovernancerole,andeliminaterequiredcourses.8Sky-hightuitionshavecauseduniversitiestoregardtheirstudentsascustomers.Justasbusinessfirmssometimescolludetoshortenthe9rigorsofcompetition,universitiescolludetominimizethecosttothemoftheathleteswhomtheyrecruitinordertostimulatealumnidonations,sothebestathletesnowoftenbypasshighereducationinordertoobtainsalariesearlierfromprofessionalteams.Anduntiltheywerestoppedbytheantitrustauthorities,theIvyLeagueschoolscolludedtolimitcompetitionforthebeststudents,byagreeingnottoawardscholarshipsonthebasisofmeritratherthanpurelyofneed-justlikebusinessfirmsagreeingnottogivediscountsontheirbest10customer.2006Weuselanguageprimarilyasameansofcommunicationwithotherhumanbeings.Eachofusshareswiththecommunityinwhichweliveastoreofwordsandmeaningsaswellasagreeingconventionsas1tothewayinwhichwordsshouldbearrangedtoconveyaparticular2message:theEnglishspeakerhasinhisdisposalvocabularyanda3setofgrammaticalruleswhichenableshimtocommunicatehis4thoughtsandfeelings,inavarietyofstyles,totheotherEnglish5speakers.Hisvocabulary,inparticular,boththatwhichheusesactivelyandthatwhichherecognizes,increasesinsizeashegrowsoldasaresultofeducationandexperience.6But,whetherthelanguagestoreisrelativelysmallorlarge,thesystemremainsnomore,thanapsychologicalrealityfortikeinpidual,unlesshehasameansofexpressingitintermsabletobeseenbyanother7memberofhislinguisticcommunity;hebastogivetilesystemaconcretetransmissionform.Wetakeitforgrantedrice’twomost8commonformsoftransmission-bymeansofsoundsproducedbyourvocalorgans(speech)orbyvisualsigns(writing).Andtheseare9amongmoststrikingofhumanachievements.102007Fromwhathasbeensaid,itmustbeclearthatnoonecanmakeverypositivestatementsabouthowlanguageoriginated.Thereisnomaterialinanylanguagetodayandintheearliest1___recordsofancientlanguagesshowuslanguageinanewand2_emergingstate.Itisoftensaid,ofcourse,thatthelanguage3_______originatedincriesofanger,fear,painandpleasure,andthe4_necessaryevidenceisentirelylacking:therearenoremotetribes,noancientrecords,providingevidenceofalanguagewithalargeproportionofsuchcries5_thanwefindinEnglish.Itistruethattheabsenceofsuchevidencedoesnotdisprovethetheory,butin6_othergroundstoothetheoryisnotveryattractive.Peopleofallracesandlanguagesmakerathersimilarnoisesinreturntopainorpleasure.Thefactthat7suchnoisesaresimilaronthelipsofFrenchmenandMalaysianswhoselanguagesareutterlydifferent,servestoemphasizeonthefundamentaldifference8betweenthesenoisesandlanguageproper.Wemaysaythatthecriesofpainorchortlesofamusementarelargelyreflexactions,instinctivetolargeextent,9whereaslanguageproperdoesnotconsistofsignsbutofthesethathavetobelearntandthatare10whollyconventional.08Thedesiretouselanguageasasignofnationalidentityisaverynaturalone,andinresultlanguagehasplayedaprominent____1____partinnationalmoves.Menhaveoftenfelttheneedtocultivate____2____agivenlanguagetoshowthattheyaredistinctivefromanother____3____racewhosehegemonytheyresent.AtthetimetheUnitedStates____4____splitofffromBritain,forexample,therewereproposalsthatindependenceshouldbelinguisticallyacceptedbytheuseofa____5____differentlanguagefromthoseofBritain.Therewasevenone____6____proposalthatAmericansshouldadoptHebrew.OthersfavouredtheadoptionofGreek,though,asonemanputit,thingswouldcertainlybesimplerforAmericansiftheystuckontoEnglish____7____andmadetheBritishlearnGreek.Attheend,aseveryone____8____knows,thetwocountriesadoptedthepracticalandsatisfactorysolutionofcarryingwiththesamelanguageasbefore.____9____Sincenearlytwohundredyearsnow,theyhaveshowntheworld____10____thatpoliticalindependenceandnationalidentitycanbecompletewithoutsacrificingtheenormousmutualadvantagesofacommonlanguage.09专八改错原题Proofreading&ErrorCorrection:Theprevioussectionhasshownhowquicklyarhymepassesfromoneschoolchildtothenextandillustratesthefurtherdifference(1)___________betweenshcoolloreandnurserylore.Innurseryloreaverse,learntinearlychildhood,isnotusuallypassedonagainwhenthelittlelistener(2)___________hasgrownup,andhaschildrenoftheirown,orevengrandchildren.(3)____________TheperiodbetweenlearninganurseryrhymeandtransmittingItmaybesomethingfromtwentytos