大学排名&大学教授
小编说：
大学选课，研究生选择导师，对很多同学都是非常重要却又很纠结的事情了。
刚开学的时候，想选名气大，要求严，能学到知识的教授。但是期中之后，又开始为GPA担心，只想选给分高的教授了。
所以有句话：期末复习留的泪，就是当初选课时脑袋里进的水。
现在，这个令人头大的话题也进入了托福考试“全家桶”。????
恰好《经济学人》有相关文章。我们今天学习素材的就是这篇文章。
(内容有大幅度删减。）
01 适用托福写作题目
Which kind of professors will you choose when selecting the courses?
1, Some professors who are voted to be the most popular one?
2, Some professors who are rewarded of outstanding research? (2019.11.3)
(2)
Some one prefer smaller class size in the university（eg, professors can remember student's name）while others prefer to choose larger class size. which one do you prefer. (2019.5.26)
02 素材原文
Since students suffer when teaching quality declines, they might be expected to push back against this. But students "are buying prestige in the labour market". This means "they want to go to the highest- status university possible"—and the league tables are the only available measure of status. So students, too, in effect encourage universities to spend their money on research rather than teaching.
The result is “the distribution of teaching further down the academic hierarch”. These PhD students and non-tenured academics do the teaching that the star professors, hired for their research abilities, shun as a chore.
《经济学人》
03 素材精读
第一段
① University rankings may be contributing to a deterioration in teaching. ② The quality of the research academics produce has little bearing on the quality of their teaching. ③ Indeed, academics who are passionate about their research may be less inclined to spend their energies on students, and so there may be an inverse relationship. 大学排名也许导致了教学质量的滑坡。教师们科研成果的质量对他们教学质量的影响微乎其微。事实上，对科研充满热情的教师可能不大愿意在学生身上花费精力，因此科研和教学之间也许还是反比关系。
这篇文章的主题是大学排名和教学质量的关系。在第1句就明确点明主题。用be contributing to 现在进行时态，表明这是正在发生中的事情，体现时效性。
第2.3句紧跟着解释了原因：因为科研结果对教学质量没有影响。所以，对热衷于研究的教师因此很可能不会对学生很上心。
最后小总结，科研和教学确实可能是反比关系。
注意这段的语气。这只是作者根据常理进行的推论，没有提供详实的证据。现实中也不乏科研质量高，对教学也上心的好教授。所以文中几次用"may""be inclined to",显得论证不那么极端和绝对。
再看这段中值得注意的语言点：
1. a deterioration in/of sth. 某事的恶化
它的动词原型是：deteriorate. vi. (质量/条件的)变坏，变质
▸ Her influence declined after she lost the election. 她落选後其影响力大为降低.
▸ He spent his declining years in the country. 他在乡村度过晚年.
▸ a decline in population, prices, popularity 人口、价格、声望的降低.[雅思图表常用表达]
2. have a/some/little bearing on sth: 与某事有/有一些/没有关系
=have an/no effect/influence on sth.
bearing. n. 承受/支架；举止，风度；关系；方向
【构词分析】bearing 来自 bear (v. 承受/容忍/孕育), 所以基本含义是“用于承重的部件”，比如轴承，支架。再延伸出：
① 举止/风度。类似我们中文说某个人“摆架子”；
② 关系/影响。bear有”孕育“的意思，万物都是由"因孕育果"，所以bearing引申出“关系/影响”。
③ 方向。bearing 可以表示罗盘中的“方位角”，引申出“方位”。中文常说“找不到北”找不到方向，就可以用bearing 表达。
lose one's bearings. 迷失方向感/晕头转向(=be confused about what to do)
▸ I completely lost my bearings in the dark. 我在黑暗中迷失了方向感。
▸ Young men have lost their bearings in a changing society. 年轻人在不断变换的社会中迷失了方向。
get/find one's bearing. 找到方向
An introduction session helps new students to get their bearings. 介绍会帮助新生们找到自己的方向。
3. academic.
--adj.大学的，学术的；学业优秀的
▸ academic qualifications 学历
▸ academic subjects 学科
▸ she's not very academic 她学习不太好
--n. 学者(scholar); 高校教师, 可以代替professors, university teachers...
4. be inclined to. 打算做../有可能做某事(=be likely to do/have a tendency to do)
▸ “ academics who are passionate about their research may be less inclined to spend their energies on students”
本文中作者是根据常理对大学教授的行为进行推测，所以用 be less inclined to 不那么可能，使得推理不那么极端。”
▸ 在名著《了不起的盖茨比The Great Gatesby》开篇有这么一句段话，
▸ ”In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since."Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
...
"As a consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgments."
作者以第一人陈的口吻回忆了，在年少时期，他父亲给的忠告：
“每当你想要批评别人的时候，要记住，并不是世界上每个人都有你所具备的条件 (advantage 优势)。 我也因此不(愿)对别人做评价。”
(reserve. v. 保留/暂不做；reserve all judgments暂不做任何评价)
这个地方用be inclined to, 表明作者听取了父亲的建议，心里愿意/打算这么做。但大家如果看完整本书就会发现，作者实际上对别人的评头论足并不少。
第二段
④ Since students suffer when teaching quality declines, they might be expected to push back against this. ⑤ But students "are buying prestige in the labour market". ⑥ This means "they want to go to the highest- status university possible"—and the league tables(排名榜) are the only available measure of status. ⑦ So students, too, in effect encourage universities to spend their money on research rather than teaching.
教学质量下降，倒霉的还是学生，因此可以料想他们或许会做出反抗。但学生"都忙着在就业市场中购买能给自己贴金的东西”。也就是说，“他们都想尽可能进入声望最高的大学’’，而大学排名是唯一可供参考的声望标准。因此，学生实际上也鼓励了大学把资金投入到科研而非教学上。
第4句作者主动写了一个让步观点，“学生是受害者，学生会反抗这种行为”，所以照理，大学排名应该不会影响教学质量。但是作者随即提出反驳。学生也希望进入排名高的大学来提升自己在就业市场上的竞争力。所以，学生的期望也在无形中鼓励大学重视教研而非教学。
5. suffer. vi. 受苦.
① 可以做不及物动词，表示“受苦/受害”.
文中用"since students suffer," 句子虽短，但观点表达得简洁，明了。
如果要表示“由于/因...受苦”，suffer + from/with/for +原因：
suffer from depression/high blood pressure 患抑郁症/高血压
② 可以做及物动词， suffer + n.，表示“遭受; 忍受 某事”。不再强调“受苦”，而是强调 "undergo 遭受了(不愉快的)某事:pain; loss;defeat...".
▸ The region has suffered severe job losses 该地区失业问题严重.
6. So students, too, in effect encourage universities to spend their money on research rather than teaching.
副词too, 表示“也 ” 一般放在句尾。
I've been to Paris too. 我也去过巴黎（除别人外）.
但实际上副词位置比较灵活，可以插入句中，放在主谓之间，表示强调.
上述情况产生的结果就是“教学在学术金字塔上被推到更低的位置”。博士生和未获得终身教职的教师承担了明星教师有意躲避的教学工作—在这些因科研实力而受聘的教授眼里，教学实在是琐碎无趣的活计。
⑧ The result is “the distribution of teaching further down the academic hierarch”. ⑨ These PhD students and non-tenured academics do the teaching that the star professors, hired for their research abilities, shun as a chore.
作者进一步写了这种外部排名和内部学生默许的行为所导致的结果， 教学质量更不受重视了。所以，一些因为科研成果而成名的教授都纷纷逃避教学，就只剩“不那么出名的” 博士生和教授来上课。这里”未获得终身教职“的教授跟前面的”因为教研成果获聘的star professors明星教授“对比，暗示着他们的科研成就还不足以让他们拿到不上课的免课金牌”，所以还不敢“任性地”抛弃学校给分配的教学任务的教授。
8. the teaching that the star professors, hired for their research abilities, shun as a chore.
hired for their research abilities, 非谓语(过去分词)短语做star professors 后置形容词短语.
也可以看成 professors, (who are) hired for their research abilities 的省略形式。 因为本句已经处在一个定语从句中，再加一个who are 定语从句，句型稍显累赘，所以直接用过去分词短语。
9. shun. v. keep away from (sth/sb); avoid 避开, 回避（某事物[某人]）; 避免
*shun temptation, publicity, other people 避开诱惑、避免出风头、躲避别人 * She shuns being photographed. 她不愿别人给她照相.
10. chore. n. 可数名词
① small routine task 日常的零星事务; 琐事 *do the chores 干杂活儿（如家务活儿） * household/domestic chores, 比如：dusting, ironing, making the beds, 家务杂活儿（打扫、熨衣、铺床等）. ② unpleasant or tiring task 讨厌的或累人的工作 *She finds shopping a chore. 她认为买东西是烦人的事.
04 划重点
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