A recurring criticism of the UK’s university sector is its perceived weakness in translating new knowledge into new products and services.
Recently, the UK National Stem Cell Network warned the UK could lose its place among the world leaders in stem cell research unless adequate funding and legislation could be assured. We should take this concern seriously as universities are key in the national innovation system.
However, we do have to challenge the unthinking complaint that the sector does not do enough in taking ideas to market. The most recent comparative data on the performance of universities and research institutions in Australia, Canada, USA and UK shows that, from a relatively weak starting position, the UK now leads on many indicators of commercialisation activity.
When viewed at the national level, the policy interventions of the past decade have helped transform the performance of UK universities. Evidence suggests the UK’s position is much stronger than in the recent past and is still showing improvement. But national data masks the very large variation in the performance of individual universities. The evidence shows that a large number of universities have fallen off the back of the pack, a few perform strongly and the rest chase the leaders.
This type of uneven distribution is not peculiar to the UK and is mirrored across other economies. In the UK, research is concentrated: less than 25% of universities receive 75% of the research funding. These same universities are also the institutions producing the greatest share of PhD graduates, science citations, patents and licence income. The effect of policies generating long-term resource concentration has also created a distinctive set of universities which are research-led and commercially active. It seems clear that the concentration of research and commercialisation work creates differences between universities.
The core objective for universities which are research-led must be to maximise the impact of their research efforts. These universities should be generating the widest range of social, economic and environmental benefits. In return for the scale of investment, they should share their expertise in order to build greater confidence in the sector.
Part of the economic recovery of the UK will be driven by the next generation of research commercialisation spilling out of our universities. There are three dozen universities in the UK which are actively engaged in advanced research training and commercialisation work.
If there was a greater coordination of technology transfer offices within regions and a simultaneous investment in the scale and functions of our graduate schools, universities could, and should, play a key role in positioning the UK for the next growth cycle.
1. What does the author think of UK universities in terms of commercialisation?
2. What does the author say about the national data on UK universities’ performance in commercialisation?
3. We can infer from Paragraph 5 that “policy interventions” (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to ____.
4. What does the author suggest research-led universities do?
5. How can the university sector play a key role in the UK’s economic growth?
问题1选项
A.They fail to convert knowledge into money.
B.They do not regard it as their responsibility.
C.They still have a place among the world leaders.
D.They have lost their leading position in many ways.
问题2选项
A.It masks the fatal weaknesses of government policy.
B.It does not rank UK universities in a scientific way.
C.It does not reflect the differences among universities.
D.It indicates their ineffective use of government resources.
问题3选项
A.government aid to non-research-oriented universities
B.compulsory cooperation between universities and industries
C.fair distribution of funding for universities and research institutions
D.concentration of resources in a limited number of universities
问题4选项
A.Publicise their research to win international recognition.
B.Fully utilise their research to benefit all sectors of society.
C.Generously share their facilities with those short of funds.
D.Spread their influence among top research institutions.
问题5选项
A.By establishing more regional technology transfer offices.
B.By asking the government to invest in technology transfer research.
C.By promoting technology transfer and graduate school education.
D.By increasing the efficiency of technology transfer agencies.
第1题:C
第2题:C
第3题:D
第4题:B
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
What does the author think of UK universities in terms of commercialisation? 就商业化而言,作者如何看待英国大学?
A. They fail to convert knowledge into money. A.他们未能将知识转化为金钱。
B. They do not regard it as their responsibility. B.他们不认为商业化是他们的责任。
C. They still have a place among the world leaders. C.他们在世界领袖中仍有一席之地。
D. They have lost their leading position in many ways. D.他们在许多方面失去了领导地位。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】题目问的是“就商业化而言,作者如何看待英国大学?”根据关键词“commercialisation”定位到第三段。文章的前两段指出“人们批评英国大学在把创新成果商业化方面做得不够”,而该段以表示转折关系的词“However”开头,对前两段提到的批评进行了质疑,并提出了作者真正的观点,即最后一句“有关澳大利亚、加拿大、美国和英国的大学与研究机构表现的最新比较数据显示,英国从一开始的相对弱势地位,到如今在商业化活动的许多指标上都处于领先地位(the UK now leads on many indicators of commercialisation activity)。”由此可知,作者认为英国大学在世界领袖中仍有一席之地,C选项符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“他们未能将知识转化为金钱”根据前两段的内容可知,这是人们的看法,而不是作者的看法,属于张冠李戴;
B选项“他们不认为商业化是他们的责任”文章没有提及,属于无中生有;
D选项第二段有提到“最近,英国国家干细胞网络警告说,如果不能保证充足的资金和立法,英国可能会失去在干细胞研究领域的世界领先地位。”文章并没有说“在许多方面失去了领导地位”,而且这也不是作者的观点,属于答非所问。
第2题:
【选项释义】
What does the author say about the national data on UK universities’ performance in commercialisation? 作者对英国大学商业化表现的国家数据有何看法?
A. It masks the fatal weaknesses of government policy. A.它掩盖了政府政策的致命弱点。
B. It does not rank UK universities in a scientific way. B.它没有对英国大学进行科学的排名。
C. It does not reflect the differences among universities. C.它没有反映出大学之间的差异。
D. It indicates their ineffective use of government resources. D.它表明大学没有有效利用政府资源。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据关键词“the national data”定位到第四段最后两句“但是国家数据掩盖了各个大学在表现上的巨大差异(But national data masks the very large variation in the performance of individual universities.)。有证据表明,大量的大学已经掉队,少数表现强劲,其余的追赶领先者。”由此可知,国家数据没有反映出大学之间的差异,C选项符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项作者在第四段前两句明确指出英国大学在商业化方面的表现是因为过去十年的政策干预而改变的,并且这种改变是成功的。文章没有提到政府政策有任何致命的弱点,属于无中生有;
B选项“它没有对英国大学进行科学的排名”文章没有涉及对英国大学的科学分类或排名,属于无中生有;
D选项“它表明大学没有有效利用政府资源”作者没有表达出英国大学没有有效利用政府资源的观点,反而强调在政策的推动下,有许多大学在商业化方面有所改善,属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
We can infer from Paragraph 5 that “policy interventions” (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to ____. 从第五段我们可以推断,“政策干预”(第四段第一行)指的是____。
A. government aid to non-research-oriented universities A. 政府对非研究型大学的援助
B. compulsory cooperation between universities and industries B. 强制大学与产业合作
C. fair distribution of funding for universities and research institutions C. 公平分配大学和研究机构的经费
D. concentration of resources in a limited number of universities D. 将资源集中在数量有限的大学中
【考查点】语义推断题。
【解题思路】第四段第一句讲“从国家层面来看,过去十年的政策干预(the policy interventions of the past decade)帮助改变了英国大学的表现。”接着,作者在第五段提到“这种分布不均(This type of uneven distribution)的现象并非英国独有,其他经济体也有类似情况。在英国,研究集中:不到25%的大学获得了75%的研究经费。这些大学也是培养博士毕业生、科学引用、专利和许可证收入最多的机构。长期资源集中的政策效应(The effect of policies generating long-term resource concentration)也造就了一批以研究为主导、商业活动活跃的独特大学。显然,研究和商业化工作的集中造成了大学之间的差异。”根据关键信息“uneven distribution”和“long-term resource concentration”可推断,“政策干预”是指将资源集中在数量有限的大学中,D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“政府对非研究型大学的援助”文中并未提到“非研究型大学”,属于无中生有;
B选项“强制大学与产业合作”文章没有明确提到让大学和工业部门之间进行强制性的合作,属于无中生有;
C选项“公平分配大学和研究机构的经费”表述与原文正好相反,因为文章中实际上指出了资源分配是不均等的,属于反向干扰。
第4题:
【选项释义】
What does the author suggest research-led universities do? 作者建议研究导向型大学做什么?
A. Publicise their research to win international recognition. A. 宣传他们的研究,赢得国际认可。
B. Fully utilise their research to benefit all sectors of society. B. 充分利用其研究成果,造福社会各界。
C. Generously share their facilities with those short of funds. C. 慷慨地与资金短缺的机构分享设施。
D. Spread their influence among top research institutions. D. 在顶尖研究机构中扩大影响。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据关键词“research-led universities”定位到倒数第三段“研究主导型大学的核心目标必须是最大限度地发挥其研究工作的影响(The core objective for universities which are research-led must be to maximise the impact of their research efforts.)。这些大学应该产生最广泛的社会、经济和环境效益(These universities should be generating the widest range of social, economic and environmental benefits.)。作为对投资规模的回报,这些大学应分享其专业知识,以增强人们对该行业的信心。”B选项中“Fully utilise their research”与“maximise the impact of their research efforts”属于同义替换;“to benefit all sectors of society”与“generating the widest range of social, economic and environmental benefits”属于同义替换。由此可知,B选项符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“宣传他们的研究,赢得国际认可”文中并没有明确提到研究型大学需要公开他们的研究以赢得国际认可,属于无中生有;
C选项“慷慨地与资金短缺者分享其设施”虽然作者表示大学应在投资规模上回馈,并分享他们的专业知识以提升对该领域的信心,但并没有提议他们慷慨地与资金短缺的机构分享设施,属于无中生有;
D选项“在顶尖研究机构中扩大影响”文中并没有暗示或建议研究型大学在顶级研究机构中扩大他们的影响力,属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
How can the university sector play a key role in the UK’s economic growth? 大学如何在英国经济增长中发挥关键作用?
A. By establishing more regional technology transfer offices. A. 建立更多的地区技术转让办事处。
B. By asking the government to invest in technology transfer research. B. 要求政府投资技术转让研究。
C. By promoting technology transfer and graduate school education. C. 促进技术转让和研究生院教育。
D. By increasing the efficiency of technology transfer agencies. D. 提高技术转让机构的效率。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据关键信息“play a key role in the UK’s economic growth”定位到最后一段“如果各地区的技术转移办事处能有更大的协调,同时对我们研究生院的规模和功能进行投资(a greater coordination of technology transfer offices within regions and a simultaneous investment in the scale and functions of our graduate schools),那么大学可以,也应该,在英国为下一个增长周期定位方面发挥关键作用(play a key role in positioning the UK for the next growth cycle)。”C选项中“promoting technology transfer”与“a greater coordination of technology transfer offices within regions”属于同义替换;“promoting graduate school education”与“a simultaneous investment in the scale and functions of our graduate schools”属于同义替换。由此可知,C选项符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“建立更多的地区技术转让办事处”文章并未提到建立更多的区域技术转让办事处,文章强调的是“在区域内更大程度地协调技术转让办公室”,属于曲解原文;
B选项“要求政府投资技术转让研究”文章并没有提及,属于无中生有;
D选项“提高技术转让机构的效率”文章中并未提到增加技术转移机构的效率,属于无中生有。