Grade inflation—the gradual increase in average GPAs (grade-point averages) over the past few decades—is often considered a product of a consumer era in higher education, in which students are treated like customers to be pleased. But another, related force—a policy often buried deep in course catalogs called “grade forgiveness”—is helping raise GPAs.

Grade forgiveness allows students to retake a course in which they received a low grade, and the most recent grade or the highest grade is the only one that counts in calculating a student's overall GPA.

The use of this little-known practice has accelerated in recent years, as colleges continue to do their utmost to keep students in school (and paying tuition) and improve their graduation rates. When this practice first started decades ago, it was usually limited to freshmen, to give them a second chance to take a class in their first year if they struggled in their transition to college-level courses. But now most colleges, save for many selective campuses, allow all undergraduates, and even graduate students, to get their low grades forgiven.

College officials tend to emphasize that the goal of grade forgiveness is less about the grade itself and more about encouraging students to retake courses critical to their degree program and graduation without incurring a big penalty. “Ultimately,” said Jack Miner, Ohio State University’s registrar, “we see students achieve more success because they retake a course and do better in subsequent courses or master the content that allows them to graduate on time.”

That said, there is a way in which grade forgiveness satisfies colleges’ own needs as well. For public institutions, state funds are sometimes tied partly to their success on metrics such as graduation rates and student retention—so better grades can, by boosting figures like those, mean more money. And anything that raises GPAs will likely make students—who, at the end of the day, are paying the bill—feel they’ve gotten a better value for their tuition dollars, which is another big concern for colleges.

Indeed, grade forgiveness is just another way that universities are responding to consumers’ expectations for higher education. Since students and parents expect a college degree to lead to a job, it is in the best interest of a school to turn out graduates who are as qualified as possible—or at least appear to be. On this, students’ and colleges’ incentives seem to be aligned.

1.What is commonly regarded as the cause of grade inflation?

A The change of course catalogs.

B Students’ indifference to GPAs.

C Colleges’ neglect of GPAs.

D The influence of consumer culture.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据grade inflation定位到首段第一句，该句主干为：Grade inflation is often considered a product of a consumer era in higher education.；题干的be regarded as对应原文的is considered；题干的the cause of（后边接结果）与原文的a product of（前边接结果）都表因果关系。选项D中consumer是原文单词的复现，其他选项都不具备干扰性。故选D。

2.What was the original purpose of grade forgiveness?

A To help freshmen adapt to college learning.

B To maintain colleges’ graduation rates.

C To prepare graduates for a challenging future.

D To increase universities’ income from tuition.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据题干定位到第二段，但第二段讲的是grade forgiveness具体是什么，并未提及它的目的，接着看第三段，首句出现this little-known practice（指的就是grade forgiveness）。题干的the original purpose对应原文第三段第二句。选项A中的freshmen是原词复现；help对应原文的give them a second chance；adapt to对应原文的struggled in their transition to；college learning对应原文的college-level courses。故选A。

3.According to Paragraph 5, grade forgiveness enables colleges to _________

A obtain more financial support.

B boost their student enrollments.

C improve their teaching quality.

D meet local governments’ needs.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据paragraph 5、grade forgiveness和colleges定位到第五段第一句，即grade forgiveness能够满足学生的需求，但对应选项并没有对应答案，所以接着往下看，下文提到国家基金与他们的成功有关，得到更好地分数意味着拿到更多的钱。选项A的financial support指的就是state funds。故选A。

4.What does the phrase “to be aligned” (Para. 6) most probably mean?

A To counterbalance each other.

B To complement each other.

C To be identical with each other.

D To be contradictory to each other.

解析：选C。C词义猜测题。根据题干定位到第六段最后一句话On this, students’ and colleges’ incentives seem to be aligned.所以解题的关键是找到this指代的内容。This指代的是前一句话，即：因为学生和家长都希望通过大学学历来找工作，所以学校的最佳利益是尽可能地把学生培养成有能力胜任的人，或者至少看起来是那样。由此可以得出学生和学校的目标是一致的，选项C的be identical with表示的是“与……相同”。故选C。

5.The author examines the practice of grade forgiveness by _________

A assessing its feasibility.

B analyzing the causes behind it.

C comparing different views on it.

D listing its long-run effects.

解析：选B。B主旨大意题。题干的字面意思是作者是通过什么样的方式来检验grade forgiveness的实践操作，但是是考查文章的主旨，属于主旨题。阅读每段的段落大意句，可以得出文章主要讲的是grade forgiveness的原因。故选B。