On campuses，cheerful undergraduates are pressing leaflets into freshers’ hands．At Heathrow airport，where many foreign students enter Britain，the welcome has been less warm．Officials herded recent arrivals into a separate queue that at times took six hours to get through—and those were the lucky ones．Many potential students are languishing at home，and will miss out on university places this autumn unless they receive visas in the next few days.  
Universities had seen trouble looming since March，when a new student-visa system was introduced．By insisting that potential students prove their academic credentials and show that they have enough money to support themselves，the Home Office intended to deter those who were actually coming to Britain to work．It also hoped the reforms would keep out potential terrorists．But the advice it issued to applicants was poor （it has since been revised）and staff at many visa-processing centres were not properly trained.  
The result has been a backlog at many centres—in Los Angeles，for example，students waited up to 40 days for a visa．But the problem has been particularly acute in the Indian subcontinent．In Pakistan，5,000 aspiring students have yet to have their applications processed and 9,000 more are appealing against outright refusals.  
The logjam affects mostly wealthy，well-educated folk in strategically important countries．The elite universities，some of which have long had a cosmopolitan clientele，are concerned．“We are all extremely worried about the damage that this could do to the reputation of British higher education overseas，particularly in the Indian subcontinent．It comes at a time when universities’ finances are under enormous pressure,” says Simeon Underwood，head of admissions policy at the London School of Economics．  
International students are vital to British universities．Although British and European students pay tuition fees of up to ￡3,225 a year，the cost of educating them is far higher．The state partially plugs the gap and，for that reason，it also caps the number of these students．Fees from overseas students，who pay around ￡12,000 a year，contribute more than ￡1.5 billion annually，8% of universities’ total income.  
To attract these crucial customers，universities offer to meet them at airports，run events to settle them in and arrange for police to visit campuses to expedite visa controls．But if students cannot make it into Britain，such canny marketing is in vain．This year，even though a weak pound makes British universities a cheap option，some have seen the number of new students from outside the European Union fall by a fifth because of difficulties in getting visas.  
On a visit to Islamabad on October 5th Alan Johnson，the home secretary，promised to cut the time it takes to process a visa from 60 days to 15 by hiring more staff，and to help Pakistan establish a national anti-terrorism agency，which would relieve the pressure on the visa system．But his intervention will not help this year's blocked students．And if problems persist，more foreign students may plump for universities in America or Australia in future.  
注（1）：本文选自Economist；  
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为1999年真题Text 4第1～ 4题和Text 1第4题。  
1．We can learn from the first paragraph that ______.  
A) Heathrow airport does not like international students as much as university undergraduates  
B) the unavailability of visa may force many students to lose their admission into UK universities  
C) students feel lucky to wait for only six hours in the airport to get into Britain  
D) many students will arrive at the universities much later than expected because they cannot receive the visa  
2．According to the new student-visa system，an international student should prove all of the following EXCEPT ______.  
A) he should have adequate financial resources  
B) he should meet the bottom requirements set by the universities  
C) he should provide his birth certificate showing he is not from a terrorist country  
D) he should convince the visa official that his purpose of coming to UK is to study  
3．According to the text，the new student-visa system may lead to ______.  
A) a negative influence on UK's strategic relations with some important countries  
B) more governmental subsidies to British universities  
C) an increasing pressure on Britain's governmental finance  
D) the damage of the reputation of British higher education  
4．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.  
A) the new student-visa system may undermine the competitiveness of British higher education  
B) the new student-visa system will soon achieve a much better efficiency by hiring more staff  
C) the new student-visa system aims to send students to other countries such as Australia and America  
D) the new student-visa system will help Pakistan establish a national anti-terrorism agency  
5．The author's attitude towards the new student-visa system seems to be ______.  
A) biased  
B) indifferent  
C) concerned  
D) pessimistic  

 
在各个大学校园，本科生们正兴高采烈地将一份份传单塞给刚入校的新生。但在外国学生抵达英国的希思罗机场，他们所受到的欢迎却并非如此热情。官员们让刚到达的学生排成单独的一列，有时得排队等六个小时才能顺利通关——而这都已经算是幸运的了。许多计划赴英留学的学生们正在家里受着煎熬，因为如果不能在接下来的几天内拿到签证，那么他们很可能就会失去今年秋季的入学资格。  
自从今年五月实施新的留学生签证制度以来，各大学的麻烦接踵而至。英国内政部要求留学生出具学业资格证书并证明有足够的资金保障，以此来防止那些意在来英国打工的人员进入。同时，内政部希望这些改革措施能够将潜在的恐怖分子拒之门外。但是，它给申请人的建议却没什么用处（之后已进行了修改），而且许多签证中心的工作人员也并未受过良好的培训。  
结果就是，许多签证中心的工作堆积如山——比如在洛杉矶，学生们需要等待多达40天才能拿到签证。但在印度次大陆这个问题尤为突出。在巴基斯坦，5000名志向远大的学生所递交的签证申请仍未被受理，另外还有9000名学生正因无理由遭拒而进行申诉。  
这场僵局主要影响了富裕且受过良好教育的学生，他们都来自对英国具有战略重要性的国家。许多精英大学对此忧心忡忡，它们中有的一直拥有全球客户。“我们都极为担心这会损害英国高等教育在海外的声誉，特别是在印度次大陆，而此时此刻英国大学的财政状况正面临巨大的压力，”伦敦经济学院招生政策主管西米恩·安德伍德说。  
国际学生对英国大学至关重要。虽然英国以及欧洲学生每年的平均学费高达3225英镑，但是对他们进行教育的成本远远高于这个数字。国家对差额给予部分补贴，而且为此它也限制了本国及欧盟学生的人数。而海外学生每年平均学费为1.2万英镑，每年为英国贡献超过15亿英镑的收入，占所有大学总收入的8%。  
为了吸引这些重要顾客，各个大学都提供机场接机服务，举办各项活动安置学生，并安排警方上门服务以加快签证管理手续的办理。但是如果这些学生无法来到英国，那这些用心良苦的营销策略都将付诸东流。今年，尽管英镑疲软使英国学费相对较低，一些大学的非欧盟国家新生人数仍旧因为签证困难而下跌了五分之一。  
10月5日，正在对伊斯兰堡进行访问的内政部长艾伦·约翰逊承诺增加人手，将签证办理时间从60天减至15天，并帮助巴基斯坦建立一个全国反恐机构，减轻签证制度所面临的压力。然而，他的介入将无法帮助今年那些被挡在英国门外的学生。而且，如果这些问题得不到解决，那么可能会有更多的外国学生将选择美国或澳大利亚的大学。