The Military Is In

Things have really changed. Not only is the military standing tall again, it is staging a remarkable comeback in the quantity and quality of the recruits it is attracting. Recruiters, once denounced by antiwar students as “baby killers” and barred from campuses, are welcomed ever at elite universities. ROTC (Reserve Officer’s Training Corps) programs, that faltered during the Viet Nam era, when protesters were fire bombing their headquarters, are flourishing again. The military academies are enjoying a steady increase in applications.

Certainly, the depressed economy has increased the allure of the jobs, technical training and generous student loans offered by the military. Students know that if they go in and become, say, nuclear weapons specialists, they can come out and demand a salary of $60,000 a year. Military salaries, while not always competitive with those paid for comparable jobs in the private sector, are more than respectable, especially considering the wide array of benefits that are available: free medical service, room and board, and PX (Post Exchange) privileges. Monthly pay for a recruit is $574; for a sergeant with four years services it is $906; for a major with ten years’ service it is $2,305. The services’ slick $175 million-a-year advertising campaign promising adventure and fulfillment has helped win over the TV generation. Kids are walking down the school hallways chanting ‘Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines,’ just like in the commercials. And many military officials feel that the key difference is the enhanced patriotism among the nation’s youth. There is a return to the view that the military is an honorable profession. The days of a judge telling a miscreant to join the Army or go to jail are over. Recruiting for all four services combined is running at 101%of authorized goals. And the retention rate is now so high, that the services are refusing some re-enlistment applications and reducing annual recruiting target.

The military academics are also enjoying halcyon years, attracting more and better-qualified students. Compared to private colleges, where tuition and expenses have been climbing sharply, the service schools are a real bargain: not only is tuition free, but recruits get allowances of up to $500 a mouth. It is reported 12,300 applicants are for the 1,450 positions in this year’s freshman class. Military academies are now just as selective as any of the best universities in the country.

Nationwide, ROTC enrollment exceeds 105,000,a 64% increase over the 1974 figure. In the mid 70’s, the ROTC students refused to wear their uniforms on campus because they suffered all sorts of ridicule, if they did. Now if they wear them to class no one looks at them twice. To them, Viet Nam is ancient history, something the old folks talk about.

1. What is the main idea of this passage?
[A] The Military is in       [B] The Military is up
[C] The Military is down  [D] The Military is on

2. What was the attitude of the students in 1970’s towards the military?
[A] Approval. [B] Indifferent. [C] Distaste. [D] Scolding.

3. The phrase “come out” is closest in meaning to
[A] “become visible”.  [B] “begin to grow”.
[C] “be made public”. [D] “gain a certain position”.

4. Which one of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason to attract students.
[A] Free tuition.                [B] Spacious room.
[C] Considerate allowance. [D] Technical training.

答案详解（反白可见）：

1. A. 军队又吃香了。To be in 有“流行，时髦”之义。全篇文章围绕这一点而写。文章一开头就点名宗旨“事情真的变了，军队形象不仅高大，招收新兵的质量和数量明显得到恢复。”第二段开始：“可以肯定，经济萧条使得军队提供就业，技术训练和对学生慷慨贷款提高了诱惑力……。”第二段倒数第七句“许多军官感到关键性的变化是这个国家青年中的爱国心增强，当兵是一个荣誉职业的看法又恢复了。”都表示吃香。
B. to be up 有“完了，完毕，上涨”等义。 C. to be down 有“消沉，落魄，下降”等义。 D. tobe on 有“上演，开着”等义。这里都讲不通。
2. C. 厌恶。答案在第一段第二句“招兵人员曾一度被反战学生谴责为‘杀婴犯’而拒之校园之外，现在甚至名牌大学都欢迎。后备军官训练队计划在越战时期曾动摇不定，抗议的人向部队投掷燃烧弹，如今又兴旺起来。”最后一段第二句“70年代中期，后备军官训练队学生不愿在校内穿制服，因为穿了就遭到各种嘲笑。”这些都说明70年代，学生对军队的态度是“厌恶”。所以
A. 赞成， B. 漠不关心， D. 漫骂，都不对。
3. 获得地位。To come out 有 to gain certain position 获得（名次，地位）之义，也有appear, tobe seen （出现，看得见）之义。这里的上下文，只能是D. 第二段第二句“学生们知道，要是参军，当上譬如核武器专家，他们就能扬名并可要求6万美元年薪。”
A. 看得见， B. 开始成长， C. 公开。
4. B. 宽敞的房间。
A. 免学费。 C. 相当高的津贴。 D. 技术培训，都提到过。第二段开始“可以肯定，经济萧条使得军队提供就业，技术训练以及对学生慷慨贷款等的诱惑力增大。”第三句“军队薪金尽管比不是私人公司中类似工作的工资，但已经很可观了，尤其考虑到军队里有一系列的福利待遇，如免费医疗，膳宿，军人消费合作社特惠等。”第三段“军事院校招收的学生数量多了，质量好，年头也就好过。私立大学里，学费和各类费用一直急剧上升，相比之下，上军事院校确实便宜，不仅学费全面，新生每月还可拿5百美元的补贴。

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