Academic merit scholarships are based on students’ grades, GPA and overall academic performance during high school. They are typically meant for students going straight to college right after high school. However, there are scholarships for current college students with exceptional grades as well. These merit scholarships usually help students pay tuition bills, and they can be renewed each year as long as the recipients continue to qualify. In some cases, students may need to be recommended by their school or a teacher as part of the qualification process.

　　Athletic merit scholarships are meant for students that excel(突出)in sports of any kind, from football to track and field events. Recommendation for these scholarships is required, since exceptional athletic performance has to be recognized by a coach or a referee(裁判). Applicants need to send in a tape containing their best performance.

　　Artistic merit scholarships require that applicants excel in a given artistic area. This generally includes any creative field such as art, design, fashion, music, dance or writing. Applying for artistic merit scholarships usually requires that students submit a portfolio(选辑)of some sort, whether that includes a collection of artwork, a recording of a musical performance or a video of them dancing.

　　1. With more and more low-income students pursuing higher education, a number of colleges are ________.

　　A) offering students more merit-based aid B) revising their financial aid policies

　　C) increasing the amount of financial aid D) changing their admission processes

　　2. What did Allegheny College in Meadville do three years ago?

　　A) It tried to implement a novel financial aid program.

　　B) It added $ 2.5 million to its need-based aid program.

　　C) It phased out its merit-based scholarships altogether.

　　D) It cuts its merit-based aid to help the needy students.

　　3. The chief purpose of rankings-conscious colleges in offering merit aid is to ______.

　　A) improve teaching quality B) boost their enrollments

　　C) attract good students D) increase their revenues

　　4. Monica Inzer, dean of admission and financial aid at Hamilton, believes ______.

　　A) it doesn’t pay to spend $ 1 million a year to raise its ranking

　　B) it gives students motivation to award academic achievements

　　C) it’s illogical to use so much money on only 4% of its students

　　D) it’s not right to give aid to those who can afford the tuition

　　5. In recent years, merit-based aid has increased much faster than need-based aid due to ______.

　　A) more government funding to colleges B) fierce competition among institutions

　　C) the increasing number of top students D) schools’ improved financial situations

　　6. What is the attitude of many private colleges toward merit aid, according to David Laird?

　　A) They would like to see it reduced.

　　B) They regard it as a necessary evil.

　　C) They think it does more harm than good.