Question

Cole Bettles had been rejected by a number of universities when he received an e-mail from the University of California, San Diego, last month, congratulating him on his admission and inviting him to tour the campus. His mother booked a hotel in San Diego, and the 18-year-old Ojai high school senior arranged for his grandfather, uncle and other family members to meet them at the campus for lunch during the Saturday tour.

“They were like ‘Oh my God, that’s so awesome （棒的）’, ” Bettles said. Right before he got in bed, he checked his e-mail one last time and found another message saying the school had made a mistake and his application had been denied.

In fact, all 28, 000 students turned away from UC San Diego, in one of the toughest college entrance seasons on record, had received the same incorrect message. The students’ hopes had been raised and then dashed （破滅） in a cruel twist that shows the danger of instant communications in the Internet age.

UCSD admissions director Mae Brown called it an “administrative error” but refused to say who had made the mistake, or if those responsible would be disciplined （受訓）.

The e-mail, which began, “We’re thrilled that you’ve been admitted to UC San Diego, and we’re showcasing （展示） our beautiful campus on Admit Day, ” was sent to the full 46, 000 students who had applied, instead of just the 18, 000 who got in, Brown said.

The error was discovered almost immediately by her staff, who sent an apology within hours.

“It was really thrilling for a few hours; now he’s crushed （壓垮）, ” said Cole’s mother, Tracy Bettles. “It’s really tough on them.”

The admissions director said she was in the office on Monday until midnight answering e-mails and phone calls from disappointed students and their parents. She said she took full responsibility for the error. “We accessed the wrong database. We recognize the incredible pain receiving this false encouragement caused. It was not our intent.”

 

56. How many students received an admission e-mail from the University of California, San Diego （UCSD）?

A. 18, 000                         B. 28, 000                   C. 46, 000                          D. 18

57. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the wrong e-mail message?

A. The mistake was made on purpose to cause pain among the applicants.

B. It was UCSD admissions director Mae Brown who made the mistake.

C. UCSD admissions staff got information from the wrong database.

D. Staff did not discover the mistake until next Monday.

58. The admissions director Mae Brown did what she could to __________.

A. protect the person who made the mistake              B. punish herself for the mistake

C. make up for the mistake                                      D. help the disappointed students enter the university

59. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Cole Bettles was admitted to the UCSD.         

B. Cole Bettles was rejected y a famous university.

C. USCD admissions office often makes “administration errors”.

D. False admission information raised the students’ hopes and then dashed them.

Answer 1

CCCD