For many years, colleges and universities across the United States have sought to increase the numbers of African American, Hisp

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问题     For many years, colleges and universities across the United States have sought to increase the numbers of African American, Hispanic and Native American students who pursue scientific careers. Yet the College Board reported in 1999 that underrepresentation of minority students had become even "more intractable".
    African Americans now constitute 12 percent of the U.S. population yet earned only one percent of the doctorates in 1997. Hispanics make up 11 percent of the population but earned 0.9 percent of the 1997 doctorates. Although the numbers of African American and Hispanic students earning bachelor’s degrees in 1996—1997 hit an all-time high, there was a decline in those entering graduate school, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Native Americans also remain underrepresented in the sciences.
    Despite the best of intentions, many programs designed to prepare minority undergraduates for advanced scientific training have had uneven results. Some have been unclear about whether their goal is to produce scientists or just to help minority students graduate. Others have been inadequately funded or lacked institutional commitment; many have never been evaluated rigorously.
    Some programs do succeed in helping minority students graduate and pursue scientific careers. Examples include programs at Xavier University of Louisiana, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County(UMBC). Although different in important respects, these programs share key features, such as clearly articulated objectives, strong institutional commitment, effective mentors and an emphasis on building community among participants.
    All are being carried out in a legal environment that has become increasingly complex. The University of California, for example, now operates under a state law that forbids using state funds for special programs for minority students. In other states, court cases have led colleges and universities to redesign or even drop such programs. HHMI has assisted thousands of minority students through its undergraduate biological sciences education program by awarding more than $476 million to 232 colleges and universities. In 1998, it began requiring its grantees to certify that they are complying with all relevant laws in the conduct of these programs.
    Eugene Cota-Robles, cochair of the task force that commissioned the College Board report, says colleges and universities must do more to help minority students become scientific leaders. "Up to now, everyone working on the pipeline approach has been thinking that bringing more students into college would solve the problem," he says. Cota-Robles, a professor emeritus of biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, calls for more effort to help minority students move beyond the bachelor’s degree.
This text is mainly about______.

选项 A、the status of minorities in scientific research
B、efforts to help underrepresented minority students pursue careers in science
C、legal obstacles to minority students completing graduate studies in science
D、government efforts to increase minority representation in science

答案B

解析 属主旨思想题。文章第一段第一句就点明了本文的主题:多年来,美国的学院和大学试图增加从事科学工作的非洲裔、西班牙裔和印第安学生的数量。接下来的几段详细介绍了具体情况、支持项目及问题,最后一段再此呼吁学院和大学应该做更多的工作,帮助少数民族的学生成为科学领袖。由此可见,选项B正确。其他选项A、C是文中第二、五段的内容,不足以概括全文。选项D在文中没有提及。
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