The word "quadrupled" in the last paragraph is close in meaning to " multiplied by__________.

【定位】第四段的第二句“But one report shows that before-college enrollment nearly quad-rupled between 1992 and 2002，from 6，000 t024，000,”。
【答案详解】本题考查考生对词义的理解。根据后面出现的数字从6，000到24，000可以很容易推断出是表示增长到四倍的意思，故选B。
【高频词汇】
1．elementary school小学 2．phenomenon现象
3．engage with交战；同…接洽 4．be supposed t0应该，被期望
【难句解析】
1．Government officials have long wanted more focus on useful languages like Chinese，and pressure from them—as well as from business leaders，politicians，and parents--has produced a quick growth in the number of programs．
本句是由and连接的两个并列句。后一句中又用as well as连接几个并列成分作为主语，即“来自政府官员、商业领袖、政治家和学生家长等方面的压力”。
2．The number of students learning Chinese is tiny compared with how many study Spanish or French．
本句用“compared with”连接表示比较的两个成分，“the number of students learning Chi． nese”和“how many study Spanish or French”是比较的两个成分。