第 48 至 51 題為題組        Doctor of Philosophy, usually abbreviated as PhD or Ph.D., is an advanced academic degreeawarded by universities. The first Doctor of Philosophy degree was awarded in Paris in 1150, but thedegree did not acquire its modern status until the early 19th century. The doctorate of philosophy as itexists today originated at Humboldt University. The German practice was later adopted by American andCanadian universities, eventually becoming common in large parts of the world in the 20th century.         For most of history, even a bachelor’s degree at a university was the privilege of a rich few, andmany academic staff did not hold doctorates. But as higher education expanded after the Second WorldWar, the number of PhDs increased accordingly. American universities geared up first: By 1970, Americawas graduating half of the world’s PhDs in science and technology. Since then, America’s annual outputof PhDs has doubled, to 64,000. Other countries are catching up. PhD production has sped up mostdramatically in Mexico, Portugal, Italy, and Slovakia. Even Japan, where the number of young people isshrinking, has churned out about 46% more PhDs.       Researchers now warn that the supply of PhDs has far outstripped demand. America produced morethan 100,000 doctoral degrees between 2005 and 2009, while there were just 16,000 new professorships.In research, the story is similar. Even graduates who find work outside universities may not fare all thatwell. Statistics show that five years after receiving their degrees, more than 60% of PhDs in Slovakia andmore than 45% in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Spain are still on temporary contracts.About one-third of Austria’s PhD graduates take jobs unrelated to their degrees.        Today, top universities around the world are still picking bright students and grooming them aspotential PhDs. After all, it isn’t in their interests to turn the smart students away: The more brightstudents stay at universities, the better it is for academics. But considering the oversupply of PhDs, somepeople have already begun to wonder whether doing a PhD is a good choice for an individual.
【題組】48. In which country did the modern practice of granting doctoral degrees start?
(A) France.
(B) Germany.
(C) Canada.
(D) The U.S.