Some lawmakers are wondering whether threats to change the tax-exempt status of endowments might be used to persuade colleges to bring down the cost of tuition, which has increased by 220% in real terms since 1980.

　　Harvard could scrap tuition payments without damaging its finances or touching the restricted portion of its endowment, he reckons.

　　Furthermore, the abolition of both complicated financial-aid forms and terrifying sticker-prices for tuition could, he argues, do much to encourage applicants from beyond the plutocracy.

　　词汇突破：1.tax-exempt status 免税地位

　　2. bring down 降低

　　3. in real terms 就实际情况来讲

　　4. scrap 废除

　　5. reckon=argue=认为

　　6. abolition 废除

　　7. plutocracy 权贵阶层

　　8. applicants 申请者

　　9. endowment 捐赠

　　10. sticker-prices 标价

　　解析：1. Some lawmakers are wondering/ whether threats(从句主语) to change the tax-exempt status of endowments might be used（从句谓语） to persuade colleges to bring down the cost of tuition,/ which has increased by 220% in real terms since 1980.

　　参考译文：一些立法者想要知道是否威胁改变捐赠的免费地位就有可能说服大学降低学费的开销。从1980以来，就实际情况而言，学费已经上涨了2.2倍。（threats 这里是名词，但是在翻译的时候我转译为了动词，让句子更通顺。）

　　2. Harvard could scrap tuition payments/ without damaging its finances or touching the restricted portion of its endowment, he reckons.

　　参考译文：他认为，哈佛大学可以取消学费，而且不会破坏它的财务状况也不会动用其受限制的捐赠部分。（也就是说哈佛大学免除学费是可行的。）

　　3. Furthermore, （the abolition of both complicated financial-aid forms and terrifying sticker-prices for tuition主语） could, （he argues主谓充当插入语）从句主语）, do much to encourage applicants（ from beyond the plutocracy，applicant的定语）

　　有这样一个结构,之前就遇到过：

　　A of B and C

　　到底是:A of B 和C 并列呢，还是 A of ( B and C )

　　再说一次，都有可能，但是第二种可能性更大一些，而且根据语义，这里就应该是第二种。

　　参考译文：进一步的讲，他认为，废除复杂的财务助学表格以及令人生畏的高学费，将极大地鼓励权贵阶层以外的申请者。

　　今天的句子是非常经典的句子：

　　Galileo's greatest glory was that in 1609 he was the first person to turn the newly

　　invented telescope on the heavens to prove that the planets revolve around the

　　sun rather than around the earth.