Read carefully the following two excerpts on swimming requirements for university students, and then write your response in NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should:
　　• summarize the main message of the two excerpts, and then
　　• make comments on whether universities should set requirements other than academic achievements for students to graduate.
　　You can support yourself with information from the excerpts.
　　Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
　　Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.

Excerpt 1
Sink or swim tied to bachelor’s degrees—literally　　Students aiming to enter one of the top universities in China this year had better be able to swim or be prepared to learn swimming and pass a swim test since this university will not grant bachelor s degrees if they cannot swim.
　　This September, would-be freshmen at the university will have to take swimming courses if they fail a swimming test at the beginning of their university life. And they won’t receive their degrees if they cannot swim before their graduation, in accordance with a message at a university staff meeting days ago, a local newspaper reported on Monday.
　　As to why the university is linking swimming ability with degrees, “as a requisite survival skill, swimming is beneficial for students in the long run, since swimming is helpful in improving students, endurance and doing less harm to joints and muscles as a water sport,” said head of the Division of Sports Science and Physical Education.
　　Viewing the ability to swim as a must for students to earn their degrees is not new in this top university, as this ability was listed on its school regulations in the early 20th century.
　　“As early as 90 years ago, the university required that students cannot graduate from the university or study overseas if they cannot swim, though the requirement didn’t work later on since the swimming pools at the campus could not accommodate increasingly more students,” said the head of the Sports Science and Physical Education Division.
　　Many alumni of this university had to meet the swimming challenge. The university is not the first university to require swimming as a compulsory course. Other universities in China have also listed swimming as a compulsory course for students.

Excerpt 2
University of Chicago nixes nearly 60-year-old swim requirements　　For almost 60 years, one of the first things new students had to prove at the University of Chicago was their ability to stay afloat.
　　But students in the Class of 2016 wouldn’t have to pass a swim test or take a swimming course in their freshman year. The University of Chicago has joined other universities in nixing the requirement.
　　A handful of universities still require swimming tests to graduate, a dramatic shift considering that in 1977, 42 percent of colleges had some sort of swimming requirement, the Associated Press reported in 2006. By 1982 that figure had plummeted to 8 percent, and today, there are just a handful.
　　Three Ivy League colleges—Columbia and Cornell universities and Dartmouth College—still require their students to pass a swim test before graduation. So do Washington and Lee University in Virginia, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
　　Jeremy Manier, a university spokesman, said the reason for the change was to give students options in how they choose to exercise. To facilitate that model, the Fit Chicago program—which used to cost students $4 to $5 a class—is now free.
　　Many University of Chicago students agree with the change, including Jim Foster, who is the student government’s vice president for student affairs. In his opinion, the swim test was outdated.
　　‘‘There’s that fringe sect of universities that say it’s a valuable life skill, but then again, so is self-defense,” Foster said. “So I think it’s a smart decision to really leave it up to the students to decide when, if at all, they would like to take the time to learn that skill.”
　　The “diverse needs” of University of Chicago’s campus is one of the reasons Karen Coleman, Vice President of Campus Life, cited for nixing the swim tests in a letter to students. Ending (these requirements) will give us more opportunities to provide desired athletic and fitness options and give students more flexibility in how and when they engage in fitness, recreation or athletic activities,” Coleman wrote.