But to come to a single ranking, we would then have to manipulate the data: should a measure of the state of public health outweigh a measure of investment in public transport?

不过，当这个排名的对象是一个单一的整体时，以上数据必须经过处理，这时问题就来了：国家公众健康是否比公共交通更重要呢？

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But how much does the ranking of a single year matter?

但是仅一年的排名能说明什么问题呢？

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Every single college that features in the top 20 of the U. S. News and World Report's most recent ranking of best U. S. colleges costs at least $34,000 a year in tuition and fees.

在美国新闻和世界报道中，对最好的美国大学花费榜的最新排名前二十名中，每一个单身的大学生，学费和其他费用至少34000元一年。

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But the single factor that can show dramatic shifts in ranking in a single year is selectivity.

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Ranking companies on a single metric, like sales, can be misleading, which is why Forbes uses a composite ranking, giving equal weight to sales, profits, assets and market value.

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Two of the leadership traits we offered, courage and perseverance, got the lowest ranking, each in single digits.

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