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Section C
Questions 56-60 are based on the followingpassage.
Byalmost any measure, there is a boom in Intemet-based instruction. In just a fewyears,34 percent ofAmerican universities have begun offering some form ofdistance learning (DL), and among the larger schools,it's closer to 90 percent.If you doubt the popularity of the trend, you probably haven't heard of theUniversity ofPhoenix. It grants degrees entirely on the basis of onlineinstruction. It enrolls 90,000 students, a statistic used tosupport its claimto be the largest private university in the country.
Whilethe kinds of instruction offered in these programs will differ, DL usuallysignifies a course in which theinstructors post syllabi( 课程大纲), reading assignments, and schedules on Websites, and students sendin theirassignments by e-mail. Generally speaking, face-to-face communicationwith an instructor is minimized oreliminated altogether.
Theattraction for students might at first seem obvious. Primarily, there's theconvenience promised by courseson the Net: you can do the work, as they say, inyour pajamas ( 睡衣). But figures indicate that the reducedeffortresults in a reduced commitment to the course. While dropout rates for allfreshmen at American universitiesis around 20 percent, the rate for onlinestudents is 35 percent. Students themselves seem to understand theweaknessesinherent in the setup. In a survey conducted for eComell, the DL division ofComell University, lessthan a third of the respondents expected the quality ofthe online course to be as good as the classroom course.
Clearly,from the schools' perspective, there's a lot of money to be saved. Althoughsome of the moreambitious programs require new investments in servers andnetworks to support collaborative software, most DLcourses can run on existingor minimally upgraded(升级)systems. The more students who enroll in acourse butdon't come to campus, the more the school saves on keeping the lightson in the classrooms, paying doorkeepers,and maintaining parking lots. Andthere's evidence that instructors must work harder to run a DL course foravariety of reasons, they won't be paid any more, and might well be paid less.
56、What is the most striking feature of theUniversity of Phoenix?
A.Allits courses are offered online.
B.Itsonline courses are of the best quality.
C.It boasts the largest number of studentson campus.
D.Anyone taking its online courses is sure to get a degree.
57、According to the passage, distance learning isbasically characterized by____
A.aconsiderable flexibility in its academic requirements
B.the great diversity ofstudents' academic backgrounds
C.a minimum or total absence of face-to'faceinstruction
D.the casual relationship between students and professors
58、Manystudents take Internet-based courses mainly because they can ____
A.earntheir academic degrees With much less effort
B.savea great deal on traveling and boarding expenses
C.select courses from variouscolleges and universities
D.work on the required courses whenever andwherever
59、What accounts for the high dropout rates for online students?
A.Thereis no strict control over the academic standards of the courses.
B.Theevaluation system used by online universities is inherently weak.
C.There is nomechanism to ensure that they make the required effort.
D.Lack of classroominteraction reduces the effectiveness of instruction.
60、According to the passage, universities showgreat enthusiasm for DL programs for the purpose of____
A.building up their reputation
B.cutting down on their expenses
C.upgrading their teaching facilities
D.providing convenience for students
Questions61-65are based on the followingpassage.
In thisage of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortageof mindless activities to keepa child occupied. Yet, despite the competition,my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure timewriting shortstories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competitionshe won last year.
As awriter I know about winning contest, and about losing them. I know what it islike to work hard on astory only to receive a rejection slip from thepublisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputationcreatedby previous victories. What if she doesn't win the contest again? That's thestrange thing about being aparent. So many of our own past scars and dashedhopes can surface.
Arevelation (启示)came last week when I asked her, "Don't you want to win again?" "No," she replied, "I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade."
I hadjust spent weeks correcting her stores as she spontaneously( 自由地)told them. Telling myself that Iwas merely an experienced writerguiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions forcharacters,conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angelstarting first grade was quickly "guided" by meinto the tale of alittle girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turnedher contest into mycontest without even realizing it.
Stayingback and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I knowvery little about farmanimals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, Ihad to accept the fact that I was coopting (借用)mydaughter'sexperience.
Whilestepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that Iwill quickly follow with moresteps, putting myself far enough away to give herroom but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will bereminding myselfthat children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.
61、What do we learn from the first paragraph?
A.Children do find lots of fun in many mindlessactivities.
B.Rebecca is much too occupied to enjoy herleisure time.
C.Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials forher writing.
D.A lot of distractions compete for Children'stime nowadays.
62、What did the author say about her own writingexperience?
A.She did not quite live up to her reputation as awriter.
B.Her way to success was full of pains andfrustrations.
C.She was constantly under pressure of writingmore.
D.Most of her stories had been rejected bypublishers.
63、Why did Rebecca want to enter this year'swriting contest?
A.She believed she possessed real talent forwriting.
B.She was sure of winning with her mother's help.
C.She wanted to share her stories with readers.
D.She had won a prize in the previous contest.
64、The author took great pains to refine herdaughter's stories because ____
A.she believed she had the knowledge andexperience to offer guidance
B.she did not want to disappoint Rebecca whoneeded her help so much
C.she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dream ofbecoming a writer
D.she was afraid Rebecca's imagination might runwild while writing
65、What's the author's advice for parents?
A.A writing career, though attractive, is not forevery child to pursue.
B.Children should be allowed freedom to growthrough experience.
C.Parents should keep an eye on the activitiestheir kids engage in.
D.Children should be given every chance to voicetheir opinions.
