单选题 Scholars and students have always been great travellers. The official case for "academic mobility" is now often stated in impressive terms as a fundamental necessity for economic and social progress in the world, and debated in the corridors of Europe, but it is certainly nothing new. Serious students were always ready to go abroad in search of the most stimulating teachers and the most famous academies; in search of the purest philosophy, the most effective medicine, the likeliest road to gold.
Mobility of this kind meant also mobility of ideas, their transference across frontiers, their simultaneous impact upon many groups of people. The point of learning is to share it, whether with students or with colleagues; one presumes that only eccentrics have no interest in being credited with a startling discovery, or a new technique. It must also have been reassuring to know that other people in other parts of the world were about to make the same discovery or were thinking along the same lines, and that one was not quite alone, confronted by inquisition, ridicule or neglect.
In the twentieth century, and particularly in the last 20 years, the old footpaths of the wandering scholars have become vast highways. The vehicle which has made this possible has of course been the aeroplane, making contact between scholars even in the most distant places immediately feasible, and providing for the very rapid transmission of knowledge.
Apart from the vehicle itself, it is fairly easy to identify the main factors which have brought about the recent explosion in academic movement. Some of these are purely quantitative and require no further mention: there are far more centres of learning, and a far greater number of scholars and students.
In addition one must recognise the very considerable multiplication of disciplines, particularly in the sciences, which by widening the total area of advanced studies has produced an enormous number of specialists whose particular interests are precisely defined. These people would work in some isolation if they were not able to keep in touch with similar isolated groups in other countries.
Frequently these specialisations lie in areas where very rapid developments are taking place, and also where the research needed for developments is extremely costly and takes a long time. It is precisely in these areas that the advantages of collaboration and sharing of expertise appear most evident. Associated with this is the growth of specialist periodicals, which enable scholars to become aware of what is happening in different centres of research and to meet each other in conferences and symposia. From these meetings come the personal relationships which are at the bottom of almost all formalized schemes of cooperation, and provide them with their most satisfactory stimulus.
But as the specialisations have increased in number and narrowed in range, there had been an opposite movement towards interdisciplinary studies. These owe much to the belief that one cannot properly investigate the incredibly complex problems thrown up by the modern world, and by recent advances in our knowledge along the narrow front of a single discipline. This trend has led to a great deal of academic contact between disciplines, and a far greater emphasis on the pooling, of specialist knowledge, reflected in the broad subjects chosen in many international conferences.
单选题 According to the passage, scholars and students are great travellers because ______.
  • A. standards are higher at foreign universities
  • B. their governments encourage them to travel
  • C. salaries and conditions are better abroad
  • D. they are eager for new knowledge
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】根据文章的第一段的最后一句话可以判断学生们出国是因为寻找更能让人受到鼓舞的老师，更有名的学府，更纯粹的哲学等。由此可见选项D最符合题意。
单选题 The writer says that travel was important in the past because it ______.
  • A. was a way of spreading ideas
  • B. broke down political barriers
  • C. led to economic progress
  • D. made new ideas less schooling
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】根据文中第三段的最后一句话“...and providing for the very rapid transmission of knowledge”可以看得出为了更快地传播知识是他们旅游的主要目的。所以A应为正确答案。
单选题 The writer claims that it is important for specialists to be able to travel because ______.
  • A. there are so many people working in similar fields
  • B. there is a lot of social unrest at universities
  • C. their follow experts are scattered round the world
  • D. their laboratories are in remote places
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】本题所涉及的相关信息在文章第五段。根据题意可以得知学科的繁殖导致了大量科学家的诞生，他们如果不相互交流就不得不孤立地工作。由此可判断A为最佳选择。
单选题 The writer thinks that the growth of specialist societies and periodicals has helped scholars to ______.
  • A. spend less time travelling
  • B. cut down research costs
  • C. develop their ideas more quickly
  • D. keep up with current developments
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】根据文中最后一句话“This trend has led to a great deal of academic contac between disciplines，and a far greater emphasis on the pooling of special knowledge，...”可以推断C为最佳答案。
单选题 Developments in international cooperation are often, it is suggested, the result of ______.
  • A. friendships formed by scholars at meetings
  • B. articles in learned journals
  • C. the work of international agencies
  • D. programs initiated by governments
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】文章倒数第二段最后一句话说“From these meetings come the personal relationships which are at the bottom of almost all formalized schemes of cooperation，and provide with their most satisfactory stimulus”，这里的“personal relationships”指的就是“friendship”。由此可见A应为正确答案。