By almost any measure, there is a boom
in Internet-based instruction. In just a few years, 34 percent of American
universities have begun offering some form of distance 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 the University of Phoenix. It grants
degrees entirely on the basis of online instruction. It enrolls 90,000 students,
a statistic used to support its claim to be the largest private university in
the country. While the kinds of instruction offered in these
programs will differ, DL usually signifies a course in which the instructors
post syllabi (课程大纲), reading assignments, and schedules on Websites, and
students send in their assignments by e-mail. Generally speaking, face-to-face
communication with an instructor is minimized or eliminated
altogether. The attraction for students might at first seem
obvious. Primarily, there's the convenience promised by courses on the Net: you
can do the work, as they say, in your pajamas (睡衣). But figures indicate that
the reduced effort results in a reduced commitment to the course. While dropout
rates for all freshmen at American universities is around 20 percent, the rate
for online students is 35 percent. Students themselves seem to understand the
weaknesses inherent in the setup. In a survey conducted for eCornell, the DL
division of Cornell University, less than a third of the respondents expected
the quality of the online course to be as good as the classroom
course. Clearly, from the schools' perspective, there's a lot of
money to be saved. Although some of the more ambitious programs require new
investments in servers and networks to support collaborative software, most DL
courses can run on existing or minimally upgraded (升级) systems. The more
students who enroll in a course but don't come to campus, the more the school
saves on keeping the lights on in the classrooms, paying doorkeepers, and
maintaining parking lots. And, while there's evidence that instructors must work
harder to run a DL course for a variety of reasons, they won't be paid any more,
and might well be paid less.
单选题
What is the most striking feature of the University of Phoenix?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】本题问“菲尼克斯大学最为显著的特征是什么?”文章第一段第四至五句指出“It grants degrees entirely on the basis of online instruction．”(菲尼克斯大学完全以网络授课为基础颁发学位。)。故[A]“它所有的课程都是在网络上提供的”正确。
[A]“它的网络课程质量最佳。”文章中没有提到菲尼克斯大学网络课程的质量问题。
[C]“它以校园内学生的数目最多而自豪。”文章中提到，菲尼克斯大学声称是全国人数最多的私立大学，但是由于课程是通过网络传授的，所以它的在校人数不可能是最多的。
[D]“每位参加其网络授课的学生都一定会伞到学位。”文章指出，菲尼克斯大学以网络授课为基础颁发学位，这并不等于每位参加了网络授课的人都会取得学位。
单选题
According to the passage, distance learning is basically characterized by ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】本题问“据文章所言，远程学习的基本特征是什么?”文章第二段第二句提到“Generally speaking，face-to- face communication with an instructor is minimized or eliminated altogether．”(网络教学中与教师面对面进行交流的机会被最小化或被完全排除)，也就是说，基本上没有面对面的教学。故[C]“最小化或完全没有面对面的传授”正确。
[A]“在学术要求上相当的灵活性。”文章没有提到网络教学在学术要求上的内容。
[B]“学生学术背景方面巨大的差异。”文章没有提到网络学习对注册学生学术背景的要求。
[D]“学生和教授之间不拘礼节的关系。”下面一段提到了学生可以在接受网络授课时随意穿着，但这并不意味着学生和教师之间的关系也是随意的。
单选题
Many students take Internet-based courses mainly because the can ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】本题问“许多学生参加网络课程主要是固为什么?”文章第三段第一、二句谈到“The attraction for students might at first seem obvious．Primarily，there's the convenience promised by courses on the Net：you can do the work，as they say，in your pajamas．”(乍一看来，远程教学对学生的吸引似乎是显而易见的。首先，网络课程能够保证其便利性：正如他们所说的那样，你可以穿着睡衣进行学习。)这说明了网络学习的方便性，学生不必受到上课形式的拘束。因此，[D]“在任何事件任何地点进行必修课的学习”正确。
[A]“付出较少的努力就可以得到学位。”文章提到学生上课的随意性，但这并不意味着学生在学习上可以少付出努力。
[B]“在通勤和住宿费用上节省许多钱。”文中最后一段提到了网络教学能够让学校节约许多成本。也许学生会在在通勤和住宿费用上节省一些钱，但这一点文中并没有提到，更谈不到学生是为此而参加网络课程。
[C]“从不同的学院和大学选择课程。”文章没有提到跨校选课的内容。
单选题
What accounts for the high drop-out rates for online students?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】本题问“在网络在线学生中出现高退学阜的原因是什么?”文章第三段第三句指出“But figures indicate that the reduced effort results in a reduced commitment to the course．”(但是数据显示，付出的努力减少了，就会导致受这门课程约束程度的减少。)学生对课程付出的努力少了，课程对他们的约束也就会降低，自然就会出现高退学率。故[C]“没有保证学生会付出必要的努力的机制”正确。
[A]“对课程的学术标准没有严格的控制。”文章中只提到网络教学的质量不如课堂教学，但是没有提及对网络课程学术标准的控制问题。
[B]“网上大学使用的评估体系本身存在弱点。”文中提到，学生们似乎也了解网络课程所固有的缺点，但是这种缺点指的是网络教学的质量不如课堂教学高，而不是评估体系的问题。关于网上大学的评估体系文中没有明确提及。
[D]“课堂互动的缺乏导致了教学有效性的降低。”从常识上讲，这是可能的。但是文章中没有提及这一点。
单选题
According to the passage, universities show great enthusiasm for DL programs for the purpose of ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】本题问“据文章所言，大学对远程教学表现出极大热情的目的在于什么?”文章最后一段指出“Clearly，from the schools' perspective，there's a lot of money to be saved．”(显然，从学校的角度来看，远程教学可以省下大笔的费用。)文章进一步指出，除了少数软件需要在服务器等方面加大投入，网络教学的运营成本不高；学生不在学校上课可以为学校节省大笔维护开支；上网工作的教师得到的薪资并不高。由此可见[B]“降低学校的费用”正确，[A]“提高学校的声誉”、[C]“升级教学设备”、[D]“为学生提供方便”均与文章的意思不符。