单选题 Nowadays, our society is being reshaped by information technologies—computers, telecommunications networks, and other digital systems. Of course, our society has gone through other periods of dramatic change before, driven by such innovations as the steam engine, railroad, telephone, and automobile. But never before have we experienced technologies that are evolving so rapidly, altering the constraints of time and space, and reshaping the way we communicate, learn, and think.
The rapid development of digital technologies creates not only more opportunities for the society but challenges to it as well. Institutions of every stripe are grappling to respond by adapting their strategies and activities. It is no exaggeration to say that information technology is completely changing the relationship between people and knowledge.
But ironically, at the most knowledge-based entities—the colleges and universities—the pace of transformation has been relatively modest. Although research has been transformed by information technology in many ways, and it is increasingly used for student and faculty communications, other higher-education functions have remained almost unchanged. For example, teaching largely continues to follow a classroom-centered, seat-based paradigm. However, some major technology aided teaching experiments are emerging, and some factors suggest that digital technologies may eventually drive significant change throughout academia.
American academia has undergone significant change before. The establishment of secular education began during the 18th century and the Land-Grant College Act of 1862 resulted in another transformation. That Act created institutions serving agriculture and industries; academia was no longer just for the wealthy but charged with providing educational opportunities to the working class as well. Around the year of 1900, the introduction of graduate education began to expand the role of the university in training students for careers both scholarly and professional.
Higher education has already experienced significant technology-based change, even if it currently lags other sectors in some areas. We expect that the new technology will eventually impose a profound impact on university"s teaching by freeing the classroom from its physical and temporal bounds and by providing students with access to original source materials and that new learning communities driven by information technology will allow universities to better teach students how to be critical analyzers and consumers of information.
The information society has greatly expanded the need for university-level education; lifelong learning is not only a private good for those who pursue it but also a social good in terms of our nation"s ability to maintain a vibrant democracy and support a competitive workforce.
单选题 Which of the followings does not belong to information technologies?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题要求考生在通读第一段的基础上进行判断。由第一段第一句“Nowadays, our society is being reshaped by information technologies—computers, telecommunications networks, and other digital systems. (现在,信息技术——计算机、电信网络和其他数字系统正在重新塑造着我们的社会。)”可知,计算机、电信网络和数字系统都属于信息技术。由第一段第二句“...driven by such innovations as the steam engine, railroad, telephone, and automobile. (…由蒸汽机、铁路、电话、汽车等发明驱动,经历了巨大变化。)”可知,电话不属于信息技术。所以,本题选择B。
单选题 Many institutions adjust their strategies and activities in order to ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题要求考生在通读第二段的基础上进行判断。由第二段最后一句“It is no exaggeration to say that information technology is completely changing the relationship between people and knowledge. (可以毫不夸张地说,信息技术完全改变了人与知识的关系。)”可,是信息技术改变了人与知识的关系,和各种机构无关,所以,选项B不正确。由第二段第一句“The rapid development of digital technologies creates not only more opportunities for the society but challenges to it as well. (数字技术的迅速发展不仅给社会提供了更多的机会,也带来了很多挑战。)”可知,各种机构调整其战略和活动,并不仅仅是为了利用数字技术带来的机会,还为了应对数字技术带来的挑战,所以,选项C不正确,而选项D正确。选项A在文中没有提到。所以,本题选择D。
单选题 The phrase "higher-education functions" (Line 4, Paragraph 3) probably means ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 第三段第三句举的例子“For example, teaching largely continues to follow a classroom-centered, seat-based paradigm. (例如,教学还是以教室为中心、座位为基础的模式为主。)”是对“higher-education functions”的一个解释。由这个例子可以推出,这里“higher-education functions”指的是教学方式。选项A、B和C在文中都没有出现。所以,本题选择D。
单选题 The transformation resulted from the Land-Grant College Act of 1862 was ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题要求考生在通读第四段的基础上进行判断。由第四段第二句“The establishment of secular education began during the 18th century(世俗教育机构建立于18世纪)”可知,世俗教育出现于法案颁布之前,所以,选项B错误。由第四段最后一句“Around the year of 1900, the introduction of graduate education... (1900年左右,研究生教育的引入…)”可知,研究生教育引进在法案颁布之后,所以,选项C错误。由第四段第三句“That Act created institutions serving agriculture and industries; academia was no longer just for the wealthy but charged with providing educational opportunities to the working class as well. (该法创立了为农业和工业服务的机构;学术不再只是为富人而设,也被要求为工人阶级提供教育机会。)”可知,法案导致了教育向工人阶级普及,所以,选项A正确。选项D在第四段没有提到。所以,本题选择A。
单选题 Information technology will have an impact on the following aspects except ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 由第五段第二句“...by freeing the classroom from its physical and temporal bounds and by providing students with access to original source materials... (…通过摆脱空间和时间对教室的限制,以及通过向学生提供获取原始资料的机会…)”可知,信息技术对“摆脱空间和时间对教室的限制”以及“学生获取原始资料的机会”都有影响,所以,选项A和B都不能选。由第一段最后一句“…and reshaping the way we communicate, learn, and think. (…并重塑了我们沟通、学习和思考的方式。)”可知,信息技术对“沟通方式”也有影响。由第四段最后一句“...in training students for careers both scholarly and professional. (…培养学生的职业技能和学术。)”可知,培养学生的职业技能是研究生教育的功能,和信息技术无关。所以,本题选择D。