单选题 There are four reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are .four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and mark your answer on the AN- SWER SHEET by blackening the corresponding letter in the brackets.

1

Distance education is enrollment and study with an educational institution that pro vides lesson materials prepared in a sequential and logical order for study by students on their own. When each lesson is completed, the student mails or transmits the assigned work to the institution for correction, grading, comment, and subject matter guidance by qualified instructors. Corrected assignments are returned promptly to the student. This ex change provides a personalized student-teacher relationship. If a student slows his or her pace or fails to send assignments, the school provides encouragement. Although some in stitutions provide employment placement information and assistance, no reputable school ever guarantees a job to graduates.
Distance education and self-study are different. Self-study materials provide no instruc tional service. Corrected assignments, examinations, and special help provided by a quali fied facility are vital to a good learning situation. However, these are not part of self-study. There are many self-study courses and recordings available, and they may have value, but they clearly are not correspondence or distance education courses. Some institutions offer combi nation courses that provide training-in-residence for students who complete their distance education lessons. In-service or on-the-job training is required or provided with other courses and is a feature of many vocational distance education programs.
Quality distance education institutions screen prospective students to assure that only those who can benefit from the courses are enrolled. While there are educational prerequi sites for some academic subjects, interest and aptitude are the primary factors leading to success in most distance education courses. Because they provide alternative educational opportunities, distance education institutions try not to deny a prospective student the opportunity to succeed in a course; interest and experience are good indicators of future SUCCESS.
Distance education courses vary greatly in scope, level, and length. Some have few lessons and require only weeks to complete, while others have a hundred or more assign ments requiring three or four years of conscientious study. Also, a wide variety of subjects is offered. Subjects include yacht design, accounting, medical transcription, nutrition, robotics, travel agent training, gun-repair, gem identification, computer programming, catering and cooking, and earning an entire high school diploma, just to name a few.
There is an increasing recognition of "distance education" and many colleges offer credit for their distance learning courses or accept some distance education credits of resi dent students working toward a degree. In fact, many distance education institutions award their own academic degrees. Acceptance of students and awarding of academic credit is the prerogative of the receiving academic institution. Also, the employing organization may set its own credit acceptance policies.

单选题 Which of the following questions does the passage seek to answer?

A. Why is distance education important to the modern society?
B. What is distance education?
C. How does distance education differ from self-study?
D. How is distance education different from college education?

单选题 Which of the following is true of distance education?

A. The majority of the students fail to pass its examinations.
B. Personal tutors are assigned to students to offer regular help.
C. Teachers and students communicate through correspondence.
D. The courses are set up to suit the pace of each individual student.

单选题 Distance education is different from self-study in that it______.

A. provides training-residence for students
B. caters to the interest of each individual student
C. is available to vast majority of students
D. offers instructional service to students

单选题 In the third paragraph, the word "prospective" probably means______. A. intelligent 13. future C. successful D. hardworking

单选题 It is implied in the passage that students of distance education______.

A. enjoy greater freedom in choosing the subjects to study
B. do not have to meet any enrolling requirement at all
C. take longer to complete their study than college students
D. can usually enter college to work toward a degree