单选题 This speculation(a course taught with technology helps students learn more than the one taught in the live classroom)is not baseless: studies comparing technology-based and traditional course offerings are and technology is looking better all the time. Universities that specialize in distance education are learning how to use multimedia courseware and the Internet effectively and the quality of their offerings is gaining increasing recognition. When students in the near future have a choice between(a)attending passive lecture at fixed locations and times in a campus-based curriculum and(b)completing interactive multimedia tutorials at any convenient place and time in a distance-based curriculum, guess which alternative more of them will begin to choose. This is not to say that technology is a panacea. Passive instructional technology—e.g., simply pointing a video camera at a conventional lecture or using the Web only to display text and pictures— does not promote much learning, no matter how dynamic the lecturer or how colorful the graphic images. Moreover, even at its best technology will never be able to do some things that first-rate teachers do routinely, such as advising, encouraging, motivating;, and serving as role models for students, helping them develop the communication and interpersonal skills they will need to succeed in their careers, and getting them to teach and learn from one another. Most successful people can think back to at least one gifted teacher who changed their lives by doing one or more of these things; it is unlikely that anyone will ever be able to do the same for a software package. Here, then, is what our crystal ball says about the students of higher education. An increasing share of undergraduate degrees will be earned in well-designed distance-based programs at conventional universities and institutions without walls like the British Open University, and an increasing number of people will bypass college altogether and seek competency-based certification in fields like information technology. Some highly ranked research universities will still teach traditionally and continue to attract undergraduates by virtue of their prestige, serving primarily as training grounds for graduate schools. Many of the much greater number of less prestigious universities will try to keep doing business as usual, but having to compete for a shrinking pool of undergraduates will force them to either change their practices or close their doors. And a growing number of universities will systematically incorporate interactive multimedia-based instructional software in their live classroom-based courses, making sure that the courses are taught by professors who serve as true mentors to their students and not just transmitters of information. These universities will continue to thrive—and they will provide the best college education.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：根据文章第一段第一句“This speculation(a course taught with technology helps students learn morethan the one taught in the live classroom)is not baseless：studies comparing technology-based and traditional courseofferings are and technology is looking better all the time．”可知，这种猜测(即运用现代技术传授的课程教给学生的东西要比传统真实课堂教给学生的东西还要多)并非没有根据：有研究正在比较基于现代技术的课程和传统课程的效果，而且现代技术总是显示出优势。所以，A项表述符合文意。其他三项表述均不切合文意。据此判断，答案是A。