Part II Reading Comprehension
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. 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 the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
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 , and among the larger schools, its close to 90 percent. If you doubt the popularity of the trend, you probably havent 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 , reading assignment, 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, theres the convenience promised by courses on the Net: you can do the work, as they say, in your pajamas . But figures indicate that the reduced effort results in a reduced commitment to the course. While dropout rate 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 Cornell, 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, theres 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 systems. The more students who enroll in a course but dont come to campus, the more school saves on keeping the lights on in the classrooms, paying doorkeepers, and maintaining parking lots. And, while theres evidence that instructors must work harder to run a DL course for a variety of reasons, they wont be paid any more, and might well be paid less.
57. What is the most striking feature of the University of Phoenix?
A) All its courses are offered online.
B) Its online courses are of the best quality.
C) It boasts the largest number of students on campus
D) Anyone taking its online courses is sure to get a degree.
58.According to the passage , distance learning is basically characterized by_____
A) a considerable flexibility in its academic requirements
B) the great diversity of students academic backgrounds
C) a minimum or total absence of face-to-face instruction
D) the casual relationship between students and professors
59. Many students take Internet -based courses mainly because they can_____
A) earn their academic degrees with much less effort
B) save a great deal on traveling and boarding expenses
C) select courses from various colleges and universities
D) work on the required courses whenever and wherever
60. What accounts for the high drop-out rates for online students?
A) There is no strict control over the academic standards of the courses.
B) The evaluation system used by online universities is inherently weak.
C) There is no mechanism to ensure that they make the required effort.
D) Lack of classroom interaction reduces the effectiveness of instruction.
61. According to the passage, universities show great enthusiasm for DL programs for the purpose of_____
A) building up their reputation
B) cutting down on their expenses
C) upgrading their teaching facilities
D) providing convenience for student
Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressure of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesnt win the contest again? Thats the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.
A revelation came last week when I asked her, Dont you want to win again?
No, she replied, I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly guided by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting my daughters experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough a way to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.
62. What do we learn from the first paragraph?
A) Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activites.
B) Rebecca is much too occupied to enjoy her leisure time.
C) Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing.
D) A lot of distractions compete for childrens time nowadays.
63. What did the author say about her own writing experience?
A) She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.
B) Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations.
C) She was constantly under pressure of writing more.
D) Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.
64. Why did Rebecca want to enter this years writing contest?
A) She believed she possessed real talent for writing.
B) She was sure of winning with her mothers help.
C) She wanted to share her stories with readers.
D) She had won a prize in the previous contest
65. The author took great pains to refine her daughters stories because _______.
A) she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance
B) she did not want to disappoint Rebecca who needed her help so much
C) she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dream of becoming a writer
D) she was afraid Rebeccas imagination might run wild while writing.
66. Whats the authors advice for parents?
A) A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue.
B) Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience.
C) Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in.
D) Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions.
Unit 20
57. B 58. D 59. B 60.A 61. C
62. B 63. A 64. C 65.A 66. D 【阅读练习】
Baekeland and Hartmann report that the short sleepers had been more or less average in their sleep needs until the men were in their teens. But at about age 15 or so, the men voluntarily began cutting down their nightly sleep time because of pressures from school, work, and other activities. These men tended to view their nightly periods of unconsciousness as bothersome interruptions in their daily routines.
In general, these short sleeps appeared ambitious, active, energetic, cheerful, conformist in their opinions, and very sure about their career choices. They often held several jobs at once, or workers full-or part-time while going to school. And many of them had a strong urge to appear normal or acceptable to their friends and associates.
When asked to recall their dreams, the short sleepers did poorly. More than this, they seemed to prefer not remembering. In similar fashion, their usual way of dealing with psychological problems was to deny that the problem existed, and then to keep busy in the hope that the trouble would go away.
The sleep patterns of the short sleepers were similar to, but less extreme than, sleep patterns shown by many mental patients categorized as manic.
The long sleepers were quite different indeed. Baekeland and Hartmann report that these young men had been lengthy sleeps since childhood. They seemed to enjoy their sleep, protected it, and were quite concerned when they were occasionally deprived of their desired 9 hours of nightly bed rest. They tended to recall their dreams much better than did the short sleepers.
Many of the long sleepers were shy, anxious, introverted , inhibited , passive, mildly depressed, and unsure of themselves . Several openly states that sleep was an escape from their daily problems.
1. According to the report,______.
A) many short sleepers need less sleep by nature
B) many short sleepers are obliged to reduce their nightly sleep time because they are busy with their work
C) long sleepers sleep a longer period of time during the day
D) many long sleepers preserve their sleeping habit formed during their childhood
2. Many short sleepers are likely to hold the view that _____.
A) sleep is a withdrawal from the reality
B) sleep interferes with their sound judgement
C) sleep is the least expensive item on their routine program
D) sleep is the best way to deal with psychological troubles
3. It is stated in the third paragraph that short sleepers _____.
A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressures of life
B) often neglect the consequences of inadequate sleep
C) do not know how to relax properly
D) are more unlikely to run into mental problems
4. When sometimes they cannot enjoy adequate sleep, the long sleepers might ____.
A) appear disturbed
B) become energetic
C) feel dissatisfied
D) be extremely depressed
5. Which of the following is Not included in the passage?
A) If one sleeps inadequately, his performance suffers and his memory is weakened
B) The sleep patterns of short sleepers are exactly the sane as those shown by many mental patients
C) Long and short sleepers differ in their attitudes towards sleep
D) Short sleepers would be better off with more rest
【答案及详解】
答案：DCBAB
贝克尔和哈特曼报道说，睡眠少的人在未进入少年期之前，其正常睡眠时间大致与所需要的时间差不多。但到了15岁左右，由于学校、工作或其它活动的地压力，他们就故意地减少了夜间睡眠的时间。这些人持有这样的观点：夜间睡眠是一件令人讨厌的事情，打断了日常事务。
总的说来，这些睡眠少的人表现得雄心勃勃、积极活跃、精力充沛、无意识乐观豁达、立场坚定，对自己职业的选择胸有成竹。他们往往同时从事几项工作，或者一边上学读书，一边从事专职或兼职工作。其中许多人有强烈愿望，想在朋友和熟人面前表现得正常或合群。
当让他们回忆梦境时，睡眠少的人回忆不起什么来。更有甚者，他们似乎情愿什么都记不住。类似的情况是他们通常处理心理问题的方式：不承认问题的存在，希望只要忙忙碌碌，麻烦总会过去的。
睡眠少的人的睡眠模式与被划入疯子之类精神病患者的睡眠模式十分相似，只不过没有那么严重而已。
睡眠多的人情形则大不相同。贝克尔和哈特曼报道说，这些年轻人从小的，有抱负的睡眠就一直很长。他们好像注重睡眠，不让睡眠受打搅。偶尔没有所需的9个小时夜间卧床休息，他们便会十分不安。他们比睡眠少的人要更能回忆得起梦的内容。许多睡眠多的人腼腆、焦躁、内向、压抑、消极和稍微有点儿沮丧，尤其在社交场合缺乏自信。好几个人坦言，睡眠是摆脱每天烦恼的一种方式。