Question

I went to Arizona earlier this month to see what the college of the future might look like. What I found is an exciting new era of higher education that will help more students get a great, personalized education at an affordable price.

This future may not always include the lecture halls, dormitories, and other features of the traditional college experience. Instead, the colleges I visited are experimenting with ways for students to get their degrees online, allowing them to take courses any place and at any time.

These “colleges without walls” as they are sometimes called, are at the forefront of the effort to broaden access to higher education, especially for low-income students with full-time jobs and families. During my visit, I heard encouraging stories of students who were taking advantage of these flexible learning models to pursue degrees that could put them on paths to new careers.

One of those students was Shawn Lee. He had a compelling story: After dropping out of college decades ago, he found himself in a series of low-paying, often back-breaking jobs. He recently decided to get his degree when he had his first child and wanted to start building a better life.

Tucked away in an industrial park in Tempe, Rio Salado didn’t look much like a traditional institute of higher education. There were no students running to class. Just a couple of glass-faced office buildings. The college had just 22 full-time faculty serving 60,000 students, with more than half of them attending classes online.

Several students I met during my visit said they liked learning online. “I’ve taken college classes in a big auditorium with herds of people. There was no personal connection,” one student said. “Now I can reach my teacher with the click of a mouse.”

After several days’ visit, I left Arizona feeling quite optimistic about what the future holds for higher education.

1.What does “colleges without walls” in the third paragraph refer to?

A.Colleges that have no walls around.

B.Colleges that students attend online.

C.Colleges that can be entered freely.

D.Colleges that give students more freedom.

2.What made Shawn Lee return to attend college again?

A.That he has nothing to do.

B.That he couldn’t find a job.

C.That the cost of the college is low.

D.That he wanted to find a better job.

3.How did the writer feel after the visit?

A.Hopeful. B.Dissatisfied. C.Disappointed. D.Upset.

4.What is the writer’s purpose by writing this passage?

A.To explain what “colleges without walls” are.

B.To advertise the colleges.

C.To encourage people to attend higher education.

D.To introduce a new model of education.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.D

【解析】

试题分析: 本文介绍了作者在亚利桑那州所见到的新型教育模式---网络学校。

1.词义猜测题。根据文章内容和第二段Instead, the colleges I visited are experimenting with ways for students to get their degrees online, allowing them to take courses anyplace and at any time.（相反，我访问过的大学正在尝试让学生在网上获得学位，允许他们随时随地上课）可知，作者在文中介绍的是网络学校。由此可知，划线词组指的是“这些网络学校”。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据文章第四段可知Lee只能找到低收入，重体力的工作，再根据末句He recently decided to get his degree when he had his first child and wanted to start building a better life.（最近，当他有了第一个孩子时，他决定获得学位，并想开始建立一个更好的生活）可以推知，Shawn Lee再进行继续教育的目的是想找到一份好工作，过上更好的生活。故选D。

3.推理判断题。本题从文中出现的描述作者态度看法的形容词入手考查考生对作者的态度、观点的理解。根据文章第一段出现的exciting，第三段的encouraging和末段的 optimistic等词可知，作者对这种网络教学感到非常兴奋，对未来充满希望。故选A。

4.推理判断题。作者在文中介绍了通过在线学习来获得教育的新型教育模式，也就是网络大学。故选D。