2 . Online Free Courses

English Grammar and Style

We’ll present materials that cover grammatical principles, word usage, writing style, sentence and paragraph structure, and punctuation. We’ll challenge you with quizzes and writing activities that will give you strategies to enhance the quality of your writing, and invite you to participate in discussions and assess the work of your peers (同龄人).

Length: 8 weeks.

Instructor: Roslyn Petelin from the University of Queensland.

Academic Writing Made Easy

From structuring and organizing an academic text to avoiding common mistakes that can negatively affect your credibility, this course offers a guide for those who want to improve their writing. Each week is comprised of video lessons, followed by exercises and tasks of assessing your peers’ work. The course requires upper-intermediate to advanced English.

Length: 6 weeks.

Instructor: Heidi Minning from the Technical University of Munich.

Preparing to Network in English

Networking in the business world is key to career success. But what is networking? And how do you do it in English? This course helps you understand the basics of networking and why it’s important. You’ll identify the key qualities you should focus on developing. Most importantly, you’ll grow and expand your business network and professional connections.

Length: 6 weeks.

Instructor: Joel Ozretich from the University of Washington.

Using Emails for Networking in English

In this course, you’ll learn important strategies for writing effective emails. You’ learn how to write messages for different audiences and understand when to be formal or direct. You’ll also learn how choice of words can change the way people view your message.

Length: 4 weeks.

Instructor: Daphne Mackey from the University of Washington.

1. English Grammar and Style offers materials on the following EXCEPT ________.

A．grammatical principles	B．word usage
C．punctuation	D．pronunciation

2. Which course has video lessons every week?

A．English Grammar and Style.

B．Academic Writing Made Easy.

C．Preparing to Network in English.

D．Using Emails for Networking in English.

3. What do the first two courses have in common?

A．Both last for one and half months.

B．Both involve some peer review tasks.

C．Both require upper-intermediate English.

D．Both are offered by the same university.

4. Who will offer the course on the importance of the business network?

A．Roslyn Petelin.	B．Heidi Minning.
C．Joel Ozretich.	D．Daphne Mackey

5. What does the shortest course focus on?

A．Improving email-writing skills.

B．Giving tips on academic writing.

C．Exploring grammatical principles.

D．Introducing the basics of net working.

4 . Gerardo Ixcoy is a 27-year-old teacher in Guatemala. He teaches in the area where having electricity is something of a luxury and students have no access to mobile apps or computers, which became a problem when Guatemalan government had to choose distance education for students at home because of COVID-19 in mid-March.

Gerardo Ixcoy felt that he had to teach those children living far from the digital world. After all, education is a universal right. But what was the solution?

Gerardo bought himself a secondhand tricycle with his savings. Once he had the tricycle, the next step was to change it into a classroom on wheels. He put a roof with a solar panel（太阳能电池板）on it, along with a screen to avoid the spread of COVID-19. He fixed a whiteboard on it so he could explain to the students the basics of primary education： math, the local language and the national language Spanish.

The purpose of the solar panel is to provide constant power for a small loudspeaker so he can teach from a distance. It's a matter of respecting the healthy distance required to be safe from the virus. He, the teacher, stays outside, and the student participates from his or her house.

He tries to visit his students at least twice a week, riding his classroom — cycle. The children he serves say that, although he visits them for only a few hours a week, they look forward to it. They appreciate his visit because they know he has limited time he can devote to them. They must take advantage of it to learn.

1. What happened to Gerardo Ixcoy's students because of COVID-19?

A．They chose to have classes in groups.

B．They had to stop all the classes.

C．They continued to have classes online.

D．They started to learn about computers.

2. Why does the teacher stay from a distance while teaching?

A．Because healthy distance is reqired.

B．Because he doesn't want to see his students.

C．Because he wants to show his authority.

D．Because the local custom reqiries him to.

3. Where did Gerardo Ixcoy teach his students?

A．In his own house.	B．In his student's house.
C．On the school playground.	D．Outside his student's house.

4. What can be the best title of the story?

A．Love breaks down barriers.	B．Hard work pays off.
C．Time is money.	D．Education is the key to success.

6 . Exercise plays a very important role in a healthy lifestyle. But you may not have time or money to go to a gym on a regular basis. Don't worry. Here is good news.     1    

A quick Internet search will turn up thousands of online fitness classes. These classes let you listen to instructions.     2     You can watch videos on your phone, computer or tablet and do the exercises right where you are. All you need is an Internet connection and a space large enough to move around in.

    3     Some focus on stretches and slow movements. Other classes involve fast aerobic activity, while others build muscle strength. Some require equipment such as weights, but others use only your body. That means you can choose a class that does what you like.     4    

Some virtual classes require a membership fee, but some are completely free.

Anyone can post a fitness video on the Internet. Not everyone knows what they are doing.     5     Try to find teachers who are certified by an organization with a good reputation.

Virtual fitness classes feature convenience. You can do a class at any time of day. They are convenient, they are private, and you may even discover a new form of exercise that you enjoy.

A．These classes are mostly free of charge.

B．So don't waste time watching useless videos.

C．And you can try a different one whenever you like.

D．Online fitness exercises take a wide variety of forms.

E．So it is important to think about who is teaching the class.

F．Today's technology let you access fitness from the comfort of your home.

G．Meanwhile, they also let you watch trainers demonstrate how to do exercises.

7 . Directions: Write an English composition in l20—150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
你的朋友李华报名参加了北京某高校的暑期大学选修课程，该课程提供两种上课形式在线授课和线下授课。在线课程通过腾讯课堂进行直播授课，每天上半天课，课程持续四周线下授课要求学生去北京，在高校内集中上课，每天上8小时课，课程持续两周。李华对于选哪种上课形式犹豫不决，写邮件来想听听你的建议。请你回复邮件，内容包括你的想法和理由。___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . Professor Ashok Goel of Georgia Tech developed an artificially intelligent teaching robot, Knowledge- Based Artificial Intelligence, to help handle the enormous number of student questions in the online class. This online course is a core requirement of Georgia Tech's online Master of Science in Computer Science program. Professor Goel already had eight teaching assistants, but that wasn't enough to deal with the overwhelming number of daily questions from students.

Many students drop out of online courses because of the lack of teaching support. When students feel isolated or confused and reach out with questions that go unanswered, their motivation to continue begins to taper off. Professor Goel decided to do something to remedy this situation and his solution was to create a virtual assistant named Jill Watson, which is based on the IBM Watson platform.

Goel and his team developed several versions of Jill Watson before releasing her to the online forums. At first, the virtual assistant wasn't too great. But Goel and his team sourced the online discussion forum to find all the 40, 000 questions that had ever been asked since the class was launched. Then they began to feed Jill with the questions and answers. After some adjustments and sufficient time, Jill was able to answer the students' questions correctly 97% of the time. The virtual assistant became so advanced and realistic that the students didn’t know she was a computer.

The students, who were studying artificial intelligence, were interacting with the virtual assistant and couldn't tell it apart from a real human being. Goel didn’t inform them about Jill's true identity until April 26. The students were actually very positive about the experience.

The goal of Professor Goel’s virtual assistant next year is to take over answering 40% of all the questions posed by students on the online forum. The name Jill Watson will, of course, change to something else next semester. Professor Goel has a much rosier outlook on the future of artificial intelligence than, say, Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates or Steve Wozniak.

1. What do we learn about Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence?

A．It is a robot that can answer students’ questions.

B．It is a course designed for students to learn online.

C．It is a high-tech device that reforms teaching.

D．It is a computer program that aids student learning.

2. What does the underlined phrase “taper off” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Grow dramatically.

B．Increase sharply.

C．Decrease gradually.

D．Decline randomly.

3. How did the students feel about Jill Watson?

A．Incapable.

B．Useful.

C．Incredible.

D．Universal.

4. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．A robot gives an online course.

B．Artificial Intelligence will replace humans in online classes.

C．Virtual assistant is getting popular on campus.

D．Professor Goel of Georgia Tech applies a virtual teaching assistant.

9 . 假设你是红星中学高一学生李华。你的美国笔友 Jim 对你校社团的近期活动非常感兴趣。请你用英语给他写一封信，向他介绍你们社团为边远地区的学生提供在线课程的情况。具体内容包括：
1. 该活动的目的；
2. 该活动涉及的内容；
3. 你参与该活动的感受。注意：1. 词数不少于 50；
2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。提示词：在线课程 online courses
Dear Jim,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

10 . About 21,000 young people in 17 American states do not attend classes in school buildings. Instead, they receive their elementary and high school education by working at home on computers. The Center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools,” and that is twice as many as two years ago.

The money for students to attend cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools. They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well.

Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools. They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school.

Whatever the judgment of cyberschools, they are getting more and more popular. For example, a new cyberschool called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall. It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen.

Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessary.

Students at cyberschool usually do not know one another. But 56 such students who finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time. They were guests of honor at their graduation.

1. What do we know from the text about the students of a cyberschool?

A．They have to take a long bus ride to school.

B．They study at home instead of in classrooms.

C．They receive money from traditional public schools.

D．They are all failures in traditional school programs.

2. What is a problem with cyberschools?

A．Their equipment costs a lot of money.

B．They get little support from the state government.

C．It is hard to know students’ progress in learning.

D．The students find it hard to get along with other students.

3. Cyberschools are getting popular because _____________.

A．they are less expensive for students	B．their students can work at their own speed
C．their graduates are more successful in society	D．they serve students in a wider age range

4. We can infer from the text that the author has a(n) ________ attitude toward cyberschools.

A．positive	B．negative
C．doubtful	D．disappointed