1 . Education officials and industry experts are debating the future of online learning. The discussion is important because hundreds of universities in the United States have recently moved classes online because of the spread of COVID-19.
For Asha Choksi, the rise of Internet-based or online study programs has led to major improvements in higher education. “It’s actually given a lot more power to students in terms of how, when and where they learn,” the head of research for Pearson Education said.
Classes meet online through video conferencing. In this way, students are able to communicate with each other and their professors even when they are far away from school. However, recent research suggests the majority of college students and professors prefer in-person instruction, because they are concerned that companies supervising online learning programs are not clear about the policies they have with the schools they serve.
“Students see in-class lectures as opportunities to engage with instructors, peers, and content.” the researchers wrote. In-person learning is especially important in fields like healthcare and teaching. Online education can never really take its place, said Stephanie Hall, a fellow with the independent policy research group The Century Foundation. “Students need to experience...what they’re learning about, reading about or hearing about in the classroom. And I don’t know yet the degree to which technology can facilitate that.”
“When schools make agreements with online program managers to run their online programs, they often do not make important information available to students,” Hall said. This includes how much control the company has over the design of the program or whether the faculty leading the classes was involved in their design. In addition, many colleges and universities advertise online programs as a low cost opportunity for students. But in some cases, students attending in-person classes get financial aid and online students do not.
1. What does Choksi think of the online study programs?| A．They promote the development of technology. |
| B．They reform the country’s education system. |
| C．They provide advanced scientific knowledge. |
| D．They offer students more choices in study. |
| A．It is convenient. | B．It costs less to study. |
| C．It can better meet school policies. | D．It can improve students’ communication skills. |
| A．Achieve. | B．Apply. | C．Change. | D．Control. |
| A．Negative. | B．Skeptical. | C．Supportive. | D．Objective. |
2 . For years, you’ve been told that stress can be deadly and is something to be avoided. Therefore, an anxious situation is often accompanied by a sense of fear. However, recent studies suggest that stress-related harmful effects on your health are not unavoidable.
One study followed 30,000 people over eight years and measured their stress levels. Those who believed that stress is harmful died at a higher rate than those who were under stress but didn’t acknowledge the so-called negative effects. The latter group was healthier, and many of them lived long, happy lives.
Stressful feelings start out in a small region of the brain that affects how people feel emotions, especially fear. The small region is very sensitive to possible threats. When it senses danger, it alerts the brain, and feelings of fear or stress can result. These feelings give people a warning message when they need to pay attention and when they need to take action. For instance, when the sight of a speeding car triggers (触发) the region to release a lightning-fast message, we know immediately to move out of the way!
Another study carried by Health psychologist Dr. McGonigal found a link between stress and the amount of sympathy people showed to others. Researchers tracked 1,000 adults, their descriptions of the level of stress in their lives and the amount of time spent helping others. With each major stressful event, such as a family tragedy or financial crisis, the risk of dying increased by 30 percent. But for the group who spent time helping others, there was no increase in stress-related deaths, even for those who had faced their own personal tragedies. According to Dr. McGonigal, “Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort. Go after what it is that creates meaning in your life and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.”
1. What does the study in paragraph 2 suggest?| A．Stress caused many deaths over eight years. |
| B．Stress won’t hurt you if you don’t acknowledge its presence. |
| C．It is not the stress but our response to it that creates problems. |
| D．Those without stress usually live long and happy lives. |
| A．Stress is harmful to the brain. |
| B．Stress can cause danger. |
| C．Stress can be a threat to us. |
| D．Stress can lead to timely action. |
| A．People without stress spend more time caring others. |
| B．Stress often causes a family tragedy or financial crisis. |
| C．Stress can be avoided by helping others. |
| D．People chasing meaning in life suffer less from stress. |
| A．Stress Is Not Your Enemy | B．Man Can Conquer Stress |
| C．We Need Remove Stress | D．Stress Is Nearly Harmless |
3 . Self-driving cars are so popular that the University of Michigan has even established a town called Mcity to allow car manufacturers to safely test their autonomous cars.
While Mcity can be used to simulate（模拟）many real-life road conditions，it can't help test gestures drivers use to communicate their intention（意图）to other drivers，pedestrians or cyclists. To find a solution，US car manufacturer Ford，with researchers from Virginia Tech，at the beginning considered using text as a way to communicate the car's intention，but decided it would probably not work universally. The option of using symbols was also rejected，because research shows that a majority of people do not have a good understanding of what they mean.
Finally, the researchers settled on light signals. A white light warned that there were no humans in the car. A slow blinking one indicated that the car was coming to a stop, while a rapidly flashing light cautioned passersby that the car was about to speed up.
Then came the big challenge—testing the signals on real roads. "We needed to try out this new lighting to communicate the intention of the vehicle, but if you've got a driver behind the seat, you still have natural communication between humans," said Andy Shaudt, who led the research team. "So we needed to make it look like a driverless car."
The team designed a car seat costume（戏装）that the driver would wear to cover his or her face and upper body. Of course，the drivers could see very clearly. The researchers then equipped the car with cameras to capture human reactions to a light bar，which flashed one of the three signals when appropriate. Six drivers，all keeping their hands low on the wheel so as not to be noticed，took turns to test driving the car through the busy streets.
The overall reaction to the flashing lights was very encouraging. Who knew costumes could be useful for more than Halloween？
1. What did the team first consider using as a way to communicate the car's intention?| A．Light. | B．Language. |
| C．Symbols. | D．Sound. |
| A．symbols | B．drivers |
| C．researchers | D．flashes |
| A．The car was coming to a stop. |
| B．There was no driver in the car. |
| C．The car was about to speed up. |
| D．The car was about to slow down. |
| A．amuse the driver | B．attract the pedestrians |
| C．warn the cyclists | D．confuse the people |
