1 . What will higher education look like in 2050? That was the question addressed Tuesday night by Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University.
“We’re at the end of the fourth wave of change in higher education,” Crow began, arguing that research universities followed the initial establishment of higher education, public colleges, and land-grant schools in the timeline of America.
In less than a half-century, he said, global market competition will be at its fastest rates of change ever, with several multi-trillion-dollar economies worldwide. According to a recent projection, the nation’s population could reach 435 million, with a large percentage of those residents economically disadvantaged. In addition, climate change will be “meaningfully uncontrollable” in many parts of the world.
The everyday trends seen today, such as declining performance of students at all levels, particularly in math and science, and declining wages and employment among the less educated, will only continue, Crow maintained, and are, to say the least, not contributing to fulfilling the dream of climbing the social ladder mobility, quality of life, sustainable environment, and longer life spans that most Americans share.
“How is it that we can have these great research universities and have negative-trending outcomes?” Crow said in a talk “I hold the universities accountable. … We are part of the problem.”
Among the “things that we do that make the things that we teach less learnable,” Crow said, are the strict separation of disciplines, academic rigidity, and conservatism, the desire of universities to imitate schools at the top of the social ranks, and the lack of the computer system ability that would allow a large number of students to be educated for a small amount of money.
Since 2002, when Crow started being in charge at Arizona State — which he calls the “new American university” — he has led more than three dozen initiatives that aim to make the school “inclusive, scalable, fast, adaptive, challenge-focused, and willing to take risks.”
Among those initiatives were a restructuring of the engineering and life sciences schools to create more linkages between disciplines; the launch of the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Sustainability; the start of a Teachers College to address K-12 performance and increase the status of the Education Department at the university; and broadened access, increasing the freshman class size by 42 percent and the enrollment of students living below the poverty line by 500 percent.
Universities must start, Crow noted, “by becoming self-reflective architects, figuring out what we have and what we actually need instead of what legend tells us we have to be.” Research universities today have “run their course,” he added. “Now is the time for variety.”
During a discussion afterward, Crow clarified and expanded on some of his points. He discussed, for example, the school’s distance-learning program. “Nearly 40 percent of undergraduates are taking at least one course online,” he said, which helps the school to keep costs down while advancing interactive learning technologies.
He said that Arizona State is working to increase the transfer and completion rates of community-college students, of whom only about 15 percent, historically, complete their later degrees. “We’ve built a system that will allow them to track into universities,” particularly where “culturally complex barriers” beyond finances limit even the most gifted students.
1. The fourth wave of change in America’s higher education refers to _______.| A．public colleges | B．land-grant schools |
| C．initial higher education | D．research universities |
| A．People enjoy a quality life. | B．People live longer and longer. |
| C．The freedom to move around. | D．An environment that is sustainable. |
| A．Restructuring the teachers College. |
| B．Launching the School of Life Sciences. |
| C．Ignoring the linkages between disciplines. |
| D．Enrolling more students from poor families. |
| A．enroll 40% of its students online |
| B．provide an even greater number of courses |
| C．attract the most gifted students all over the world |
| D．keep costs down without a loss of quality |
2 . The setting was a packed gymnasium just before the start of a game against another school. There were five girls who were members of the Danville High School basketball team-all of them starters. They were not in uniform to play that night and would not be on the team for the rest of this season. They were there to admit their breaking of team rules. They were there to support their coach’s decision to take them off the team. They were there to let the town know there was a problem in their little community that needed to be addressed. And they did it with sincere regret rather than defensiveness.
While the school had been out for the New Year’s holiday, the five girls had gone to the party with several of their friends. There was alcohol there. And they all drank some.
Coach Rainville has a zero tolerance rule on drugs and alcohol for her members though it was a hard decision to make. When classes resumed and accounts of holiday parties were shared, rumors about the five girls began closing in on them. The coach said she couldn’t back down on her rules. And the players-two junior students and senior students-agreed. That night in the gym was part of their public support of the coach’s decision.
“We hope you will understand that we are not bad kids. What we did was definitely not worth it. We hope this event will make everyone realize that there is a big drug and alcohol problem in our community,” one of the senior students said, “And if you work with us to try to solve this problem, you will help us feel that we have not been thrown off our basketball team for nothing.” The five left the floor to deafening applause.
The team may not win another game this year. But they’ve learnt something about personal responsibility, the effect of one’s action on others, and honesty that will serve them well throughout life.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that five girls who were kicked off the team were_.| A．very good players on the team |
| B．addicted to alcohol and drugs |
| C．three junior students and two senior students |
| D．scolded by their parents for drinking alcohol |
| A．They didn’t fight for Danville High School any more. |
| B．They all gave speeches to apologize in the local press. |
| C．They admitted their mistake in public in the gymnasium. |
| D．They would never drink any alcohol throughout their life. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Strict. |
| C．Stubborn. | D．Cruel. |
| A．Growing up with pain | B．A bad mistake |
| C．Team rules are everything | D．Basketball girls in high school |
3 . If you are in a dilemma about being self-taught or getting formal education, you have come to the right webpage. In this article, we note the advantages of each of these to help you decide which one would be the best for you.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of being self-taught is that you are able to save a lot of money. With each passing year, the cost of getting a degree is on the rise. As a result, many students these days tend to graduate from college with a significant amount of debt. This makes it necessary for them to get a job as soon as possible, otherwise a number of serious issues may arise. Besides, it is possible to learn faster on your own, by focusing on only those areas that you are interested in. Finally, learning on your own can be a great confidence builder. You have to struggle to gain knowledge but once you clear the basics on your own, you will find yourself being much more confident about your abilities.
One of the biggest advantages of formal education is that you get a degree which is a mark of recognition that you have achieved a level of knowledge in that particular field. Many companies tend to prefer candidates who have a college degree. What’s more, though formal education lacks the convenience and flexibility of self-education, it offers you much more in terms of the actual structure of the learning process. Last, being formally educated means that you will enter a college or other similar educational institutions. There you will get the benefit of being taught and guided by learned teachers and other subject experts. This will be a big benefit as you will be able to take advantage of their experience and gain in-depth knowledge about the subject.
Thus, both formal education and self-education have their own sets of advantages. The choice between the two comes down to individual preferences as well as personal situations.
1. Which of the following is an advantage of self-education?| A．A faster pace of learning |
| B．Being guided by subject experts |
| C．A wider range of ways to gain knowledge |
| D．Having more chances of getting part-time jobs. |
| A．choose self-education |
| B．enter an educational institution |
| C．work for learned teachers |
| D．make use of webpages about education |
| A．The reputation of educational institutions. |
| B．The knowledge of teachers and experts. |
| C．The opinions of relatives and friends. |
| D．One’s preference and situations. |
| A．To promote a webpage about education. |
| B．To prove that self-education is the best choice. |
| C．To help readers choose between two form of education. |
| D．To prove that it’s difficult to decide on the proper education. |
Those taxpayer-supported college classes were put to an end in the 1990s. But New York Governor Andrew Cuomo would like to bring them back in the state, setting off a fierce new debate.
A number of lawmakers in New York have promised to kill Cuomo’s proposal (提议).
Cuomo says reintroducing taxpayer-funded college classes in New York’s prisons is a common-sense plan that will reduce the number of inmates who commit new crimes.
“You pay $ 60,000 for a prison cell for a year,” Cuomo responded. “You put a guy away for 10 years, and that’s $600,000. Right now, chances are almost half. Once he’s set free, he’s going to come right back.”
Cuomo says helping inmates get a college education would cost about $ 5,000 a year per person. He argues, “It’s a small amount of money if it keeps that inmate from bouncing back into prison.”
But even some members of the governor’s own party hate this idea. State Assemblywoman Addie Russell, whose upstate district includes three state prisons, says taxpayers just won’t stand for inmates getting a free college education, while middle-class families struggle to pay for their kids’ college fees.
“That is the vast majority of feedback (反馈) that I’m also getting from my constituents (选民)，” she says. “You know, ‘Where is the relief for the rest of the population who obey the law ?’ ”
“I was very disappointed that the policy had been changed,” says Gerald Gaes, who served as an expert on college programs for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the 1990s. In 1994, President Clinton stopped federal student aid programs for inmates.
Gaes says research shows that college classes actually save taxpayers’ money over time, by reducing the number of inmates who break the law and wind up back in those expensive prison cells.
“It is cost-effective,” he says. “Designing prisons that way will have a long-term benefit for New York State.”
1. The underlined word “rehabilitate” probably means “ ”.
| A．let people know more about prisoners. |
| B．help someone have a normal life again. |
| C．allow prisoners to experience the world. |
| D．encourage someone to help other people. |
| A．Lawmakers’ rights in New York. |
| B．College classes for New York’s citizens. |
| C．Higher education in New York’s prisons. |
| D．Punishments given to New York’s criminals. |
| A．almost half of prisoners are likely to come back into prison. |
| B．college classes for inmates can save taxpayers’ money. |
| C．the costs of running prisons in the US are on the rise. |
| D．it is very difficult to reduce the number of inmates. |
| A．is unfair to middle-class families. |
| B．will benefit citizens obeying laws. |
| C．will be useless for improving prisons. |
| D．is based on most taxpayers’ feedback. |
5 . On June 17, 1774, the officials from Maryland and Virginia held a talk with the Indians of the Six Nations. The Indians were invited to send boys to William and Mary College. In a letter the next day they refused the offer as follows:
We know that you have a high opinion of the kind of learning taught in your colleges, and that the costs of living of our young men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are convinced that you mean to do us good by your proposal; and we thank you heartily. But you must know that different nations have different ways of looking at things, and you will therefore not be offended if our ideas of this kind of education happen not to be the same as yours. We have had some experience of it. Several of our young people were formerly brought up at the college of the northern provinces: they were taught all your sciences; but when they came back to us, they were bad manners, ignorant of every means of living in the woods — they were totally good for nothing.
We are, however, not the less obliged by your kind offer, though we refuse to accept it; and, to show our grateful sense of it, if the gentlemen of Virginia will send us a dozen of their sons, we will take care of their education, teach them all we know, and make men of them.
1. The passage is about ____.| A．the talk between the Indians and the officials |
| B．the colleges of the northern provinces |
| C．the educational values of the Indians |
| D．the problems of the Americans in the mid-eighteen century |
| A．express their opinions on equal treatment |
| B．politely refuse a friendly offer |
| C．show their pride |
| D．describe Indian customs |
| A．it would be better for their boys to receive some schooling |
| B．they were being insulted by the offer |
| C．they knew more about science than the officials |
| D．they had better way of educating young men |
| A．young women should also be educated |
| B．they had different goals of education |
| C．they taught different branches of science |
| D．they should teach the sons of the officials first |
By
If students are able to have lunch outside of the school, they will get more
It is
| A．Instead | B．Besides | C．However | D．Therefore |
| A．eat | B．play | C．read | D．cook |
| A．ordering | B．requiring | C．encouraging | D．allowing |
| A．support | B．copy | C．find | D．write |
| A．cheaply | B．easily | C．secretly | D．quickly |
| A．health | B．lunch | C．education | D．exercise |
| A．interesting | B．surprising | C．different | D．unusual |
| A．feelings | B．expectations | C．explanations | D．experiences |
| A．wish | B．ability | C．need | D．chance |
| A．obviously | B．naturally | C．especially | D．clearly |
| A．accept | B．learn | C．enjoy | D．remember |
| A．important | B．easy | C．useless | D．doubtful |
| A．work | B．start | C．return | D．leave |
| A．active | B．safe | C．happy | D．honest |
| A．strange | B．necessary | C．impossible | D．unexpected |
| A．dangerous | B．exciting | C．boring | D．puzzling |
| A．tall | B．strong | C．old | D．smart |
| A．make | B．change | C．break | D．follow |
| A．After all | B．In short | C．In fact | D．As usual |
| A．humor | B．freedom | C．direction | D．Achievement |
These days, college applicants are applying to more colleges because online and common applications make the process easier.
For many families, the most important thing colleges can do is show them the money, especially this year; the weak economy makes parents nervous.
| A．Besides, top colleges are facing changes in the population. |
| B．What contributes to it? |
| C．But a mistake can be costly if it happens. |
| D．But top colleges ignore them. |
| E．They have international students who know English. |
| F．It can mean several acceptances to choose from. |
| G．They cannot afford college as planned. |
8 . Four Habits to Help You Succeed
We will want to succeed, whether it’s in losing weight or learning the guitar. For those who have tried and failed, success seems difficult to understand. Why does one person succeed where another person fails?
1. Identify your core (核心) values.
Finding your core values is in line with creating inner motivation.
2. Pick a goal and focus on it.
Choose one goal to start something large enough that will give you a sense of achievement, while adjusting well to your core values. Focus is key here.
3. Set a deadline for success.
Set a date for success. Identify when you hope to achieve your goal.
4.
Failure can’t be avoided when you take risks. Many people give up far too early. Use failure. Treat it as a good thing, and march on!
| A．The more focused you are on one goal, the higher chance you have of success. |
| B．Make the right decision. |
| C．I’ve made a list of four habits to help you set goals and achieve them. |
| D．Stick to your goal. |
| E．Keep it realistic, while not giving you too much time. |
| F．Sit and reflect on what you value most. |
| G．Push yourself to be courageous, and take that next step. |
9 . When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance，the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as entertainment, but certainly not an education priority（优先）. This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception(视角) that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive（情感的）meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.
1. According to paragraph 1, students ________.| A．regard music as a way of entertainment |
| B．disagree with their parents on education |
| C．view music as an overlooked subject |
| D．prefer the arts to science |
| A．compare it with rock music |
| B．show music identifies a society |
| C．introduce American musical traditions |
| D．prove music influences people’s lifestyles |
| A．approach the world from different angles |
| B．explore different phenomena of the world |
| C．express people’s feeling in different ways |
| D．explain what it means to be human differently |
| A．Music education deserves more attention. |
| B．Music should be of top education priority. |
| C．Music is an effective communication tool. |
| D．Music education makes students more imaginative. |
