3. Passage Twenty-Seven Out of all the students who enroll in a massive open online course 【MOOC】， only about 5 percent complete the course and receive a certificate of accomplishment. This statistic is often cited as evidence that MOOCs are fatally flawed (有缺陷的) and offer little educational value to most students. Yet more than 80 percent of students who fill out a post-course survey say they met their primary objective. How do we look at these two facts? We’re used to focusing on completion rates in higher education， but they’re not the only—or even the most meaningful—indicator of engagement in open online courses. With no cost to enroll， no punishment for dropping out， and little reward for actually earning a certificate， MOOCs are fundamentally different from traditional classes—and students use them in fundamentally different ways. Data from more than 1.8 million students enrolled in 36 MOOCs offered by the University of Pennsylvania show that students treat MOOCs like a buffet (自助餐)， sampling the material according to their interests and career goals. Some are curious about the subject matter and just watch one or two video lectures; others use the discussion forums to connect with their intellectual peers around the world. Of all enrolled students， nearly 60 percent watch at least one video， complete at least one assignment， or post at least once in a forum. So focusing on the tiny fraction of students who complete a MOOC is misguided. The more important number is the 60 percent engagement rate. Students may not finish a MOOC with a certificate of accomplishment， but the courses nonetheless meet the educational goals of millions. According to Para. 3， students choose MOOCs for the following reasons EXCEPT

49. They had to put (_____) the meeting due to the ongoing COVID-19.

A. 　 forward

B. 　 up

C. 　 down

D. 　 off

5. Passage Six We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching. On the contrary， both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming (把 …按能力分班) pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all， it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade! Besides， it is rather unreal to grade pupils just according to their intellectual (智力的) ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full， not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills， and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning. In our classrooms， we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate， to share， and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problems as well as how to think， to make decisions， to analyze and evaluate， and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher. Sometimes the pupils work in pairs. Sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments， and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is appropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library， and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can do advanced work. It doesn’t matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best， not their least， and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal. According to the passage， which of the following statements is not true?

A. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.

B. An advanced pupil can do advanced work. It doesn’t matter what age he/she is.

C. We expect our pupils to do their best， not their least.

D. Pupils can hardly complete the tasks and assignment at their own speed.

1. Passage Thirteen Trees are useful to man in three important ways: they provide him with wood and other products; they give him shade; and they help to prevent droughts and floods. Unfortunately， in many parts of the world， man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important. In his eagerness to make money from trees， he has cut them down in large numbers， only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had. And besides， he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees. So the forests slowly disappear. This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees. The results are even more serious: for where there are trees， their roots break up soil——allowing the rain to sink in——and also bind the soil， thus preventing it from being washed away easily; but where there are no trees， the rain falls on hard ground and flows away， causing floods and carrying away the rich top-soil. When all the top-soil is gone， nothing remains but worthless desert. Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships， with which to gain itself an empire. It set up the empire but， without its trees， its soil became poor and it grew weak. When the empire fell to pieces， the home country found itself faced with floods and starvation. What is the most important service of trees to man according to the passage?

A. They help him make money.

B. They give him wood and other products.

C. They help him prevent droughts and floods.

D. They give him shade.

42. Such a problem exists because adequate measures for preventing it (_____) taken in the past.

A. 　 were not

B. 　 had not

C. 　 was not

D. 　 had not been

2. Passage Fifteen Big data can be defined as information that is too big or complex to be contained or processed by any one machine or person. As a student at the University of Sussex， Julian Dailly had two majors——English and philosophy. When he completed his studies， Dailly wondered how he would ever earn a living in a world filled with machines and technology. Now， he is part of the big data industry that includes Google and Facebook. Dailly’s research company， Morar Consulting， started three years ago with five employees. The company’s earnings have increased by 25% each year. It now employs 90 people. “What we do here is we try to discover what’s meaningful for people and link that to their economic behavior，” Dailly said. He noted the importance of working with people with different skills. “We have people from traditional research backgrounds， in addition to some in social sciences， economics， people from tech backgrounds， and salespeople，” Dailly said. Companies like Dailly’s employ recent college graduates. The industry profits from the ideas of these young men and women. New forms of data also make it possible for some observers to predict the future. They are more valuable to companies than the traditional forms of data recording or reporting. “We have access to the core information inside people’s heads，” Dailly said， “They tell you what people are going to do as opposed to what they’ve done. That helps people take proper action in advance. This makes it much more useful for strategy.” Julian Dailly dismisses concerns that computers have finally taken control of our daily lives. “Some may worry that humans will be allowed to be replaced by machines. I think it’s a fantasy.” Dailly’s company focuses on businesses in ( ) .

A. marketing strategy

B. machine selling

C. staff training

D. big data research

45. I’m sure that reserves of coal here are (_____) to last for at least of half a century.

A. 　 sufficient

B. 　 efficient

C. 　 effective

D. 　 proficient

2. Passage Twenty-Six Today just as technology changed the face of industry， farmers have undergone an “agricultural revolution” . On the farm of today， machines provide all the power. One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records， so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant， how much livestock to buy， when to sell their products， and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog (猪) producers， grain farmers， potato farmers， and dairy farmers. In the future， farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm， students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power， and modern farms depend on machine power， farms of the future will depend on computer power. Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot， a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and， in some ways， think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present， farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear (修剪) sheep， drive tractors， and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example， in order to milk their cows， farmers must first drive them into the special barn (畜棚)， then connect them to the milking machines， watch the machines， and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future， this will all be done by robots. In addition， when the milking is completed， the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future， but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long. According to the passage， computers can not help farmers decide ( ) .

A. how much money they can earn from their products

B. whether to plant a certain kind of crop

C. what livestock to raise

D. when to sell their products

4. Passage Six We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching. On the contrary， both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming (把 …按能力分班) pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all， it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade! Besides， it is rather unreal to grade pupils just according to their intellectual (智力的) ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full， not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills， and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning. In our classrooms， we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate， to share， and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problems as well as how to think， to make decisions， to analyze and evaluate， and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher. Sometimes the pupils work in pairs. Sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments， and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is appropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library， and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can do advanced work. It doesn’t matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best， not their least， and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn ( ) .

A. to cooperate， to share and to develop leadership skills

B. to cope with personal problems

C. to learn how to think， to make decisions， to analyze and evaluate， and to communicate effectively

D. to do all the above things

39 The committee is totally opposed (_____)_ any changes being made in the plans.

A. 　 of

B. 　 on

C. 　 to

D. 　 against

4. Passage Nineteen A 3-year-old boy who was lost in the woods for two days is now safe at home. But Casey Hathaway told his rescuers that he was not alone in the rainy， freezing cold woods. He said he was with a friend——abear. The child went missing on January 22 while playing with friends at his grandmother’s house in the southern state of North Carolina. When the other children returned to the house and Casey did not， the family searched the area for almost an hour before calling the police. Police formed a search and rescue team to look for the young boy in the nearby woods. But two days went by and still——no Casey. The woods of North Carolina are home to many black bears， like this one. It seems one of them helped a little boy while he was lost in the woods. Then on January 24， someone called the police saying they heard a child crying in the woods. Police followed up on the information and found Casey at about 9:30 that night. They pulled him out of some briar (荆棘). He was in good health. Police Officer Chip Hughes said that Casey did not say how he was able to survive in the woods for two days in the cloud， rainy weather， but that “he did say he had a friend in the woods that was a bear that was with him. ” Hundreds of people helped in the search and rescue efforts， including some 600 volunteers， federal police and members of the military. Hughes told reporters that at no point did he think Casey had been kidnapped (绑架). Doctors at Carolina East Medical Center treated Casey for minor injuries. He was then released to his family on January 25 .When found in the woods， Casey was ( ) .

A. playing with a bear

B. badly injured by a bear

C. hiding in some briar

D. in good condition