Passage One

　　Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:

　　W hat is the importance of the Afro American history to all Americans? How could Afro Americans contribute anything to American history when they were just slaves and servants? This is the image which many of us are taught when　we go to school. This is the image many Afro Americans have of themselves also. The Afro Americans need to remake their real historical image so that it is　known and accepted in its truthfulness by themselves and the rest of the world. Men and women of darker color are human beings entitled to respect and acceptance in history.　When we think of famous scientists and inventors we immediately think of men such as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Jonas E.Salk. This is because we associate famous people with the Anglo Saxon race. But what　about the Afro American inventors and scientists? How many men during World War Ⅰ owe their lives to Garrett Morgan who invented the gas mask? Garrett Morgan also invented the traffic light which saves numerous lives on our streets. Daniel Hale Williams was the first successful heart surgeon. Charles Drew saved hundreds of thousands of lives during World War II by his discovery　of the ways and means of preserving blood plasma. Percy Julian has helped millions suffering from the excruciating pain of arthritis. These men and others should be as easily recognized as Bell, Edison and Salk.

　　America is made up of many different blends of cultures. These many cultures have come to enrich and diversify the American way of life. We should　not think, because history has neglected to include the background of a particular culture, that these people have an inferior history. We should search for the truth and set the record straight against the slanders, the stereotyping and false images which have identified these people. We should understand each of the cultures and learn of their specific contribution to America's life　story.

　　Only after we are taught the complete and accurate history of our great country and learn that the blending of cultures and backgrounds gives us ourstrength, can we go forward on the path to peace.

　　36. The function of the first paragraph is to ____.

　　A) present the main idea or the summary of the essay

　　B) present an introduction to the topic

　　C) provide background to the main theme

　　D) present many cultures have contributed to American history

　　37. Which of the following statements is true?

　　A) Graham Bell, T.Edison and J.E.Salk are not very important people.

　　B) Black people who contribute to society should have equal recognition with their white colleagues.

　　C) We should not associate famous people with the Anglo Saxon race only.

　　D) G.Morgan, D.H.Williams and Charles Drew were not Afro Americans.

　　38. Paragraph three tells us that ____.

　　A) we should oppose slander and stereotyping

　　B) the American way of life is richer because it is made up of many cultures

　　C) some cultures have been completely neglected

　　D) Afro Americans have an inferior history

　　39. The word “image” refers to ____.

　　A) picture B) portray C) impression D) similar

　　40. The main idea of the passage is ____.

　　A) There are many Afro Americans who are famous as scientists and inventors

　　B) Many Afro Americans have devoted to American history

　　C) Afro American experience to American history

　　D) Afro American history must be recognized as an important part of American history

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 56-60 are based on the followingpassage.

　　Byalmost any measure, there is a boom in Intemet-based instruction. In just a fewyears,34 percent ofAmerican universities have begun offering some form ofdistance learning (DL), and among the larger schools,it's closer to 90 percent.If you doubt the popularity of the trend, you probably haven't heard of theUniversity ofPhoenix. It grants degrees entirely on the basis of onlineinstruction. It enrolls 90,000 students, a statistic used tosupport its claimto be the largest private university in the country.

　　Whilethe kinds of instruction offered in these programs will differ, DL usuallysignifies a course in which theinstructors post syllabi( 课程大纲), reading assignments, and schedules on Websites, and students sendin theirassignments by e-mail. Generally speaking, face-to-face communicationwith an instructor is minimized oreliminated altogether.

　　Theattraction for students might at first seem obvious. Primarily, there's theconvenience promised by courseson the Net: you can do the work, as they say, inyour pajamas ( 睡衣). But figures indicate that the reducedeffortresults in a reduced commitment to the course. While dropout rates for allfreshmen at American universitiesis around 20 percent, the rate for onlinestudents is 35 percent. Students themselves seem to understand theweaknessesinherent in the setup. In a survey conducted for eComell, the DL division ofComell University, lessthan a third of the respondents expected the quality ofthe online course to be as good as the classroom course.

　　Clearly,from the schools' perspective, there's a lot of money to be saved. Althoughsome of the moreambitious programs require new investments in servers andnetworks to support collaborative software, most DLcourses can run on existingor minimally upgraded(升级)systems. The more students who enroll in acourse butdon't come to campus, the more the school saves on keeping the lightson in the classrooms, paying doorkeepers,and maintaining parking lots. Andthere's evidence that instructors must work harder to run a DL course foravariety of reasons, they won't be paid any more, and might well be paid less.

　　56、What is the most striking feature of theUniversity of Phoenix?

　　A.Allits courses are offered online.

　　B.Itsonline courses are of the best quality.

　　C.It boasts the largest number of studentson campus.

　　D.Anyone taking its online courses is sure to get a degree.

　　57、According to the passage, distance learning isbasically characterized by____

　　A.aconsiderable flexibility in its academic requirements

　　B.the great diversity ofstudents' academic backgrounds

　　C.a minimum or total absence of face-to'faceinstruction

　　D.the casual relationship between students and professors

　　58、Manystudents take Internet-based courses mainly because they can ____

　　A.earntheir academic degrees With much less effort

　　B.savea great deal on traveling and boarding expenses

　　C.select courses from variouscolleges and universities

　　D.work on the required courses whenever andwherever

　　59、What accounts for the high dropout rates for online students?

　　A.Thereis no strict control over the academic standards of the courses.

　　B.Theevaluation system used by online universities is inherently weak.

　　C.There is nomechanism to ensure that they make the required effort.

　　D.Lack of classroominteraction reduces the effectiveness of instruction.

　　60、According to the passage, universities showgreat enthusiasm for DL programs for the purpose of____

　　A.building up their reputation

　　B.cutting down on their expenses

　　C.upgrading their teaching facilities

　　D.providing convenience for students