The Open University in Britain

1    In 1963 the leader of the Labor Party made a speech explaining plans for a “university of the air ”1-an educational system which would make use of television, radio and correspondence courses.2 Many people laughed at the idea ,but it became part of the Labor Party ‘programmed to give educational opportunity to those people who, for one reason or another, had not had a chance to receive further education.

2    By 1969plans were well advanced and by August 1970 the Open University, as it is now called, had received400, 000 applications. Only 20,000 could be accepted for the four “foundation “courses offered: social sciences, arts, science and mathematics. Unsuccessful candidates were told to apply again the following year, when a foundation course in technology would also be offered.

3    The first teaching programmers appeared on the air and screen in January1971, with clerks, farm workers, housewives, teachers, policemen and many others as students. Correspondence units had been carefully prepared and science students were given devices for a small home laboratory. Study centers have been set up all over the country so that students can attend once a week, and once a year they will spend a week at one of the university’s summer schools.

4   It has been nearly 30years since the Open University started to offer courses. Nowit is a very important part of the British educational system. Not only does it offer foundation courses like those mentioned above, it also carries out very advanced scientific researches, some of which lead to Master’s or Ph.D. Degrees. Many other countries have started similar educational programmers following the successful example of the Open University in Britain.

1. Paragraph1

2．Paragraph2

3．Paragraph3

4．Paragraph4

A. Progress since its founding

B. Special facilities of the university

C. Enrollment in the early days

D. Teaching staff of the university

E. Plans for easy access to further education for the masses

F. Educational programs provided by the university

5．In Britain, besides taking academic courses on TV and on radio, people can also _____.

6．The Labor Party was the first party in Britain that _____.

7．In 41971,the Open University first started, there were more applicants _____.

8．When the Open University first started, there were more applicants than it _____.

A．put forward the ideal of founding the open university.

B. could admit

C. learn through correspondence

D. offer foundation courses in technology

E. charge students a low tuition fee

F. appeared on the air and screen

Passage 2

The Mir Space Station

      The Russian Mir Space Station, which came down in 2001 at last after 15 years of pioneering the concept of long-term human space flight, is remembered for its accomplishments in the human space flight history. It can be credited with many firsts in space.

     During Mir's lifetime, Russia spent about US$4.2 billion to build and maintain the station.

     The Soviet Union launched Mir, which was designed to last from three to five years, on February 20, 1986, and housed 104 astronauts over 12 years and seven months, most of whom were not Russian. In fact, it became the first international space station by playing host to 62 people from 11 countries. From 1995 through 1998, seven astronauts from the United States took turns living on Mir for up to six months each. They were among the 37 Americans who visited the station during nine stopovers by space shuttles.

     The more than 400 million the United States provided Russian for the visits not only kept Mir operating, but also gave the Americans and their partners in the international station project valuable experience in long-term flight and multinational operations.

A debate continues over Mir's contributions to science. During its existence, Mir was the laboratory for 23,000 experiments and carried scientific equipment, estimated to be worth $80 million, from many nations. Experiments on Mir are credited with a range of findings, from the first solid measurement of the ration of heavy helium atoms in space to how to grow wheat in space. But for those favoring human space exploration, Mir showed that people could live and work in space long enough for a trip to Mars. The longest single stay in space is the 437.7 days that Russian astronaut Valery Polyakov spent on Mir from 1994 to 1995. And Sergie Avdeyev accumulated 747.6 days in space in three trips to the space station. The longest American stay was that of Shannon Lucid, who spent 188 days aboard Mir in 1996.

     Despite the many firsts Mir accomplished, 1997 was a bad year out of 15 for Mir. In 1997, an oxygen generator caught fire. Later, the main computer system broke down, causing the station to drift several times and there were power failures.

     Most of these problems were repaired, with American help and suppliers, but Mir's reputation as a space station was ruined.

     Mir's setbacks are nothing, though, when we compare them with its accomplishments. Mir was a tremendous success, which will be remembered as a milestone in space exploration and the space station that showed long-term human habitation in space was possible. But it's time to move on to the next generation. The International Space Station being built will be better, but it owes a great debt to Mir.

1.  Paragraph 4

2.  Paragraph 5

3.  Paragraph 6

4.  Paragraph 8

A   Rewards following the U.S. financial injection

B Mir's firsts in scientific experiments and space exploration

C   Undeniable Mir's achievements

D   Mir regarded as a complete failure

E   Mir's problem year

F   A great debt owned to the International Space Station

5.   Mir enhanced the confidence in the scientists that humans living in space for a long time was  ..........

6.   In Mir, the U.S. astronauts created  ..........

7.   When we think of Mir in terms of its achievements, its setbacks are  ..........

8.   The writer tends to think that Mir was  ..........

A   everything.

B   nothing.

C   a tremendous failure.

D   quite possible.

E   many firsts.

F   a great success.

参考答案

The Open University in Britain

1．E。该段介绍了面向大众的“空中教学”计划。

2．C  本段介绍了建校初期的招生人数。

3．B  这段讲了开放大学的一些特殊的教学方式和设施。

4．A  本段讲了建校三十多年来各方面的发展。

4．C  从语意上看C合适（在英国，除了在电视和收音机里学习课程，人们也能通过函授学习。）。文章在第三段里讲到在各地设立函授点。

5．A  A在语意上最合适（工党是英国第一家提出建立开放大学这一设想的政党。）。而文章一开始就讲到开放大学这一设想是工党先提出来的。

6．D  第二段的最后一句确定的语意上的选择（提供技术方面的基础课程）。

7．B  第二段涉及该问题。

The Mir Space Station

1．  A    该段只有一句话。而该句话的主语就是“货币投入-- more than 400 million”，而与该主语相呼应的只有A（美国资金投入的回报），这样没有读句子就直接确认答案了。实际上该句谈到：美国的经济支持不仅使和平号空间站的航行得以继续，而且使美国及其他国家的宇航员取得了在宇宙空间长时间航行和多国合作的经验。

2．  B    该段一开始（段首句）就提到了“和平号”的贡献问题。而在该段中列举了和平号空间站取得的一些“第一”和“之最”。对比备选项，不难发现B（和平号在科学实验和太空探索上所取得的“第一”）是合适的答案。

3.  E    该段的句子不复杂，我们不难在该段段首句发现“a bad year”，并在段末发现“failures”这样的字眼，对比备选项不难确认E（和平号遇到不少麻烦的一年）是正确的。

4.  C    第8段是文章的最后一段。我们不难在该段的段首句（和平号出现的问题与其取得的成就相比是微不足道的）和段尾句（正在兴建的国际太空站将会更好，但是这一成就很大程度上归功于和平号）读出作者对和平号空间站积极的评价。

5．  D   从语法上说除了E以外，其他的选项都可以。该句的前面部分说“和平号增加了人们的信念，使人们相信人类在太空长时间的生活是。。”，从搭配语意上看D（很可能的）合适。

6．  E    从语法上说剩下的被选项都合适。该句的前句说“在和平号上，美国宇航员创造了。。”，从搭配语意上看E（许多“第一”）合适。

7．  B    该句的前面部分说“当我们考虑到和平号的成就，它的缺点是。。”，从搭配语意上看B（算不了什么）合适。

8．  F   该句前面部分说“作者认为和平号是。。。”。实际上我们在为文章最后一段选小标题时已经注意到作者对和平号的积极的评价。所以选择答案F（一个巨大的成功）。