Now online provision is transforming higher education, giving the best universities a chance to widen their catch, opening new opportunities for the agile, and threatening doom for the slow and average. The roots are decades old. Britain’s Open University started teaching via radio and television in 1971. MIT and others have been posting lectures on the Internet for a decade. But the change in 2012 has been electrifying. Two start-ups, both spawned by Stanford University, are recruiting students at an astonishing rate for “massive open online courses“ or MOOCs. In January, Sebastian Thrun, a computer-science professor there, announced the launch of Udacity. It started to offer courses the next month — a nanosecond by the standards of old-style university decision-making. In April, two of Mr. Thrun’s ex-colleagues launched a rival, Coursera. At first, it offered online courses from four universities. By August, it had signed up 1 million students, now boasting over 2 million. Harvard and MIT announced they would launch edX, a non-profit venture. Other schools have joined, too. One spur is economic and political pressure to improve productivity in higher education. The cost per student in the U.S. has risen at almost five times the rate of inflation since 1983. For universities beset by heavy debts, smaller taxpayer subsidies and a cyclical decline in enrollment, online courses mean better tuition, higher graduation rates and lower-cost degrees. New technology also gives the innovative a chance to shine against their rivals. MOOCs are more than good university lectures available online. The real innovation comes from integrating academic talks with interactive coursework, such as automated tests, quizzes and even games. Real-life lectures have no pause, rewind (or fast-forward) buttons; MOOCs let students learn at their own pace, typically with short, engaging videos. The cost of the courses can be spread over huge numbers of students. MOOCs enrich education for worldwide students, especially the cash-strapped, and those dissatisfied with what their own colleges are offering. But for others, especially in poor countries, online education opens the door to yearning for opportunities. Some of Europe’s best schools are determinedly unruffled. Oxford says that MOOCs “will not prompt it to change anything“, adding that it “does not see them as revolutionary in anything other than scale“. Cambridge even says it is “nonsense“ to see MOOCs as a rival; it is “not in the business of online education“. Such universities are likely to continue to attract the best (and richest) applicants who want personal tuition and the whiff of research in the air. For these places, MOOCs are chiefly a marketing opportunity. To compete head-on with established providers, MOOCs must not just teach but also provide credible qualifications. The vast majority of Coursera, Udacity and edX offerings do not provide a degree. This may be one reason for MOOCs’ high dropout rates. Another worry is that online tests are open to cheating and plagiarism. Peer grading even if honest, may be flawed.

The word “MOOCs“ underlined in Paragraph 2 is______.

A．a shortened version of “massive online open courses“

B．abbreviated from “massive open online courses“

C．another type of open classroom courses

D．equivalent to flipped classroom teaching

From Paragraph 1, we can know that______.

A．online education programs spring up like mushrooms

B．Udacity, Coursera and edX are not rivals

C．other schools have joined Stanford and Harvard

D．Online courses are offered by non-profit universities

Compared with real-life lectures, MOOCs are offered to______.

A．allow students to pause during academic talks

B．encourage students to rewind the buttons to track the tapes

C．enable students to learn in their classrooms with videos

D．integrate academic talks with interactive coursework

Paragraph 5 indicates that some of the best European universities______.

A．cannot remain calm in the face of MOOCs

B．regard MOOCs as a revolution in higher education

C．prefer traditional education to online provisions

D．attract the best applicants to challenge online courses

The phrase “a marketing opportunity“ underlined in Paragraph 5 suggests______.

A．some universities use MOOCs as a publicity facility only

B．students can obtain their degrees with the lowest costs

C．MOOCs, as any other online courses, mean better tuitions

D．MOOCs can reduce financial pressure on the universities

The MOOCs’ dropout rate is high because______.

A．they lose to the established providers

B．they don’t allow students to cheat in online tests

C．they are not aware of the importance of qualifications

D．most courses offered don’t provide degrees

The phrase “peer grading“ underlined in the last paragraph means______.

A．the honesty of students

B．the flaws in students’ characters

C．students’ assessment of their classmates

D．students of the same age and social status

The passage implies that online courses are______.

A．transforming higher education

B．creating new opportunities for the best

C．bringing some problems to the rest of students

D．helping improve traditional classroom instruction

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Any scientist who is not a hypocrite will admit the important part that______plays in the scientific discovery. project research genius luck

Although some insist that all behaviors are learned, there are others who hold that some behaviors are______, existing before any learning occurs. negligent durable innate customary

No matter how______snowmobiles are driven, they are capable of damaging the land over which they travel. dangerously seriously technically discreetly

Nowadays many people are frustrated with serious______, especially when faced with something they do not want to do. delinquency deficiency delay defence

Because their roots are external and their leaf bases clasp, palm trees are rigid and upright, yet elastic enough to bend in strong winds. eligible flexible thin soft

The following excerpt is the beginning of a memoir, published in 1989, by a woman who emigrated with her family from Poland to Canada when she was a teenager. dissertation introduction publication selection

The Internet is rapidly becoming another means of disseminating information traditionally made available through radio and television stations. creating interpreting spreading expressing

Flints’ finds in the region extending from the Nile Valley to the highlands of eastern Iraq testify to the presence of people as long as 100, 000 years ago. prophesy demonstrate imply mention

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No matter how many readers already revere Amy Tan, their appreciation for her will grow 10 fold after experiencing these unforgettable revelations. value admire familiarize memorize

A UK study revealed that the children who demonstrated the highest measure of happiness came from families in which both parents worked outside the home. layer tier degree scale

Even those who do not concur with Robinson’s views recognize him as a candidate who has courageously refused to compromise his convictions. ally agree aspire argue

The two knights engaged in a perilous fight. It would not end until one of them lay dead on the ground. serious divided risky humble

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Hunted as the wild turkey is, it has developed a high degree of ingenuity in escaping from its pursuers. It appears to have learned a game of make-【C1】______. When caught 【C2】______ close quarters, it puts on the tame and【C3】______ demeanor of the domesticated bird. Dr. Wheaton mentions a case【C4】______ two hunters of his acquaintance came suddenly upon a【C5】______ of five in the road. They seemed quite【C6】______, walked deliberately in front of the two gunners, 【C7】______ a fence, and disappeared slowly 【C8】______ a low hill. Then they【C9】______ to their legs, and presently to their wings, and soon placed a wide【C10】______ between themselves and their dupes. The chagrin of the sportsmen may be imagined. The【C11】______ had made a game of them. Such birds Wheaton would have called “【C12】______ civilized“. Yet turkeys are wise in some respects and foolish in others. In old times, at【C13】______, great numbers were caught in【C14】______ built of logs, the only entrance【C15】______which was through a shallow, narrow trench. The【C16】______ birds, following the corn which had been scattered in the trench, 【C17】______ through the entrance; when perhaps half a dozen of them were inside, and the bait was all eaten, they tried in【C18】______ to get out through the top or sides of the pen, never once looking down and passing【C19】______ by the way they had come in, even though they might remain in the trap for several days, or until they【C20】______ of hunger.

______was the first to offer the open lectures.