Distanceeducation is enrollment and study with an educational institution that provideslesson materials prepared in a sequential and logical order for study bystudents on their own. When each lesson is completed, the student mails ortransmits the assigned work to the institution for correction, grading,comment, and subject matter guidance by qualified instructors. Correctedassignments are returned promptly to the student. This exchange provides apersonalized student-teacher relationship. If a student slows his or her paceor fails to send assignments, the school provides encouragement. Although someinstitutions provide employment placement information and assistance, noreputable school ever guarantees a job to graduates.

Distanceeducation and self-study are different. Self-study materials provide noinstructional service. Corrected assignments, examinations, and special helpprovided by a qualified facility are vital to a good learning situation.However, these are not part of self-study. There are many self-study coursesand recordings available, and they may have value, but they are clearly notcorrespondence or distance education courses. Some institutions offercombination courses that provide training-in-residence for students whocomplete their distance education lessons. In-service or on-the-job training isrequired or provided with other courses and is a feature of many vocationaldistance education programs.

Quality distanceeducation institutions screen prospective students to assure that only those whocan benefit from the courses are enrolled. While there are educationalprerequisites for some academic subjects, interest and aptitude are the primaryfactors leading to success in most distance education courses. Because theyprovide alternative educational opportunities, distance education institutionstry not to deny a prospective student the opportunity to succeed in a course—interest and experience aregood indicators of future success.

Distanceeducation courses vary greatly in scope, level, and length. Some have fewlessons and require only weeks to complete, while others have a hundred or moreassignments requiring three or four years of conscientious study. Also, a widevariety of subjects are offered. Subjects include yacht design, accounting,medical transcription, nutrition, robotics, travel agent training, gun-repair,gem identification, computer programming, catering and cooking, and earning anentire high school diploma, just to name a few.

There is anincreasing recognition of “distance education” and many colleges offer credit fortheir distance learning courses or accept some distance education credits ofresident students working toward a degree. In fact, many distance educationinstitutions award their own academic degrees. Acceptance of students andawarding of academic credit is the prerogative of the receiving academicinstitution. Also, the employing organization may set its own credit acceptancepolicies.

1．Which of the following questions doesthe passage seek to answer?

A. Why isdistance education important to the modern society?

B. What isdistance education?

C. How doesdistance education differ from self-study?

D. How isdistance education different from college education?

2．Which of the following is true ofdistance education?

A. The majorityof the students fail to pass its examinations.

B. Personaltutors are assigned to students to offer regular help.

C. Teachers andstudents communicate through correspondence.

D. The coursesare set up to suit the pace of each individual student.

3．Distance education is different fromself-study in that it ______.

A. providestraining-in-residence for students

B. caters to theinterest of each individual student

C. is availableto a vast majority of students

D. offersinstructional service to students

4．In the third paragraph, the word“prospective” probably means ______.

A. intelligent

B. future

C. successful

D. hardworking

5．It is implied in the passage thatstudents of distance education ______.

A. enjoy greaterfreedom in choosing the subjects to study

B. do not haveto meet any enrolling requirement at all

C. take longerto complete their study than college students

D. can usuallyenter college to work toward a degree

【答案与解析】

1．B 通读全文可知，文章主题就是“什么是远程教育”。

2．C 在第二段中，作者指出：“远程教育不同于自学，自学无通信或远程课程”，故远程教育可使师生通过通讯或媒体进行交流。

3．D 远程教育区别于自学的主要一点就是它向学生提供 “instructional service”。

4．B prospective的英文释义为“concerned with or applying to the future”，即“有希望的、有前途的”，根据上下文意思同样容易得出。

5．A 根据第四段，我们可推断出学生在选择所学的课程中，有较大的自由。 OFiK0zD0Odew+Qe5DJPhBPRQFJ/Sbp5F9rl7dK31GQfjY950LYuvDEO8YT8l9SYt