Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
In the coming era of budget cuts to education, distance learning could become the norm.
The temptation for those in charge of education budgets to trade teachers for technology could be so strong that they ignore the disadvantages of distance learning. School facilities are expensive to build and maintain, and teachers are expensive to employ. Online classes do not require buildings and each class can host hundreds of people simultaneously, resulting in greater savings, thus increasing the temptation of distance education for those concerned more about budgets than learning. But moving away from a traditional classroom in which a living, breathing human being teaches and interacts with students daily would be a disaster. Physically attending school has hidden benefits: getting up every morning, interacting with peers, and building relationships with teachers are essential skills to cultivate in young people. Moreover, schools should be more than simple institutions of traditional learning. They are now places that provide meals. They are places where students receive counseling and other support.
Those policy-makers are often fascinated by the latest technology in education and its potential to "transform" education overnight. But online education does not allow a teacher to keep a struggling student after class and offer help. Educational videos may deliver academic content, but they are unable to make eye contact or assess a student's level of engagement. Distance education will never match the personal teaching in a traditional classroom. In their first 18 years of life, American children spend only 9% of their time in school. Yet teachers are expected to prepare them to be responsible citizens, cultivate their social skills, encourage successful time management, and enhance their capacity to flourish in an increasingly harsh labor market. Given these expectations, schools should not become permanently "remote".
The power of the classroom is rooted in the humanity of the people gathered in the same place, at the same time. Personal teaching is about teachers showing students a higher path, and about young people going through the process together. Technology, no matter how advanced, should simply be a tool of a good teacher.
1. What mainly accounts for the possibility that distance learning could become the norm?
A) Advances in education technology.
B) Shrinking financial resources.
C) Shortage of school facilities.
D) Lack of qualified teachers.
2. What does the author say is one possible benefit of students attending school physically?
A) Developing the habit of getting up early.
B) Eating nutritionally well-balanced meals.
C) Growing into living and breathing human beings.
D) Cultivating relationships with peers and teachers.
3. What does the author think of the latest technology in education?
A) It may have potential disadvantages.
B) It may render many teachers jobless.
C) It may add to students' financial burden.
D) It may revolutionize classroom teaching.
4. What does the author say teachers are expected to do?
A) Enhance students' leadership capacity.
B) Elevate students to managerial positions.
C) Enable students to adapt to the changes in life.
D) Prepare students to be competitive in the future.
5. Why couldn,t technology replace a good teacher?
A) It lacks humanity.
B) It is still immature.
C) It cannot track students' growth.
D) It cannot cater to personal needs.
答案解析：
1. 根据“In the coming era of budget cuts to education, distance learning could become the norm.”以及后文对教育预算削减下远程教育优势的阐述，可知主要是财政资源缩减使得远程学习可能成为常态，所以选B。
2. 根据“Physically attending school has hidden benefits: getting up every morning, interacting with peers, and building relationships with teachers are essential skills to cultivate in young people.”可知，作者认为学生亲自上学的一个可能好处是培养与同龄人和老师的关系，所以选D。
3. 根据“Those policy - makers are often fascinated by the latest technology in education and its potential to 'transform' education overnight. But...Distance education will never match the personal teaching in a traditional classroom.”可知，作者认为最新教育技术可能有潜在缺点，所以选A。
4. 根据“Yet teachers are expected to prepare them to be responsible citizens, cultivate their social skills, encourage successful time management, and enhance their capacity to flourish in an increasingly harsh labor market.”可知，作者说老师被期望让学生为未来有竞争力做好准备，所以选D。
5. 根据“The power of the classroom is rooted in the humanity of the people gathered in the same place, at the same time. Personal teaching is about teachers showing students a higher path, and about young people going through the process together. Technology, no matter how advanced, should simply be a tool of a good teacher.”可知，技术不能取代好老师是因为它缺乏人性，所以选A。
