05年同等学力申硕学位英语水平考试模考试卷二-8-

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:02:25 08:50:30
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

passage four
　　further education is officially described as the “post-secondary stage of education, comprising all vocational and nonvocational provision made for young people who have left school, or for adults”. further education thus embraces the vast range of university, technical, commercial, and art education and the wide field of adult education. it is this sector of education, which is concerned with education beyond the normal school-leaving ages of 16 or 18, that has experienced the most astonishing growth in the number of students.
in the 19th century the dominance of oxford and cambridge was challenged by the rise of the civic universities, such as london, manchester, and birmingham. following the lead of the 18th-century german universities and responding to a public demand for increased opportunity for higher education, britain’s new civic universities quickly acquired recognition—not only in technological fields but also in the fine and liberal arts.
many new post-school technical colleges were founded in the early 20th century. the fisher act of 1918 empowered the local authorities to levy a rate (tax) to finance such colleges. the universities, on the other hand, received funds from the central government through the university grants committee, established in 1911 and recognized in 1920, after world war i.
a new type of technical college was established in the 1960s—the polytechnic, which provides mainly technological courses of university level as well as courses of a general kind in the arts and sciences. polytechnics are chartered to ward degrees validated by a council for national academic awards.
thus, the tertiary level in the united kingdom is made up of colleges of further education, technical colleges, polytechnics, and universities. the colleges offer full-time and part-time courses beyond compulsory-school level. polytechnics and universities are mainly responsible for degrees and research. the innovative open university, with its flexible admission policy and study arrangements, opened in 1971. it uses various media to provide highly accessible and flexible higher education for working adults and other part-time students. it serves as an organizational model and provides course-materials for similar institutions in other countries.
changes in british education in the second half of the 20th century have, without changing the basic values in the system, extended education by population, level, and content. new areas for expansion include immigrant cultural groups and multicultural content, the accommodation of special needs, and the development of tools and content in the expanding fields of microelectronics.
46. the first paragraph is mainly about ______.
a. the definition of further education b. the history of further education
c. the development of further education d. the prospects of further education
47. it is implied in the passage that ______.
a. the dominance of oxford and cambridge was replaced by that of the new civic universities more than a century ago
b. oxford and cambridge failed to satisfy the public demand for increased opportunity for higher education
c. the rise of many civic universities immediately followed the establishment of polytechnic colleges
d. the education provided by the open university was anything but adaptable
48. how were those new post-technical colleges financed?
a. they got money from the local people.
b. they received money from the central government.
c. they got financial support from taxes.
d. both b and c
49. the word “tertiary” (para. 5) most probably means ______.
a. advanced b. senior c. highest d. third
50. the proper title for this passage should be ______.
　a. changes in british education b. british further education
　c. polytechnics and universities in britain d. increased opportunity for higher education