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Distance Learning in Britain In times of inflation, smart investors look for a safe haven. So, with universities complaining

admin2013-07-11  60
问题                         Distance Learning in Britain
    In times of inflation, smart investors look for a safe haven. So, with universities complaining about grade inflation and Cambridge warning applicants away from 20 fluffy A-level subjects, it is perhaps not surprising that the fastest-growing A-level by far is "further mathematics", the second, harder exam in what is already seen as one of the hardest subjects of all.
    In the past scientifically-minded boys at selective schools would take A-levels in maths, further maths and physics, and then study yet more maths at university. But recently many comprehensive schools, without enough keen A-level students to justify redirecting a precious maths teacher from teaching the basics to younger students, have dropped further maths entirely. Students, meanwhile, have been lured away by fancy new subjects such as media studies and information technology. Afraid of turning away talented state-school applicants, most universities stopped asking for further maths, even for maths or physics degrees—removing any remaining inclination among state schools to offer the subject.
    The number of students taking A-level further maths fell from around 15,000 in the late 1980s to a low of some 5,000 by the late 1990s. Now, however, it is picking up. Last summer 7,270 students took the exam, up more than a fifth on the previous year. And this autumn, for the first time, every A-level student in England can study further maths, if not at school, then at one of the 46 centres set up by the Further Mathematics Network (FMN). And a clever redesign of the syllabus has made it easier to teach further maths over two years along with standard maths, thus boosting its popularity.
    Universities are delighted to see the return of students who need less hand holding. John Begg, who runs the FMN centre in Manchester, says that more than half of maths undergraduates at the city’s university have done further maths, up from a quarter just a few years ago. The maths department at the University of Warwick, one of the top-ranked in the country, is thinking of requiring further maths again, for the first time in more than a decade. For students, the main attraction of the subject is getting a qualification with hard-currency purchasing power. Maths departments are so keen on candidates with further maths that they often accept them with lower grades in other subjects. And students looking for places on sought-after courses such as medicine and veterinary science see advanced maths as a way to stand out.
    There are signs, too, that the wider availability of further maths will boost the dwindling number of maths teachers. More graduates may be willing to pass up tempting salaries elsewhere for the chance of teaching something really interesting. Language teachers might also take a leaf from the further-maths textbook. Since 2004, when studying a foreign language beyond age 14 became optional in state schools, the number of students taking a language at GCSE has dropped dramatically. Some students have quit with relief, but others have been put off by schools that now schedule languages against other subjects. A distance-learning scheme might help to stem that decline too.
From the text we can infer that "A-level" is probably a kind of
选项 A、subject studied in high schools
B、degree granted by universities
C、qualification for the entrance into a university
D、exam taken by academically talented students
答案C
解析 本题考查推理引申。A-level是本文的关键词，它在文章中反复出现。第一段第二句提到，剑桥大学警告申请者不要选择20个轻松而简单的A-level科目。第二段提到A—level科目包括：数学、进阶数学、物理、传媒科学和信息技术；该段末句还提到，为了将有天赋的州立学校的申请者招收进来，大部分大学不再对进阶数学这个A—level科目提出要求。第三段末句提到，英国每一个A—level学生可以在学校或中心学习进阶数学。由文中给出的信息，我们能推知A-level是大学对申请者的一种要求，因此[C]正确。从以上内容可以看出，A-level本身不是指具体的科目，排除[A]；也不是指完成大学学业后获得的学历，排除[B]。文中虽然提到进阶数学的考试很难，以及它是精英中学里有科学头脑的男孩选择的科目，但是不能由此推出所有A-level科目都必须由有学术才能的学生选择，[D]无从推知。
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