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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  56
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.
There was a sharp decline in the number of students taking A-level further-maths, because______.
选项 A、most students found the subject too difficult to learn
B、maths teachers preferred to teach basics
C、students were given more choices in their subjects
D、many universities did not require it as a compulsory subject for admission
答案D
解析 本题考查因果细节。根据题干定位到第三段首句，该句提到从80年代末至90代末学习A-level进阶数学的学生人数急剧下降。第二段集中分析了造成这种现象的三点原因：(1)A-level学生中热衷于学习数学的不多，不足以让基础课的数学老师转教A-level数学；(2)学生被新科目吸引；(3)为了招收有天赋的州立学校的学生，大部分大学不再对进阶数学提出要求。[D]是第三个原因的概括，是正确项。[A]在文中没有提及；[B]将文中“数学老师没有转教A-level数学的客观理由“偷换为”数学老师的主观倾向”，不正确。第二个原因强调“新科目对学生的吸引力”，并不是“可供选择的科目多”，排除[C]。
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