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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  33
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.
By saying "take a leaf from the further-maths textbook" (Line 3 Para. 5). the author implies that language teachers can______.
选项 A、study further-maths to broaden their knowledge
B、borrow the experience in the promotion of further maths
C、turn to teaching something really interesting
D、make better use of internet in language teaching
答案B
解析 本题考查根据上下文推测句意。题干中的短语出现在第五段第三句。在这之间文章都是围绕进阶数学科目展开介绍，而该句之后开始介绍语言教学的情况。因此这个句子是个过渡句。下文是对该句的进一步阐释：学习语言的学生人数显著减少，一个远程学习的计划可能有助于阻止这种现象。联系全文其他内容可知，语言教学面临和进阶数学同样的问题，[B]是作者试图表达的含义。
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