Nowadays, our society is being reshaped by information technologies—computers, telecommunications networks, and other digital sy

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问题     Nowadays, our society is being reshaped by information technologies—computers, telecommunications networks, and other digital systems. Of course, our society has gone through other periods of dramatic change before, driven by such innovations as the steam engine, railroad, telephone, and automobile. But never before have we experienced technologies that are evolving so rapidly, altering the constraints of time and space, and reshaping the way we communicate, learn, and think.
    The rapid development of digital technologies creates not only more opportunities for the society but challenges to it as well. Institutions of every stripe are grappling to respond by adapting their strategies and activities. It is no exaggeration to say that information technology is completely changing the relationship between people and knowledge.
    But ironically, at the most knowledge-based entities—the colleges and universities—the pace of transformation has been relatively modest. Although research has been transformed by information technology in many ways, and it is increasingly used for student and faculty communications, other higher-education functions have remained almost unchanged. For example, teaching largely continues to follow a classroom-centered, seat-based paradigm. However, some major technology-aided teaching experiments are emerging, and some factors suggest that digital technologies may eventually drive significant change throughout academia.
    American academia has undergone significant change before. The establishment of secular education began during the 18th century and the Land-Grant College Act of 1862 resulted in another transformation. That Act created institutions serving agriculture and industries; academia was no longer just for the wealthy but charged with providing educational opportunities to the working class as well. Around the year of 1900, the introduction of graduate education began to expand the role of the university in training students for careers both scholarly and professional.
    Higher education has already experienced significant technology-based change, even if it currently lags other sectors in some areas. We expect that the new technology will eventually impose a profound impact on university’s teaching by freeing the classroom from its physical and temporal bounds and by providing students with access to original source materials and that new learning communities driven by information technology will allow universities to better teach students how to be critical analyzers and consumers of information.
    The information society has greatly expanded the need for university-level education; lifelong learning is not only a private good for those who pursue it but also a social good in terms of our nation’s ability to maintain a vibrant democracy and support a competitive workforce.
The transformation resulted from the Land-Grant College Act of 1862 was______.

选项 A、the popularization of education
B、the establishment of secular education
C、the introduction of graduate education
D、the appearance of a competitive workforce

答案A

解析 本题要求考生在通读第四段的基础上进行判断。由第四段第二句“The establishment of secular education began during the 18th century(世俗教育机构建立于18世纪)”可知,世俗教育出现于法案颁布之前,所以,选项B错误。由第四段最后一句“Around the year of 1900,the introduction of graduate education…(1900年左右,研究生教育的引入…)”可知,研究生教育引进在法案颁布之后,所以,选项C错误。由第四段第三句“That Act created institutions serving agriculture and industries;academia was no longer just for the wealthy but charged with providing educational opportunities to the working class as well.(该法创立了为农业和工业服务的机构;学术不再只是为富人而设,也被要求为工人阶级提供教育机会。)”可知,法案导致了教育向工人阶级普及,所以,选项A正确。选项D在第四段没有提到。所以,本题选择A。
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