题目内容
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP)--Bill Gates is finally getting his Harvard degree--32 years after he walked away from the university on the path to becoming the world's wealthiest person.
Gates, billionaire co--founder of Microsoft Corp.,philanthropist(慈善家) and college dropout, will receive an honorary degree June 7 when he delivers Harvard University' s 356th graduation address.
"His contributions to the world of business and technology, and the great example he has set through his far--reaching philanthropy, will rightfully put him on center stage in Harvard Yard," Harvard Alumni Association President Paul Finnegan said in a statement.
Gates is considered a member of Harvard' s Class of 1977, which celebrates its 30th reunion this year. He first came to the university in 1973 but left in1975 to devote his time to developing Microsoft, which he founded that year with childhood friend Paul Allen.
Gates helped turn Redmond, Wash--based Microsoft into the world's largest maker of computer software, with revenues of more than $ 44 billion during the year 2006. He was the company's chief executive(首席执行官)until 2000 and still serves as chairman.
Gates and his wife, Melinda, created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000,which is now the world's largest philanthropic foundation with an endowment(捐赠资金) of about $ 33 billion. The foundation concentrates on promoting global health, ending poverty and hunger, and enhancing education. The Gates Foundation also is a major donor to Harvard.
Jack Reardon, Harvard's associate vice president for university relations, said there was no particular reason why the university waited until this year to honor Gates. He said Harvard considers many people for honorary degrees every year.
Forbes magazine earlier this year estimated Gates' worth at $ 56 billion, making him the world's richest person.
1. Which of the following is probably the best title of this passage?
A. Bill Gates to become the world's richest person
B. Bill Gates to give Harvard graduation address
C. Bill Gates to create the largest philanthropic foundation
D. Bill Gates to retire from Microsoft's chief executive
2. Bill Gates will receive an honorary degree from Harvard because
A. he is considered a member of Harvard's Class of 1977
B. he founded Microsoft and made it the world's largest maker of computer software
C. he is considering celebrating his 30th reunion in Harvard University this year
D. he has made great contributions to the world of business as well as philanthropy
3. The underlined word "enhancing" in the 6th paragraph probably means
A. enriching B. improving C. moving D. strengthening
4. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. There have ever been 355 graduation addresses since.
B. In 1975 Microsoft was founded by Gates and Paul Allen.
C. Gates was one of the excellent graduates from Harvard.
D. The Gates Foundation has donated a lot of money to Harvard.
5. We can conclude that Gates
A. will devote more of his energy to solving global problems
B. would have been more successful with entire education in Harvard
C. will not be willing to accept the honorary degrees from Harvard
D. cares more about his reputation than anything else in the world
BDBCA
In a recent announcement, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)said that they have joined forces to offer free online courses in an effort to attract millions of online learners worldwide.
Beginning this fall, a number of courses developed by teachers at both universities will be offered online through a new $60 million program, known as edX. “Anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world can use our online courses,” Harvard President Drew Faust said during a meeting to announce the plan.
MIT has offered a program called OpenCourseWare for ten years that makes materials from more than 2,000 classes free online. It has been used by more than 100 million people. In December, the school announced it also would begin offering a special certificate, known as MITx, for people who complete certain online courses. Harvard has long offered courses to a wider population through a similar program.
The MITx will serve as the foundation for the new learning platform.
MIT President Susan Hockfield said more than 120,000 people signed up for the first MITx course. She said Harvard and MIT hope other universities will join them in offering courses on the open-source edX platform.
“Fasten your seatbelts,” Hockfield said.
Other universities, including Stanford, Yale and Carnegie-Mellon, have been experimenting with teaching to a global population online.
The Harvard-MIT program will be monitored by a not-for-profit(非盈利的)organization based in Cambridge, to be owned equally by the two universities. Both MIT and Harvard have provided $30 million to start the program. They also plan to use the edX platform to research how students learn and which teaching methods and tools are most successful.
【小题1】According to this text, edX is _______.
A.a part of the free MIT OpenCourseWare |
B.a free computer program by MIT and Harvard |
C.a Harvard-MIT platform of free online courses |
D.a free program online for universities worldwide |
A.Universities have been trying online courses. |
B.About 2,000 online courses have been offered. |
C.Over 100 million people have finished courses online. |
D.Stanford and Yale together have courses similar to edX. |
A.Get ready for the difficulties |
B.Get ready for this educational change |
C.Get prepared to complete the online courses |
D.Get prepared to make materials for the edX courses |
A.It is first offered as part of the edX learning program. |
B.It is another free MIT-Harvard online learning program. |
C.It is a standard to recognize online learners’ achievement. |
D.It is a new kind of free online course of Harvard and MIT. |
(NEW YORK)---Scientists have discovered small signs of awareness in some vegetative(植物人的) brain injury patients and have even communicated with one of them---findings that are beneficial to how to assess and care for such people.
The new research suggests that standard tests may ignore patients who have some consciousness, and that someday some kind of communication may be possible.
In the strongest example, a 29-year-old patient was able to answer yes-or-no questions by picturing specific scenes the doctors asked him to imagine.
“We were stunned when this happened,” said one study author, Martin Monti of the Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. “I find it really amazing. This was a patient who was believed to be vegetative for five years.”
Ever since a research paper four years ago described obvious signs of awareness in a vegetative patient, families of patients have been demanding brain scans, said Dr. James Bernat, a spokesman for the American Academy for Neurology.
But experts said more study is needed before the specialized brain scans could be used in medical treatment. “It’s still a research tool,” Bernat said.
Experts also pointed out that only a few tested patients showed evidence of awareness. And they said it is not clear what degree of consciousness and mental abilities the signs imply.
They also noted that the positive signals appeared only in people with traumatic(外伤的) brain injury---not in patients whose brains had been lacking in oxygen, as can happen when the heart stops.
The new study used brain scanning called functional MRI, for 23 patients in a vegetative state and 31 that are minimally(极微地) conscious.
Patients are said to be in a vegetative state if they are tested and found unable to do such things as move on command or follow a moving object with their eyes. Minimally conscious patients show signs of awareness, but they are minimal and discontinuous.
1. What is the practical use of the research?
A.It leads to studying how to cure vegetative patients. |
B.It attracts society to pay more attention to vegetative patients. |
C.It helps doctors know whether patients are vegetative or not. |
D.It drives the government to care about vegetative patients. |
2.What does the underlined word “stunned” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A.Relaxed |
B.Amazed |
C.Excited |
D.Worried |
3.One is considered vegetative if _______________.
A.his eyes can’t follow a moving thing |
B.his brain only has a little oxygen |
C.he has a traumatic brain injury |
D.his heart stops beating |
4.The passage mainly deals with ________________.
A.how to recognize a vegetative patient |
B.the significance of a new scientific finding |
C.how family members look after a vegetative patient |
|
D.the latest findings on awareness in some vegetative patients |