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．
(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
(2)
What is said about online education in the text?
[ ]
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．
(3)
The underlined part in the text probably means “________”．
[ ]
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
(4)
What can be said about MITx according to the text?
[ ]
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．
Student Date of Birth：19/08/1988 Department of Education and Training
International Students Centre
Hong Xue 827-839 George Street PO Box 707
60 Waratah Street Broadway NSW 21007
Croydon Park NSW 2133 Phone：(612)9217 4801 1300 302 456
Fax：(612)9212 6721
http：//www.tafensw.edu.au/international/
WARNING LETTER
Dear Hong Xue,
As you are aware, your student visa regulations set out a number of conditions applying to your visa．It has come to our attention that you are failing to meet the following conditions：You must maintain accommodation, support and general welfare arrangements that have been approved by your education provider if you：
●have not turned 18; and
●are not staying in Australia with：
－a parent
－a custodian(监护人); or
－a relative who has been nominated(指定)by your parent or a custodian, is aged at least 21 and is of good character．
Note：You must not change those arrangements without the written approval of your education provider．
You must obey the following rules：
1．During term time you must：
a)remain in your homestay during the school term;
b)come home every night; and
c)inform your guardian at all times of your whereabouts．
2．On weekends you must：
a)have your guardian's permission to stay with friends; and
b)inform your guardian of the name, address and phone numbers of people you are visiting．
3．You must return your guardian's telephone calls．
This will be your only warning．If you continue to breach(违反)your student visa regulations we will report you to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs．Such action may lead to the cancellation(取消)of your student visa．Please contact me on(612)9217 4801 or fax(612)9212 6721 if you have questions about your enrolment．
Yours sincerely
Tracey Carlon
Student Advisor
International Students Centre
NSW Department of Education and Training
(1)
What's the purpose of writing this letter?
[ ]
A．
To remind the recipient of the conditions for applying for a student visa．
B．
To warn the recipient not to do anything against his student visa regulations again．
C．
To tell the recipient how to contact his student advisor．
D．
To inform the recipient of the student visa regulations．
(2)
What can be learned about the recipient from this letter?
[ ]
A．
He is under 18 and studies in Australia with his parents．
B．
He is required to come home every night according to the rules．
C．
He can stay with his friends on weekends if permitted．
D．
His student Visa has been cancelled．
(3)
To which address should the recipient reply if he feels like answering the letter?
[ ]
A．
Hong Xue at 60 Waratah Street, Croydon Park NSW 2133．
B．
Tracey Carlon at the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs．
C．
Hong Xue at NSW Department of Education and Training．
D．
Tracey Carlon at 827-839 George Street, PO Box 707, Broadway NSW 21007．
阅读理解
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel．Green said,“Clearly I am the most important．I am the sign of life and hope．I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves．Without me, all animals would 1 ．”
Blue interrupted,“You only think about the 2 , but consider the sky and the sea． 3 the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea．Without my peace, you would all be 4 ．”
Yellow chuckled(笑道),“You are all so serious．I bring laughter, fun, and 5 into the world．”
Orange started next to blow her trumpet,“I am the color of health and strength．I may be 6 , but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life．When I fill the sky 7 , my beauty is so striking that no one gives another 8 to any of you．”
Red could stand it 9 and he shouted out,“I am the ruler of all of you．I am the color of danger and of bravery．I am willing to 10 truth．I am also the color of passion and of love．”
Then came Purple and Indigo(深蓝)…．
The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own 11 ．Their quarreling became louder and louder．Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder．Rain started to pour down 12 ．The colors crouched(蜷缩)down 13 , drawing close to one another for comfort．
In the midst of the clamor(叫嚷), rain began to speak,“You foolish colors, fighting 14 yourselves, each trying to dominate 15 ．Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, 16 ?Join hands with 17 and come to me．”
Doing as they were told, the colors 18 and joined hands．They formed a colorful rainbow．From then on, whenever a good rain 19 the world, a rainbow appears in the sky．They remember to 20 one another．
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