Question

What is the difference between a college and a university? This is a good question for students who want to attend a college or a university in the United States.

Colleges and universities have many things in common. Both provide a greater understanding of the world and its past. Both provide education in the arts and sciences. And both can help prepare young people to earn a living.

Students who complete their undergraduate studies either at a four-year college or a university receive a bachelor’s degree. One difference is that many colleges do not offer graduate studies.

Universities are generally bigger, offer more programs and do more research. Modern universities developed from those of the Middle Ages in Europe. The word “university” comes from the Latin “universitas”. This described a group of people organized for a common purpose. The word “college” comes from a Latin word with a similar meaning, “collegium”. In England, colleges were formed to provide students with places to live in. Usually each group of students was studying the same thing. So college came to mean an area of study. But a college can also be a part of a university. The first American universities divided their studies into a number of areas and called each one a college. This is still true.

Programs in higher learning may also be called schools. The University of Arizona in Tucson, for example, has 18 colleges and 10 schools. They include the colleges of pharmacy (制药学), education, engineering and law. They also include the schools of architecture, dance and public administration.

College is also used as a general term for higher education. A news report might talk about “college students” even if they include students at universities. Or someone might ask, “Where do you go to college?”

Today, most American colleges offer an area of study called liberal arts. These are subjects first developed and taught in ancient Greece. They include language, philosophy and mathematics. The purpose is to train a person’s mind instead of teaching job skills.

1.The passage is probably written to _________.

A．persuade students to go to college instead of schools

B．tell students the differences between colleges and universities

C．help students make a better choice of what kind of colleges they should go to

D．inform students about how much they are going to spend in going to college

2.When the term “college students” appears in a newspaper, it may refer to ________.

A．only students studying in colleges

B．students studying in colleges in the USA

C．only students studying in universities

D．students receiving higher education

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Both universities and colleges include different schools.

B．The purpose of liberal arts is to train a person’s job skill.

C．Both universities and colleges can help prepare students to make a living.

D．Most American universities have 18 colleges and 10 schools.

4.The area of study called liberal arts is designed to _______.

A．get students ready to earn a living

B．teach students subjects from engineering to philosophy

C．help students achieve a stronger and clearer mind

D．encourage more students to begin the study of arts

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文叙述了college 和university的由来。并陈述了现在社会上两者存在的不同点。

1.这是作者意图题。根据What is the difference between a college and a university? This is a good question for students who want to attend a college or a university in the United States. ，作者写这篇文章的目的是向准备在美国留学的学生解释college和university的异同的。故选B。

2.这是细节理解题。文章倒数第二段解释了college students现在普遍指的是接受高等教育的学生。故选D。

3.这是细节理解题。Colleges and universities have many things in common. Both provide a greater understanding of the world and its past. Both provide education in the arts and sciences. And both can help prepare young people to earn a living. college和university都能给学生提供教育，帮助他们为以后怎样谋生做准备。故选C。

4.这是细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“The purpose is to train a person’s mind instead of teaching job skills.”可得知答案C。

考点：这是一篇文化类文章。

点评：阅读理解题目中的作者意图题目可以包括意图、态度、目的题目，在考试中出现的比率很大。不同的文章可能有不同的写作意图,但写作意图通常有以下三种：1）to entertain readers（娱乐读者，让人发笑） 2) to persuade readers（说服读者接受某种观点）3) to inform readers（告知读者某些信息）

根据文体类别推断写作目的这就要求我们了解在历年高考阅读题中，不同文体与三种写作意图类型的大致对应关系，这有助于做好此类试题。第一种写作意图（to entertain readers）常见于故事类的文章。第二种写作意图（to persuade readers，to sell a product or a service），或是要通过对旅游景点﹑报刊杂志﹑影片﹑电视节目等的介绍来达到他的写作目的：吸引更多的游客﹑读者或订户﹑观众等（to attract more visitors / readers / audience）。第三种写作意图（to inform readers）多见于科普类﹑新闻报道类﹑文化类或社会类的文章，了解这类文章的写作目的有赖于对文章主题的正确把握，阅读时有必要找准文章的主题句，或较好地对主题加以归纳。　

本文的主题句是在开头。