Books are a high cost of higher education. But the Global Text Project hopes to create a free library of one thousand electronic textbooks for students in developing countries.

The aim is to offer subjects that students may take in their first few years at university. The books could be printed or read on a computer or copied onto a CD or DVD．

Richard Watson is the acting head of the department of management information systems at the University of Georgia, who says the idea went back several years. He was teaching a computer programming class but did not have a good textbook ,so he asked his students each to write part of the book that he would organize and edit. By the end of the term, Professor Watson had a finished product. Since then he has used it for other classes .Now, Professor Watson is seeking volunteers to supervise（监督）the creation of books for the library. He is looking for professors or other professionals.?

The Global Text Project is similar in technology to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia （a reference work containing articles on a wide range of subjects）that anyone can edit on the Internet .But only one or two people will be able to make the final edits in texts.?

The project includes a committee（委员会）of scholars ,mostly from developing countries ,to advise on necessary textbooks and their contents.?

The group′s first book on information systems is being tested in Ethiopia and Indonesia. The plan is to offer about ten free books within the next year, including an English grammar text. Project organizers also want to offer textbooks in Arabic, Chinese and Spanish. They are working with a translation company and students could also get involved .For example ,a student learning English in an Arab country could translate part of a book into Arabic. Then another student and the class professor could check the translation.?

1．The main topic discussed in the passage is _______.?

A．E-books for university students in developing countries?

B．how to create a free library?

C．how to edit textbooks on the Internet?

D．volunteers in the Global Text Internet?

2．The committee of the Global Text Project consists of_______.?

A．volunteers who are learning foreign languages?

B．scholars from developing countries?

C．some professors or other professionals from developing countries?

D．students from developing countries

3．Paragraph 3 suggests that ________?

A．Richard Watson works in a library in the University of Georgia?

B．the computer programming class doesn’t need textbooks at all?

C．the textbook is organized and edited by each student?

D．Richard Watson is creative in his teaching?

4．The "Wikipedia" in Paragraph 4 refers to ________.?

A．a series of textbooks used in developed countries?

B．a book sold online?

C．a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit?

D．another name for the Global Text Project

5．According to the passage , which of the statements is TRUE ??

A．The Global Text Project hasn’t been put into practice by far .

B．Everyone can edit the final texts of the textbooks from the Global Text Project.?

C．The Global Text Project aims to offer one thousand textbooks to developing countries.

D．The project may provide a good chance of translation for students learning a foreign language.?

India was once part of the British Empire, but thanks to modern technology and a booming economy, it has turned the tables on its former colonial master. Indian tutors are helping to teach math to British children over high-speed Internet connections. Early results suggest the idea is improving exam results. But not everyone is happy at this “outsourcing” of tutoring.

It’s 3:30, and pupils at Raynham Primary School in London are gathering for their after-school maths lessons.

Five time zones— thousands of kilometers away—their math tutors are also arriving for class. High-speed Internet has made it possible for Indian tutors to teach British pupils in real time. Each pupil gets a dedicated one-to-one online tutor. The students work with activities on their computer screen and wear a headset and microphone to talk to their tutor.

The class teacher, Altus Basson, says he has seen an improvement in results. “There are some children who’ve really rocketed in their results. Children who struggleto focus in class focus a lot better on the laptops. The real advantage is that each child gets a focused activity and a single tutor,” he said.

Such individualized teaching is the core idea of Brightspark Education, the company that provides the online tutoring, says founder Tom Hooper. “Children today feel very confident online; they feel very engaged; they feel very in control. And that's half the battle with education.Give them control, make them feel confident and enjoy their learning and you'll see them start to improve and embrace it," he said.

Raynham Primary School is among the first in Europe to try online tutoring. At between $20 and $25 an hour, it's about half the cost of face-to-face coaching. But some people say an Internet connection is not enough of a connection for teaching and learning. Kevin Courtney is deputy General Secretary of Britain's National Union of Teachers. "We think, there's a really important emotional connection between a teacher and a child whether it's a whole class or whether it's one-to-one. You need that immediacy of feedback and we're not convinced that that can happen across an Internet connection. In one of the wealthiest.countries in the world, we think that we can afford to have teachers with genuine emotional connection there with the children," he said.

Brightspark Education says the online tutoring is used only as an addition to supplement regular teaching. The company says its service does not represent a threat to teachers' jobs in Britain.

Parents say they're very satisfied with the results they've seen. And what about the children?Children: "I love it!"I love it!"I hate maths!" So math--or, as the British call it, maths—is still not everyone's favorite subject even with the latest technology to teach it.

1.What do we know about the online tutoring?

2.What can we learn about Brightspark Education? 

3.According to Kevin Courtne, _________.      .

4.What’s the best title for this passage ?

India was once part of the British Empire, but thanks to modern technology and a booming economy, it has turned the tables on its former colonial master. Indian tutors are helping to teach math to British children over high-speed Internet connections. Early results suggest the idea is improving exam results. But not everyone is happy at this “outsourcing” of tutoring.
It’s 3:30, and pupils at Raynham Primary School in London are gathering for their after-school maths lessons.
Five time zones— thousands of kilometers away—their math tutors are also arriving for class. High-speed Internet has made it possible for Indian tutors to teach British pupils in real time. Each pupil gets a dedicated one-to-one online tutor. The students work with activities on their computer screen and wear a headset and microphone to talk to their tutor.
The class teacher, Altus Basson, says he has seen an improvement in results. “There are some children who’ve really rocketed in their results. Children who struggleto focus in class focus a lot better on the laptops. The real advantage is that each child gets a focused activity and a single tutor,” he said.
Such individualized teaching is the core idea of Brightspark Education, the company that provides the online tutoring, says founder Tom Hooper. “Children today feel very confident online; they feel very engaged; they feel very in control. And that's half the battle with education.Give them control, make them feel confident and enjoy their learning and you'll see them start to improve and embrace it," he said.
Raynham Primary School is among the first in Europe to try online tutoring. At between $20 and $25 an hour, it's about half the cost of face-to-face coaching. But some people say an Internet connection is not enough of a connection for teaching and learning. Kevin Courtney is deputy General Secretary of Britain's National Union of Teachers. "We think, there's a really important emotional connection between a teacher and a child whether it's a whole class or whether it's one-to-one. You need that immediacy of feedback and we're not convinced that that can happen across an Internet connection. In one of the wealthiest.countries in the world, we think that we can afford to have teachers with genuine emotional connection there with the children," he said.
Brightspark Education says the online tutoring is used only as an addition to supplement regular teaching. The company says its service does not represent a threat to teachers' jobs in Britain.
Parents say they're very satisfied with the results they've seen. And what about the children?Children: "I love it!"I love it!"I hate maths!" So math--or, as the British call it, maths—is still not everyone's favorite subject even with the latest technology to teach it.
【小题1】What do we know about the online tutoring?