Will online courses transform world of education?
Some may wonder what it feels like to attend a class at Stanford University. The recently popular MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) can satisfy this desire. But they are also most likely to change the situation of higher education. Only last month，both Peking University and Tsinghua University announced plans to start open online course on the edX platform，one of the world’s major providers of MOOCs，to explore this new form of online education.
Gaining momentum(势头)
“It’s not only a change of platforms from offline to online. It’s more about a reform of
teaching methods，even the whole education system，”said Chen Jining，president of Tsinghua University.
The potential of MOOCs to reform education has been obvious in the US ever since the immediate popularity of the course Artificial Intelligence，taught by Stanford University professor Sebastian Thrun, who later co-founded Udacity, a platform with 1.6 million enrolled(注册) students in 200 countries. According to Nature magazine，by June 2013，74 percent of universities in the US offered some type of online course. Lu Fang, vice-president of Fudan University，explains the appeal of MOOCs as a simple case of supply and demand：“The demand for high quality educational resources from both enrolled students and professionals is feeding the rise of MOOCs，in which classes usually taught by top teachers are available to everyone，”said Lu.
Too early to replace
With easy access and free of charge, MOOCs are said to have the potential to change the present education system. But there are barriers，because hardly any universities offer degree certificates, as college administrators point out, it’s difficult to confirm if students are foaming anything in MOOCs，reposed USA Today．
The Wall Street Journal also reposed that，presently，a typical MOOC student is likely to have
already graduated from college and is using the course to explore an interest or acquire professional
skills. Even so, an increasing number of undergraduates are signing up.
“What we are really establishing(创建)are educational pathways for people who want skills that are related to contemporary jobs，”Thrun told The Wall Street Journal．
【小题1】MOOCs have been considered likely to reform education since ．A．the founding of UdacityB．the wide application of online educationC．the popularity of the course Artificial IntelligenceD．the opening of MOOCs on the edX platform in China【小题2】According to Lu Fang, MOOCs have bee popular because ．A．high quality educational resources are in demandB．students can attend courses in famous universitiesC．college students have access to famous teachersD．MOOCs have brought about revolution in education【小题3】What can we learn from the passage?A．Most of the MOOCs focus on professional training for college graduates．B．There are barriers for MOOCs to replace the present education system．C．International panies prefer applicants who graduate from MOOCs．D．More and more undergraduates have realized the limits of MOOCs．【小题4】The author’s attitude towards MOOCs is ．A．doubtfulB．negativeC．criticalD．optimisticC
网友回答
(答案→)C
解析：本文主要讲述的是新型的网络教学的MOOCs的兴起以及它的前景。
【小题1】C 细节题。根据第二部分第2段1,2行The potential of MOOCs to reform education has been obvious in the US ever since the immediate popularity of the course Artificial Intelligence，可知自从Artificial Intelligence课程之后，它就很受欢迎。故C正确。
【小题2】A 推理题。根据第二部分Lu Fang, vice-president of Fudan University，explains the appeal of MOOCs as a simple case of supply and demand：“The demand for high quality educational resources from both enrolled students and professionals is feeding the rise of MOOCs，in which classes usually taught by top teachers are available to everyone，”said Lu.可知人们对于高质量的高等教育的需求是MOOCs受欢迎的主要原因。故A正确。
【小题3】B 细节题。根据文章倒数第3段But there are barriers，because hardly any universities offer degree certificates, as college administrators point out, it’s difficult to confirm if students are foaming anything in MOOCs，reposed USA Today．可知MOOCs要取代现在的教育还是有着很多的障碍的。故B正确。
【小题4】D 推理题。根据文章倒数第三段With easy access and free of charge, MOOCs are said to have the potential to change the present education system.可知MOOCs有着巨大的潜力，所以作者对于这一新鲜事物持有的态度是很乐观的。故D正确。