Listen and Respond

Task One Focusing on the Main Ideas

Choose the best answer to complete each of the following

statements according to the information contained in the listening passage.

1) Online learning is good in that ________.

A) it is easy to conduct B) it is convenient and flexible C) it provides more degrees D) it teaches more skills

2) Before you start online learning, you should know the following EXCEPT ________.

A) what skills you need

B) where to find a course or program

C) when the course starts and who will teach you

D) what type of course delivery format will work best for you

3) You are ready to start online learning once you feel confident about your ________.

A) course delivery methods B) reading comprehension C) writing techniques D) technical skills

4) You can search for course providers on the Internet by ________.

A) using search engines B) typing your questions

C) entering the right password D) making Internet phone calls

5) The passage is mainly about ________. A) the benefits of online learning B) the importance of online learning

C) the ways of conducting online learning D) the reasons why online learning is convenient

Task Two Zooming In on the Details

Listen to the recording again and fill in the blanks according to what you have heard.

1) Online learning is a new way to earn your degree or master new skills .

2) You must have the basic computer skills. At the very minimum , you should be able to send and receive email comfortably, search the Internet, and type reasonably fast and accurately .

3) Perhaps the best way to find the right online course format is to consider your education needs and learning style .

4) Type into the search engines the key words and you can easily get what you want. Before you know it, your fingers will be flying and your online learning

adventure will have begun.

Read and Explore

Task One Discovering the Main Ideas

1 Answer the following questions with the information contained in Text A.

1) What disaster did the author encounter earlier in his career?

He encountered a student who challenged the curriculum which required a pharmacy student to study literature.

2) What are the differences between the certificate that reads Qualified Pill-Grinding Technician and the one that reads Bachelor of Science?

The former means that the graduate has completed the training of professional skills in pharmacy while the latter, besides professional training, also involves education in the ideas mankind has generated within its history.

3) How did the author communicate the significance of studying the literal arts in college to the pharmacy student?

He explained to the student that the time of a person’s life could be divided into three parts: one is for sleep, the second is for work which involves professional skills, and the third part is for life after work in which education in liberal arts — philosophy, arts, music, literature, history, etc. — plays a vital part.

4) What is the business of college education according to the author?

The business of college education is not merely to train students, but to civilize them with the best human thoughts in history. In other words the author draws a clear distinction between training and education. The former provides one with skills for a job or career while the latter enables one to become a civilized person by coming into contact with the best minds in history.

5) How can a person become civilized according to the text?

A person has to enter the past and familiarize himself/herself with both the technical and spiritual resources created by mankind, so that he/she could become civilized and play his/her role in civilization.

6) What does the author think of the mission undertaken by the faculties of a university? How can they accomplish this mission?

The faculties of liberal arts colleges as well as of specialized schools are entrusted with the mission to put students in close contact with the best human minds in history. They should turn themselves into some sort of storehouse of human experience and try their best to communicate that experience to their students, so that their students will become civilized humans instead of savages who only know how to operate machines or push buttons.

2 Text A can be divided into three parts with the paragraph number(s) of each part provided as follows. Write down the main idea of each part.

Part Paragraph(s) Main Idea

One 1–7 In response to the challenge posed by a particular student who merely intends to pursue skills at college and takes no interest in literature, the author draws a distinction between professional training and college education. The former can only provide students with professional skills while the latter enables students to become civilized humans. Hence the importance of liberal arts education at college.

Two 8–10 College education must enable students to come into contact with the best minds in history, so that they can become civilized and useful human beings instead of new species of savages who only know how to operate machines or push buttons. Three 11 College education must target at enabling students to become both specialists and civilized humans. All college teachers must make themselves some sort of storehouse of human experience and try their best to communicate that experience to their students.

Task Two Reading Between the Lines

Read the following sentences carefully and discuss in pairs what the author intends to say by the italicised parts.

1) Will there be a book in the house? Will there be a painting a reasonably sensitive man can look at without shuddering? (Para. 5) Do you have a cultivated mind to know what books your family should read? And do you know what kind of paintings you should put up on the wall that would not offend a cultured eye?

2) ―I hope you make a lot of it,‖ I told him, ―because you’re going to be badly stuck for something to do when you’re not signing checks.‖ (Para. 7)