The Open University,one of the great suc

考试题库2022-08-02  35

问题 The Open University,one of the great successes of modern Britain,is facing a crisis.On the surface,this centres on the embattled vice-chancellor.Peter Horrocks,whom the staff want to resign.The UCU(University and College Union)branch at the university has passed a motion of no confidence in him.and says he no longer commands the respect of staff.The immediate cause was a remark for which he has been forced to apologise,to the effect that some academics had been allowed"to get away with not teaching for decades",but this came in a context of brutal budget cuts he has proposed.More profoundly.the crisis exposes a huge disagreement about what actually constitutes teaching,and why it is a worthwhile activity.Is it a way to produce exam resulis and certificates of employability,or is the purpose to share whaiever makes a subject worth studying for itself,and to inculcate the skills that will enable students to glimpse and pursue that vision?But the deeper crisis reaches far beyond the vice-chancellor's inadequacies.Some of the challenges facing the university are simply a result of the huge changes in society and technology since it was founded in 1969.In the early days,staff agonised over whether to include colour in their television programmes,since many viewers might still own black and white sets.In those days,too.there was a very large pool of middle-aged people who had been denied tertiary education,and for whom this really was the university of the seconcl chance.But the pool of second chancers has now largely gone the way of black and white televisions.Those are difficulties that would face the university under any administration.So would the widespread competition in the field of distance learning.But with all that said,it is central government that is largely responsible for the difficulties of the OU.The government's conception of higher education as a marketplace where students can shop for qualifications is profoundly destructive to all universities,and the OU is only the most exposed and vulnerable.The introduction,and then the tripling,of tuition fees has wrecked its financial model,so that student numbers have dropped by a third since 2010.The only thing to fall as fast has been the university's rating for student satisfaction,from lst t0 47th.So much for the conception of universities as selling to"customers",rather than teaching students.The university is an institution that enriches the lives of those who attend it.It is on that basis that the government should still recognise,and support,the ideal that everyone deserves access to the benefits of a real university,whatever their past,and whenever they decide they need it.The UCU branch at the OU regards Peter Horrocks as a leader who is《》()A.aggressive.B.incompetent.C.unconfident.D.ineloquent.

选项 A.aggressive.
B.incompetent.
C.unconfident.
D.ineloquent.

答案 B

解析 首段③句指出英国大学学院工会OU分会通过一项对“霍洛克斯没有信心”的动议,并且指出他不再赢得全体教职工的尊重。可见该分会认为霍洛克斯未能胜任好其校长之职,故B.正确。[解题技巧]A.由前段②句enlhattled望文生义出aggressive“好斗的”之意,而该词实际意为“被敌人/困难/问题重重包围的”;C.由首段③句no confidence in him曲解出“他没有信心”,而文意实为“英国大学学院工会OU分会对他没有信心”;D.dl首段④句a remark for which he has been forced to apologise“他被迫为自己所说的一句活道歉”捏造出“他不善言辞”。
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