PartIIReadingComprehension(40minutes)Directions:Thereare4passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).YoushoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet.PassageOneQuestions1to5arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Questions46to50arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Textbooksrepresentan11billiondollarindustry,upfrom$8billionin2014.TextbookpublisherPearsonisthelargestpublisher—ofanykind—intheworld.Itcostsabout$1milliontocreateanewtextbook.Afreshmantextbookwillhavedozensofcontributors,fromsubject-matterexpertsthroughgraphicandlayoutartiststoexpertreviewersandclassroomtesters.Textbookpublishersconnectprofessors,instructorsandstudentsinwaysthatalternatives,suchasOpenE-TextbooksandOpenEducationalResources,simplydonot.Thisconnectionhappensnotonlybymeansofcollaborativedevelopment,reviewandtesting,butalsoatconferenceswherefacultyregularlydecideontheirtextbooksandcurriculaforthecomingyear.Itistruethattextbookpublishershaverecentlyreportedlosses,largelyduetostudentsrentingorbuyingusedprinttextbooks.Butthiscanbechalkeduptotheexorbitantcostoftheirbooks—whichhasincreasedover1,000percentsince1977.Areshufflingofthetextbookindustrymaywellbeinorder.Butthisdoesnotmeantheendofthetextbookitself.WhiletheymaynotbeasdynamicasaniPad,textbooksarenotpassiveorlifeless.Forexample,overthecenturies,theyhavesimulateddialogueinanumberofways.From1800tothepresentday,textbookshavedonethisbyposingquestionsforstudentstoanswerinductively.Thatmeansstudentsareaskedtousetheirindividualexperiencetocomeupwithanswerstogeneralquestions.Today’spsychologytexts,forexample,ask:“Howmuchofyourpersonalitydoyouthinkyouinherited?”whileonesinphysicssay:“Howcanyoupredictwheretheballyoutossedwillland?”Expertsobservethat“textbookscomeinlayers,somethinglikeanonion.”Fortheactivelearner,engagingwithatextbookcanbeaninteractiveexperience:Readersproceedattheirownpace.They“customize”theirbooksbyengagingwithdifferentlayersandlinkages.Highlighting,Post-Itnotes,dog-earsandothertechniquesallowforfurthercustomizationthatstudentsvalueinprintbooksoverdigitalformsofbooks.46.Whatdoesthepassagesayaboutopeneducationalresources?
A
They contribute to teaching as much as to learning.
B
They don’t profit as much as traditional textbooks do.
C
They can’t connect professors and students as textbooks do.
D
They compete fiercely for customers with textbook producers.
