Using pauses to signal important information is an example of verbal cues.

A、an email

B、a whisper

C、a smile

D、a voice mail

The marvelous telephone and television network that has now enmeshed the whole world, making all men neighbors, cannot be extended into space. It will never be possible to converse with anyone on another planet. Even with today's radio equipment, the messages will take minutes——sometimes hours——on their journey, because, radio and light waves travel at the same limited speed of 186, 000 miles a second.

Twenty years from now you will be able to listen to a friend on Mars, but the words you hear will have left his mouth at least three minutes earlier, and your reply will take a corresponding time to reach him. In such circumstances, an exchange of verbal messages is possible-but not a conversation.

To a culture which has come to take instantaneous communication for granted, as part of the very structure of civilized life, this "time barrier" may have a profound psychological impact. It will be a perpetual reminder of universal laws and limitations against which not all our technology can ever prevail. For it seems as certain as anything can be that no signal——still less any material object——can ever travel faster than light.

The velocity of light is the ultimate speed limit, being part of the very structure of space and time. Within the narrow confines of the solar system, it will not handicap us too severely. At the worst, these will amount to twenty hours——the time it takes a radio signal to span the orbit of Pluto, the outer most planet.

It is when we move out beyond the confines of the solar system that we come face to face with an altogether new group of cosmic reality. Even today, many otherwise educated men- like those savages who can count to three but lump together all numbers beyond four-cannot grasp the profound distinction between solar and stellar space. The first is the space enclosing our neighbor-ring worlds, the planets; the second is that which embraces those distant suns, the stars, and it is literally millions of times greater. There is not such abrupt change of scale in the terrestrial affairs.

Many conservative scientists, shocked by these cosmic gulfs, have denied that they can ever be crossed. Some people never learn; those who sixty years ago laughed at the possibility of flight, and ten years ago laughed at the idea of travel to the planets, are now quite sure that the stars will always be beyond our reach. And again they are wrong, for they have failed to grasp the great lesson of our age—— that if something is possible in theory, and no fundamental scientific laws oppose its realization, then sooner or later it will be achieved.

One day we shall discover a really efficient means of propelling our space vehicles. Every technical device is always developed to its limit and the ultimate speed for spaceships is the velocity of light. They will never reach that goal, but they will get very near it. And then the nearest star will be less than five years of voyaging from the earth.

For light to travel across the solar system, it will take ______.

A．a year

B．nearly a day

C．two months

D．thirty minutes

The marvelous telephone and television network that has now enmeshed the whole world, making all men neighbors, cannot be extended into space. It will never be possible to converse with anyone on another planet. Even with today's radio equipment, the messages will take minutes--sometimes hours--on their journey, because radio and light waves travel at the same limited speed of 186, 000 miles a second.

Twenty years from now you will be able to listen to a friend on Mars, but the words you hear will have left his mouth at least three minutes earlier, and your reply will take a corresponding time to reach him. In such circumstances, an exchange of verbal messages is possible--but not a conversation.

To a culture which has come to take instantaneous communication for granted, as part of the very structure of civilized life, this "time barrier" may have a profound psychological impact. It will be a perpetual reminder of universal laws and limitations against which not all our technology can ever prevail. For it seems as certain as anything can be that no signal--still less any material object--can ever travel faster than light.

The velocity of light is the ultimate speed limit, being part of the very structure of space and time. Within the narrow confines of the solar system, it will not handicap us too severely. At the worst, these will amount to twenty hours--the time it takes a radio signal to span the orbit of Pluto, the outer most planet.

It is when we move out beyond the confines of the solar system that we come face to face with an altogether new group of cosmic reality. Even today, many otherwise educated men--like those savages who can count to three but lump together all numbers beyond four--cannot grasp the profound distinction between solar and stellar space. The first is the space enclosing our neighboring worlds, the planets, the second is that which embraces those distant suns, the stars, and it is literally millions of times greater. There is not such abrupt change of scale in the terrestrial affairs.

Many conservative scientists, shocked by these cosmic gulfs, have denied that they can ever be crossed. Some people never learn, those who sixty years ago laughed at the possibility of flight, and ten years ago laughed at the idea of travel to the planets, are now quite sure that the stars will always be beyond our reach. And again they are wrong, for they have failed to grasp the great lesson of our age--that if something is possible in theory, and no fundamental scientific laws oppose its realization, then sooner or later it will be achieved.

One day we shall discover a really efficient means of propelling our space vehicles. Every technical device is always developed to its limit and the ultimate speed for spaceships is the velocity of light. They will never reach that goal, but they will get very near it. And then the nearest star will be less than five years of voyaging from the earth.

For light to travel across the solar system, it will take ______.

A．a year

B．nearly a day

C．two months

D．thirty minutes

Nonverbal Thinking in Engineering

Many objects in daily use have clearly been influenced by science. However, their form. and function, their dimensions and appearance, were determined by technologists, designers, inventors, and engineers using nonscientific modes of thought. Many features and qualities of the objects that a technologist thinks about cannot be reduced to clear verbal descriptions; they are dealt with in the mind by a visual, nonverbal process. Pyramids, cathedrals, and rockets exist not because of geometry or thermo-dynamics (动力学), but because they were first the picture in the minds of those who built them.

The creative shaping process of a technologist's mind can be seen in nearly every artifact (人工制品 that exists. For example, in designing a diesel engine, a technologist might express individual (个人的) ways of nonverbal thinking on the machine by continually using an intuitive (直觉的) sense of rightness and fitness. What would be the shape of the combustion chamber (燃烧室)? Where should the valves (阀) be placed? Such questions have a range of answers that are supplied by experience, by physical requirement, by limitations of available space, and not in the least by a sense of form. Some decisions, such as wall thickness and pin diameter, may depend on scientific calculations, but the nonscientific component design remains primary.

Design courses, then, should be an essential element of engineering curricula. Nonverbal thinking, a central mechanism in engineering design, involves perceptions, which is the special technique of the artist, not the scientist. Because perceptive processes are not assumed to need "hard thinking", nonverbal thought is sometimes seen as a primitive stage in the development of cognitive processes and inferior to verbal mathematical thought.

If courses in design, which in a strongly analytical (分析的) engineering curriculum provide the background required for practical problem-solving, are not provided, we can expect to encounter silly but costly errors occurring in advanced engineering systems. For example, early modes of high-speed railroad cars loaded with high-tech controls were unable to operate in a snowstorm because the fan sucked snow into the electrical system. Random failures that bring automatic control systems into trouble are a reflection of the chaos that results when design is assumed to be primarily a problem in mathematics.

The passage is mainly concerned with

A．the modes of thinking that are used by technologists.

B．the importance of nonverbal thinking in engineering design.

C．the new role for nonscientific thinking in engineering.

D．the difference between the goals of engineers and those of technologists.

A．There are only two kinds of intelligence tests.

B．Verbal ability refers to skill with words.

C．A student with a high I.Q. is likely to be a top student.

D．The most creative or talented people do not always get the highest scores on intelligence tests.

There are many benefits to using online distance learning environments. Online education is available any place, any time for global communities of learners based on shared interests. Online education with its group-based instruction and computer mediated communication provides an opportunity for new development and understanding in teaching and learning. Computer mediated communication encourages collaborative learning by not providing cues regarding appearance, race, gender, education, or social status, bestowing a sort of anonymity to participants. Distance also permits the expression of emotion (both positive and negative) and promotes discussion that normally would be inhibited.

Yet, this same text-based positive aspect of online learning makes online education more cumbersome and therefore takes more time than face-to-face learning. In addition, the sheer bulk of messages can be overwhelming. The learner 0nly has the written text and no other non-verbal cues. This may confuse the learner and cause misunderstanding. Some students are not willing to take the time to go in and look up homework assignments and other online learning activities. ESL students shy away from online classes. They have expressed fear of having their work, viewed by others.

In the road to dotcom in education, educators "have to slow down from their busy lives to be free to focus first on connecting with learners and connecting them to learning before they end up feeling like they are no longer using technology, but are being used by it".

There is pressure to keep up with the times as well as "a cost-of-entry issue regarding technology in education. Without a certain level of technology services and learning options, many students will not consider attending a certain institution". Mark Milliron claims that "any technology has to prove that it will ultimately improve or expand learning". This will come about if educators "slow down, look around, and get on the road to dotcom—a place to thoughtfully engage and explore all aspects of technology, good, bad, or indifferent... A place with mindful focus on the people and passions that make life worth living".

Should online learning be an issue of control or should students be convinced of its value as an authentic learning tool? Fear and a threatening environment don't enhance learning according to brain-based learning research. "How students feel about a learning situation determines the amount of attention they devote to it." "Positive emotions ensure that learning will be retained." It's very. important to discuss with students how they feel about technology and online learning so that they feel good about what they are doing.

The process of implementing online distance learning is a slow and delicate one. Change will eventually come about but it will take time.

There are many good and bad aspects of online distance learning. One good thing about it is______.

A．easy to do

B．cheaper than face-to-face learning

C．convenient

D．very fast going

According to the author, nonverbal cues______.

A．are primarily used for deception

B．are not used much by children

C．can influence how we are perceived by others

D．are not usually used in successful relationships