A
The alarm sounds.Students swing their backpack over their shoulder，board the school bus，make their way to their homeroom and the bell rings－school is back.But for more homes in America，school looks more like students waking up，making their way to the dining room or home office，setting up laptops and learning in the comfort of home.
Virtual (虚拟的) schooling，described as “a public school that offers only instruction in which students and teachers are separated by time and/or place, and interaction occurs via computers and/or telecommunications (电信) technologies”，has increased over the past decade.According to the National Education Policy Center，enrollments(注册人数) in virtual schools increased by 17,000 between the 2015－2016 school year and the 2016－2017 school year to 295,518.
For Arizona Virtual Academy，a fulltime online public K12 school，they use K12 Inc.curriculums.K12 Inc.serves students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries with digital learning platforms and technology，providing online education.“We are always improving our platforms and the technology that we use to make sure that we're keeping up with the changing trends，not only with education but also with technology，” Dr.Kelly Van Sande said.Another piece of new technology they've rolled out is a new app where parents can find virtual schools available in their area.
Carrie Faulkner chose to enroll two of her children in Arizona Virtual Academy.She says they've done schooling online in Chicago，in California，at restaurants and on her cousin's floor in Kansas.“It doesn't matter whether he (her son) is on the couch，in his bed or at the kitchen table，he can do schooling wherever he wants to，” Faulkner said.“I wish they had it for me back when I was in school.That would have been awesome.”
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇说明文，介绍了近年来越来越受欢迎的虚拟教育。
1．What's the purpose of the first paragraph?
A．To give an example of virtual schooling.
B．To introduce the topic “virtual schooling”．
C．To describe vividly students' going to school.
D．To compare real schooling with virtual schooling.
B [写作意图题。第一段对传统的学生上学的情景和日益受欢迎的虚拟学校的学生上学的情景进行对比，第二段至文末都在讲虚拟教育，故首段的作用是引出本文的话题——虚拟教育。故选B。]
2．How many students attended virtual schools during the 2015－2016 school year?
A．17,000. B．147,759.
C．278,518. D．295,518.
C [数字计算题。根据题干中的信息定位答案在第二段末句，由该句可知，虚拟学校的注册学生人数在2015－2016学年和2016－2017学年间增加了17 000，2016－2017学年注册人数增加到295 518，故答案为295 518－17 000＝278 518。]
3．What can we infer about Arizona Virtual Academy?
A．They provide both online and offline education.
B．They're intended for students in the United States.
C．Their new app lets people find schools nationwide.
D．Their platforms and technology are very advanced.
D [推理判断题。根据题干中的Arizona Virtual Academy定位答案在第三段。根据本段中Dr.Kelly Van Sande的话可知，该虚拟学校一直在改进他们的平台和技术，以确保能够跟上不断变化的趋势，不仅仅是跟上教育的变化趋势，还要跟上技术的变化趋势。由此可推断，该校的平台和技术很先进。故选D。]
4．What is Carrie Faulkner's attitude to virtual schooling?
A．Favorable. B．Doubtful.
C．Indifferent. D．Disapproving.
A [观点态度题。根据题干中的Carrie Faulkner定位答案在最后一段。Carrie Faulkner选择让她的两个孩子上虚拟学校，并且根据她说的“我真希望在我上学的时候也有虚拟教育，那就太棒了”也可推断，Carrie Faulkner对于虚拟教育持肯定、支持的态度。]
