* Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.
THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Information technology is influencing the way many of us live and work today. We use the Internet to look and apply for jobs, shop, conduct research, make airline reservations, and explore areas of interest. We use e-mail and the Internet to communicate instantaneously with friends and business associates around the world. Computers are commonplace in homes and the workplace.
Although the number of Internet users is growing exponentially each year, most of the world’s population does not have access to computers or the Internet. Only 6 percent of the population in developing countries are connected to telephones. Although more than 94 percent of U.S. households have a telephone, only 42 percent have personal computers at home and 26 percent have Internet access. The lack of what most of us would consider a basic communications necessity -the telephone -does not occur just in developing nations. On some Native American reservations only 60 percent of the residents have a telephone. The move to wireless connections may eliminate the need for telephone lines, but it does not remove the barrier to equipment costs.
Who has Internet access? Fifty percent of the children in urban households with an income over $75,000 have Internet access, compared with 2 percent ofthe children in low-income, rural households. Nearly half of college-educated people have Internet access, compared to 6 percent of those with only some high school education. Forty percent of households with two parents have access; 15 percent of female, single-parent households do. Thirty percent of white households, 11 percent of black households, and 13 percent of Hispanic households have access. Teens and children are the two fastest-growing segments of Internet users. The digital divide between the populations who have access to the Internet and information technology tools is based on income, race, education, household type, and geographic location. Only 16 percent of the rural poor, rural and central city minorities, young householders, and single parent female households are connected.
Another problem that exacerbates these disparities is that African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans hold few of the jobs in information technology. Women hold about 20 percent of these jobs and are receiving fewer than 30 percent of the computer science degrees. The result is that women and members of the most oppressed ethnic groups are not eligible for the jobs with the highest salaries at graduation. Baccalaureate candidates with degrees in computer science were offered the highest salaries of all new college graduates in 1998 at $44,949.
Do similar disparities exist in schools? More than 90 percent of all schools in the country are wired with at least one Internet connection. The number of classrooms with Internet connections differs by the income level of students. Using the percentage of students who are eligible for free lunches at a school to determine income level, we see that nearly twice as many of the schools with more affluent students have wired classrooms as those with high concentrations of low-income students.
Access to computers and the Internet will be important in reducing disparities between groups. It will require greater equality across diverse groups whose members develop knowledge and skills in computer and information technologies. If computers and the Internet are to be used to promote equality, they will have to become accessible to populations that cannot currently afford the equipment which needs to be updated every three years or so. However, access alone is not enough. Students will have to be interacting with the technology in authentic settings. As technology becomes a tool for learning in almost all courses taken by students, it will be seen as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. If it is used in culturally relevant ways, all students can benefit from its power.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the information in the statement “Although the number .................. or the Internet.” in the paragraph 2?
A. The number of computers that can make the Internet available to most of the people in the world is not increasing fast enough.
B. The Internet is available to most of the people in the world, even though they don't have their own computer terminals.
C. Most of the people in the world use the Internet now because the number of computers has been increasing every year.
D. The number of people who use computers and the Internet is increasing every year, but most people in the world still do not have connections.
1. Find ONE word only which fits in all THREE sentences.
1.A It is essential that students develop an awareness of how the internet can be used.
B There was an almost complete lack of awareness of the issues involved.
C The campaign is to raise public awareness of the importance of eating a healthy diet.
2. A We expect John to contact me with the details of the plan but as yet we haven't heard from him.
B A change in the law has been agreed but the government have yet to announce exactly when it will come into force.
C Jack has a good job, and yet he never seems to have any money.
3. A The new office block has become an expensive white elephant. What a waste of money!
B The government must be whiter than white to win the support of the people.
C The novel is about her experiences as a black girl in a predominantly white city. ,
4. A The accident could have been much worse; luckily no serious harm was done.
B These revelations will harm his chances of winning the election next term.
C The treatment they gave him turned out to do him much harm than good.
5. A As soon as I receive payment I will express the book to you.
B It was your grandfather's express wish that you should have his gold watch after he died
C Words cannot express how pleased I am when my son wins that prize in the contest.
1. Find ONE word only which fits in all THREE sentences.
1.A It is essential that students develop an ............awareness......... of how the internet can be used.
B There was an almost complete lack of ............awareness......... of the issues involved.
C The campaign is to raise public ..........awareness........... of the importance of eating a healthy diet.
2. A We expect John to contact me with the details of the plan but as ............yet......... we haven't heard from him.
B A change in the law has been agreed but the government have.........yet.......... to announce exactly when it will come into force.
C Jack has a good job, and .........yet............ he never seems to have any money.
3. A The new office block has become an expensive ...............white.....elephant. What a waste of money!
B The government must be whiter than .........white............ to win the support of the people.
C The novel is about her experiences as a black girl in a predominantly.........white............ city. ,
4. A The accident could have been much worse; luckily no serious ............harm......... was done.
B These revelations will.........harm............ his chances of winning the election next term.
C The treatment they gave him turned out to do him much ...........harm......... than good.
5. A As soon as I receive payment I will.......express......... the book to you.
B It was your grandfather's.........express............ wish that you should have his gold watch after he died
C Words cannot..........express........... how pleased I am when my son wins that prize in the contest.