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http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121123-can-schools-survive-the-web-age
＊新聞標題
Can schools survive in the age of the web?
＊標題解說
‧ survive：生存（動詞）
＊內文解析
■ 越來越多的線上大學正重新給予教育新的定義。但是，對傳統的機構而言這將意味什麼？
A growing number of online universities are redefining education. But what will that mean for traditional institutions?
‧ redefine：給予新定義（動詞）
to change the nature or limits of something; to make people consider
something in a new way
The new constitution redefined the powers of the president.
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/redefine
‧ institution：機構（名詞）
■ 如果你想要有頂級的教育，但又不能負擔學費或沒有時間，現在有別的選擇。
If you fancy a top-class education but can’t afford the fee or the time, there is now an alternative.
‧ fancy：想要（動詞）
to want something or want to do something
同義詞 feel like
fancy something
Fancy a drink?
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/fancy
‧ top-class education：頂級的，一流的教育
‧ alternative：可選擇的項目（名詞）
a thing that you can choose to do or have out of two or more possibilities
You can be paid in cash weekly or by cheque monthly; those are the
two alternatives.
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/alternative
■ 今年11月，比爾和梅林達·蓋茲基金會投入了100萬美元在edX，它是世界上最大的線上學習計劃。
This November, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation invested a million dollars in edX, the world’s largest online learning initiative.
‧ initiative：新計劃（名詞）
a new plan for dealing with a particular problem or for achieving a
particular purpose
a United Nations peace initiative
a government initiative to combat unemployment
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/initiative
‧ edX：可以想成education + X => edX, 而 X 可以有數種聯想：
X= X factor：成功要素 a special quality, especially one that is essential for success and is difficult to describe
She certainly has the X factor that all great singers have.
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/x-factor
X= excellence：卓越 the quality of being extremely good
a reputation for academic excellence
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/excellence
X= express：快車 a fast train that does not stop at many places
the 8.27 express to Edinburgh
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/express_4
■ 由哈佛大學和麻省理工學院創立的edX以擁有越來越多的「大規模開放線上課程」（MOOCs）而自豪，MOOCs目的是為成千上萬的參與者帶來世界一流高等教育的虛擬版本。
Founded by Harvard and MIT, edX boasts a growing number of “massively open online courses” (MOOCs) aimed at bringing virtual versions of world-class higher education to hundreds of thousands of participants.
‧ 簡化來看：
edX boasts X（that are 省略）aimed at Y
X= a growing number of “massively open online courses” (MOOCs)
Y= bringing A to B
A= virtual versions of world-class higher education
世界一流高等教育的虛擬版本
B= hundreds of thousands of participants
成千上萬的參與者
‧ boast：擁有，有某物而自豪（動詞）
(not used in the progressive tenses) boast something to have something
that is impressive and that you can be proud of
The hotel also boasts two swimming pools and a golf course.
Rhodes boasts 300 days of sunshine a year.
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/boast
‧ virtual versions：虛擬版本（名詞－附屬型）好多種課程
‧ world-class：世界一流的（形容詞）
‧ higher education：高等教育
■ 一個不以營利為目的的平台，edX 被標榜為「網絡教育的未來：給任何人，任何地點，任何時間」。
A not-for-profit platform, edX is billed as “the future of online education： for anyone, anywhere, anytime”.
‧ nonprofit：非營利的（形容詞） (also not-for-profit)
(of an organization)without the aim of making a profit
an independent nonprofit organization
http://oaadonline.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/nonprofit
‧ bill：宣傳，標榜（動詞）
bill somebody/something as something to advertise or describe somebody/something in a particular way
He was billed as the new Tom Cruise.
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/bill_2
■ 一個值得注意的對手是Udacity，它是另一種免費數位高等教育的提供單位， 源自於其創始人在史丹福大學的線上課程：高等教育的介紹，註冊人數高達 16萬名學生。
One notable rival is Udacity, another free provider of digital higher education whose existence was inspired by the enrolment of 160,000 students in its founders’ online Introduction to Higher Education Course at Stanford.
‧ 簡化來看：
One notable rival is Udacity whose existence was inspired by X .
X= the enrolment of 160,000 students in Y
(Y 課程註冊人數有16萬名學生)
Y= its founders’ online Introduction to Higher Education Course at Stanford
創始人在斯坦福大學的線上課程：高等教育的介紹
‧ Udacity：新造字
這個字可以看成是：University（大學）＋Audacity（大膽無畏）
‧ enrolment：註冊，註冊人數（名詞）
the act of officially joining a course, school, etc; the number of people who
do this
Enrolment is the first week of September.
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/enrolment
■ 或者你也可以在考慮之後選擇 Coursera，這是在Udacity之後不久所推出的，今天它擁有近200萬註冊人數選修來自33所一流大學的課程。
Or you could plump for Coursera, which was launched shortly after Udacity and today boasts close to two million enrolments on courses from 33 leading universities.
‧ plump for：考慮後選擇（動詞片語）
to choose somebody/something from a number of people or things,
especially after thinking carefully
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/plump+for#plump_2__2
■ 同時其他如Khan學院的典範，已經提供了線上指導給數以百萬計的自願自學者，還沒有提到最近由TED演講所締造的 10億點閱紀錄的佳績。
Other exemplars such as the Khan Academy, meanwhile, have delivered online instruction to tens of millions of willing autodidacts; not to mention the billion viewsrecently chalked up by TED talks.
‧ not to mention the billion views (that were 省略) recently chalked up
by TED talks.
‧ exemplar：典範（名詞）
a person or thing that is a good or typical example of something
同義詞 model
Her career was an exemplar of individual success at a time of great
economic hardship.
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/exemplar
‧ deliver X to Y：把 X 送到 Y（動詞片語）
deliver online instruction to tens of millions of willing autodidacts
‧ autodidact：無師自學，自學自修者（名詞）
a person who has taught himself or herself something rather than
having lessons
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/autodidact
‧ chalk up：取得好成績（動詞片語）
chalk up something (informal) to achieve or record a success, points in
a game, etc
The team chalked up their tenth win this season
As a Hollywood actor he has chalked up a number of box-office successes.
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/chalk_2
＊字彙整理
web時代來臨，頂級名校線上高等教育課程，免費取得，這則新聞讓我們認識談論豐富的線上教育資源的用語：
‧ 高等教育：higher education
‧ 非營利的：nonprofit（形容詞）(also not-for-profit)
‧ 給予新定義：redefine（動詞）
‧ 可選擇的項目：alternative（名詞）
‧ 世界一流的： world-class（形容詞）
‧ 新計劃：initiative（名詞）the world’s largest online learning initiative
‧ 取得好成績：chalk up（動詞片語）
‧ 無師自學，自學自修者：autodidact（名詞）
‧ 典範：exemplar（名詞）
‧ 虛擬版本：virtual versions（名詞－附屬型）好多種課程
‧ 擁有，有某物而自豪：boast（動詞）
‧ 註冊，註冊人數：enrolment（名詞）
‧ 宣傳，標榜：bill（動詞）
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