Passage APassage APassage BPassage BReturn to MenuReturn to MenuUnit 7Unit 7Passage APassage A Think About ItThink About It Read About ItRead About It Talk About ItTalk About It Write About ItWrite About It1. Some people say, “We learn more outside class.” Do you agree? Why or why not?Reference:Reference:Yes, why?Yes, why?No, why not?No, why not? Yes, thats true, because what we get in class is just book knowledge, while outside class or in the society we get real-life knowledge, which is more practical for our future life.No, if so, why should we go to school or college and attend so many classes? Why should we care how well our teachers are prepared for their jobs?2. According to the passage, what benefits can undergraduate students get by doing research at college?They can earn academic credit, money, and experience as well. They can learn to think for themselves and gain intellectual confidence. They can expand their minds in new directions. They can prepare for their careers.Reference:Reference:Read About ItRead About It Language PointsLanguage Points Content AwarenessContent Awareness Language FocusLanguage FocusNot Just a Job, an Adventure: Undergraduate ResearchNot Just a Job, an Adventure: Undergraduate ResearchSophia Stella, a sophomore at Columbias School of Engineering, is one of many undergraduates who become involved, one way or another, in research performed at the university. Some do it for academic credit, somefor money, some just for experience. Students and professors agree that an undergraduate research project can be uniquely beneficial to both parties.Ideally, undergraduate research is an opportunity for the kind of intensive study that can expand the mind in ways traditional courses cant. Economics Professor Ralph Edison says: “To really understand a discipline you have to get the feeling that knowledge isnt just out there and you passively have to absorb it, but rather that its constantly being created and were constantly rethinking things. When students see a discipline as evolving rather than fixed, they usually get a lot more excited about learning because they see that its an ongoing process.” He points out that research can be exciting because “a research project really gives students an opportunity to answer real-life questions that we dont know the answers to.”Research also spurs independent thinking and intellectual confidence in students. Amelia, a graduate student in computer science, says, “You had to go out and learn on your own. You werent going to be spoon-fed.” Her fond memories of work as an undergraduate researcher played an important role in her decision to leave her Wall Street programming job and return to Columbia as a graduate student.Arthur Hannah, a political science graduate of Columbia College says undergraduate research “felt like a whole new mode of learning.” Instead of looking for the knowledge we do have, he says, research forces students to look for knowledge we dont have. Its a process of looking for holes and trying to plug them, which is completely different from the classroom experience of learning what others already know. He also describes how creating a piece of original research instilled a “pride of authorship” in his work, something he hadnt found in his regular classes.Most undergraduates doing research are working for credit. They register for a semester-long course and do a project for a professor who gives them a grade for their efforts. In some departments a research project might constitute an honors thesis.Some students do research for pay. Taken simply as a form of employment, its one of the most desirable jobs available to undergraduates. Stella says, “I need some kind of income, and Id rather work here than in the cafeteria”; paid research work gives her an opportunity to transform a work-study job into an engaging aspect of her education. The money for her wages is available because of a program started this year providing $100 000 to fund undergraduate research. This funding is intended to support about 50 undergraduates in work- study research positions.Other students do research not for credit or for money but simply on a volunteer basis. Usually, these are students pursuing a career that requires some demonstration of altruistic commitment, such as medicine.As Economics Professor Ralph Edison says: “Undergraduate research can become a valuable part of education. Its a real and valuable privilege. It has to remain an extraordinary undertaking for extraordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.”Sophia Stella . is one of many undergraduates who become involved, one way or another, in research performed at the university: ParaphraseParaphrase?KeyKeySophia Sophia Stella Stella is is one one of of many many students students who who participated participated somehow somehow in in undergraduate undergraduate research research at at Columbias Columbias Scho