This year's Newsweek list of the top 100 high schools shows that today those with fewer students are rising. Ten years ago, when the first Newsweek Top School List based on college-level test participation was published, only three of the top 100 schools had graduating classes smaller than 100 students. This year there are 22. Fifty years ago, they were the latest thing in educational reform: big, modern high schools outside the cities with thousands of students. Big schools meant economic efficiency, a greater choice of courses, and better football teams. But only years later did we understand that it involved the difficulty of strengthening personal connections between teachers and students. SAT scores began dropping; on average, 30% of students did not complete high school in four years, a figure that rose to 50% in poor city neighborhoods. High schools for a variety of reasons seemed to have made little progress. Size isn't everything, but it does matter, and the past decade has seen a noticeable trend toward smaller schools. This has been partly due to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested $1.8 billion in American high schools, helping to open about 1,000 small schools -- most of them with about 400 kids, each with an average enrollment of only 150 students per grade. About 500 more are on the drawing board. Districts all over the country are taking notice, along with mayors in cities like New York, Chicago and San Diego. And most noticeable of all, there is the phenomenon of large urban and suburban high schools that have split up into smaller units of a few hundred. Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, California, is one of those ranking No.423 -- among the top 2% in the country. In 2003, Hillsdale remade itself into three "houses". 300 students arriving ninth graders are randomly assigned to one of the houses, where they will keep the same four core subject teachers for two years before moving on to another for 11th and 12th grades. Teachers meet with students in groups of 25, five... Which of the following can be the best title for the passage? A) Providing Good Education for Baby Boomers B) Top School List Winning National Support C) Small Schools Rising in popularity D) Students Meeting Higher Academic Standards
C
(Question)
The 12--year--old CEO of a Web site design company will be one of 300 business and political leaders accompanying Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien on a trade visit to China in March. Keith Peiris, who founded Cyberteks Design in June 1999 and now has 25 clients in North America ,insisted in an interview that he is "just like any other kid." He and his father will spend nine days on the Team Canada trip to Beijing ,Shanghai and Hong Kong ,where Chretien aims to showcase the best of Canadian business in the most populous country in the world . A glance at the complex ,elegant animations on his www.cybertecks.com site shows the extent of Peiris' talent . "He doesn't want to be No.2,"his father Deepal said proudly . His father ,who is now vice president of operations at Cyberteks ,said , "I am teaching my son what I know .We make decisions together .I haven't done anything my son disagreed with .He makes the final decision ." The company has seven offices in the United States and five part--time employees who ,like the Peiris family ,work from their London homes . Keith Peiris admitted some potential clients change their minds when they learn his age ,but the well--informed not--yet--teenager tries to ignore them . "Suddenly ,I've been called a whiz kid or geek ,which I am not too happy about .A few people have asked if they should call me 'mister', but I stay casual , I am still a kid . According to the information in the passage ,which is the best and fastest way to know more about the Web giant ? A) We can go to Canada to pay him a visit . B) We can make an international telephone call to him. C) We'd better visit his web site--www.cyberteks.com. D) We can write to his father for the kid's information.
(Answer)
C
Ques: If you go to Brisbane, Australia, you can easily get a small book called Discover Brisbane free. The book tells you almost everything in Brisbane: the restaurants, the shops, the cinemas, the streets, the buses, the trains, the banks, etc. Here is something about banks on page 49: ANZ Banking Group Cnr. Greek && Queen Sts .................. 228 3228 Bank of New Zealand 410 Queen Street ........................... 221 0411 Bank of Queensland 229 Elizabeth Street ........................ 229 3122 Commonwealth Banking Group 240 Queen Street ........................... 237 3111 National Australia Bank Ltd 225 Adelaide Street ........................ 221 6422 Westpac Banking Corp 260 Queen Street ........................... 227 2666 Banking hours are Mon.-Thu. 9:30 am to 4 pm. Fri. 9:30 am to 5 pm. All banks close Sat. Sun. && Public Holidays. Australia has a decimal currency with 100 cents to the dollar. Notes available are: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5 Gold coins are: $2 && $1 Silver coins are: 50, 20, 10&&5 cent Copper coins are: 2 && 1 cent _ seems to be the most important street in Brisbane. A) Greek Street B) Elizabeth Street C) Queen Street D) Adelaide Street
Ans: C
Ques:Robert had just moved into the street and he felt strange that he was not wanted. He knew that perhaps the other boy students were trying to get an idea of what kind of a boy he was. This did not help to make him less lonely. He was new and he had to be tested. Still, proving himself would not be all that easy. He did not want to run with bad boys or get into something against the law to prove that he was strong. No! He must show what he was made of in a more helpful way. That would be better when he got the idea. The next day was Saturday. He knew that most of the boys would be down on the playground and choose up sides for the Saturday game. Robert knew he could play well and that just might be enough to prove he was strong and to make friends with them. He arrived early and did his step exercises. He shot the ball several times and did some other exercises--the most difficult and most wonderful in basketball. Then the boys came. Robert went through what he had done before the game and showed what he could do. No one said a word. The boys just looked at each other and thought about it. In the end, when it was all over, the biggest of the group just smiled and shook his head. Robert knew he had made it. What did the biggest of the group mean by shaking his head? A) He did not want to say anything about what Robert had done. B) He had not thought Robert could play so wonderfully. C) He did want to make friends with Robert. D) He did not think Robert played basketball well.

Ans:
B