Forty years ago, Finland was a small country with ordinary public schools. Today, Finland is still small but no one calls Finland's public schools ordinary anymore. In 2000, the Finns surprised the world when their 15yearolds scored at the top of a closelywatched international exam called the PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment. Finland has stayed near the top ever since, while the US scores around the middle. Pasi Sahlberg, an official of Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture, is in Seattle this week to share the story of Finland's success, and what states like Washington can learn from it. Sahlberg's message, although he is too polite to put it so directly: Stop testing so much. Trust teachers more. Give less homework. Shorten the school day. On Tuesday, in a room filled with teachers, principals, professors, schoolboard members and policy makers, Sahlberg joked about the Finns' reputation for being a quiet, humble people. When Finland hit the top of the PISA, he said, the biggest disbelievers were Finns. More seriously, he said, Finland never set out to create the world's top school system. Instead, he said, the country decided in the 1970s that it wanted to ensure that a student's success didn't depend on family background. To achieve that goal, Finland relied on cooperation among teachers and schools, rather than on competition. Rather than judges teachers and schools based on test scores, he said, Finland puts trust in its teachers and principals. Teachers develop the curriculum in Finland, and design their own tests. There are no national tests, except one at the end of high school. That's just the start. Along with a shorter school day, Finnish students don't even start school until they are 7 years old. Many primary schools have a policy against giving homework. But Finland, he said, succeeded in part by adapting ideas from the US and other countries. And those countries, he said, can learn from Finland, too. People first learned Finland's success in education from _ . A) its ordinary public schools B) its international exchange students C) lectures given by Pasi Sahlberg D) its students' performance in an International exam
D
Americans like to visit the national parks. In 1996, over 250,000,000 people visited areas which are managed by the National Park Service. Experts say that by 2012, 500,000,000 people per year will visit the parks. As a result, people are trying to think of ways to protect the parks from the crowds. The crowding of the parks has caused several problems. One is that there is not enough space for all of the people who want to use the parks. To deal with this problem, you may have to book your tickets a few months ahead of time. The Park Service may also raise entrance fees . Another problem caused by increased park use is pollution. Some garbage and waste can be cleaned up, and the cleanup can be paid for by increased entrance fees. To cut down on noise pollution and air pollution, the number of cars allowed in parks may be limited. If this happens, people may use buses to travel around the parks. Officials may also limit the use of jet-skis, snow-mobiles, motor-boats, and sightseeing helicopters and planes. The parks may also be in danger because of development that is going on around them. For example, around Yellow Stone Park, many hotels, golf courses, resorts, and other tourist attractions have been built. Some of these developments have effect on areas that are used by animals. People will have to learn to agree about ways to protect the parks. If they do not, there will soon be no reason to visit these national treasures. Which of the following is true according to the text? A) Visitors will pay less than before. B) The parks are not big enough to hold all visitors. C) Visitors may not necessarily buy tickets ahead of time. D) Only buses are allowed to enter the parks.
B
Q: An early invention by Albert Einstein has been rebuilt by scientists at Oxford University. They are trying to develop an environmentally friendly refrigerator that runs without electricity. We all know that modern fridges cause damage to the environment. They work by using a kind of man-made greenhouse gas called Freon , which is far more damaging than carbon dioxide. Now Malcolm McCulloch, an electrical engineer at Oxford, is leading a three-year project to develop appliances that can be used in places without electricity. His team has completed a prototype of a fridge patented in 1930 by Einstein. It used only pressurized gases to keep things cold. The design was partly used in the first refrigerators, but the technology was dropped when more efficient compressors became popular in the 1950s. That meant a switch to using Freon. Einstein's idea uses butane and water and takes advantage of the fact that liquids boil at lower temperatures, when the air pressure around them is lower. "If you go to the top of Mount Qomolangma, water boils at a much lower temperature than it does when you're at sea level and that's because the pressure is much lower up there," said McCulloch.At one side is the evaporator , a bottle that contains liquid butane. "If you introduce a new vapor above the butane, the liquid boiling temperature decreases and, as it boils off, it takes energy from the surroundings to do so," says McCulloch. "That's what makes it cold." The gas fridges based on Einstein's design were replaced by Freon-compressor fridges partly because Einstein's design was not very efficient. But McCulloch thinks that by changing the design and replacing the types of gases used it will be possible to quadruple the efficiency. However, McCulloch's fridge is still in its early stages. "It's very much a prototype," he said. "Give us another month and we'll have it working." According to the passage, an early invention by Albert Einstein _ . A) has been rediscovered because it costs much less and works more efficiently B) is being redesigned because it could be used in places without electricity C) has just been found to be energy-saving and environmentally friendly D) will be fully made use of and become the fridge of the future
A: B
Q: The dog, called Prince, was an intelligent animal and a slave to Williams. From morning till night, he had a number of clear duties, for which Williams had patiently trained him and, like a good pupil, Prince lived for the chance to prove his abilities. When Williams wanted to put on his boots, he would murmur. "Boots" and within seconds the dog would drop them at his feet. At nine every morning Prince ran off to the general store in the village, returning shortly not only with Williams' daily paper but with a packet of Williams' favorite tobacco. A trained gun-dog, Prince had a large soft mouth specially evolved (;) for the sake of carrying hunted creatures, so the paper and tobacco came to no harm, never even showing a tooth mark. Williams was an engine driver, and he had to work at irregular times -- "days", "late days", or "nights". Over the years Prince got to know these periods of work and rest, and knew when his master would leave the house and return and _ If Williams overslept, Prince barked at the bedroom door until he woke. On his return, Williams' slippers were brought to him, the paper and tobacco too. A curious thing happened to Williams during the snow and ice of last winter. One evening he slipped and fell on the icy pavement somewhere between the village and his home. He was so badly shaken that he stayed in bed for three days; and not until he got up and dressed again did he discover that he had lost his wallet containing over fifty pounds. The house was turned upside down in the search, but the wallet was not found. However, two days later, Prince dropped the wallet into Williams' hand. Very muddy, and wet through, the wallet still contained fifty-three pounds. It can be learned from the passage that gun-dogs are dogs that_. A) can take care of their owners B) are the fastest runners of all dogs C) have their teeth removed when they are young D) can carry birds , foxes , etc .without hurting them
A: D