Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Going to school means learning new skills and facts in different subjects. Teachers teach and students learn, and many scientists are interested in finding ways to improve both teaching and learning processes. Sian Beilock and Susan Leving, two psychologists at the University of Chicago, are trying to learn about learning. In a new study about the way kids learn math in primary school, Beilock and Levine found a surprising relationship between what female teachers think and what female students learn: If a female teacher is uncomfortable with her own math skills, then her female students are more likely to believe that boys are better than girls at math. "If these girls keep getting math-anxious female teachers in later grades, _ ," Levine told Science News. The study suggests that if these girls grow up believing that boys are better at math than girls are, then these girls may not do as well as they would have if they were more confident. Just as students find certain subjects to be difficult, teachers can find certain subjects to be difficult to learn--and teach. The subject of math can be particularly difficult for everyone. The new study involved 65 girls, 52 boys and 17 first-and second-grade teachers in primary schools in the Midwest. The students took math achievement tests at the beginning and end of the school year, and the researchers compared the scores. The researchers also gave the students tests to tell whether the students believed a math superstar had to be a boy. Then the researchers turned to the teachers: To find out which teachers were anxious about math, the researchers asked the teachers how they felt at times when they came across math, such as when reading a sales receipt . A teacher who got nervous looking at the numbers on a sales receipt, for example, was probably anxious about math. Boys, on average, were unaffected by a teacher's anxiety. On average, girls with math-anxious teachers scored lower on the end-of-the-year math tests than other girls in the... Question: Which of the following is TRUE according to the text? Options: A: 117 students and teachers took part in the new study. B: The researchers felt surprised at the findings of their study. C: Beilock and Levine were interested in teaching math. D: Male teachers were better at teaching math than women teachers.
B

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: James Dean was not very tall-he was less than average height. He had thick, light brown hair and blue eyes. He was so near-sighted that he could hardly see anything without his glasses. He came to Hollywood when he was eighteen, hoping to get into the movies. At first, he was not successful at all, and for a time he was so short of money that he had to live entirely on dry oatmeal. Then he went to New York. He got a part in a play and was seen by the great director Elia Kazan. Kazan was planning the movie East of Eden and realized Dean would be perfect for one of the main roles. By this time, Dean already had a reputation for being odd and difficult to work with. He then went back to Hollywood to make East of Eden and then made two more movies, Rebel Withhout a Cause and Giant. He almost always wore the same overcoat and jeans and he had hardly any friends at all. "If he didn't like you, he wouldn't even give you the pleasure of his anger. You could be in the same telephone booth with him, but you wouldn't exist," someone who knew him said later. In spite of his poor eyesight, he loved driving fast motorcycles and even faster sports cars. A few days after he finished Giant, on September 25, 1955, Dean went for a drive in his new Porsche. It was evening and the light was poor. Dean was not wearing his glasses. Suddenly, he saw a car in front of him. It was slowing down and trying to turn off the highway. Dean tried to slow down too, but it was too late. He hit the car at high speed and was killed immediately. Two German girls killed themselves when they heard the news because "life would be unbearable without him." A few years later, a New York salesclerk wrote a book called Jimmy Dean Returns in which she claimed that she was in contact with Dean from the other side of the grave. Half a million copies of the book were sold. It was only the beginning of a strange legend that goes on, even today. Question: According to the passage, James Dean _ . Options: A: had poor eyesight but wore no glasses B: went to Hollywood to direct a play C: often got his clothes changed D: was once a poor man in Hollywood
D

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: There are good Santas and there are bad Santas. The good Santas all realize one thing: In the mind of a child, Santa Claus is perfect. That's difficult. And so they come from around the world to attend the Charles W. Howard School in Midland, Mich. The school offers a three-day, 40-hour course for Santas hoping to be excellent. A former Macy's Santa named Charles Howard founded the Michigan school in 1937. "Many people will think if you have a suit and you're a Santa," said Tom Valent, the school's current dean. "It's more than that." The school teaches everything from breathing techniques for carol singing to the beard maintenance. There are lessons in child psychology, sign language and even media training for talk-show appearances and call-in shows. Santas also need to make sure they know all the names of the reindeer . What's harder to deal with, however, is children who ask for Christmas gifts like bringing daddy home or making mommy happy again. After spending time in the classroom, Weir went to the mall to test his training. However, at one point, his hat fell off, and he was unsure how to react. "You're the real Santa," Valent said. "Pick that hat up, slip it back on, keep smiling and do your job. You've got to stay on top of your game. Even the last one at night, when you're tired, you've got to remember: This one's forever, so do a good job." Question: The Michigan school was founded by Charles Howard with the purpose to _ . Options: A: train the pet reindeer for the Santas B: earned money from its students C: train perfect Santas for the world D: show the world's concern to the poor
A: C

(Q).
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Where have all the boys gone?You may be able to find them in the gym, at work or hanging out, but there's where boys are underrepresented, and the problem seems to be getting worse. These days, at high school graduation ceremonies, there are a lot more girls than boys. In fact, every year, 10 percent more girls graduate from high school than boys. "I think that there's a tendency to focus on boys as problems at this point, rather than recognize that boys have problems," says Joanne Max, PhD. Experts say the problems start in grade school, where there's often an emphasis on sports instead of reading, for example. "I think that with boys there's some idea that it's not masculine to read," says Rob Jenkins, an English professor. There's also a shortage of male teachers as role models. "I think boys need role models, so if you're a boy and you don't have a dad in your home and then you have one male teacher and it's your athletic coach then I don't think you have a message that education is very important," says Carol Carter, another expert. In addition, classrooms often have too little activity and too much passive listening, which is not conducive to boys' learning. Experts say parents can fight back in many ways. Read to your sons early and often; show by your actions that you value their education. Ask them about their schoolwork, offer help, drop by their classroom and finally, appeal to their competitive spirit: challenge them to do better and help them understand that their future depends on it. Question: According to experts,parents should do the following except _ . Options: A: often read to their sons when they are young B: keep an eye on their sons' studies at school C: encourage their sons to compete with others D: prevent their sons from taking part in sports
(A).
D