The organization representing British universities has expressed concern about the potential effect of tuition fees after figures showed a drop of more than 6% in student applications with less than a month to go before the deadline for 2013 applications. Data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) showed there were 265,784 university applications by UK-based candiates up to 17 Decemeber, 6.3% down on the parallel period in the admissions cycle the year before. While this is less than the 8.4% year-on-uear fall seen in earlier Ucas figures, released in mid-November, the coming January deadline makes it ever more likely that the total 2013 applicant figure will see a second sizeable fall following the introduction of annual fees of up to PS9,000. Nicola Dandridge, the chairman of Universities UK, said : "However, we must be concerned about any drops in the numbers applying to university and in particular, we must look closely at how the increase in graduate contributions in England may be affecting the decisions of promising students. However ,the December figures show a drop in numbers across the UK, suggesting that it is not only a question of tuition fees in England putting off from applying." A report of the Uncas figures to mid-December shows a 6.5% fall for applicants in England and 11.7% for those in Wales, with smaller drops of 3.9% for Scotland and 0.5% for Nortern Ireland. Scotiish students at home insitiutions pay on fees, while those from Nothern Ireland have fees capped to PS3,575 for Northern Irish universities. Dandridge added: "No one should be put off applying to university because of worries about finance." "It is important that no one is put off applying to university because they do not have information about the student support available to them. Most new students don't need to pay directly. There will be more financial support for those from poorer families and everyone will make lower loan repayments thatn they do now once they are in well paid jobs." Why is the fall for application the smallest in Soctoland and Northem lreland? A) Because they have more financial support. B) Because the tuition is much cheaper for them. C) Because the education is better there. D) Because the universities are free for them.
B
(Question)
There is nowadays in schools a great movement that places major emphasis on higher order skills, these being those skills that encourage the ability to reason. This group of skills involves recalling information, basic concept formation, critical thinking, and creative idea formation. Formerly viewed as the tools of mathematics, these skills are now recognized as necessary to abilities across the curriculum. Higher order thinking skills are now recognized as important for those who will enter the twenty-first century work force. Preparing young learners for their future requires that teachers employ a great deal of inventiveness and creativity in designing lessons that meet the dual challenge of providing the basics as in reading, language arts, and mathematics, and developing the ability to reason. This unit uses detective fiction to address both of these challenges, and the activities that lie here are designed to draw the learner along a path that moves him from the simple skills, such as recalling information, to the more difficult area of creative thinking. Activities may be modified, simplified, lengthened, or deleted to meet the needs of the intellectual diversity found in most classrooms. For this unit I have chosen three separate series of children's detective fiction. The easiest to read are the Private Eyes club mysteries, written and illustrated by Crosby Bonsall. This series centers on the activities of four neighborhood boys who along with their cat Mildred keep the area they live in free of crime. Each title is centered on one issue and the list of titles is expanding. The reading levels range from about 1.6 to 2.0 and the print is large and well organized on the page. Snitch, Wizard, Skinny, and Tubby are funny and engaging, and are represented in lively color illustrations. The only issue that could be a problem is that the private eyes are all boys. However, girls are well represented among the peripheral peer group. What will mostly likely be presented after this passage? A) The Private Eyes club mysteries. B) Other ways to interest the readers. C) How girls can keep on reading the stories. D) Where to buy these interesting stories.
(Answer)
A
Ques:Focus on what you do best. This age-old strategy has worked well for Real Networks, Microsoft's main competitor in multimedia software for the Internet. Now, the smaller Seattle-based firm is trying a novel way to contain the software giant. On October 29th, it released the underlying recipe, or source-code, of its RealPlayer software and will soon do the same for its other programs--giving away a big chunk of its intellectual property . This may sound like a desperate echo of 1998, when Netscape, struggling in Microsoft's chokehold, published the source-code of its web browser. Yet Real Networks is not playing defence. It is trying to encourage the creation of a common multimedia software infrastructure for every kind of file format and device, thus thwarting Microsoft's ambitions in this promising market. The firm hopes that others in the industry (volunteer programmers, media firms and hardware makers) will take the code, called Helix DNA, improve it and make it run on new devices, such as mobile phones and home stereos, turning Real Networks' software into an industry standard. Clever licensing terms are supposed to ensure that this standard does not splinter and that the firm still makes money. Individual developers, universities and other non-profit organisations can modify the software as they please, and even redistribute it for free, so long as they also publish the source-code for their changes. This is a sort of payment in kind, for Real Networks is then allowed to use these contributions. Firms, on the other hand, must pay royalty fees if they distribute more than 1m copies of the code. They also have to make sure that their software works with other Helix DNA products. The software's development community already has 2,000 members. And several hardware makers back the effort. But there are risks. Afraid of piracy, media groups are suspicious of anything that might be related to hackers. The self-created competition could also hurt Real Networks if customers decide its commercial products, which... Which of the following can be a disadvantage of releasing the source-code? A) It can bring about self-created competition. B) It can defeat Microsoft's ambitions in this market. C) It can use the improved software. D) It can get royalty fees from some firms.

Ans:
A