Ever since Canadian psychiatrist Michael R. Phillips, who works in China, released his report saying China's suicide rate from 1995 to 1999 reached 0.023 percent, the country has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world. But Jing Jun, a professor of sociology in Tsinghua University, challenges that view and presents the true picture through his nationwide research. Jing and his students took one year to set up the first national database on suicide rate to grasp the overall trend of suicides in China. They collected data from the Health Statistics Annuals of the World Health Organization (sample size 10 million), and the country's Health Statistics Annuals (which cover 100 million people). The database covers 23 years, from 1987 to 2009. Jing calculates the suicide rate in China based on these data. Though the suicide rate was comparatively high in the early years, his study shows it has dropped in recent years, as opposed to the ascending trend in the rest of the world. According to Jing's calculation, China's suicide rate had dropped to about 0.01 percent in 2004. In 2009, the figure dropped further to 0.007 percent, which is rather low compared with the global rate of 0.016 percent. Even if the "missing" suicides were added, China's suicide rate in 2009 would still be below 0.008 percent.[:Zxxk.Com] Jing has found that one of the main reasons why the suicide rate has dropped was the steady and big decline in the number of suicides committed by rural women. In the early years, researchers generally agreed that the suicide rate among Chinese women was higher than among men, which is pretty rare in the rest the world. But the suicide rate among Chinese women, especially in rural areas, has declined remarkably in recent years. In fact, it is almost equal to that of Chinese men. As a sociologist, Jing regards suicide as a social issue, and believes improvement of social policies will reduce the suicide rate even further. More people's lives can be saved if the authorities adjust to... Why has the suicide rate in China dropped steadily according to Jing Jun? A) Because the life level of Chinese people has improved a lot. B) Because China's government has adopted measures to reduce the suicide rate. C) Because the number of Chinese women who commit suicide has declined. D) Because the world environment affects the suicide rate in China.
C
He is a lesson to every boy who ever picked up a basketball and dreamed that it would change his life. The lights were never brighter and the crowds were never bigger for a homegrown sports hero than they were a quarter-century ago for Ray Hall. But his athletic achievements, as impressive as they are, are to my mind not what is most admirable about the man. Known as "Sugar Ray" in his teens, Hall was rated among the country's top 25 high school basketball players. An inner-city kid from a solid family, Hall took on the challenge of lifting Canisius College -- still recovering from its failure -- back to respectability, rejecting more favorable offers. His status of a savior brought more pressure than any 18-year-old should have to handle. However, I watched him mature into the player who led Canisius back to daylight. After college Hall played professionally in Italy and Greece for over 10 years until a car accident at 32 ended his basketball career. The news that he would never play again shocked Hall but unlike so many others he was ready for life after basketball. When I met Hall -- still fit at 46 -- for lunch Monday, he wore a cut-sharp gray suit, designer tie and blazing white shirt that screamed Success. "That was always the question -- when the cheers end, where do you go? Who do you turn to?" he said. "It starts and ends with that person in the mirror." Hall got the concept of academics-first from his parents. He graduated from Canisius a semester early. "No matter how good of an athlete you are, you are just one injury away from losing it all," he said. "But if you take care of things academically, you are prepared until you leave this earth." For the past 14 years, he has been in a computer sales job at Ingram Micro. He married his college sweetheart. They have three kids and a nice house in the suburbs. He figured out early what others learn too late: Athletics is part of a journey, not the destination. Congratulations, Ray, you made it. In more ways than one. Ray was regarded as a savior because _ . A) he liked to take on challenges B) he helped his team to regain its glory C) he was faithful to his hometown city D) he fought hard against failure at a young age
B
India was once part of the British Empire, but thanks to modern technology and a booming economy, it has turned the tables on its former colonial master. Indian tutors are helping to teach math to British children over high-speed Internet connections. Early results suggest the idea is improving exam results. But not everyone is happy at this "outsourcing" of tutoring. It's 3:30, and pupils at Raynham Primary School in London are gathering for their after-school maths lessons. Five time zones-- thousands of kilometers away--their math tutors are also arriving for class. High-speed Internet has made it possible for Indian tutors to teach British pupils in real time. Each pupil gets a dedicated one-to-one online tutor. The students work with activities on their computer screen and wear a headset and microphone to talk to their tutor. The class teacher, Altus Basson, says he has seen an improvement in results. "There are some children who've really rocketed in their results. Children who struggleto focus in class focus a lot better on the laptops. The real advantage is that each child gets a focused activity and a single tutor," he said. Such individualized teaching is the core idea of Brightspark Education, the company that provides the online tutoring, says founder Tom Hooper. "Children today feel very confident online; they feel very engaged; they feel very in control. And that's half the battle with education.Give them control, make them feel confident and enjoy their learning and you'll see them start to improve and embrace it," he said. Raynham Primary School is among the first in Europe to try online tutoring. At between $20 and $25 an hour, it's about half the cost of face-to-face coaching. But some people say an Internet connection is not enough of a connection for teaching and learning. Kevin Courtney is deputy General Secretary of Britain's National Union of Teachers. "We think, there's a really important emotional connection between a teacher and a child whether it's a whole class or whether it's... What can we learn about Brightspark Education? A) It shows a threat to teachers' jobs in Britain. B) It can take place of the regular teaching. C) It only pays attention to math teaching. D) It emphasizes the individualized teaching.
D