In her new book, "The Smartest Kids in the World," Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students' test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(......) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind. That American high schools lavish more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it's safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers. Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader--a mother with three children in the school--was asked about the school's flaws . When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. "Really?"... The purpose of this article is to _ . A) draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition B) call on American schools to learn from the Polish model C) compare Polish schools with those in America D) explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions
A
Google is testing its newest high-tech device, Google Glass. Most of the technologies for Google Glass are already available on smart phones. Google has taken those same technologies and added them to eyeglass frames . The company describes the glasses as wearable computers that would change the way people view others and the world. "Google Glass is a tiny computer that sits in a lightweight frame, and rests neatly above your eye and it makes exploring and sharing the world around you a lot easier," said Chris Dale, the Senior Manager of Communications for Google Glass. The glasses have a tiny video screen and a camera that connect wirelessly to the Internet through WIFI, a smartphone, or a tablet computer. You can make and receive calls, send and receive texts, take pictures, record video or search the web. You control Google Glass using your voice, and a touchpad on the right arm of the frame. Professor Marcia Dawkins is among a select group of people who have been given a chance to test out Google Glass. "I thought this is something I definitely need for my classroom and hopefully for my personal life too." The Professor's Google Glass looks like a pair bright orange glasses, without the actual glass. But there's a tiny rectangular glass at the top right-hand corner. Through that glass, she has been recording video while biking. She also has been able to talk to her sister in Thailand, and she plans to use the device to teach a public speaking class. But not everyone is excited about Google Glass. Some are concerned about possible risks to privacy. John Simpson is the director of the privacy project at Consumer Watchdog. "It is going to allow people to come in and spy on you and record that, without you knowing what is going on." Filmmaker Chris Barrett showed just how easy it is to record people without them knowing it. His glass captured a man getting arrested after a fight. He shared the video on You Tube. Also some are concerned about the use of facial recognition technology on Google Glass. But Google... What can be inferred from the passage? A) Google has done what it can to protect people's privacy. B) Google Glass may be used for bad purposes. C) Most people feel worried about the use of the Glass. D) Google Glass is more useful than smartphones.
B
Q: Today is Sarah's birthday. She is seventy-five. We asked a few old friends to dinner. Like most elderly people, I suppose, we spent most of the evening talking about old times. Thirty years ago, the village used to be a quiet place. Now it has changed. Every Sunday hundreds of cars pass through the village at what I think a dangerous speed. They make the village almost as noisy as the streets of a large town. As a boy I enjoyed riding on the backs of the farm horses. Things are different now. Today there are very few horses working on the farms. The farm workers today drive tractors, not horses. A man is not of much use on a farm unless he knows all about machines. Now almost every house in the village has a TV set. Is it a good thing for children to spend the evening sitting in front of a TV set? When I was young I did not waste my time indoors. I would spend the long summer evenings outdoors. I would play with my friends, go fishing or walk by the river. When my grandchildren asked me the reason why I haven't bought a TV set, I tell them there are many books I still want to read. I can't find time for both reading and watching TV. I would rather _ than _ . A) watch TV; do some reading B) play with friends; go fishing C) do some reading; watch TV D) go fishing; play with friends
A: C
(Question)
News that Microsoft was making a $44.6 billion bid to buy Yahoo was greeted with heated discussion by many Internet users on Friday. Here are some responses: Mark Galeassi of Kansas City, Missouri This is the best move for both parties. Yahoo has the ideas and Microsoft has the money to finally market these ideas correctly. Microsoft and Yahoo are a perfect fit and the deal will be good for consumers. Scott G of New Jersey I was a Yahoo user for years along with Hotmail from Microsoft. Then Google came along: Google Earth, Google Toolbar and Gmail. Google is so innovative with everything they do. Yahoo and Microsoft... same old story... I don't think the merger will do anything for either company except improve the Yahoo shareholders' bank accounts. Michael Glosser of Estero, Florida Right now, Yahoo offers a lot of features and tools at no cost for all different levels of Internet users. Microsoft seeks nothing but profit. Undoubtedly, they'll do nothing other than find ways to start removing Yahoo's formerly non-priced features. Microsoft's greed will ruin the great thing that Yahoo currently is. Toni Suarez of Hacienda Heights, California Perhaps it would bring better high technology innovations to e-mail and help in researching and developing a better Internet! Antonio Simmons of Parkville, Maryland Microsoft purchasing Yahoo would be nothing more than an attempt from Microsoft to further impose upon the users their poor-quality software and obtain more wealth for the company. In my opinion, they will never be able to compete with Google because Yahoo and Microsoft's current search engines are too inferior to compete. Even if combined, they still lack. In the opinion of Scott G , _ . A) the merger will contribute to Microsoft B) Yahoo and Microsoft are lacking in innovation C) Google is getting short of management experience D) the merger will allow Microsoft to overtake Google
(Answer)
B