The Ministry of Education in Singapore is releasing a new book this month that summarizes the thinking behind the model method for teaching math.The approach has drawn interest from many comers of the world thanks to the country's top performance on international exams.Last night, education officials and researchers from the US and Singapore highlighted some key differences between the two systems. Singapore's method is highly visual and explores fewer topics, but in greater depth.While Singapore's text books have an average of 34 lessons with 15 pages of explanation for each, much bulkier texts in the US include an average of 157 lessons, with about four pages of explanation per lesson.There arc some more surprising differences. Professional development is intensive for all teachers in Singapore, but strangely about half of the elementary teachers do not have university degrees.That is certain to change, though, as education standards for entering teachers are increasing, said Madame Low, the director of curriculum, planning and development with Singapore's Ministry of Education." Starting salaries for math teachers match public sector accountants or engineers.Teachers are treated as professionals," added Madame Low. Mentoring programs for new teachers in Singapore last five years! Teacher evaluations there are extremely comprehensive, and teachers who succeed receive bonuses worth one to three months of salary.Grades one and two have smaller class sizes--only 30 students.Students are taught in English, not their native tongue.Many are bilingual or trilingual. People often ask, how applicable is a successful model in Singapore to the more diverse and much larger US? I'm also interested in the practical challenges.Given that books in the US are written with state standards and assessments in mind, matching them up with another country's approach might be tough. What do you think? How applicable is a successful model in Singapore to the US? By asking a question at the end of the passage, the author _ . A) questions if math education in Singapore is successful B) welcomes discussions on the US adaptation of Singapore methods C) firmly believes that the Singapore model can be applied to the US D) suggests that the US improve math education by adding state standards
B
(Question)
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is likely to visit China at an "appropriate" time this year, a senior Chinese military official said on Monday. Colonel Tu Qiming, director of the American and Oceania Affairs Bureau of the Foreign Affairs Office at the National Defense Ministry, made the remark during Sino-US defense talks this week. This is the first ever "special defense policy dialogue" between the two defense ministries, according to the Chinese military. *** FRANCES Agriculture Ministry has confirmed the first case of mad cow disease detected in a goat last Friday. The goat killed in 2002 tested positive for mad cow disease. It is the first case in the world of the fatal disease being found in an animal other than a bovine. The human form of mad cow disease causes brain-wasting, personality change, loss of body function, and ends in death. The European Commission has not advised any change in farming and consuming goats, said the French Ministry in a statement published last Friday. *** MOBILE phone sales hit a new record in 2010, with some 684 million units sold around the world, the US research institute Strategy Analytics said on Thursday. The number represents an increase of 32 per cent over 2003, when 571 million units were sold. Strategy Analytics predicts a more modest rise of 8 per cent for this year, to 735 million. Finnish cell phone provider Nokia stayed out in front in 2010, with sales of 207.6 million units, giving it a market share of 30.4 per cent. Motorola moved to No 2, just ahead of the South Korean company Samsung. *** SIX male penguins at a German zoo are proving stubbornly resistant to females brought in from Sweden to make them into breeding .Of the ten male penguins at the zoo, six have formed into "homosexual" couples and have shown no interest in the females, making breeding an impossibility. So the zoo imported the four female penguins from Sweden last month, full of hope that the new arrivals could "turn" the males. But so far, the boys are remaining strictly with the boys. Which of the following are the suitable headlines for the pieces of news? A) a. US Defense Secretary Visit Likely b. France Confirms "Mad Goat Case" c. Mobile Phone Sales d. Male Penguins and Female Penguins B) a. US Defense Secretary Visit Likely b. France Confirms "Mad Goat Case" c. Nokia Stays on Top d. Birds of a Feather C) a. Defense Policy Dialogue b. Mad Goat Disease c. Mobile Phone Sales d. Importing Female Penguins D) a. Sino-US Talks b. Mad Goat Case c. Motorola's Sales Reduced d. Boys and Girls
(Answer)
B
Since around the later part of the 1950s, society started to realize that tobacco cigarettes caused health problems. As research progressed along with increasing numbers of people that developed lung cancer, emphysema, and other smoking related illnesses, cigarette smoking has become less accepted and popular. Unfortunately, the nicotine contained in cigarettes is one of the most addictive substances on the planet and makes quitting smoking one of the hardest things to do. In 2003, Chinese pharmacist, Hon Lik invented the electronic cigarette as a safer, and cleaner way to breathe in nicotine after his father, a heavy smoker, passed away from lung cancer attributed to smoking tobacco cigarettes. Hon Lik applied for his first patent on the electronic cigarette in 2003 and afterwards introduced e-cigs to the Chinese market in the following year through his employer, Golden Dragon Holdings. Golden Dragon Holdings later changed the company's name to "Ruyan" in order to better match the company's name(Ruyan means "almost like smoke")to the new product. Since the renaming, the Ruyan company has continued e-cigarette development and grown to be one of the largest global e-cig manufactures. Dr.Sam Han, CEO of Cixi E-CIG Technology, Inc, Ltd. also has a number of e-cig related inventions, including four patents in the United States and two in China that are electronic cigarette and e-liquid technology related. Similar to Hon Lik's father. Dr. Han was a heavy smoker for more than 40 years before beginning to work on electronic cigarette technologies in order to help himself and others make the shift to vapor smoking. Dr.Han continues to market and conduct R&D in e-cig related techonologies to this date. After the successful deployment of Ruyan and Cixi E-CIG electronic cigarettes in China and Asia, the products started to be sold in significant quantities on the Internet. How many years is it since the electronic cigarette was first invented according to the passage? A) About 5 years. B) About 11 years. C) About15 years. D) About 20 years.
B