One of the strongest arguments for the raising of the school leaving age(ROSLA)has been that it will bring us some way nearer to "equality of opportunity". Many people like to think of our present system of schooling as providing plenty of steps up the ladder of success for clever children. It would be good to think that no one who is really bright can be missed out when the state system is obviously so complete. It is obvious, for instance, that many children from less wealthy homes reach university or do well in other ways. Unfortunately we now have plenty of proofs that many children of every level of ability do much less well than they could. For instance, during the years of national military service it was possible to test the intelligence of all males 18 to 20 year old. Half of those soldiers who were placed in the two highest ability groups had left school at 15. It has also been shown that the percentage of working class children going to university is almost the same now as it was in 1939. One study of 5,000 children from birth to 21 years old shows that up to half the bright pupils from working class homes left school when they reached 16 years old. Moreover, there is no difference in intelligence between the sexes, but far more boys than girls stay in education after 16. It is clear from this and many other proofs that many children are still leaving school too early to benefit from the prizes--money, social respectability, and interesting jobs--which higher education gives. It is clear too that the reasons why such children leave have much to do with their social background. Their parents often need the extra money another money-earner would bring in; they don't value education for itself because their own was probably dull and unhappy. It is not so much that they force their sons and daughters to leave school, rather that they tend to say, "it's up to you". People would like to think that A) equal numbers of poor and wealthy children reach university B) those with the least money get the best education C) intelligent children are always selected by the system D) only really clever children do well
C
More than half a century ago, there were 4, 000 drive-in movie theaters in the United States, and watching a movie from your car was a popular way to spend an evening. But with the number of drive-ins reduced to just a few hundred, outdoor movie has been popping up across the nation. Going to an open-air theater has become a modern summer pastime for an increasing number of movie fans. In recent years, outdoor movie screenings have come up in parks, vacant lots and shopping malls around the nation. On average, about 1,000 people attend each movie night. It attracts a lot of young professionals, young workers and residents nearby. For some, the outdoor movies bring back the memories of the drive-in theaters of their youths. But for the majorities, they think it is comparable to the atmosphere of drive-ins, as they can bring friends, food, good wine, and watch the movie together. The returning of Americans' love affair with outdoor movies makes Stephen Bastas ever busier. His seven-member crew sets up screens in various locations mostly in the Washington area every day throughout the summer. They are doing pretty well and they hope to continue the trend. And it looks like they are going to. That's because many fans say there is nothing like watching a movie on a breezy summer evening under the stars. From the text, we can learn that Stephen Bastas is most probably _ . A) a movie maker B) an outdoor movie fan C) a movie director D) an open-air theater operator
D
Q: Topping the class academically was certainly an advantage. For Nigel, studying was a piece of cake. The reward was certainly much bigger compared to the little effort Nigel had made. It all began when he was selected to help the teachers in the computer laboratories. And the peak of his school career came not when he topped the class but when he was selected for the nationwide competition. Unlike everyone else, Nigel wanted to join in the contest because he liked playing with the Lego sets and making something out of them. Nigel spent two months building his robot. It was during the time that Nigel found out about the big prize for the competition as well as a competitive rival , Alicia, from a neighboring school. His early intentions were forgotten. Getting the thousand-dollar prize was more important than anything else. Nigel decided to make friends with Alicia. Unaware of his intentions, she told him all about the robot that she had been building for the competition. He even helped her to put the finishing touches to her robot. He was glad with the way things had progressed. His robot looked even better than Alicia's and it was able to play a ball with its arm, something Alicia had failed to do. On the day of the competition, he saw Alicia. Everything became clear the minute she saw him among the competitors. She stared at him, puzzled at first, then angry and finally a look of helplessness came over her. The flashbulbs of the camera exploded in Nigel's face. The robot had performed actions so unique and different that the specialists' judgments were the same. Nigel was so pleased with himself that he did not even notice the girl standing a few feet away from him. Without her, he would never have won the competition. Nigel's original intention of joining the contest was to _ . A) win honor for his school B) be the top student of the school C) build a robot with the Lego sets D) win the thousand-dollar prize
A: C
Q: Raising a baby takes a lot of work, especially when that baby is a king penguin. Now, it looks like climate change will make life even harder for these birds. A new study suggests that warmer waters could make their numbers _ Most king penguins live on the Crozet Archipelago, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, about 1,000 miles north of Antarctica. After the penguin chicks are born in November (which is summer in the Southern Hemisphere), both parents spend 4 months collecting fish to feed their children. When the fish move to deeper waters in March, the adults leave their chicks alone for months. They swim hundreds of miles south. There, near the Antarctic ice, they spend the winter eating seafood, such as squid, to add their own energy stores. In October, nearly a year after their chicks are born, the parents return to feed and finish raising them. Scientists from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in prefix = st1 /Strasbourg,France, have been studying king penguins on the Crozet Archipelago for a decade. Starting in 1998, Yvon Le Maho and other researchers implanted electronic ID tags under the skin of hundreds of penguins. The tags have allowed Le Maho's team to know the details about them, such as how long they live, whether they return from their winter trips, and if their chicks manage to survive the winter. Ocean surface temperatures vary from year to year. And former research had shown that fewer squid, fish and other creatures grow when the water is warmer. Le Maho suspected that this drop in the food supply would make it harder for adult penguins to survive the tough times ahead. King penguins can live for up to 30 years. And for now, the population still appears healthy. But a warming trend could cause big trouble for a bird that depends on cold and ice. According to the passage, the adult penguins spend the winter south because _ . A) They have to raise their children there B) they have to raise their chicks there C) the food supply they need exists there D) they have to give birth to chicks there
A: C