Time for another global-competitiveness alert. In the Third International Mathematics and Science Study--which last year tested a half-million students in 41 countries- American eighth graders 21 below the world average in math. And that’s not even 22 part. Consider this as you try to 23 which countries will dominate the technology markets of the 21st century: the top 10 percent of America’s math students scored about the same as the average kid in the global 24 , Singapore. It isn’t exactly a news flash these days 25 Americans score behind the curve on international tests. But educators say this study is 26 because it monitored variables both inside and outside the classroom. Laziness- the factor often 27 for Americans’ poor performance--is not the culprit here. American students 28 spend more time in class than pupils in Japan and Germany. 29 , they get more homework and watch the same amount of TV. The problem, educators say, is not the kids but a curriculum that is too 30 . The study found that lessons for U.S. eighth graders contained topics mastered by seventh graders in other countries. Teachers actually agree that Americans need to 31 their kids to more sophisticated math earlier. Unfortunately, experts say, the teachers don’t recognize that 32 these concepts are taught is as important as the concepts themselves. Most educators rely 33 on textbooks and rote learning (死记硬背) . While many textbooks cover 34 ideas, most do so superficially, 35 students with the techniques but not the mastery of the broader principles. 26()
A. important
B. ineffective
C. comparable
D. delightful
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Time for another global-competitiveness alert. In the Third International Mathematics and Science Study--which last year tested a half-million students in 41 countries- American eighth graders 21 below the world average in math. And that’s not even 22 part. Consider this as you try to 23 which countries will dominate the technology markets of the 21st century: the top 10 percent of America’s math students scored about the same as the average kid in the global 24 , Singapore. It isn’t exactly a news flash these days 25 Americans score behind the curve on international tests. But educators say this study is 26 because it monitored variables both inside and outside the classroom. Laziness- the factor often 27 for Americans’ poor performance--is not the culprit here. American students 28 spend more time in class than pupils in Japan and Germany. 29 , they get more homework and watch the same amount of TV. The problem, educators say, is not the kids but a curriculum that is too 30 . The study found that lessons for U.S. eighth graders contained topics mastered by seventh graders in other countries. Teachers actually agree that Americans need to 31 their kids to more sophisticated math earlier. Unfortunately, experts say, the teachers don’t recognize that 32 these concepts are taught is as important as the concepts themselves. Most educators rely 33 on textbooks and rote learning (死记硬背) . While many textbooks cover 34 ideas, most do so superficially, 35 students with the techniques but not the mastery of the broader principles. 32()
A. where
B. why
C. how
D. whether
Time for another global-competitiveness alert. In the Third International Mathematics and Science Study--which last year tested a half-million students in 41 countries- American eighth graders 21 below the world average in math. And that’s not even 22 part. Consider this as you try to 23 which countries will dominate the technology markets of the 21st century: the top 10 percent of America’s math students scored about the same as the average kid in the global 24 , Singapore. It isn’t exactly a news flash these days 25 Americans score behind the curve on international tests. But educators say this study is 26 because it monitored variables both inside and outside the classroom. Laziness- the factor often 27 for Americans’ poor performance--is not the culprit here. American students 28 spend more time in class than pupils in Japan and Germany. 29 , they get more homework and watch the same amount of TV. The problem, educators say, is not the kids but a curriculum that is too 30 . The study found that lessons for U.S. eighth graders contained topics mastered by seventh graders in other countries. Teachers actually agree that Americans need to 31 their kids to more sophisticated math earlier. Unfortunately, experts say, the teachers don’t recognize that 32 these concepts are taught is as important as the concepts themselves. Most educators rely 33 on textbooks and rote learning (死记硬背) . While many textbooks cover 34 ideas, most do so superficially, 35 students with the techniques but not the mastery of the broader principles. 30()
A. easy
B. small
C. short
D. poor
Passage FiveOne of Dara Torres’ trainers is walking all over me. Literally. I’m lying on my stomach as Steve Sierra concentrates his entire 160 lb. on my glutei and hamstrings. It hurts, but in a good way. It’s all part of the flexibility--and strength-building regimen that Torres, who is making history, as the oldest swimmer to compete in the Olympics, credits with getting her 41-year-old body in good-enough shape to race athletes half her age. But resistance stretching, as it is called, is not just for the Olympians among us. Its focus on maximizing muscle flexibility has been useful for everyone from injured NBA players to children with cerebral palsy. The exercises may not look like much--they generally require no equipment other than a mat and maybe a towel and some straps--and they may not feel that strenuous, but you know the next day that you’ve had a workout. Resistance stretching centers on flexing your muscles even as you stretch them; for example, instead of simply releasing a leg lift, resist the urge to let your quad muscles relax on the way down. Unlike holding a muscle in a passively stretched position, the resistance route actively lengthens muscles through constant movement. "Resistance stretching goes deep into the joints and grabs more muscle fibers to increase strength and flexibility," says Tierney, Sierra’s partner. "It takes twice as much force to stretch a muscle as it does to contract it." I’m not convinced yet, but after they guide me through a few exercises my muscles do start to feel more energized I can see why Torres likes to be worked on half an hour before she swims. Although Tierney and Sierra have certified 250 trainers through weekend workshops, you might be hard-pressed to find a class at your local gym. That may have something to do with the fact that stretching has always been deemed the most disposable part of any exercise regimen. "People usually only think about flexibility and stretching when they are older and getting stiff or when they are injured," says Tiernjcy. "It’s just not considered sexy." That could change. As doctors urge even us non-Olympians to remain physically active throughout our lives, maybe we’ll start to pay more attention to stretching. After all, look what it does for Tortes. Unlike most other people, the author insists that stretching may make one()
A. live longer
B. look attractive
C. physically active
D. rid of disease
Passage FourThe "issues" reported were unthinkable. The physician who enrolled the most patients in the study, an Alabama weight-loss doctor, allegedly forged scores of signatures, enrolling "’volunteers" every few minutes. By the time of the FDA review, she was under criminal investigation. (She’s now in federal prison.) Another key researcher had been put on probation by the California medical board for gross negligence. He was arrested shortly after the study ended, when police, called to his home on a domestic violence complaint, found him with a bag of cocaine and waving a loaded gun at imaginary people. The study was so riddled with fraud and error that FDA reviewers decided it was useless. Yet Dr. Ross says he was told to reveal nothing about those problems to the advisory board, which recommended that the drug be approved. Later, he says, he was pressured to soften his report about Ketek’s liver toxicity to gain approval of higher-ups. Six million Americans have now used the drug, including hundreds of infants in a clinical trial designed to test Ketek’s effectiveness against ear infections. "How does one justify balancing the risk of fatal liver failure against one day less of ear pain" one FDA scientist, Rosemary Johann-Liang, protested--to no avail--in a memo to her superiors. Most ear infections clear up in a few days on their own, she says. The agency says the controversy is overblown. "There was enough good, solid scientific data to make that decision." Says FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza, pointing to what appeared to be a history of safe use of Ketek in other countries. Ketek has now been linked to 18 deaths and at least 134 cases of liver damage, according to an independent analysis using FDA data. The real toll, some researchers say, may be far greater. Last October the FDA sent a warning letter to Sanofi-Aventis, Ketek’s maker, accusing the company of knowingly presenting compromised data to the agency, a charge the company denies. "We were not aware of the fraud," says spokeswoman Melissa Feltmann. "It was not until the FDA’s criminal investigators uncovered it that we became aware of it." The question remains, What did the FDA and the drugmaker know about the fake safety data, and when Congressmen John Dingell and Bart Stupak, both Michigan Democrats, are investigating that mystery right now in Congressional hearings. "Unfortunately," Stupak says, "the truth comes too late for some victims." According to Paragraph 1, the Alabama physician was accused of()
A. forcing people to join her study
B. administering illegal drugs to patients
C. exaggerating some drug’s effects
D. inventing evidence for her research