*Question*
But what is teacher quality? How can one measure it reliably? An analysis is issued on a sample of data from a Texas school district. Experts argue convincingly that teacher effectiveness should be measured by students' gains on standardized tests: Mr. Smith is probably a better teacher than Ms. Brown if his students consistently improve their test scores more than hers do. Though this approach is appealing, there are tricky issues. For example, what if Ms. Brown teaches in a school where students score so high there is little room for improvement? The authors try to correct for this problem, as well as other sorts of measurement issues, to generate a measurement of teacher effectiveness. The paper is primarily concerned with how this measure is related to other observable characteristics. The first finding is that there is a large variation in teacher effectiveness: some teachers consistently have a larger impact on their students' achievement than others. Second, easily observable characteristics like having a master's degree or a passing score on the teacher certification exam are not correlated with teacher effectiveness. Then what does matter? The most important single influence is experience: first-year teachers are much less effective than others. The second year is significantly better, and by the fourth year, _ . It is not entirely clear whether this experience effect is learning by doing (the more you teach, the more effective you become) or survival of the fittest (those who are not good at teaching tend to drop out early.) From my reading of the paper, both effects appear important and there is no simple answer. The data do suggest, however, that teacher effectiveness is pretty clear by the end of the second year, so the information to make an informed decision is available at that time. The authors also investigate the contentious issue of racial matching of students and teachers. Here they find strong evidence that minority teachers tend to be more effective with minority students. Again, it is... The schoolmaster could decide wisely whether to further employ the teacher by the end of the   _  . A) the first year B) the second year C) the third year D) the fourth year
**Answer**
D

*Question*
A team of scientists from University of Freiburg in Germany are developing a shoe with a sensor to automatically tie its laces that could be taken off when users click their heels together. It's been 26 years since we saw them magically tightening Marty McFly's Nike boots in the film Back to The Future. Now,self-tying shoelaces could actually become a reality this year,proving right one of the film's fantastical predictions for what 2015 would be like. Engineers have designed a shoe that can automatically lace up,adjusting itself to the shape of your foot. Simply slip the controller on and pressure sensors will tell the 'smart shoe' when your foot is in position,triggering a tiny motor in the heel that pulls the laces tight. When you want to take off the shoes,you click your heels together twice and the motor will release a spring in the shoe's tongue,which loosens the laces enough for you to slip them off. And the invention doesn't even need to be plugged in to charge or have its battery replaced because it runs on power generated by the swing of your foot as you walk. Engineer K1evis Ylli,of the Institute for Micromachining and Information Technology in southern Gemany,said the shoes could help a variety of different people.[:Zxxk.Com] "One focus is that it could be used in shoes for elderly people who have mobility problems,"he said."But it could also work for children,or as a lifestyle product.". The design,which is still in a prototype stage,cleverly gets the energy of the foot's swing when opposing magnets in each shoe move past each other. It then uses that power to charge a battery.An hour of walking is enough to tighten the laces once,and it requires no energy to undo the shoes because that relies on the spring alone. Which of the following can be the best title of the text? A) A fantastical prediction B) A great invention in Germany C) A shoe with self-tying laces D) A popular lifestyle product
**Answer**
C

*Question*
London taxis, with their friendly drivers who actually know where they are going, are ranked best in the world, according to an annual taxi survey. The survey by travel websitehotels.comfound London taxis, despite being the most expensive, beat rivals across the globe to head the list for the third consecutive years, scoring a total of 59 percent in votes on several categories by travelers. London taxi drivers were voted both friendliest and most knowledgeable. Drivers in the English capital must pass a _ examination called The Knowledge to earn their taxi license. New York's yellow taxis came second in the list, scoring 27 percent which was up 10 percentage points from last year even though Manhattan's cab drivers tied  with Parisian taxi drivers as the rudest. Travelers said New York had the most convenient taxis. Taxi drivers in Rome were voted the worst drivers in the world with almost one in 10 travelers thinking the Italian capital had the world's worst taxi drivers when it came to the quality of driving. "Traveling by taxi is one of the first experiences that many travelers have upon arrival in a new city. In fact, the research found that cabs are by far the most popular method of traveling from the airport to their hotel," a spokesman for hotels.comsaid in a statement. The global survey scored city based taxis for their levels of cleanliness, value, quality of driving, knowledge of the area, friendliness, safety and convenience. Rounding out the top five were Tokyo with a total score of 26 percent, Berlin with 17 percent, and Bangkok famed for its tuk-tuks scoring 14 percent. The survey for hotels.com, part of the Expedia group, was conducted among over 1,900 travelers between May 11-28 this year. The writer introduced the result of the study by   _  . A) interviewing city leaders B) interviewing the taxi drivers C) listing the ranks of cities concerned D) reading forms concerned
**Answer**
C

*Question*
The Australian continent is a land like no other. Its animals, plants and landscapes have evolved   over one thousand years, and there are about a million different natural species  in Australia. More than 80 per cent of the country's plants and animals are unique to prefix = st1 /Australia, along with most of the fish and almost half the birds. Australia has more than 140 species of marsupials  ,including koalas, wombats and the Tasmanian devil, now found only in the Australian wilderness. More than 750 species of birds have been recorded in Australia, 350 of which are found nowhere else in the world. Among them are the kookaburra, the rainbow lorikeet and fairy penguins. There are also 55 differernt species of macropods--the kangaroo family--native toAustralia. They vary greatly in size and weight, ranging from half a kilogram to 90 kilograms. The country has been making every effort to protect its natural heritage. Despite the large size of the continent, the majority of Australians live on the coast and in major cities--around 75 per cent of Australia's population lives in city areas. Australia is the driest continent on earth. Its center has one of the lowest rainfalls in the world and about three-quarters of the land is dry. These dry areas extend from the large central deserts to the western coast. Soils in these areas are very poor compared to other deserts. This has given Australians a great challenge.They have to make the best use of the variety of regions to meet the competing demands of agriculture, economy and conservation. Wombats and the Tasmanian devil are the names of_. A) plants B) animals C) places D) people
**Answer**

B