(1)Teachers in the United States earn less relative to national income than their counterparts in many industrialized countries, yet they spend far more hours in front of the classroom, according to a major new international study. (2)The salary differentials are part of a pattern of relatively low public investment in education in the United States compared with other member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), a group in Paris that compiled the report. Total government spending on educational institutions in the United States slipped to 4.8 percent of gross domestic production in 1998, falling under the international average 5 percent-for the first time. (3)"The whole economy has grown faster than the education systems," Andreas Schleicher, one of the report's authors explained. "The economy has done very well, but teachers have not fully benefited." (4)The report, due out today, is the sixth on education published since 1991 by the organization of 30 nations, founded in 1960, and now covering much of Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. (5)In addition to the teacher pay gap, the report shows the other countries have begun to catch up with the United States in higher education: college enrollment has grown by 20 percent since 1995 across the group, with one in four young people now earning degrees. For the first time, the United States college graduation rate, now at 33 percent, is not the world highest. Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Britain have surpassed it. (6)The United States is also producing fewer mathematics and science graduates than most of the other member states. And, the report says, a college degree produces a greater boost in income here while the lack of a high school diploma imposes a bigger income penalty. (7)"The number of graduates is increasing, but that stimulates even more of a demand—there is no end in sight," Mr. Schleicher said, "The demand for skill, clearly, is growing faster than the supply that is coming from schools and colleges." (8)The report lists the salary for a high school teacher in the United States with 15 years experiences as $36,219, above the international average of $31,887 but behind seven other countries and less than 60 percent of Switzerland's $62,052. Because teachers in the United States have a heavier classroom load, teaching almost a third more hours than their counterparts abroad, their salary per hour of actual teaching, $35, is less than the international average of $41(Denmark, Spain and Germany pay more than $50 per teaching hour, South Korea $77).
Are ex-prisoners the right people to teach youngsters the danger of committing crime? This issue has been intensely discussed for years. The following are the supporters' and opponents' opinions. Read carefully the opinions from both sides and write your response in about 200 words, in which you should first summarize briefly the opinions from both sides and give your view on the issue. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. YES The vivid narration of released prisoners is more impressive than the traditional lectures given by professors. It does play an indispensable role in helping those immature or inexperienced youngsters reflect on their lives, strengthen their law-abiding consciousness and establish right life attitude. It is definitely an improvement of the society to give ex-prisoners opportunities to share their experiences. There are also advantages for those ex-convicts. Because their feelings of being accepted by the public will motivate them to live positively in the future. There is an invisible correlation between the public tolerance of ex-convicts and the social harmony and stability. NO It is common for people to have a fearful attitude towards criminals, especially those who have committed violent crimes, and therefore the face-to-face conversation between the young and people with a criminal record might be inappropriate in some cases. Policemen can become the active voice in helping reduce juvenile delinquency. One of the reasons causing juvenile delinquency is teenagers' disadvantaged family background. Parents can be the best teachers to help their children to learn the difference between right and wrong since they know their children best in the world.
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After reading an article in the Herald about memory loss and dementia, I can assure readers that today's generation has been inflicted with a syndrome that makes certain we will be able to remember every waking(and otherwise)moment of our lives. Like many Australians, I've been canonised; I have taken incessant photography as my new religion. I've looked through my grandmother's photo albums, and they contain about as many photos for a lifetime as you could hold on a 32-megabyte memory stick. Life-changing experiences such as climbing Uluru, riding a gondola in Venice or walking on the Great Wall of China are interrupted by scores of people huddling around a small LCD screen to check their progress mid-conquest. "Hey, honey, look at me hanging off this cliff. Do I really look like that in a helmet?" Have you noticed that everybody looks perfect during their camping trips these days? It's because airbrushing is now available to the man on the street. Teeth not as white as they used to be? No need to pay the dentist, Photoshop will ensure that only your best self is displayed to the world. After the mass adoption of the digital camera came personalised photo websites. There is a shrine to the narcissistic where pages of every movement are captured and displayed for all of us to trawl through. Previously, people might have gathered infrequently for a photo; now I can't go anywhere without being hounded by my friends. Every 10 minutes a new pose must be struck at least three times because we don't have to wait until the pictures are developed before realising Mum's got her eyes closed. Hair not perfect? Don't worry, we'll take it again. These days, any given event will result in at least 100 photos being taken, which—if compiled into an album and the pages flipped rapidly—could be sold to Disney as an animation strip. With most new digital cameras as small as mobile phones, it wasn't long before the two merged. I fear, however, that the two combined have exacerbated the problem. Not only do we have to contend with mates sending pictures of themselves at football games, concerts or holidays while we're at our desk, looking after the kids, taking out the garbage—but we hear about it— simultaneously. The digital revolution has made photography infinitely easier. When we get home from a five-day trip of standing either behind the lens or in front of it, we can email pictures to everyone in our address book, then spend hours printing the photos, only to discover that the ink cartridge has run out of magenta. When booking holidays, tell your boss you'll need an extra day's leave at the end for "holiday downloading and recapture". I don't pity the older generation losing their memory, remembering everything is not all it's cracked up to be.
I expect the orange juice ______ undrinkable because it has been put there for several months.
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Mary, when you have finished your home work, don't forget to turn off the light, _____?
—How slim your sister's figure is!—It's_______ mine when I was at her age.
{{B}}PART VI WRITING{{/B}}
PASSAGE ONE
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Despite her rise to stardom she has kept both feet firmly on the _____.
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This week the fresh salmon at the supermarket is a real _____ at such a low price.
Which of the following underlined parts indicates a predicate-object relation?
His ______ brain has worked away on the idea of a universal cure.[2006]
PASSAGE FOUR
In "What do you think she said just now", what is the ______ of the sentence.
Which of the following italicized parts is used as a subject?
Earn Your Parent's Trust1.【T1】______ of privileges that you wantThe reason why parents don't give you privilegesKids may use approval as【T2】______ and ask morePropose a conclusive list of【T3】______ of privilegesDon't ask for too much at onceEarning trust: a【T4】____ projectProve it & ask for more gradually2. Start the conversation from an empathetic【T5】______Admit that parents' fear are【T6】______Don't 【T7】______ demands3. Present desired privileges and reasons, and make a 【T8】______Discuss what's on your listDemonstrate good qualities & 【T9】______for more freedomNegotiate and come to termsRemember trust-building is a processShow your 【T10】______and achieve more in the future