Testing: Is it the only way to Evaluate Students?About ten percent of __1_

Water

【*】From the beginning, water has furnished man with a source of food and a highway to travel upon. The first civilization ___1___ (arise) where water was a dominant element in the environment, a challenge to ___2___ (man) ingenuity. The Egyptians invented the 365-daycalendar in response to the Niles annual ___3___ (flood). The Babylonians, who were among the most famous lawmakers in ancient times, invented laws regulating water usage. Water ___4___ (inspire)the Chinese to build a 1000-mile canal, a complex system which, after nearly2,500 years, remains still ___5___ (practical)in use and still commands the astonishment of engineer. But the ancients never found complete ___6___ (solution) to their water problems. The Yellow River is also ___7___ (know) as"china's Sorrow; it is so unpredictable and ___8___ (danger) that in a single flood it has caused a million deaths. Floods slowed the great civilization of the Indus River Valley, and ___9___ (adequate) drainage ruined much of its land. Today water dominates man as it always has done. Its ___10___ (present) continues to govern the location of his homes and cities.

Online Dating

Online dating is a dating system which allows people to make contact and communicate with Online each other over the

Internet, usually with the object of developing a ___11___ (romance) relationship. Online dating services usually provide

matchmaking over the Internet through the use of personal computers or cell phones

Online dating sites generally requires ___12___(apply) to provide personal information before they can search the

database for other individuals using criteria they set, such as age, gender, race religion and ___13___(locate). Most sites allow members to upload photos of themselves and browse those of others. Sites may offer ___14___ (addition) services,

such as online chatting, telephone chatting, and message boards.

Some sites provide free ___15___ (register), but may offer services which require a___16___ (month) pay. For example,

they may offer full access to profiles, but provide additional services to pay, such as ___17___ (place) users' profiles at the

top of the listing their profiles appear several times in different places in the search result and giving them a more ___18___ (advance) search engine to work with. In one real example, free users may only search for persons of ___19___ (specify)

age, gender and city, while subscribers may also search for such information as height, weight and interests. Other dating

sites depend on advertising for their income. In recent years such sites have become ___10___ (increase) popular.

Testing: Is it the only way to Evaluate Students?

About ten percent of __1__ (spend)on primary and secondary education in the United States comes from the federal government. For ten years now, federal law has tied this cost to student __2__ (perform). States have been required to show progress through __3__ (year) testing.

States saying testing tells only part of the story about efforts by school and students to improve. So the Obama administration has eased the limits on states in __4__ (measure) performance.

The western state of Colorado for example, has a new __5__ (assess) method. The idea is to show __6__ (academy) growth, not just achievement on tests. It combines test scores, family income levels, school size, the ethnicity of the student and many other factors.

Josh Smith is principal of a middle school in a network of public charter schools __7__ (call). West Denver Prep Charter schools are publicly funded but not operated the same as __8__ (tradition) public schools. Mr. Smith says he likes to show his students this graph so they can see their school’s progress. On average, students enter sixth grade at West Denver Prep __9__ (perform) below grade level. __10__ (strange) enough, most are outperforming other students across the state three years later.

Cell Phones: Hang Up or Keep Talking?

Millions of people are using cell phones today. In many places it is actually considered __1__ (usual) not to use one. They find that the phones are more than a means of __2__ (communicate)---having a mobile phone shows that they are cool and __3__(connect).

The __4__ (explode) around the world in mobile phone use make some health professional worried. Some doctors are __5__ (concern) that in the future many people may suffer health problems from the use of mobile phones. In England, there has been a serious debate about this issue. Mobile phone companies are worried about the negative 46(public) of such ideas. They say that there is no __7__ (prove) that mobile phones are bad for your health.

On the other hand, signs of change in the issues of the brain and head can be __8__ (detect) with modern scanning equipment. What is it that makes mobile phones __9__ (potential) harmful? The answer is radiation.

As the discussion about their safety continues, it appears that it's best to use mobile phones less often. Use your regular phone if you want to talk for a long time. Use your mobile phone only when you really need it. Mobile phones can be very useful and convenient, especially in emergencies. In the future, mobile phones may have a __10__ (warn) label that says they are bad for your health. So for now, it's wise not to use your mobile phone too often.