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Family

Planning

as

an

Economic

Investment

Strategy

1.The United Nations ......................................... says greater access to family
planning ......................................... would save developing countries more than $11 billion
a

year.

2.A new UN report says the savings would come from .........................................of care for
mothers and newborn babies. The "State of World Population 2012" report
was
3.It

..........................................
says

over

200

million

women

in

the

developing

world

cannot

get ......................................... or other family planning services. It says $4 billion a year
could

provide

these

women

with

reproductive

information

to

reduce

unplanned ....................................... or unsafe abortions.
4.The report says about $2 billion a year would .........................................contraceptives to
meet the needs of developing countries. The report says .........................................to family
planning is a good economic .......................................... It says having fewer children has
been .........................................countries in Europe and North America.
5.

The

UN

Population

Fund

says

one-third

of

the

growth

of

Asia's .........................................is the result of increased use of family planning services.
Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the biggest unmet .........................................family
planning

services.

6.The report says modern contraceptives are not .........................................in countries such
as Chad and Niger. But contraceptives are not enough. There are .........................................,
political

and

.........................................that

prevent

access

to

birth

control.

7. In ........................................., women are encouraged to have large families and to avoid
or limit the use of contraceptives.The Population Fund says family planning helps
countries

..........................................

8.A recent study said Nigeria's economy would grow by at least $30 billion dollars if
the .........................................fell by just one child per woman in the next 20 years.

Obesity

Rises

Among

Children

in

Developing

Countries

1.The World ............................................ says there has been an increase in the number of
children

in

developing

countries

who

.............................................

2.In African countries, the WHO says the number of ............................................ or obese


children is ............................................ as high as it was 20 years ago. Around the world,
about 43 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2011.
3............................................. height, weight and age to measure whether a person is
underweight, ............................................, overweight or obese. Overweight and obese
children

are

............................................

to

become

obese

overweight

and

.............................................

4.They are also at ............................................ of developing ............................................
like

diabetes

and

heart

disease.

Francesco

Branca

is

the

director

of

the

WHO ............................................ for Health and Development. He says governments
should ............................................ providing vitamins for children.
5.And

they

should

have

............................................

on

how

food

is ............................................ to children. But reducing the number of overweight children
will not be easy. The ............................................ to meet, even in wealthy countries.
6.Experts say lowering obesity rates is ............................................ in countries that also
have

high

rates

of

.............................................

But

the

WHO

has

some .............................................
7.The organization says people should ............................................, sugar, salt and
processed food. This can be ............................................ more fruits and vegetables and
increased

.............................................

8.These goals are especially important for children. The WHO also says mothers
should ............................................ for at least the first six months, if possible.
9.The

............................................

for

the

WHO's

World

Health

Assembly

is

to ............................................ in the percentage of overweight children in the next 12
years.

Car Index' as a Measure of Economic Progress for Middle Class
1.The International ....................... Fund says worldwide growth is weaker than expected
because of economic ....................... in Europe and the United States. But there is
some

.......................news.

2.The number of cars being made is on the ....................... That is a sign that the world's
economy is moving in the ........................ Measuring economic progress, especially for
groups like the .......................,is not easy.


3.But a little known economic ....................... is beginning to gain acceptance. The socalled "car index" is an ....................... to measure the world's middle class
.......................the number of people who ....................... cars.
4.Experts say that the number of people who own cars in the developing world
is ....................... increasing. That is because there are about 70 countries with
a .......................of about 3 billion people who are quickly ....................... an
important ....................... level: $4,000 per person.
5.Experts say when that level is ......................., a country's middle class increases very
quickly. This rise in ....................... income means greater demand for goods that
are ....................... non-essential.
6.And many of these goods are ....................... in Japan, Germany and the United States.
The International Monetary Fund says .......................spending in developed nations
has ....................... since the economic .......................of 2008.
7.The fund's .......................director, Christine Lagarde, points to the .......................in
Europe and problems in the United States economy as threats to ........................ Growth
could be slower than the IMF had ....................... earlier in the year.
8.On the other hand, .......................show consumer spending in developing countries has
increased three times ....................... than in developed economies.

In England, a Hotel for Chickens
1.More and more British people are ..........................their own chickens. But these chicken
owners have a ..........................: what to do with their chickens when they go
on ........................... A woman named Julie Smith has .......................... their prayers.
2.She has opened a chicken hotel in the English countryside to .......................... the birds
when their owners are ...........................Julie Smith named her hotel the Fowlty Towers.
The name is a .......................... on words from the British television .......................... about
a hotel called Fawlty Towers.


3.But Julie's hotel houses fowl, or chickens. And she wants to ..........................they have a
wonderful stay. She gives them lots of individual .......................... and feeds them
fresh .......................... every day.
4.She .......................... the eggs they lay, and gives them to their owners when
they ........................... She even takes the chickens for walks in her hen stroller. England
has faced ..........................times during the global ...........................
5.Julie Smith ..........................that she has been able to develop a business around
her ........................... Her specialized business has done well. She has thirteen chickens of
her own. They are .......................... hens.
6.That means she uses the eggs and sells them. Also, she knows she is providing a service
for her ........................... Now clients even come to her from outside the .......................... of
Kent where she lives, in .......................... England.
7.Recently she kept a woman's hens when she went into the .......................... to have a
baby. At night, the chickens stay in hen houses. But during the day they can free-range in a
........................... But, Julie Smith only takes hens, which are .......................... birds. No
male birds are ..........................

Students

Try

to

Cut

Federal

Budget

in

Online

Game

.
1.Some people think of politics as a game. But an online game ............................people
think of themselves doing one of the ............................in American politics: cutting the
federal ............................. The game is called Budget Hero.
2.Students in Los Angeles and other cities have been playing it. Budget Hero lets
them ............................ how they want to spend federal tax dollars. The game uses
information from the Congressional Budget Office.
3.It shows what ............................each cost-cutting proposal would have. High school
student Dory Bennett says she thinks spending cuts are needed to keep the economy
growing and keep the American ............................


4. "I want to grow up, go to college, get ............................, have kids maybe, a dog and a
house." The students ............................ the same issues facing lawmakers in Washington.
The

game

was

developed

in

two

thousand

eight.

5. In the newest ............................, students make decisions about what spending is
important

to

them.

Do

they

want

to

............................?

Spend

more

on

environmental ............................? What about defense spending? Making these decisions
helps

clarify

their

............................

6.Jane Harmon is a ............................ Democratic representative from California.
She ............................ in Congress for almost twenty years. She now heads the Woodrow
Wilson Center for International Scholars, which helped ............................ Budget Hero.
7.Ms. Harmon says the students are having more ............................ than Congress at
cutting the budget. More than one million people have played it ............................, she
says, and she thinks they have learned ............................two things: "One, how hard it is,
but two, that it can be done if there's a will to do it." Student Jeffrey Burke agrees.
8."The hardest thing for us to ............................was the little cuts like the gas money and
stuff, increasing taxes on gas, because we felt it would have effects everywhere from
the ............................shipping our stuff across the country, or when you order from
Amazon

or

whatever,

to

you

drive

when

you're

going

to

work.

9.I think we need to look at the little things and ............................ that just because they're
small

money

doesn't

mean

they're

small

effects."Joaquin

Alvarado

is

with

American ............................ Media, an organization that also helped ............................ the
game.
10.He says many of the players "will literally in the ............................ ask that Congress
play this game to just get a little rational around the questions that have to be answered."

Some Websites Judge You by the Kind of Computer You Use
1.Recently the Wall Street Journal had a report about the ............................ company
Orbitz. The newspaper said Orbitz shows Mac users ............................ travel choices at the
top

of

search

............................

than

users

of

Windows.

2.The company began doing this after research ............................ that people who use Mac
computers spend up ............................ more for hotels than people with PCs. Former Orbitz
employee Cameron Yuill is ............................ of a digital media and technology company
called AdGent. He says, "Mac users ............................ to be more affluent than PC users,
so why not ............................ them with the messages that are going to resonate with


them?"
3.This kind of price discrimination is also known as dynamic pricing. Cameron Yuill says
it is a very common ............................, especially in the travel industry. He puts it this way,
"Next time you're on a ........., ask the person next to you what they paid for their .................
4." For example, if you are a business traveler or you bought your ticket at
the

............................,

you

will

always

get

charged

more.

Companies

have

always ................... information about their customers. But now they have a lot more ways
to

do

it.

5.Eric Martin is a ............................ at Boost Partners, a management ............................
company. He says a salesperson in a store can only ............................ certain things about
you based on your ............................. Online sellers, however, have far more information to
work with, ............................ information about which website ................... you to them.
6.Eric Martin says, "The people that you ............................ you online can't see you at all
physically. But they know that, ............................, when you came to Orbitz you may have
been directed there by Kayak." Kayak is itself a ............................ site, and that may then
lead

Orbitz

to

believe

that

you're

searching

for

.............................

7.Information about the referring site is only one of the things that a site like Orbitz will
consider. Is the person a ............................? Which hotels has this person viewed in the
past? Websites ............................ this kind of information by placing small files known as
cookies

on

a

person's

computer.

8.In the case of Orbitz, Mac and PC users were actually given the .............................
However, they appeared in different ............................. For Mac users, the higher-priced
hotels showed up higher in the ............................. Orbitz says ninety percent of its users
book a hotel that ............................ on the first page, and mostly in the ............................
listings.
The

World

at

7

Billion,

and

Growing

1.United Nations ....................... that the world reached ....................... people on October
thirty-first. No one can be sure. The United States Census Bureau does not .......................
the

seven

billionth

baby

until

........................

2. ....................... are growing faster than economies in many poor countries in Africa and
some in Asia. At the same time, low fertility ....................... in Japan and many European
nations

have

raised

.......................

about

labor

shortages.

3.Population experts at the United Nations estimated that the world reached .......................


in October ........................ They predict nine billion by ....................... and ten billion by
the

end

of

the

century.

4.China's population of one and a third billion is ....................... the world's largest. India is
second at 1.2 billion. But India is expected to ....................... China and reach one and a
half

billion

people

around

........................

5.India will also have one of the world's ....................... populations. Economists say this is
a chance for a so-called demographic dividend. India could ....................... from the skills
of young people in a growing economy at a time when other countries have ........
populations.
6.But economists say ....................... of economic growth, although high, may
not ....................... enough jobs. Also, ....................... education system is failing to
meet ....................... and schooling is often of poor quality. Another concern
is

........................

7.Nearly half of India's children under the age of five are malnourished. Sarah Crowe at the
United Nations Children's ....................... in New Delhi says these two problems "could
keep India back." The malnourishment ....................... many children are unable to grow to
their ....................... in school, and later to earn money and pay into the economy.
8.Out of every two hundred million children who start school, she says, only ten
percent ....................... grade twelve. Michal Rutkowski is the director of .......................
development in ....................... at the World Bank. He says the seven billionth person was
likely
9.Uttar

to

be

Pradesh

a
is

girl

one of

born
India's

in

.......................

.......................

Uttar

Pradesh.

and most crowded

states,

with ....................... two hundred million people. He says reaching seven billion people in
the world is a good time for a call to ........................ He says, "Public policy needs to
become really, really ....................... about gender equality and about ....................... to

services.

Breastfeeding in the First Hour After Birth
1.Sometimes ............................ taken at the right time can do a lot of good. A new
report says more than 800,000 babies could ................each year if all mothers begin
breastfeeding within the first hour after giving birth. Save the Children ............................
the

report.

2. It calls breastfeeding one of the best ways to ............................ malnutrition. Hunger is


a ............................ killer of children under the age of five. Carolyn Miles
is ............................ of Save the Children. She ............................ that getting mothers to
start

breastfeeding

can

sometimes

be

the

............................

3.The first milk from mothers is called colostrum. This is a highly ............................ form

of breast milk. Colostrum helps build the baby's ............................ system and works best
in

the

first

hours

after

a

mother

............................

4.Colostrum is ............................, sticky breast milk. The World Health Organization calls
it the " ............................ food for the newborn." Save the Children ............................ it as a
child's "first immunization." But Carolyn Miles says, in some ............................, there is a
mistaken

............................

that

colostrum

is

dangerous.

5.She says mothers in a lot of places around the world ............................ the colostrum.
The World Health Organization says mothers should ............................ their babies only
breast

milk

for

the

............................

6.Carolyn Miles says babies do not need anything else. After six months, the WHO says
breastfeeding should continue .............other foods up to two years of age or beyond.
7.The Save the Children report, called " ............................ for Babies," ............................
barriers to breastfeeding. These ............................ cultural beliefs as well as
a

............................

health

workers

in

developing

countries.

8.Carolyn Miles says health workers, with ............................, can help mothers start and
continue to breastfeed.

As
1.The

the
world

World
is

getting

Ages,

older.

As

Economies
more

people

Will

........................

Change
each

year,

fewer .......................people will be there to ....................... them. This has effects not only
in

the

.......................,

but

in

the

world

of

finance.

2.The bond rating ....................... Moody’s says the aging ....................... will lead to a drop
in household ....................... This could mean that total investments will fall
and

.......................

could

slow.

3.Some reports have ....................... Japan, Italy and Germany as the world’s “Super Aged”
........................ That is the name for countries in which .......................of the population is
at

least

65

years

old.

4.Elena Duggar is ....................... of Moody’s Sovereign Risk Division. She says changes
in many populations are .......................quickly. In five years, six more countries


will

.......................

the

list

of

super-aged

nations.

5. And 34 nations will be super-aged by the year 2030. Elena Duggar says this will have a
big

.......................

on

Metropolitan

labor

and

savings.

.......................

Kishore

Kulkarni

University

is

of

with

the

Denver.

6.He says .......................n is one way to reduce the ....................... of an aging population.
Older ....................... spend money differently that younger ones and experts say that
difference
7.But,

.......................

Kishore

Kulkarni

the

believes

economies

that

of

.......................

countries.

career

training

and

productivity ....................... from technology could .......................for the drop in the
number of workers. He also says that an aging population will be less of a problem in
countries

were

older

people

are

highly

.......................

8.And most ....................... agree that young workers will have to .......................and retire
later than today’s older workers.
Africa Could

Lose

30 Percent of

Its Plants

and

Animals

by

2100

1............................ researchers met ........................... in Cameroon to talk about threats to
Africa’s land and animals. They said they believe the continent may ........................... as
much as ...............of its animal and plant species by the end of this ......................
2.They blame the losses on the ........................... of the Earth, ........................... growth
and ........................... development.The researchers represent 20 African, American and
European universities. They say countries south of the Saharan ........................... are
losing

...........................

faster

than

any

place

on

...........................

3.Wood companies are ...........................trees to meet growing ........................... from
China, Europe and the United States. The population is growing three percent each year.
4.There are now homes, ...........................and farms on land that once was forest. Many
African animals and plants ...........................have a place to live as a ............................
Climate

change

also

continues

to

...........................species.

5.Thomas Smith is with the University of California. He says Africa may lose 40 percent
of its ........................... species because of expected rises in ............................ The African
chimpanzee

is

among

the

mammals

............................

6.Mary Katherine Gonder is a ........................... at Drexel University in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. She ........................... chimpanzees in the Congo Basin. She says their forest
home

is

............................

7.She also says ...........................continue to kill the animals to ........................... as food.


The researchers say it is important to develop ........................... friendly economies.
8.The Congo Basin area of ........................... and central Africa has the second-largest
equatorial ...........................in the world. It is important to the lives of millions of people.

Turn

Negative

Writing

Experiences

Into

Positive

Ones

1.Today we hear expert ............................. for academic writing. Jennifer Ahern-Dodson is
an ............................. professor of the Practice in Writing Studies at Duke University
in

.............................

Carolina.

2.Ms. Ahern-Dodson likes to start a ............................. with both students and professors
planning to write a paper or .............................. She asks about their earlier
writing

..............................

Were

they

negative

or

positive?

3.She says you are not ............................. if you have had problems with your writing.
Everyone ............................. with writing. "Writing is hard. It's hard for all

writers

.............................,"

she

says.

4."And at some point you are going to ............................. a roadblock," she adds.
She ............................. to think about earlier experiences. When the writing is going well,
what was happening? When the writing was not ............................., what was happening?
5.She

says

most

people's

very

.............................

negative
formula

writing
or

experiences

page

limit

happened
was

because

a

.............................

6.Another problem can ............................. when the need to do well on a paper
is ............................. important. ............................., she says, can make it harder to get the
writing

done.

7.Ms. Ahern-Dodson says when writing comes easily, the writers believe they have
something
What

important

to

.............................

say.
can

She

advises
you

asking

bring

yourself

questions.

your

paper?

to

8.Why does this ............................. matter? What is its importance? For whom is
it .............................? Who will be reading it? You can ease writing by placing
your ............................. on what you have to .............................. That, says Ms. AhernDodson, is an important change for all .............................

China's Alibaba to Sell Stock on the New York Stock Exchange
1.Investors in the United States are ...................... for the first public sale of stock in the
Chinese company Alibaba. The company .....................by linking buyers and sellers in
the

.....................

Chinese

online

market.


2.Alibaba is ..................... to make its initial public offering, called an IPO, in September
on

the

New

York

Stock

......................

The

total

.....................

of

the

company, .....................Hangzhou, has been ..................... at about $200 billion.
3.Reports from Bloomberg News say Alibaba is ..................... investors a 12
percent ..................... of the company. That would mean the company could .....................
more

than

$20

billion

in

the

public

stock

......................

4.After the IPO, Alibaba could become one of the most ..................... technology
companies in the world. The .....................company is responsible for most online sales in
China. It .....................more exchange last year than U.S. companies Amazon and
eBay ...................... And it has more than 230 milion ..................... buyers.
5.Scott Kennedy is director of Indiana University's ..................... Center for Chinese
Politics and Business. He says Alibaba has grown from a very small company 15 years ago

to the main .....................in China. The company ..................... about 80 percent of the
Chineseonline

......................

6.Scott Kennedy says the company is ..................... which is unsusual for a technology
company fist offering an IPO. Alibaba has ..................... to sell its to the public on the New
York Stock Exchange .....................in China. China is now the world's second largest
market for a e-commerce.
Lessons

From

Shanghai's

Top

Scores

on

International

Test

1.The Program for International Student ………………….., or PISA, is a two-hour test
that compares the ………………….. of fifteen-year-olds.
2.In the latest test, the countries with the best ………………….. were South Korea and
Finland. But students in Shanghai, China, scored the highest of all in reading, mathematics
and

…………………...

3.The next strongest ………………….. were in Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, New
Zealand and Japan. In all, around …………………..a million students in more than
seventy

economies

took

the

test

in

two

thousand

nine.

4. The test has been given every three years since two thousand. Shanghai
…………………..for the first time in two thousand nine. The Organization for Economic
…………………..

and

Development

released

the

results.


5.Andreas Schleicher is ………………….. of the Education Indicators and Analysis
Division at the OECD. He says: "Asian countries ………………….. education more than
other

countries.

6.They have given education a …………………... Every child, every teacher, every parent
knows that education is the ………………….. to success." Mr. Schleicher says other
education

systems

can

learn

from

Shanghai.

7. For example, he says education spending in the province has increased,
………………….. teacher pay and training. And administrators are putting teachers into

…………………..

classroom

situations

to

make

them

better

at

their

jobs.

8.In the PISA scoring system, Shanghai scored six hundred in math. By
………………….., the United States scored four hundred eighty-seven. Shanghai's reading
………………….. was five hundred fifty-six. American fifteen-year-olds scored five
hundred,

the

same

as

in

Iceland

and

Poland.

9.In science, Finland was second behind Shanghai. The United States was twentythird.Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the results show an …………………..need
for Americans to do more to remain ………………….. in the world economy.
10.He points out that the United States has fallen from first to ninth place in college
………………….. rates because of gains by other countries. Mr. Schleicher says
international testing experts have investigated and …………………..the Shanghai scores.
11.He says the PISA results are not representative of all of China. But he also says they
dispute

the

…………………..

belief

that

Chinese

education

is

centered

on

………………….. and memorization. Twenty-five percent of the Shanghai students
showed ………………….. thinking skills to solve difficult math problems.

Water

Problems

in

a

World

of

Insecurity

1.An American …………………… report says water-related problems will likely increase
tensions

around

the

world

in

the

next

ten

years.

2.These problems …………………… water shortages, poor water quality and
…………………… The report says the problems will increase the risk of
i……………………

and

the

failure

of

governments.

3.However, countries are seen as …………………… to go to war over water. The report
says water tensions have …………………… led to more water-sharing agreements than
……………………

conflicts.

4.But beyond ten years, it warns that some governments could use water as a weapon to


…………………… others. And water could also be used to "further terrorist
……………………." The report is called an Intelligence Community Assessment on
Global

Water

…………………….

5.It looks at possible effects of water problems on United States ……………………
security interests over the next thirty years. It says the areas that will be most
…………………… by water problems are North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
…………………… of State Hillary Clinton announced the report on World Water Day,
which

was

……………………

March

twenty-fourth.

6.The National Intelligence ……………………wrote the report based on a National
Intelligence …………………… she requested a year ago. The report says water-related
problems could distract countries from working with the United States on important policy
…………………….

7.But it also predicts an increased demand for American aid and expert help to solve those
problems. That …………………… could create "opportunities for leadership" and
……………………. The report says, "Water shortages, poor water quality, and floods by
themselves are unlikely to result in state failure." But these could ……………………with
poverty, social tensions, environmental problems, poor leadership and weak governments
to

produce

……………………

disorder.

8.And that …………………… could cause state failure. The report ……………………
that from now through twenty forty, "water shortages and pollution probably will harm the
economic …………………… of important trading partners." During the next ten years, it
says, the …………………… of groundwater supplies in some ……………………areas
will

create

a

risk

to

national

and

global

food

markets.

9.These …………………… will be a result of poor management. Agriculture uses about
seventy percent of the world's ……………………. The report says technology that reduces
the amount of water needed to grow …………………… will offer the best defense against
shortages.

Are

You

Learning

English?

These

Songs

May

Help

1.Songs teach language. ……………….. a song like "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega. An
American teaching English ……………….. once told us that students love that song.

2.Recently we asked people on the Special English Facebook page to ………………..
other

songs

that

English

learners

might

like.

3.Noemi Nito ………………..: I'm one of those English students who love "Tom's Diner."


I started learning English with "Lemon Tree" by Fool's Garden. Another ……………….. is
"Truly

Madly

Deeply"

by

Savage

Garden.

4.Another person, Asi Tambunan, suggested the song "………………..Only Knows" by
Orianthi. Gyongyi Jako wrote that ABBA's songs from Sweden are………………..for
class work. Other good songs for learning English are songs by the Beatles and John
Lennon,

as

well

as

Louis

Armstrong's

"………………..

World."

5.Paul Cifuentes says Bob Marley's songs are ……………….. for teaching. Another
teacher, Joseph Deka, says songs by Johnny Cash have always worked in his
………………... He says his students can hear the words, ……………….. the songs often
have

stories.

6.He also likes "We Will ……………….. You" by Queen and "Beautiful Girls" by Sean
Kingston. He says young children love "C Is for Cookie" by Cookie Monster from the TV
show "Sesame Street." Nina John Smith suggested these songs: "It's My Life" and "We

Weren't

Born

to

……………….."

by

Bon

Jovi.

7. Also "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica.Aurelio Lourenco Costa Gusmao says he
began to like English after his teacher played the ……………….. song "I Have a Dream."
He wrote: That was eight years ago. I was in the seventh ………………...
8.And from that day on, my dream of improving my English skills became ………………..
in my mind. Teachers can use this song to ……………….. the message to their students
that

they

should

have

their

own

dream

for

the

future.

9.Aurelio's story was no ………………..to another commenter, Katie Kivenko. She
especially likes songs by Michael Jackson and Queen. She wrote: When you listen to your
favorite songs, you feel ……………….. high and it moves you to action.For VOA Special
English, I'm Alex Villarreal. Do you have any favorite songs for learning English? You can
share other music ……………….. for English learners at our website.

What

Is

the

Relationship

Between

Age

and

Happiness?

1.Are people …………….happy or more happy the older they get? If you answered more
happy, then you were right, …………….a study published two years ago.
2.It found that people ……………. become happier and experience less worry after age
fifty. ……………., it found that by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life
than

they

were

at

eighteen.

3.The ……………. came from a Gallup survey of more than three hundred forty thousand


…………….in the United States in two thousand eight. At that time, the people were
between

the

…………….

of

eighteen

and

eighty-five.

4.Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and ……………. Science at Stony Brook
University in New York led the study. His ……………. found that levels of stress were
highest

among

adults

between

the

ages

of

twenty-two

and

twenty-five.

5.Stress levels ……………. sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was
highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. But the people least
……………. to report feeling negative ……………. were those in their seventies and
eighties.
6.The ……………. also found that men and women have …………….emotional patterns

as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more ……………., stress and
worry

than

men

did.

7.The researchers also ……………. possible influences like having young children, being
unemployed or being single. But they found that ……………. like these did not
……………. the levels of happiness and well-being related to age. So why would
happiness

increase

with

age?

8.One ……………. is that, as people get older, they become more ……………. for what
they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking
about bad …………….. The findings appeared in the Proceedings of the …………….
Academy

of

Sciences.

9.Happiness is not the only thing that apparently ……………. with age. In a study

published this year, people in their eighties reported the fewest problems with the
……………. of their sleep. Researchers surveyed more than one hundred fifty thousand
American

adults.

10.The study, led by Michael Grandner at the University of Pennsylvania, ……………. in
the journal Sleep. The original goal was to ……………. the popular belief that aging is
……………. with increased sleep problems. The survey did find an increase during
……………. age, especially in women. But except for that, people ……………. that they
felt their sleep quality improved as they got older.

Testing New Ways to Recognize What Makes a Good Teachers
1.In recent years, Bill Gates has given ……………………. to improve American
education. In two thousand nine, the Bill and Melinda Gates ……………………. launched


the

Measures

of

…………………….

Teaching

project.

2.The project tests new ways to ……………………. what makes a good teacher. Its goal is

to help educators and policymakers ……………………. and support good teaching.The
study is being carried out in public school systems in seven American cities.
3.Thousands of teachers ……………………. to take part. They agreed to have their
classes recorded on video, but only for observation by expert researchers.Last spring, the
project ……………………. digital videos of thirteen thousand lessons in the
…………………….

taught

by

the

teachers.

4.They were in …………………….four through nine. Researchers also collected
information from students. They asked students to report their opinions of each teacher's
classroom. Students were also tested in mathematics, English and ……………………..
5.Officials recently ……………………. early results of the project study. The report says
teachers' past success in raising student scores on state tests is one of the strongest signs of
their ……………………. to do so again. This is known as a teacher's "value-added."The
teachers with the highest value-added scores on state tests also help students understand
math

or

show

reading

ability.

6.The ……………………. also say students know effective teaching when they experience
it. The students gave ……………………. on whether or not their teachers
…………………….about

them.

7. They also gave opinions on how much teachers controlled or managed student
……………………. in the classroom.The report found that classrooms where students
reported ……………………. experiences were more likely to show greater learning gains.
8.Another finding shows that ……………………. different sources of information helps
administrators provide better comments and ……………………. to teachers. In many
cases, administrators had been basing their comments on student test scores only.The
……………………. of Effective Teaching project continues through twenty twelve when
final

results

will

be

released.

9.Researchers plan to test a new measure that ……………………. what a teacher knows
about how to teach a …………………….. Experts say these findings could also help
create better training and development for teachers.

A

Comic

Book

About

Business

Finance.

1.You probably have heard of comic book …………… like Superman, Batman and
Spiderman. But what about Tom the motorcycle shop ……………, Joe Knight and Karen


Berman?
2. Tom, Joe and Karen all …………… in a comic book called "Financial Intelligence." But
Mr.

Knight

and

Ms.

Berman

are

……………

people.

3.In two thousand six, they wrote a book called "Financial ……………: A Manager's
Guide to Knowing What the Numbers …………… Mean." It was written for people who
need

to

learn

quickly

about

accounting.

4.The book ……………, in simple ways, often-complex methods of keeping financial
information. It became a ……………. In June, publisher SmarterComics …………… a
comic book that provides the same information in easy-to-understand, picture form.
5.The new book is a combination of a …………… and a graphic novel. It tells the story of
Tom, a mechanic who must quickly learn how to direct the motorcycle …………… shop
his father founded. Tom has no experience with finance, and is …………… with the
business.
6.Joe Knight and Karen Berman help him. Artist Dave Wachter made illustrations for the
comic book.Franco Arda is the founder and head of SmarterComics. He formerly worked
as

an

…………

7.He started the company almost three years ago with his own money. He wanted to
…………… educational comic books that increase understanding. Franco Arda
……………

that

many

people

grew

up

with

comics.

8.He says pictures combined with written text can help people learn an idea much more
quickly than just text ……………. This explains the expression, 'a picture says a thousand
words.' "Financial Intelligence" will help readers quickly understand many of the
……………

areas

of

accounting.

9.The new comic book is available in paperback.The website Entrepreneur.com named
SmarterComics to its list of 100 Brilliant Companies of 2012. The company has created
comic

book

……………

of

more

than

ten

other

books.

10.These …………… "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, "The Prince" by Niccolo
Machiavelli and "The …………… of War" by Sun Tzu. Later this year, SmarterComics
plans to release a comic book by rapper 50Cent.

Can

America

Win

the

Education

Race?

1.President Obama talked a lot about education in his State of the ………….. speech in
January. He said: "We need to out- ………….., out-educate and out-build the rest of the


world.
2."If Americans want to "win the future," he said, then they also have to win the race to
educate their children.The president said: "Over the next ten years, ………….. half of all
new jobs will require education that goes ………….. a high school education.
3. And yet as many as a ………….. of our students aren't even finishing high school. The
quality of our math and science education ………….. behind many other nations. America
has fallen to ninth in the ………….. of young people with a college degree.
4."Two years ago, Mr. Obama set a goal to regain the world's highest rate of college
………….. by twenty-twenty. He says the ………….. to give every child a chance to
succeed begins not in classrooms, but in homes and …………... He said: "Only parents can
make

sure

the

TV

is

turned

off

and

…………..

gets

done.

5.We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who …………..
to be celebrated, but the winner of the ………….. fair."President Obama talked about his
Race

to

the

Top

competition.

6.It offered ………….. money to develop plans to improve teacher quality and student
…………... Also, he called for preparing one hundred thousand new teachers in science,
technology, engineering and math over the next ten years. Mr. Obama offered to begin
………….. with Congress on immigration reform, and he linked that ………….. to
education.

7.He said: "Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools
who are not American …………... Some are the children of undocumented workers. They
grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet they live every day with
the

…………..

of

deportation.

8. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as
they ………….. advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us."The
speech came the same day the Education Department ………….. the latest results on
student

progress

in

science.

9.The goal is for all students to perform at the ………….. or advanced level. But only
about one-third of students in ………….. four and eight and one-fifth of twelfth-graders
did that in two thousand nine. Just one to two percent of students performed at the
………….. level.

Iron, Vitamin D May Lead to Smarter, Healthier Children

1.Many people have low amounts of iron in their blood. But ……………… women need
extra iron for their own health and their baby's health. Iron is important to the development
of

a

baby's

brain

and

central

………………

system.

2.In poor countries, however, providing all pregnant women with iron ……………… can
be a financial issue. Some experts say giving supplements to babies after they are born is
enough.
3.Someone who ……………… is Parul Christian, a nutritionist at the Johns Hopkins
School of Public Health in Maryland. She and other scientists have been doing research in
Nepal. She says their latest findings should ……………… any question about the value of
making

sure

every

pregnant

woman

………………

iron

supplements.

4.Iron is a micronutrient. Micronutrients are important ……………… that are found in
small amounts in foods. The researchers first ……………… a study among poor women in
Nepal ten years ago. During pregnancy some of the women received supplements
………………

iron

and

another

micronutrient,

folic

acid.

5.Ms. Christian says that study showed the supplements could ……………… child
survival. Now the children are older. The researchers returned to Nepal and tested their
neurological

development.

6.They found improved ……………… among those whose mothers had received iron and
folic acid during pregnancy and for three months after. Another new study looks at
………………

of

vitamin

D

in

babies.

7.It says newborns with the lowest levels were twice as likely to develop respiratory
……………… as those with normal levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D helps build strong
bones

and

strengthens

the

body's

defenses

………………

disease.

8.The vitamin is ……………… added to cow's milk and also found in supplements.
Vitamin D is called the sunshine vitamin. The body naturally produces it from
………………. Carlos Camargo from Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts and other
researchers

did

the

study.

9.It ……………… more than nine hundred children in New Zealand until they were five
years old. Dr. Camargo said the problem of vitamin D ……………… is not limited to
countries with the least sun. There are low levels of vitamin D in people living in areas
where there is a lot of sun. This is because people are spending more time ……………….

Less Salt Can Mean More Life.


1.Even a small …………… in salt in the diet can be a big help to the heart. A new study
used a computer model to …………… how just three grams less a day would affect heart
disease in the United States.
2.The result: thirteen percent fewer heart ……………. Eight percent fewer strokes. Four
percent fewer deaths. Eleven percent fewer new cases of heart disease. And two hundred
forty billion dollars in …………… savings.

3.Researchers found it could …………… one hundred thousand heart attacks and ninetytwo thousand deaths every year. The study is in the New England Journal of …………….
Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo at the University of California, San Francisco, was the
…………… author.
4.She says people would not even …………… a difference in taste with three grams, or
one-half teaspoon, less salt per day. The team also …………… researchers at Stanford and
Columbia University.
5.Each gram of salt …………… four hundred milligrams of sodium, which is how foods
may list their salt content. The government says the …………… American man eats ten
grams of salt a day. The American Heart …………… advises no more than three grams for
healthy people.
6.It says salt in the American …………… has increased fifty percent since the nineteen
seventies, while blood …………… have also risen. Less salt can mean a lower blood
pressure.New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leading an effort called the
…………… Salt Reduction Initiative.
7.The idea is to put pressure on food companies and restaurants. Critics call it government
……………. Mayor Bloomberg has already succeeded in other areas, like …………… fast
food places in the city to list calorie information. Now a study by the Seattle Childrens
Research …………… shows how that idea can …………… what parents order for their
children.
8.Ninety-nine parents of three to six year olds took part. Half had McDonald's menus
…………… showing how many calories were in each food. The other half got
…………… without the calorie information.


9.Parents given the …………… chose an average of one hundred two fewer calories when
asked what they would order for their children. Yet there was no difference in calories
between the two groups for foods that the parents would have chosen for themselves.
10.Study leader Pooja Tandon says even small calorie reductions on a …………… basis
can prevent weight gain over time. The study was …………… in the journal Pediatrics.

Good luck to you.