ÌâÄ¿ÄÚÈÝ
The Federal Reserve, _________ is the US central bank, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, an independent agency of the government _________ backs bank deposits, will have an active role in providing the needed cash£®
- A.which;/
- B.that; that
- C.that; which
- D.which; that
The popular college rankings focus primarily on prestige as measured by the SAT scores of incoming students and how many applicants are turned away£® An initiative£¨´ëÊ©£©started last fall by the Obama administration could help families go beyond these limited, and far too easily exploited, indexes to learn quickly and easily how a college is compared with its competitors nationally on important criteria like graduation rates, what a degree actually costs and how much debt a student can expect to run up by graduation day£®
If the federal government makes it legally necessary to disclose this information in a clear and consistent£¨Ò»¹áµÄ£©way, as it should, families will be better able to make informed college choices£® And this will help put pressure on colleges that perform poorly to improve£®
Critics may regard this initiative as an example of government overreach£® But given that the federal government spends nearly $190 billion a year on higher education aid to students, it has a legitimate interest in making sure that the money flows to the schools that best meet their responsibilities to families and students£®
Congress has taken some steps to require greater transparency£¨Í¸Ã÷£©from colleges£® The 1990 Student Right to Know Act, for example, required colleges and universities that receive federal aid to disclose graduation rates£® And the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act required schools to offer a way for consumers to determine actual costs after student aid is taken into account£®
But many colleges have done a poor job of obeying federal disclosure rules, and much of the available information is not in one place£® The administration¡¯s new efforts would enforce reporting requirements and provide some new tools£®
President Obama wants to expand campus-based aid to about $10 billion from the current $2£®7 billion£® He has proposed moving money away from colleges that fail to control tuition increases or provide good value to others that do a better job£® That is a worthy idea in principle, but he will need strong data-based evidence to determine how colleges are doing£®
The transparency initiatives are a good place to start and should be embraced by both parties in Congress£® If students and families, facing higher tuition and rising debt, are to make sound choices, they need more and better information£®
¡¾Ð¡Ìâ1¡¿Why did the Obama administration start the initiative last fall?
| A£®To require colleges to make their graduation rates known to the public£® |
| B£®To help colleges perform better in the future£® |
| C£®To help parents and students make better choices of colleges£® |
| D£®To put more pressure on colleges that are not doing well enough£® |
| A£®Critics agree that the government should require colleges to obey the disclosure rules£® |
| B£®Congress has approved and made the transparency initiatives a law£® |
| C£®SAT scores alone do not determine one¡¯s choice of college£® |
| D£®Students and families find it very difficult to choose their ideal colleges now£® |
| A£®Congress To Require Greater Transparency |
| B£®What College Parents and Students Need to Know |
| C£®What a Good College Is Measured By |
| D£®Parents and Students Need to Make Wise Choices |
| A£®supportive | B£®critical | C£®indifferent | D£®not stated |
Federal regulators Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergency alert£¨¾¯±¨£©system using text messages delivered to cell phones.
Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years£¬particularly among young people.The wireless industry¡¯s trade association, CTIA£¬estimates£¨¹À¼Æ£©more than 48 billion text messages are sent each month.
The plan comes from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act£¬a 2006 federal law that requires improvement to the nation's emergency alert system.The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.
¡°The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings.and alerts through cell phones and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public.has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during,disasters and other emergencies. ¡±FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan.
Participation in the alert system by carriers¡ªtelecommunications companies is voluntary, but it has received solid support from the wireless industry.
The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.
There would be three different types of messages£¬according to the rules.
The first would be a national alert from the president£¬likely involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster.The second would involve ¡°approaching threats£¬¡±which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings. The third would be reserved for child abduction£¨°ó¼Ü£©emergencies,or so-called Amber Alerts.
The service could be in place by 2010.
¡¾Ð¡Ìâ1¡¿ What is the purpose of the approved plan?
| A£®To warn people of emergencies via messages. |
| B£®To popularize the use of cell phones. |
| C£®To estimate the monthly number of messages. |
| D£®To promote the wireless industry. |
| A£®CTIA | B£®the Warning Alert and Response Network |
| C£®FCC | D£®federal regulators |
| A£®the US federal government | B£®mobile phone users |
| C£®the carriers themselves | D£®the law of the United States |
| A£®They must accept the alert service. |
| B£®They may enjoy the alert service for free. |
| C£®They must send the alerts to others |
| D£®They may choose the types of messages |
A£¬Cell Phone Alerts Protecting Students
B. Cell Phone Alerts by Wireless Industry
C. Cell Phone Alefts of National Disasters
D. Cell Phone Alerts Coming Soon
WASHINGTON---At least four more U.S. air-traffic controllers are caught nodding off on the job at three separate airports across the nation, the government said Wednesday.
The controller working alone in the tower fell asleep and was out of communication for 16 minutes while a medical flight carrying a patient was trying to land at about 2 A.M. Wednesday at Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
The FAA announced that it is also investigating a controller who fell asleep Monday at Boeing King County International Airport in Seattle and two controllers who were unresponsive at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee on Feb.19.
¡°I am sick of this,¡± Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, said in a statement. ¡°We can¡¯t have a system where some of the people responsible for safety are asleep at the switch.¡±
As the incidents pile up, sleep experts say it demonstrates that the agency faces a systemic issue with the thousands of people expected to work through the night in safety-critical jobs. Scientific research shows that workers on midnight shifts make more errors because it is so difficult for the body to adapt to sleeping during the day, they say.
The agency will add an extra controller at the 27 towers staffed with one worker on the midnight shift, the FAA statement said.
Representative John Mica, the Florida Republican who chairs the House transportation committee, criticized the decision to add controllers. ¡°Only in the federal government would you double up on workers, averaging $161,000 per year in salary and benefits, that aren¡¯t doing their job,¡± Mica said in a statement. Mica has pushed legislation that would allow as many as 90 smaller airports to switch from federal to private controllers.
¡°People have known these problems with fatigue£¨Æ£ÀÍ£©have existed for years,¡± said John Goglia, a Boston-based aviation safety consultant. ¡°They¡¯re now showing up. The FAA is admitting they exist. Now the FAA needs to work on it.¡±
The four controllers in Nevada, Seattle and Texas have been suspended(ÔÝʱְͣ) during the investigations, the FAA said.
¡¾Ð¡Ìâ1¡¿The underlined part ¡°double up on workers¡± means ¡°______¡±.
| A£®add two more workers | B£®staff two workers at a post |
| C£®settle two workers in a double room | D£®give the workers double pay |
| A£®is a known potential danger | B£®has never appeared before |
| C£®is common for day-time shift workers | D£®seldom shows up at night |
| A£®A controller fell asleep without communication for 16 minutes in Knoxville, Tennessee. |
| B£®A medical flight carrying a patient failed to land with the controller asleep. |
| C£®Jay Rockefeller pays little attention to sleeping at the switch. |
| D£®Mica refused to support the decision to staff more controllers on the midnight shift. |
| A£®All the controllers in the US were working alone while they were on duty |
| B£®The incidents are rooted in fatigue problems and those on midnight shifts need an extra nap |
| C£®In the U.S. , thousands of people expect to work through the night in safety-critical jobs |
| D£®The agency has added an extra controller at the 27 towers |