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Despite the fact that humans haven’t returned to the Moon since the cancellation of the Apollo program in 1972, there have nonetheless been incredible advances in space exploration in recent years. All across the world, human time is the most valuable commodity – particularly when it comes to solving problems. Far from stealing jobs, the majority of advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning are designed to automate relatively “simple” processes and free up time for humans to do what they do best. Already we have had a taste of what AI can achieve from space, even as far back as the early 2000s with the launch of the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite, which helps analyse and inform the appropriate response in the event of a disaster, such as hurricanes and volcanic eruptions. In some cases, the systems in place on EO-1 began capturing satellite images of disaster zones before ground personnel were even aware that a disaster had occurred. More recently, AI has been used on the Mars Curiosity rover, where AEGIS software is able to identify intriguing rock or soil patches that should be targeted for analysis. This significantly expedites the process of collecting data from the surface of Mars as the robot isn’t relying solely on human commands. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic – which hopes to soon begin conducting commercial flights – charges between $200,000 to $250,000 per ticket for a flight where passengers will experience just several minutes of weightlessness beyond the Karman line where space officially begins. Therefore, previous space missions have always needed to consider very carefully which astronauts they send to space, with the ultimate decision often coming down to an astronaut’s ability to act as a ‘jack-of-all-trade’. In future, it should be possible to automate the computing and engineering tasks that historically astronauts have had to train for. This would mean sending individuals with specialised expertise in science and research in place of the all-rounder astronauts of yesteryear. For success in space exploration in the years to come, we will need to continue along the exponential curve of open source uptake and see advances in the approach to how spacecraft software, hardware and infrastructure is developed and deployed. With this baseline in place, advances in AI-driven scientific research have the potential to propel us forwards.
3. According to paragraph 2, for what purpose did the author list out various applications of AI?

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Books have been around for thousands of years. When ancient civilizations first started developing writing systems, they would write on just about anything, from stone to tree bark. Ancient Egyptians were the first to use paper-like materials, called “papyrus”, which they made by pounding flat the woven stems of the papyrus plant. It was not long before the ancient Egyptians began gluing together papyrus sheets to form scrolls, which were the first steps toward books as you know. The birthplace of bookbinding is considered to be India in the 2nd century B.C., where Hindi scribes would bind palm leaves that were etched with religious texts between two wooden boards using twine. The technique became popular in the Middle East and Eastern Asia, and spread to the Romans by the 2nd century A.D. In the mid-15th century, German Johannes Gutenberg invented the first mechanical printing press. His invention was revolutionary because it enabled mass production of booksfor the first time. Before the printing press, a few pages per day could be produced by handcopying. Afterward, printing presses could produce as many as 3,600 pages per day. Today, modern publishers take advantage of incredible advances in technology to produce books in many sizes and shapes very quickly. Although there are many types of processes and machines available, most processes involve similar steps. Printers print the text of a book on large sheets of paper, sometimes as large as a newspaper page. Working with large volumes of paper allows printers to lower costs and produce books more efficiently.The large sheets are then cut into smaller pages that are still about twice the size of a finished book. The smaller pages are then divided into small groups, folded in half, and sewn together. Lastly, the folded and sewn pages are cut down to their finished size and glued to the spine of the final book’s cover. Depending on the quality of the book, additional finishing touches may be added, such as blank pages at the front and back of the book or special tape around the edges of the cover to increase durability. Although printed books may never go away completely, today’s readers will most certainly soon become more familiar with e-books. “E-book” refers to an electronic book, which is simply the text of a book displayed electronically, either via the Internet, a CD-ROM, a tablet, an e-book reader, or even a mobile phone. As electronic devices, such as tablets and mobile phones, become more commonplace, e-books are expected to become more and more popular. One of the benefits of e-books is that they save paper, which helps the environment by reducing the demand for trees  
3. According to paragraph 2, where was the first place to bind separate “sheets of paper” to make books?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

In the western customs (26) _____ hands is the customary form of greeting, but in China a nod of the head or (27) _____ bow is sufficient. Hugging and kissing when greeting are uncommon. Business cards are often (28) _____ and yours should be printed in your own language and in Chinese. Also, it is more respectful to present your card or a gift or any other article using (29) _____ hands. The Chinese are (30) _____ applauders. You may be greeted with group clapping, even by small children. When a person is applauded in this practice it is the custom for that person to return the applause or a "thank you." When walking in public places, direct eye (31) _____ and staring is uncommon in the larger cities, especially in those areas accustomed to foreign visitors. (32) _____, in smaller communities, visitors may be the subject of much curiosity and therefore you may notice some stares. (33) _____ speaking, the Chinese are not a touch-oriented society, especially true for visitors. So, avoid (34) _____ or any prolonged form of body contact. Public displays of affection are very rare. On the other hand, you may note people of the same sex walking hand-in-hand, which is simply a gesture of friendship. Do not worry about a bit of pushing and shoving in stores or when groups board public buses or trains. In this case, (35) _____ are neither offered or expected. The Chinese will stand much closer than Westerners.

(30) _____

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People who do not smoke, are not obese, and consume alcohol moderately can expect to live seven years longer than the general population, and to spend most of these extra years in good health, according to a new study published today in Health Affairs. This study was the first to analyze the cumulative impact of several key health behaviours on disability-free and total life expectancy. Previous studies have looked at single health behaviours. Mikko Myrskylä and his colleague instead examined several behaviors simultaneously, which allowed them to determine how long and healthy the lives of people who had avoided most of the well-known individual behavioral risk factors were. The researchers noted that each of the three unhealthy behaviours – obesity, smoking, and unhealthy consumption of alcohol – was linked to a reduction in life expectancy and to an earlier occurrence of disabilities. But there were also differences: smoking was found to be associated with an early death but not with an increase in the number of years with disability, whereas obesity was shown to be associated with a long period of time with disability. Excessive alcohol consumption was found to be associated with both decreased lifespan and a reduced number of healthy years. However, the absence of all of these risky healthy behaviors was found to be associated with the greatest number of healthy years. The most striking finding was the discovery of a large difference in average lifespan between the groups who were the most and the least at risk. Men who were not overweight, had never smoked, and drank moderately were found to live an average of 11 years longer than men who were overweight, had smoked, and drank excessively. For women, the gap between these two groups was found to be even greater, at 12 years. “Our results show how important it is to focus on prevention. Those who avoid risky health behaviours are achieving very long and healthy lives. Effective policy interventions targeting health behaviors could help larger fractions of the population to achieve the health benefits observed in this study,” the researcher emphasized. These results are important not only for individuals, but also for society. In an aging society, the health of the elderly determines the amount of money spent on the health system. In addition, healthy elderly people are better able to participate in the labor market and to perform social roles, such as caring for grandchildren.  
3. According to paragraph 3, what can we deduct from the benefits of avoiding harmful behaviours?

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The Nobel Prizes were established by the Swedish inventor, Alfred Bernhard Nobel. Nobel was the inventor of dynamite. (1) ____ his invention brought him much wealth and fame, Nobel realized how destructive dynamite could be. His own brother was (2) ____ in an explosion while working in the laboratory. Nobel thus spent a lot of time and energy promoting world peace to reduce the need to use dynamite in war. He also advocated the settlement of conflicts through diplomatic means. Before Nobel died, he (3) ____ his money to establish a fund. Every year, the interest from this fund was to be given to the person who has done the most good for mankind in that year. There are (4) ____ in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine and literature. The most prestigious award, however, is the Nobel Peace Prize. This is given to the person who has done the most to promote world peace. One of the most (5) ____ persons to have received the award was Mahatma Gandhi of India

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Seniors in China are still highly likely to believe rumors and pseudoscience, according to reports. In recent years, China has seen more scientists and science communicators using digital platforms to combat pseudoscience, which is classified as rumors, statements, beliefs, ideas or practices that are stated as fact, but are often fabricated and scientifically untested. Despite that, many young Chinese have experienced difficulties when trying to pass on that message to older people. For example, last year, Dingxiang Doctor, a digital platform that debunks medical rumors online, released 101 articles that disproved common, inaccurate claims. However, many netizens said that when they forwarded the articles to family chat groups, they were questioned, scolded and even removed from the group by older family members. An online survey last year by Tencent, one of China’s biggest online businesses, indicated that nearly 40 percent of middle-aged and senior people had experienced online fraud, mostly related to healthcare products. Yun Wuxin, a food engineering expert who has popularized food science for more than 10 years, believes that, in general, members of the older generation lacked training in logical or critical thinking when they were young, so they have an exaggerated belief in personal experience, tradition or superstition. He said young people, especially today’s younger generation, have received better training and tend to hold skeptical or critical attitudes toward convention. He added that new media that popularize science in fresh, innovative ways － such as short videos, video blogs and animations － are very effective with young people. However, traditional methods, including television, community visits by scientists, neighborhood exhibitions and science columns in newspapers, are very important for middle-aged and elderly people who really need to understand science  
5. According to paragraph 3, what does the disparity between the younger and older generation’s attitude show?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions:
Tourism and Heritage Protection Travelling is a great thing to do. It helps us learn about different people and different places. Some people travel because they want to see nature. Others travel because they want to make friends and try great food. Of course, a lot of tourists are interested in traditional culture.
Tourism can be very good for traditional cultures. This is because when people travel to another country, they often want to learn more about that country’s traditions, such as music, food, and history. Therefore, the local people in that country will keep their traditional culture alive. They will wear traditional clothing, and sell traditional food. They will also have shows for tourists. These shows can be dances, concerts, plays, or something else.
Tourism also helps people respect each other. If you understand another culture well, you will probably respect that culture much more. You will probably want to protect that culture as well. However, tourism is not always good for traditional culture. Many people say that tourism creates “fake traditional culture”. This means that the local people wear traditional costumes, and do traditional dances only for tourists, but that is not their real lifestyle. Their real lifestyles are similar to the tourists’ lifestyle. They are just pretending because they want to make money.

The word “fake” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to     .

Choose the best answer:
They said that they had been driving through the desert ...............

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Some of the senses that we and other terrestrial mammals take for granted are either reduced or absent in cetaceans or fail to function well in water. For example, it appears from their brain structure that toothed species are unable to smell. Baleen species, on the other hand, appear to have some related brain structures but it is not known whether these are functional. It has been speculated that, as the blowholes evolved and migrated to the top of the head, the neural pathways serving sense of smell may have been nearly all sacrificed. Similarly, although at least some cetaceans have taste buds, the nerves serving these have degenerated or are rudimentary. The sense of touch has sometimes been described as weak too, but this view is probably mistaken. Trainers of captive dolphins and small whales often remark on their animals’ responsiveness to being touched or rubbed, and both captive and free ranging cetacean individuals of all species (particularly adults and calves, or members of the same subgroup) appear to make frequent contact. This contact may help to maintain order within a group, and stroking or touching are part of the courtship ritual in most species. The area around the blowhole is also particularly sensitive and captive animals often object strongly to being touched there  The sense of vision is developed to different degrees in different species. Baleen species studied at close quarters underwater – specifically a grey whale calf in captivity for a year, and free-ranging right whales and humpback whales studied and filmed off Argentina and Hawaii – have obviously tracked objects with vision underwater, and they can apparently see moderately well both in water and in air. However, the position of the eyes so restricts the field of vision in baleen whales that they probably do not have stereoscopic vision. On the other hand, the position of the eyes in most dolphins and porpoises suggests that they have stereoscopic vision forward and downward. Eye position in freshwater dolphins, which often swim on their side or upside down while feeding, suggests that what vision they have is stereoscopic forward and upward. By comparison, the bottlenose dolphin has an extremely keen vision in water. Judging from the way it watches and tracks airborne flying fish, it can apparently see fairly well through the air–water interface as well. And although preliminary experimental evidence suggests that their in-air vision is poor, the accuracy with which dolphins leap high to take small fish out of a trainer’s hand provides anecdotal evidence to the contrary.  
5. The word “captivity” in paragraph 3 mostly means _______

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A new study shows that urbanization shifts this seasonal cue in nuanced ways, with cities in cold climates triggering earlier spring plant growth and cities in warm climates delaying it. The study also found that the urban heat island effect, the phenomenon in which cities are warmer than their surroundings, is not the only culprit behind the shift, suggesting that other aspects of urbanization, such as pollution, changes in humidity and fertilizer runoff, may also influence plants’ seasonal patterns.  Researchers analyzed millions of observations of 136 plant species across the U.S. and Europe to study how regional temperature and the local density of people-a proxy for urbanization—affect when plants sprout leaves and blossoms. Their results revealed a complex story: Separately, warmer temperatures and higher population density each spurred earlier springs. A 3.6-degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature bumped up plants’ production of leaves and flowers by about five and six days, respectively. A fourfold increase in human population density advanced flowering and leaf production dates by about three days. But the team found that when these two factors worked together, local temperature had an outsized influence. In cold regions—areas with an average November-to-May temperature of about 18 degrees-plants produced leaves and flowers about 20 days earlier in locations with about 26,000 people per square mile, compared with equally frigid wildland. When an area’s average November-to-May temperature jumped to 68, however, leaves and flowers appeared four and six days later, respectively, in locations with about 26,000 people per square mile, compared with equally balmy wildland. In New York, for example, plants are likely sprouting leaves about 9.5 days earlier and blossoms eight days earlier than uninhabited regions with the same temperature. Jacksonville, in contrast, is likely pushing leaf production later by about one day and flowers by about half a day, with leaves appearing two days later and flowers a day later in Houston.  Even after accounting for urban heat islands, the team’s models revealed cities significantly affect plants’ springtime growth. “Not only are there other things going on, but they actually matter quite a lot,” said study co-author Brian Stucky, Florida Museum research scientist. Plants may not be the only organisms affected by seasonal shifts, he added. “Seasons are such a big part of our lives. We define our world around seasonal things. Those rhythms are what we think of as the normal way the world works.” 
1. Which best serves as the title for the passage?

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When you first arrive in a foreign culture, often your first reaction is completely positive. Everything seems exciting, different and fascinating. It’s an (1) ______. If you are just on a short holiday, you will probably never leave this phase. (2) ______, if you stay longer, your attitude can start to change. As you start to realize (3) ______ little you really understand the new culture, life can get frustrating. People misunderstand what you are trying to say, or they may laugh at you when you say something incorrectly. Even simple things, like posting a letter, can seem very difficult to you. Thus, you are likely to get angry or upset when things go wrong. With time, though, you start to (4) ______ to become more comfortable with the differences and better able to handle frustrating situations. Your (5) ______ of humor reappears. Finally, you may feel enthusiastic about the culture once again, enjoy living in it, and even prefer certain aspects of the culture to your own.

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Green-space facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present, it is generally accepted, although more as a self-evident statement than on the base of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of green-spaces in the urban environment is a first step on the right way; this does not mean, however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of green-space in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the scope of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of green-space facilities. The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town-and-country planning, has in my opinion resulted in disproportionate attention for forms of recreation far from home, whereas there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighbourhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more obligatory activities can also have a recreative aspect. The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets, because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street-door of you house is closed after you.  
4. The underlined word “disproportionate“ in the passage probably means __________

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October brings attention to breast cancer, by raising awareness of treatment, research  and prevention. One local company is going a step above the rest, by offering a free home cleaning to a patient undergoing treatment. Cleaning for a Reason is an international organization that provides home cleanings for family members battling cancer.  “I am a breast cancer survivor myself, I was diagnosed in 2011. And so when I found out about this in 2014, after going through my experience of being extremely tired and just no energy at all to perform day to day tasks, that I realized this would be something that would greatly benefit the women in our community,” said Marlo Kanipe, owner of Deserved Comfort House Cleaning. The company partners with Cleaning for a Reason to provide the service locally.  Columbia native Lenora Floyd was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, and learned about Cleaning for a Reason from a flyer. “I was sitting at the table and I thought ‘that’s really something that would be such a huge help!’ Because I do most of the cleaning around the house, and I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Floyd. Floyd said having a clean home lifted a burden while she was going through a tough time. “It was just really nice to have that service, and one less thing not to have to worry about. Be able to rest instead of thinking ‘oh, I really need to vacuum up,’” said Floyd. “The chemotherapy and radiation really just takes a toll on your body. When someone is going through those times, the last thing you want to do is to have to do physical work. And house cleaning, of course, is physical work,” said Kanipe. “It’s nice to be able to take one small thing off of their plate. That they don’t have to worry about cleaning or keeping their house clean,” said Nicka Evans, a certified cleaning technician with Deserved Comfort. “This is what I do for work, it doesn’t seem like it’s a big deal. But to be able to come into someone’s house and see that it is a big deal and it’s important to them, it really means a lot to me.”  Since partnering with Cleaning for a Reason in 2014, Deserved Comfort has donated about $15,000 worth of cleanings. They will continue to help and be there for people as they battle cancer.
4. According to paragraph 4, what is the motive behind the organization’s work?

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The concept of exotic holidays is not new. Cruises and other travel packages to tropical locations have long been popular and are more (1) ____ now than ever. The wealthy have gone on trips to exotic places since the 19th century, but now ordinary people have enough money for this kind of holiday. Holidaymakers are increasingly interested in doing something different and want more exciting (2) ____. A number of tour companies have responded with a new range of options, including African safaris. Going on a safari is a totally (3) ____ form of holiday. Accompanied by a safari guide, groups travel into the African wilderness to experience close up the thrill of the wild. Being so close to the animals is an once-in-a-lifetime experience. (4) ____ species, which are rarely seen outside the zoo, provide a great (5) ____

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Fairy tales are the stories that adults, especially parents, tell young children. In view of their name, it is surprising that hardly any of them are actually about fairies. (33) ________ most fairy tales have happy endings, the stories usually deal with very frightening situations - children abandoned in the forest, terrifying giants, cruel stepmothers. However, despite being scared when they are told the stories, children will often ask to hear them over and over again. Many psychologists believe that what fairy tales do, in addition to (35) ________ children's imagination, is to show that there are problems in the world and they can be overcome. Just like adults, children have fears and worries: theirs are of things such as abandonment, loss, injuries, witches. Fairy tales present real problems in a fantasy form (36) ________ children are able to understand. This, it is claimed, allow them to (37) ________ their fears and to realise, if ever in their unconscious mind, that no matter how difficult the circumstances, there are always ways of coping

Choose the best answer:
The street/ not/ look/ attractive/ because/ there/ be/ a lot of/ rubbish.

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A part-time job is generally considered to be employment that is less than 40 hours of  work per week. Some employers consider between 32 and 40 hours of work per week to be full-time, (1) ____ part-time jobs are usually classified as anything less than 40 hours.  Working on a part-time schedule has many perks and provides the optimal flexibility needed by some individuals. For example, parents (2) ____ young children, students, and people who have out-of-work responsibilities often find that part-time work is their only option. Others work in part-time jobs because they are (3) ____ to find full-time positions - and working part-time is better for them than not working at all. In some situations, part-time employees can earn as much as full-time employees on an hourly basis, but most employers do not offer (4) ____ such as health insurance, vacation time, and paid holidays to their parttime employees. There are many pros and cons to working part-time and there are also several specific industries that are known to have many part-time positions available. You should (5) ____ the factors before deciding if a part-time or a full-time position will work better for your specific situation

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Many adults in America and increasing numbers elsewhere take part in mentoring schemes. A mentor is an adult who provides support and friendship to a young person. There are numerous different (1)_____ of mentoring: passing on skills, sharing experiences, offering guidance. Sometimes the most helpful thing to do is just listen. Mentoring is open to anybody - no particular (2) _____ experience is required, just a desire to make a difference to the life of a young person who needs help. This may seem a difficult thing at first, but many people find they have a real talent for it.  The support of a mentor can play an important part in a child’s development and can often make up (3) _____ a lack of guidance in a young person’s life. It can also improve young people’s attitudes towards society and build up their confidence in dealing with life’s challenges. For the mentor, it can be incredibly rewarding to know that they have had a significant influence on a child and helped to give the best possible (4) _____ in life. Indeed, it is not only adults who are capable of taking on this role. There is now an increasing (5) _____ for teenagers to mentor young children, for example by helping them with reading or other school work

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Nikola Tesla led an extraordinary life. He is a man who came from nowhere yet became world famous; claimed to be devoted solely to discovery but relished the role of a showman; attracted the attention of many women but never married; and generated ideas that transformed daily life and created multiple fortunes but died nearly penniless. In the popular imagination, Tesla played the part of a mad scientist. He claimed that he had developed a motor that ran on cosmic rays; that he was working on a new nonEinsteinian physics that would supply a new form of energy; that he had discovered a new technique for photographing thoughts; and that he had developed a new ray, alternately labeled the death ray and the peace ray, with vastly greater military potential than Nobel’s munitions. His money long gone, Tesla spent his later years moving from place to place, leaving behind unpaid bills. Eventually, he settled in at a New York hotel. Always living alone, he frequented the local park, where he was regularly seen feeding and tending to the pigeons,  with which he claimed to share a special affinity. On the morning of Jan. 7, 1943, he was found dead in his room by a hotel maid at age 86. Today the name Tesla is still very much in circulation. The airport in Belgrade bears his name, as does the world’s best-known electric car, and the magnetic field strength of MRI scanners is measured in Teslas. Tesla was a real-life Prometheus: the mythical Greek titan who raided heaven to bring fire to mankind, yet in punishment was chained to a rock where each day an eagle ate his liver.  
5. According to paragraph 4, what did the writer imply when likening Tesla to Prometheus?

A pilot cannot fly by sight alone. In many conditions, such as flying at night and landing in dense fog, a pilot must use radar, an alternative way of navigating. Since human eyes are not very good at determining speeds of approaching objects, radar can show a pilot how fast nearby planes are moving. The basic principle of radar is exemplified by what happens when one shouts in a cave. The echo of the sounds against the walls helps a person determine the size of the cave. With radar, however, the waves are radio waves instead of sound waves. Radio waves travel at the speed of light, about 300,000 kilometres in one second. A radar set sends out a short burst of radio waves. Then it receives the echoes produced when the waves bounce off objects. By determining the tune it takes for the echoes to return to the radar set, a trained technician can determine the distance between the radar set and other objects. The word "radar" in fact gets its name from the term "radio detection and ranging". "Ranging" is the term for detection of the distance between an object and the radar set. Besides being of critical importance to pilots radar is essential for air traffic control tracking ships at sea, and for tracking weather Systems and storms

The word "tracking" in the passage most closely means...............................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the American educational system was desperately in need of reform. Private schools existed, but only for the very rich. There were very
few public schools because of the strong sentiment that children who would grow up to be laborers should not “waste” their time on education but should instead prepare themselves for their life’s work. It was in the face of this public sentiment that educational reformers set about their task. Horace Mann, probably the most famous of the reformers, felt that there was no excuse in a republic for any citizen to be uneducated. As Manager of Education in the state of Massachusetts from 1837 to 1848, he initiated various changes, which were soon matched in other school districts around the country. He extended the school year from five to six months and improved the quality of teachers by instituting teacher education and raising teacher salaries. Although these changes did not bring about a sudden improvement in the educational system, they at least increased public awareness as to the need for a further strengthening of the system.

From 1837 to 1848, Horace Mann     .