administration.The exams are mostly multiple choice questions,though students may be required to write a short essay or solve math problems.A score of 65 is required to pass theexam,the top score being 100. (3)Income taxes The US has had income tax laws since 1913.Income tax is a tax on the wages, salaries,profits,interest and rent received by a taxpayer within a definite period of time.In the US approximately one quarter of a middle class family's eamings goes to the goverment through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)in the form of taxes;in Great Britain about one third ofa middle class family's income goes to taxes. (④Competency tests Competency tests are used to determine whether or not a person possesses a certain skill to do something.as opposed to a proficiency test which determines how well a person can do something.A competency test is a pass/fail test,the point being not to achieve an exceptional score.but merely to pass it.Usually a competency test is set in reading and basic math computations,not in all subject areas.Sometimes students must pass competency tests at the end of each academic year to let the school authorities determine whether they are capable of doing work at their grade level. Recently a growing number of states in the US are requiring students to pass a competency test before receiving a high school diploma;if one fails the test,one receives a high school certificate which amounts to little more than a statement that one attended school. Step Two Global reading Give the students 10 minutes to read the text as quickly as they can,and ask them to think about these questions in the process of reading. 1.Questions (1)What percentage of American high school students have confessed to cheating on exams according to a recent poll?Why does the author say such a response may not amount to much? (2)Why have the professor given up the traditional term paper requirement? administration. The exams are mostly multiple choice questions, though students may be required to write a short essay or solve math problems. A score of 65 is required to pass the exam, the top score being 100. (3) Income taxes The US has had income tax laws since 1913. Income tax is a tax on the wages, salaries, profits, interest and rent received by a taxpayer within a definite period of time. In the US approximately one quarter of a middle class family’s earnings goes to the government through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the form of taxes; in Great Britain about one third of a middle class family’s income goes to taxes. (4) Competency tests Competency tests are used to determine whether or not a person possesses a certain skill to do something, as opposed to a proficiency test which determines how well a person can do something. A competency test is a pass / fail test, the point being not to achieve an exceptional score, but merely to pass it. Usually a competency test is set in reading and basic math computations, not in all subject areas. Sometimes students must pass competency tests at the end of each academic year to let the school authorities determine whether they are capable of doing work at their grade level. Recently a growing number of states in the US are requiring students to pass a competency test before receiving a high school diploma; if one fails the test, one receives a high school certificate which amounts to little more than a statement that one attended school. Step Two Global reading Give the students 10 minutes to read the text as quickly as they can, and ask them to think about these questions in the process of reading. 1. Questions (1) What percentage of American high school students have confessed to cheating on exams according to a recent poll? Why does the author say such a response may not amount to much? (2) Why have the professor given up the traditional term paper requirement?