One question is often risen in response to international __1__ test comparisons: Do these results really mean anything? In the past, international testing programs have been criticized on variety of grounds. Two allegations, in particular, have __2__ been common: first, that other nations have not tested as large a percentage of their student population, and nevertheless their __3__ scores have been inflated; and second, that our best students are among the world’s best, with our average brought down by a __4__ large cohort of low-achievers.
Whatever the historic validity of such concerns, they are now, __5__ if anything, reversed. Particularly in the fourth and eighth grade, education has become universal in all of the leading nations.
Therefore, in science, the percentage of randomly selected __6__ U.S. schools and students that actually did participate at the eighth-grade level was just 73 percent—the third-lowest of all 45 participating countries, and 11 percentage points under the __7__ United States had third-lowest overall participation rate for both __8__ grades in both subjects. Japan, Taiwan and Singapore all had participation percentages in the 90s.
How about our best and brightest? At the fourth-grade level, there is some real truth to the idea that the best American students __9__ are among the best in the world. Looking only at the top 5 percent of test-takers, American fourth-graders beat the average of wealthy nations by 13 percentage points. By the eighth grade, however, the tables have turned, with America’s brightest students fallen to __10__ percentage points behind their foreign peers.
答案：1. risen—raised。提出问题应该用及物动词raise
2. ^variety—a 。A variety of 为固定搭配
3.nevertheless—hence/thus/consequently 。根据上下文，这里应该用表示结果关系的连接词，而不是转折关系的连接词
4.^brought—being。这里应该用表示被动的现在分词短语做独立主格结构
5.historic—historical 。Historic是“历史上著名的；与过去时代有关的”这里应该用historical是“历史上的”
6.Therefore—Moreover/Furthermore。这里应该用表示递进关系的连接词，而不是结果关系的连接词。
7.under—below。低于平均值多少百分点用介词below
8.^third—the。序数词前应该用定冠词the
9.real--/。real 多余，应删除
10.fallen—falling。应该用现在分词作独立逐个结构
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