【英專(zhuān)八級(jí)聽(tīng)力訓(xùn)練】News Broadcast (Test 8)

Some American schools pay teachers more if their students improve on tests. Now, there is a growing movement to pay the students, in some cases, even just for coming to class. Schools that pay students can be found in more than 1/4 of the 50 states. Other schools pay students with food or other rewards. In 2004, the city schools in Coshocton, Ohio, launched a program. They wanted to see if paying elementary school students as much as $100 would help in passing state exams. Now, Eric Bettinger of Case Western Reserve University has reported mixed results. Math scores increased, but only while students were able to get paid. And there was no evidence of higher scores in reading, social studies and science. Officials will decide later this year whether to continue the program. Ukraine says that the five alleged Russian spies were caught with a camera concealed inside a pen, other espionage equipment and 2,000 dollars, a reported bribe for a Ukrainian contact. The head of Ukraine's security service says that the five were trying to obtain military secrets. Four of them have been expelled from Ukraine, while the fifth has been detained. Russia's security service, the FSB, has confirmed the detention, but denied the Ukrainian version of events. The FSB said its actions were a response to the recruitment of Russians by the Ukrainian security services. The mutual recriminations come at a highly sensitive time. Just two weeks ago, Russia sent an ambassador to Ukraine after a five-month absence. And on Sunday, Ukrainians will vote in an election to choose a successor to the outgoing President, Viktor Yushchenko. Mr. Yushchenko's time in office has been marked by strained relations with Moscow, and his departure was being seen as an opportunity for an improvement in ties between the two countries.