[originaltext]W: There is new data out today that confirms that many Americans

W: There is new data out today that confirms that many Americans are not good at math. And when it comes to everyday technology skills, we are dead last when compared to other developed countries. Here’s Gabrielle Emanuel of National Public Radio.
M: [12]Let’s start with the bad news that Americans are terrible at technology skills—using email, naming a file on a computer, using a link on a webpage or just texting someone.
W: No country scored below the U.S.
M: Only one country. Poland performed as poorly as we did. [13]Who came out the first—Japan did the best and then Finland. If you look at data about reading and math, you’ll notice something interesting. Young adults who went to college or graduate school were doing pretty well. [14]In literacy, they were actually doing better than their peers in other countries.
W: So that’s a bit of good news.
M: But when you looked at Americans who have a high school diploma, they looked a lot like other countries’ high school dropouts. [15]We had a lot of work to do. That is especially true when it comes to math. You go to the store, and there’s a sale. Buy one; get the second one half off. You decide to buy two. How much do you pay?
W: You mean high school graduates can’t do this task in general?
M: You’re right. What does that tell us about our education system? Well, it tells us that we need to think about the preparedness of our students as they’re leaving high school.
W: Right. And schools, employers, in fact, we all need to do something about it. Thank you, Gabrielle.
12. What does the man say about Americans?
13. Who performed the best in technology skills according to the man?
14. In what aspect did American college students perform well?
15. What do we learn from the conversation about American high school education?