When a new school year began in August, students in four classes were greeted by a new teacher. The human resources department had worked on through the summer to attract new teachers. Staff members made out-of-state recruiting trips. The district revised its website and asked residents to tap their families and friends for job candidates. "We were leaving no stone unturned," said Dave, assistant of human resources. Still, when the bell rang on the first day of class, they fell four teachers short.

After years of hiring freezes, school in the U.S. are in urgent need of more qualified teachers. In California, which educates more children than any state, the number of teaching certificates issued has dropped by half in the past decade. The state's school districts estimate they will need 21,000 new teachers annually over the next five years.

School administrators and academic researchers point to a variety of reasons for the shortages. During the past years, many districts shed jobs and new graduates and professionals looking for work outside their field. Debate over testing and lowest performing schools has circled back to teachers. People go to higher paying jobs, jobs that are more respected.  Elena Avila, 24, a first-time kindergarten teacher at Union Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles, said she had wanted to be a teacher since an early age, but began to doubt the decision as she got older. She got a degree in classical studies and volunteered before making up her mind.

To fill their vacancies, districts are trying everything to attract new teachers. The Fresno Unified School District in California's San Joaquin Valley has begun advertising openings at movie theaters. At Sierra Sands Unified, half of the new employees are not fully certified; they're working toward alternative certifications while they teach. It wasn't until three weeks into the school year that all the vacancies were filled. For the four newest teachers, there was no time to prepare, only dive in. "They're going and hitting the ground running," Ostash said.

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1.What difficulty did Dave have?

A Turning over all the stones.

B Visiting families and friends.

C Recruiting the new teachers.

D Attracting people to websites.

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据文章第一段第二句的The human resources department had worked on through the summer to attract new teachers.可以得知他们在招新的老师方面有很大的困难。

2.How many teachers will California recruit in the next five years?

A 21000

B 42000

C 84000

D 105000

解析：选D。数字计算题。根据第二段最后一句…they will need 21,000 new teachers annually over the next five years可以得知未来五年加利福尼亚需要105,000名教师。

3.What caused the shortage of qualified teachers?

A The temperature of school dropped to freezing.

B Many districts refused to hire new graduates.

C The schools offered the higher paying jobs.

D The teacher are more respected than others.

解析：选B。推理判断题。根据第三段第二句During the past years, many districts shed jobs and new graduates and professionals looking for work outside their field.可以得知是很多社区拒绝招新的教师才导致了教师的缺乏。

4.What measure did the Fresno Unified School District take to attract new teachers?

A They asked residents for help.

B They went to some colleges.

C They put ads in movie theaters.

D The gave teachers certifications.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第四段第二句The Fresno Unified School District in California's San Joaquin Valley has begun advertising openings at movie theaters.可以得知他们在剧院设立广告来招聘老师。

5.The underlined phrase “hitting the ground running” means ______.

A looking forward to succeed with pleasure

B getting well prepared for doing something

C setting about doing something right away

D turning to other people for some help

解析：选C。词义推测题。根据第四段第五句的For the four newest teachers, there was no time to prepare, only dive in.可以得知这四位新老师没有经过培训就开始工作了，因此hitting the ground running这个短语是意思为“立即做某事”。