Recently, book publishers got some good news. Researchers gave 852 disadvantaged students 12 books to take home at the end of the school year. They did this for three (36) years. Then the researchers looked at those students’ test scores. They found that the students who brought the books home had (37) higher reading scores than other students. These students were less (38) by the "summer slide"—the decline that especially afflicts lower-income students during the vacation months. In fact, just having those 12 books seemed to have as much (39) effect as attending summer school. This study, along with many others, (40) the tremendous power of books. We already knew, from research in 27 countries, that kids who grow up in a home with 500 books stay in school longer and do better. This new study suggests that introducing books into homes that may not have them also produces significant educational gains. Recently, Internet experts got some bad news. They examined computer use among a half-million 5th through 8th graders in North Carolina. They found that the spread of home computers and high-speed Internet access was associated with significant (41) in math and reading scores. This study, following up on others, finds that broadband access is not necessarily good for kids and may be (42) to their academic performance. These two studies (43) into the debate that is now surrounding Nicholas Carr’s book, "The Shallows." Carr argues that the Internet is leading to a short-attention-span culture. He (44) a pile of research showing that the multi-distraction, hyperlink world degrades people’s abilities to engage in deep thought or serious contemplation. Carr’s argument has been challenged. His critics point to (45) that suggests that playing computer games and performing Internet searches actually improves a person’s ability to process information and focus attention. The Internet, they say, is a boon to schooling, not a threat. A. affected I. successive B. significantly J. turndown C. feed K. objection D. positive L. cites E. succeeding M. evidence F. poisonous N. illustrates G. narrates O. declines H. harmful