Word: woebegone
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WASHINGTON, D.C.: Happily, just as in Lake Woebegon, America's fourth-graders are above average. Unfortunately, it may be all downhill from there, and that suggests that something is wrong with American schools. In the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, American fourth-graders ranked third in science (behind Korea and Japan) and 12th out of the 26 countries in math. In another study last year, U.S. eighth graders finished 17th in math and a woebegone 28th in science. The fact that younger students compare more favorably than older ones suggests that American schools may be slowing them down. Education...
...MIDWEST: There was no school today in Lake Woebegon. In fact, with early morning wind chills of 70 below across much of Minnesota, Governor Arne Carlson closed all public schools in the state. A mass of arctic air has settled in over the region, bringing blizzard conditions that have shut most everything down. Gusting winds in the Dakotas have topped out over 50 mph, and conditions are nearly as bad in the plains and rolling hills of Iowa, where even the lightest dusting of snow is driven hard enough to create "whiteout" conditions. Even discounting wind chills -- which...
Garrison Keillor is the somewhat moonstruck and lately much celebrated rustic whimsyfier whose monologues from Lake Woebegon, Minn., embellish Public Radio's Saturday evening country-music broadcasts. The first response of an uninitiated listener is likely to be, "That fellow is being funny," and the second, uttered with reproach, "No, that fellow is being serious...
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