She traveled around the country, mastering arcane subjects that often related to safety issues.

But at his best he has shown himself capable of managing vast enterprises, such as the C.I.A., and of mastering such complicated subjects as China.

Mr. Vas has a way of mastering new subjects and rattling off numbers, friends and colleagues say.

Vasavamba studied fine arts and mastered philosophical subjects.

Instead of traditional tests, these schools would collect examples of students' work, known as portfolios, and require them to demonstrate through "exhibitions," or presentations, that they have mastered required subjects.

A former economics professor who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1996, Mr. Gramm has long been one of Washington's leading fiscal conservatives, known for mastering complicated subjects.

Instead, workers must master subjects like statistical process control, a technique of gathering and analyzing data that helps predict quality glitches and machine breakdowns.

He may have studied and mastered various subjects like music, philosophy, dance, economics, medicine, kamashastra (the science of sensual pleasure).

But for decades, the schools had been allowed to obscure the fact that many children were not mastering basic subjects.

Educational software can help students of all ages master subjects with ease.