options
listlengths 2
5
| answer
stringlengths 1
535
| context
stringlengths 3
6.44k
| question
stringlengths 1
380
|
|---|---|---|---|
[
"The natural scenery of Loch Ness.",
"The Nessie.",
"Skeptics' opinions on Loch Ness Monster.",
"The Loch Ness Investigation Bureau's research results."
] |
The Nessie.
|
Loch Ness, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, is twenty four miles long and, at one point, one mile wide. It has an average depth of four hundred and fifty feet and at times drops close to a thousand. It is cold and murky , with dangerous currents. In short, it is the perfect place to hide a monster from even the sharpest eyes of science.
The Loch Ness Monster, also called Nessie, is supposedly living in this area. The earliest recorded sighting of the Loch Ness Monster was in the biography of Life of St. Columba by Adamnan in the year AD 565. The monster apparently attacked a man who was swimming in the River Ness.
The monster didn't make headlines again until August 27, 1930, when 3 fishermen reported seeing a creature with 20 feet long approaching their boat, throwing water in the air. In 1933, after a new road was built along the edge of the Loch, the number of reports rose suddenly. Early in 1934, Author Grant, a young student, was out on his motorcycle one evening when he almost ran into the monster as it crossed the road. Grant's description of the thing - small head, long thin neck and tail with a big body, seemed to match the appearance of the plesiosaur , an aquatic type of dinosaur that has been extinct for 65 million years.
The Loch Ness Investigation Bureau was formed in 1962 to act as a research organization for information about the creature. Even now, efforts have continued to find the monster. A great deal of information was discovered about the Loch, but there isn't any yet to produce any specific evidence of a monster.
Skeptics argue that the water in the Loch is too cold for a plesiosaur to live in. They also argue that an air-breathing animal, like a whale or seal, would spend much more time on the surface than the creature seems to, and would be spotted more often.
Some scientists have wondered if the sightings might be caused by an underwater wave which is known to sometimes occur in deep, long, and cold lakes, like Loch Ness. Such a wave might push debris to the surface that might look like a strange animal.
However, none of these is identified.
|
What does this passage mainly talk about?
|
[
"Science.",
"Architecture.",
"Education.",
"Agriculture."
] |
Science.
|
At most schools, "going green" means generating less trash or making an attempt to recycle.But at New York's Riverdale Country School, it means being encouraged to run and even jump in the hallway. That's because the school was the first to install ( ) the specially-designed Pavegen floor tiles in America.
The tiles use kinetic energy expanded by the kids and transform it into electricity that can be used to power classroom lights, science projects and charge electronic devices. The first US installation of Pavegen tiles near the school's student center is thanks to 14-year-old Zach Halem, who managed to convince the officials to purchase them.
Besides providing fun green energy, the tiles also serve as a learning tool. Every time a student steps on one, a brightly-lit LED board provides instant feedback on how much energy was generated. Depending on the force, every step results in between one to seven watts-enough power to light an LED street lamp for about 30 seconds.
Made largely from rubber and other recycled materials the tiles are invented by the 26-year-old British industrial designer Laurence Kembell-Cook. While new to the US, they have been installed in numerous places in Europe, ranging from a London underground station to a marathon track in Paris. However, it was not until Pavegen started getting popular in London schools that Laurence realized that his invention not only saved energy, but was also fun!
Though the young inventor will not give too many details about the technology behind this green tile, he says that it is very different from other kinetic energy harvesting systems.
Whatever the secret, let's hope more US schools decide to install these fun tiles. In fact, why stop at schools? These tiles could be installed everywhere, from sidewalks to homes. Then we could all be "green" and have fun! Who knew that was even possible?
|
Which part of a website is the passage probably taken from?
|
[
"Slim people are smarter than overweight people.",
"Healthy diet is better than exercise in losing weight.",
"Traditional ways of losing weight are better than operation.",
"Overweight people will get smarter by taking more exercise."
] |
Overweight people will get smarter by taking more exercise.
|
Losing weight comes with a lot of health benefits--including making your brain sharper.
Yes, it turns out that overweight may damage cognitive functions such as memory and attention. There have been few studies of overweight and cognitive functioning, possibly because it is generally believed that it is not a primary risk cause for poor cognitive performance. Losing weight, therefore, may help improve these mental functions, according to a new research led by John Gunstad, assistant professor of psychology at Kent State University.
Growing evidence suggests that being fat is linked to cognitive deficits . So Gunstad and his team guessed that losing weight might improve mental function. For their study, they measured memory and attention in a group of 150 overweight participants, some of whom had some kind of operation for weight loss and some did not. All of the volunteers completed mental skills tests to assess their abilities of memory and attention at the beginning of the study, and again 12 weeks later. To begin with, about 24% of the patients showed damaged learning and 23% showed signs of poor memory when tested. At the end of the study, those who had lost weight after operation improved their scores into the average or above average range for cognitive functions. Scores for the volunteers who didn't lose weight dropped even further.
The study helped Gunstad to find out whether losing weight had any effect on mental function. Now that he's seen the positive effect that weight loss can have on memory and attention, he says he will next study those who choose to lose weight by the traditional way--eating healthier and getting more active. He expects that losing weight in this way will have a similarly positive effect on the brain. "If we can improve the condition with operations, then we can probably produce the same change with behavioral weight loss as well," he says.
|
What is Gunstad planning to prove next in his research?
|
[
"China will also make its own application to UNESCO",
"it will be meaningless to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival",
"people from other parts of the world will think South Korea created the festival",
"the Dragon Boat Festival will become part of local culture"
] |
people from other parts of the world will think South Korea created the festival
|
For Chinese, it's a time for dragon boat racing and Zongzi . But across the Yellow Sea, South Korea, wrestling and swing play are the _ .However, both events go by the same name-the Dragon Boat Festival-which falls on May 5 of the lunar calendar.
One festival, two cultures: does one nation have the right to call its own? It has been reported that South Korea will apply to the UNESCO to make the celebration its cultural heritage .If successful, people from other countries may see the Dragon Festival as a Korean creation.
As the birthplace of the yearly event more than 2,000 years ago, China is not happy with the situation."It would be a shame if another country successfully made a traditional Chinese festival part of its own cultural heritage ahead of China," said Zhou Heping, deputy culture minister.The Ministry of Culture is even thinking of making its own application to UNESCO, covering all traditional Chinese festivals, including the Dragon Boat event.
Over the years, the Dragon Boat Festival has spread throughout the world.In Japan and Viet Nam, as well as South Korea, the festival has mixed with and become part of local culture.
With this in mind, some experts say that it is meaningless to argue about which country the festival belongs to."No one can deny that it came from China," said Long Haiqing, an expert from Hunan Province."But if all the countries involved can protect culture heritage together, they will all benefit."
|
If South Korea's application to UNESCO is successful, _ .
|
[
"She is outgoing.",
"She is a nice girl.",
"She is careless.",
"She is a lucky girl."
] |
She is a nice girl.
|
I think that I am very lucky because I have a lot of friends. My best friend is Mai. She is 16 years old. She is 2 years older than me. We live in the same village. She is my neighbor and we are now classmates, so we have been friends for so long. Mai is tall and thin. With long black hair, she has got an oval face with big bright eyes, a high nose and a small mouth. Mai is very beautiful, especially when she smiles.
She is always helpful, polite and honest . When her friends have difficulties, she always tries her best to help them. Although we have the same hobbies and interests, we have different personalities . I am sociable and enjoy telling jokes. My classmates think that I'm rather outgoing .Unlike me, Mai is quite serious and prefer quietness to noise.However, we can keep secrets together, so we are close friends. Mai is one of the best students in my class and she works hard. I like doing homework with her. She always tries her best to help me with my studies. I think as time goes by, our friendship will be deeper and deeper.
|
What does the writer think of Mai?
|
[
"English people all speak the same language.",
"People from different regions speak different dialects.",
"Visitors have no difficulty in understanding the dialects.",
"The British Isles include England, Wales and Northern Ireland."
] |
People from different regions speak different dialects.
|
The size of the British Isles often leads people to think that the languages spoken in its countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are somewhat the same. At first, visitors are often surprised to find that they have difficulty in understanding the accents and dialects of certain regions. Even in England there are many different dialects.
Experts believe that for most English people, the places they come from are very important to them. Accents are clues to where people were born and where they grew up. Although some people may change the way they speak during their lifetime, most people carry at least some evidence of their accents and dialects throughout their lives. In addition to the regional accents of England, there can also be class differences among the accents. People are often able to make instant and unconscious judgments about a stranger's class by listening to his or her accent. Both the words and the pronunciation of an individual reflect his or her social position.
It is agreed that in England, the kind of English spoken by a person plays a leading role that generally is not important in North America. The importance of accents and their cultural and social relationships are well represented in films and on television in Britain. The film My Fair Lady based on George Bernard Shaw's 1912 play Pygmalion is often said to be a wonderful example of how social class and the accent were, and still are, linked in Britain.
|
From the passage we can learn that _ .
|
[
"Honest and responsible.",
"Cautious and friendly.",
"Caring and determined.",
"Talented and modest."
] |
Talented and modest.
|
Making the announcement, Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, called Alice Munro a "master of the contemporary short story".
"She has taken an art form, the short story, which has tended to live a little bit in the shadow of the novel, and she has cultivated it almost to perfection," he said.
The 82-year-old, whose books include Dear Life and dance of the Happy Shades, is only the 13thwoman to win the Nobel Prize for literature since its start in 1901.
"I knew I was in the running, yes, but I never thought I would win," Munro told Canadian media.
Alice Munro: "I would really hope that this would make people see the short story as an important art form."
Munro, who began writing in her teenage years, published her first story, The Dimensions of a Shadow, in 1950.
Dance of the Happy Shades, published in 1968, was Munro's first collection, and it went on to win Canada's highest literary prize, the Governor General's Award.
In 2009, she won the Man Booker International Prize for her entire body of work -- but she downplayed her achievements.
"I think maybe I was successful in doing this because I didn't have any other talents," she once said in an interview.
BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz said Munro had been "at the very top of her game since she started".
"Very few writers are her equal," he said, adding "She gets to the heart of what it is to be human".
The award "probably won't make a commercial difference" to the author, he added, but it "makes a huge difference to how her work will be viewed in historical terms".
"If she hadn't won it before she died, I think it would have been a terrible, terrible omission ."
Often compared to Anton Chekhov, she is known for writing about the human spirit and a regular theme of her work is the dilemma faced by young girls growing up and coming to terms with living in a small town.
Several of her stories have also been adapted for the screen, including The Bear Came over the Mountain.
|
Which words can best describe Alice Munro?
|
[
"Internet",
"School",
"New Technology",
"will Technology Take the Place of Schools?"
] |
Internet
|
Some people believe that schools will no longer be necessary in the near future.They said that because of the Internet and other new technology, there is no longer any need for school buildings, classes or teachers.Perhaps this will be true one day, but if the world has no schools, I can 't imagine how our society will be, In fact, we should learn how to use new technology to make schools better.We should invent a new knid of school that is linked to libraries, museums, science centers, labs and even companies.Technological companies should create learning programs for schools.Scientists or professors could give talks through the Internet.TV networks and local stations could develop programs about things students are actually studying in school.Labs could set up websites to show new technology so students could see it on the Internet.
Is this a dream? No.There are already many cities where this is beginning to happen.Here the whole city is linked to the Internet, and learning can take place at home, at school, and in the office.Businesses provide programs for the schools and the society.The schools provide computer labs for people without their own computers at home.Because everyone can be on the Internet, older people use it as much as younger ones.And everyone can visit distant libraries and museums as easily as nearby ones.How will this new kind of school change the usual way of learning? It is too early to be sure, but it is very exciting to think about it.Technology will change the way we learn; schools will change as well; and we will all learn something from the Internet.
|
What is the best title for this passage?
|
[
"He preferred dog figurines to real dogs.",
"He longed for friendship with others.",
"He found his neighbors unfriendly.",
"He was sad because he felt alone."
] |
He longed for friendship with others.
|
A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did, he would not say hello to neighbors or passers-by, but simply glare at them.
The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man.
As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. "What do you want?" the old man said.
"Uh, sir, I uh am selling these magazines and, uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one."
The old man just stared at the boy. The boy could see inside the old man's house and saw that he had dog figurines on the fireplace. "Do you collect dogs?" the little boy asked.
"Yes, I have many collectibles in my house. They are my family here. They are all I have."
The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul. "Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much."
The old man was ready to close the door and said: "No, boy, I don't need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye."
The little boy was sad for the old man because he was alone in the big house. Then he thought of a little dog figurine that he had got some years earlier from an aunt. The boy headed back down to the old man's house with it. He knocked on the door again and this time the old man came right to the door. "Boy, I thought I told you no magazines."
"No, sir. I know that. I wanted to bring you a gift." The boy handed him the figurine and the old man's face lit up.
The old man was surprised and said: "Boy, you have a big heart. Why are you doing this?"
The boy smiled at the man and said: "Because you like dogs."
From that day on, the old man started coming out of the house and greeting people. He and the boy became friends.
This simple nice act changed both of their lives forever.
|
What can we learn from the article about the old man?
|
[
"Kramar vs. Kramar",
"A Cry in the Dark",
"Sophies Choice",
"The Bridges of Madison County"
] |
Sophies Choice
|
Meryl Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. She is regarded as one of the most talented actresses of all time. The following is a list of movies that Meryl Streep has been involved with:
Kramer vs. Krammer (1979)
In the film, Meryl plays a mother caught up in a custody dispute . Her co-star, Dustin Hoffman, said, "She's extraordinarily hardworking. I think she thinks about nothing else but what she's doing." Meryl won her first Oscar for her performance in this film.
Sophie's Choice (1982)
Meryl plays Sophie, a Polish war survivor. To prepare for the role she learned to speak German and perfected a Polish accent. Film critic Roger Ebert said, "This is one of the most astonishing and yet one of the most natural performances I can imagine." Meryl won her second Best Actress Oscar for her performance.
Out of Africa(1985)
Meryl is Karen Blixen, a Danish woman living in Kenya in the early 20th century. The story follows Karens attempts to run a coffee plantation and her love affair with big-game hunter Denys. The film is based on the memoirs of the real Karen Blixen.
A Cry in the Dark (1995)
This is based on the true-life case of the disappearance of baby Azaria. Meryl plays Linda Chamberlain, a mother who is wrongly accused of killing her own child. After spending four years in prison, it was found that wild dogs had taken away the baby. Meryl won Best Actress at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
The Bridge of Madison County (1995)
This movie is based on one of the biggest bestsellers of the 20th century (the book sold 50 million copies worldwide). Meryl plays Francesca Johnson, an Italian war bride living in 1960s Iowa. It's about her brief affair with photographer Robert Kincaid.
Mamma Mial(2008)
This is a romantic comedy based on the stage musical Mamma Mial, featuring the music from 1970s Swedish pop group ABBA. Meryl plays Donna Sheridan, a hotel owner on the Greek island of Kalokairi. Mamma Mial made over U.S. $ 600 million worldwide. Apparently, Meryl had seen the musical in 2001 and was completely absorbed in it. She had no idea that seven years later she'd be in the movie version.
|
For which of the following films did Meryl have to learn a new language?
|
[
"not to believe everything you hear",
"not to eat soup that is too hot",
"not to eat in inns",
"to cry when we burn our mouth"
] |
not to believe everything you hear
|
A nobleman and a merchant once met in an inn. For their lunch they both ordered soup. When it was brought, the nobleman took a spoonful, but the soup was so hot that he burned his mouth and tears came to his eyes. The merchant asked him why he was weeping. The nobleman was ashamed to admit that he had burned his mouth and answered, "Sir, I once had a brother who committed a great crime, for which he was hanged. I was thinking of his death, and that made me weep." The merchant believed this story and began to eat his soup. He too burned his mouth, so that he had tears in his eyes. The nobleman noticed it and asked the merchant, "Sir, why do you weep?" The merchant, who now saw that the nobleman had deceived him, answered, "My lord(="master)," I am weeping because you were not hanged together with your brother."
|
This story teaches us _ .
|
[
"criticize Mattel Inc.for their bad products",
"inform readers of Polly Pocket toys' recall",
"warn readers the danger of swallowing magnets",
"suggest some ways to return Polly Pocket toys"
] |
inform readers of Polly Pocket toys' recall
|
Mattel Inc.is recalling 4.4 million Polly Pocket toys with magnets after some of them caused serious injuries to children who swallowed magnets that fell off.Tiny magnets inside the toys may fall off without being noticed by parents and babysitters.The magnets can be swallowed or placed in children' s noses or ears.When more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestine perforations which can be deadly.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission received 170 reports of the magnets coming out of these recalled toys.There were three reports of serious injuries to children who swallowed more than one magnet.All three suffered intestine perforations that required operations.A 2-year-old child stayed in hospital for 7 days and a 7-year-old child was hospitalized for 12 days.
The recalled Polly Pocket toys contain plastic dolls and accessories that have small magnets.The magnets measure one-eighth inch in diameter and are fixed in the hands and feet of the dolls, and even in the plastic clothing, hairpieces and other accessories to help the pieces stay on the dolls or the dolls' houses.
The model number is printed on the bottom of the largest pieces on the toys.Contact Mattel if you cannot find a model number on your product to determine if it is part of the recall.Polly Pocket magnetic toys currently sold in stores are not included in this recall.The model numbers included in the recall are: B2632, B3158, B7118, G8605, H1537 and H3211.The toys were on sales in department stores and toy stores from May 2006 through September 2009.
Consumers should immediately take these recalled toys away from children and contact Mattel for the return of the toys.For more information contact Mattel at 888 597-6597 anytime or visit the company' s website.
|
The main purpose of the passage is to _ .
|
[
"Women should always make a decision by themselves",
"Listening to the old is important when people get married",
"Money doesn't matter as much as love in marriage",
"Children don't mind whether they have a poor family or not"
] |
Money doesn't matter as much as love in marriage
|
When I decided to get married, my father decided to share some wisdom. "Lori, it is just as easy to love a rich man as it is to love a poor man, " he said. My boyfriend didn't have much money, but I loved him. "What?" I cried. " How can you say that? I want to marry for love, NOT for money." " But why not marry someone you love who has money?" he asked. "Rich men are materialistic . I'd rather marry a poor man who loves me," I said and he gave in.
And as we went on, with my family growing, I learned why my father put such importance on money. We had to cover the rent, car, electricity, food, and medical bills. We were under lot of pressure. The worries over whether we would be asked to move out or if we had the money to wash our clothes at the Laundromat this week made me question if I did the right thing by marrying a "poor" man.
I realized that I had entered the ranks of the poor. Not that I'd ever been rich. Most of my life, I considered us in the lower middle-class rank. We had a house of our own, food on the table, cars, clothes, and money for college. But now, as I listened to an apartment neighbour talk about her monthly "Mother's Day" gift, I realized she was talking about her welfare check . And another young mother tried to "help" me out by connecting me with a friend who stole baby clothes from a department store. " For a small cut," she said, " I could return my 'purchase' for cash." It made me sick. How poor was I?
I had a college education but wasn't using it. I insisted on not missing a minute of our children's childhood and it came at a price. My husband was working as hard as he could and it wasn't enough. But somehow we made it.
The kids grew. Today, we look back and see the great values gained by going through those hard years. My children are not materialistic. They never thought they were poor growing up because we always managed to give a little bit of food, money, or clothes to the "poor". They were satisfied with the simple things in life that come free such as a beach day or a horse back ride from their dad.
We had our worries, but we still treasured our very favorite part of the day when we'd nest under the covers and talked about our future, the kids and how much we loved each other. Sure our financial troubles caused a lot of fights, but we didn't leave each other. We began to live a better life. We moved to a better community with good schools for the kids. And soon, we'll face a new challenge with wealth. But we'll never give up.
My father died three years ago. Before he died, he knew I made the right choice. I'm proud of my decision.
|
.What do you think is the theme of the story?
|
[
"tell him their problem",
"ask him for help",
"change into zebras",
"get some grass"
] |
ask him for help
|
Long, long ago there were a lot of donkeys. The donkeys worked hard every day. They had no time to play or to relax, but they never felt appreciated for the work they did.
One day two donkeys got bored. They wanted to live a comfortable life, So the donkeys went to see a wise old man. They told him their problem. The wise old man agreed that they worked too hard, and he wanted to help the donkeys." I have an idea," he said.
"What is your idea?" asked the donkeys.
"I will paint you and no one will know you are donkeys" said the man.
The man went off to find some paint and he returned in just a matter of minutes. He had two pots of paint. One pot was filled with white paint, and the other black paint.
The old man first painted them white, and then painted black stripes over the white paint. When he finished, the donkeys did not look at all like donkeys." You no longer look like donkeys" the old man said." Everyone will be fooled. I will call you something else, zebras."
The zebras went to a field to eat grass. Now they did not have to work.
Soon, other donkeys saw the zebras. They asked the zebras where they came from. When the zebras told the donkeys their secret, the donkeys all rushed to see the old man.
"Make us into zebras, too," they pleaded. So the wise old man painted more donkeys. As he did, more and more donkeys came.
The old man could not paint fast enough. Soon the donkeys became impatient. They began to kick about, and they knocked over the paint pots.
There was no more paint. The painted donkeys ran off to become zebras. The unpainted donkeys, because of their impatience, had to return to work.
This is why it is important to be patient.
|
The two donkeys went to see a wise old man in order to
|
[
"eat",
"hasten",
"antedate",
"bring forward",
"advance"
] |
hasten
|
postpone
|
If you are prone to postpone work what will you have to do in order to finish on time?
|
[
"middle ages",
"chess board",
"kids story",
"fairy tale",
"castle"
] |
fairy tale
|
knight
|
Where is knight always portrayed as a hero?
|
[
"College students have a terrible holiday",
"College students survived a big fire",
"Heroes:close call in a hotel fire",
"A big fire broke out in a hotel"
] |
Heroes:close call in a hotel fire
|
It was almost four o'clock in the morning when the fire broke out."We watch one window blow out,and then another,and heard people shouting,"says Stanley,21,a junior from Westfield State College in Massachusetts.Students were throwing ropes made from bed sheets out their windows,and a couple of them were trying to climb down.
Almost all the hotel's 502 rooms were filled with college students from across the United States who were spending their holiday here in Acpulco,Mexico.As the smoke thickened,Moreno ran upstairs to where other Westfield students were rooming."Some people had no idea what was going on,"he says."I was shouting at the top of my voice.I made sure I hit every door."At the same time,Stanley was downstairs helping people get through the smokefilled hall.There he joined forces with Nalewanski who had just come back from his own night out.
"Let's go."Nalewanski says.He and Stanley wet their shirts in the bathroom and wrapped them around their mouths and noses so they could breathe.Then they ran up the stairs.
Nalewanski and Stanley found Moreno on the fourth floor.They all ran upstairs and down the corridors on every floor,hitting every door hard.
In the end,no one was seriously injured.Even more unbelievable,all the Westfield students made it back to Massachusetts later that same day.
Westfield president Evan Dobelle says,"I have a great deal of pride in these young men and they were able to react in such an emergency."
|
What's the best title for this passage?
|
[
"Pop Art, Minimalism and Conceptualism are styles that developed in the Postmodern era.",
"Some of the world's earliest art was created in caves.",
"History, culture and one's concept of beauty affect what a person believes to be art.",
"Art historians refer to today's artistic period as the Modern era."
] |
Art historians refer to today's artistic period as the Modern era.
|
What is art? According to one definition, it is the creation of something that appeals to our sense of beauty. This definition may include painting, drawing, sculpture, and architecture, or performing arts such as music and drama. Cultural and historical influences, as well as one's own consciousness of what is aesthetically( )pleasing, play a role in what one believes to be art. To some people, art is the description of an object--- a painting or sculpture of a person, for example. For others, art may be a blank canvas, or a piece of chalk.
In order to talk about the different artistic styles that have existed over time, art historians have classified these styles into different periods and organized them in chronological order. The works of art produced within each period mirror the culture and events of that time.
The earliest forms of art, from the prehistoric era , include simple cave paintings and figures made from stone. There were followed by the sculptures and carvings of Ancient Civilizations era. Styles of the later Classical era (800 B.C. to 200 A.D.), reflect the culture of the time--- one that favored simplicity and balance. The period of the Middle Ages followed, and was succeeded by a revival of classical styles in the Renaissance era, beginning around 1400. Well-known artists of this time include Michelangelo and da Vinci. One hundred years of Baroque style, and then fifty years of Rococo followed the 200-year Renaissance. The start of the nineteenth century saw the rise of the Premodern era, followed by the Modern era, a period that lasted until 1945. This was followed by Postmodern era that characterizes the present day.
In addition to differences in artistic styles between eras, there are also differences within each era. The Postmodern era, for example, has featured innovative artistic styles such as Pop Art ( which includes work by Andy Warhol), Minimalism, and Conceptualism. Since the 1960s, Conceptualism has grown in popularity. This style focuses more on the idea or 'concept' of art using realistic objects, rather than on art that is created using traditional materials such as paint, canvas, stone, or clay. Whereas Warhol used a can of beans as the basis for a painting, for example, a conceptual artist might say that the can itself is a work of art.
Conceptualism has become an increasingly controversial art style, particularly as result of numerous conceptual artists winning the Turner Prize. This PS20,000 award is presented annually to a British artist under the age of fifty, in recognition of an outstanding work. Sponsored by the Tate Gallery of Britain, it is recognized as one of Europe's most prestigious awards for visual arts. Its aim is to promote discussion about contemporary British art. In 2002, pop music icon Madonna presented the Turner Prize to conceptual artist Martin Creed.
......
|
Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
|
[
"she saw that the lady's room was comfortable",
"she saw the cups matched the saucers",
"the writer's slipcovers were very new",
"the writer was preparing a big meal while she was too hungry."
] |
she saw the cups matched the saucers
|
It was Thanksgiving morning and in the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together. "Any old papers, lady?" asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say "no" until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals, wet with heavy snow.
"Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa."
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady, are you rich?"
I looked at my shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully and said, "Your cups match your saucers." Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply. They left after that, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn't said "Thank you." They didn't need to. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful. Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job--these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am.
|
The girl thought the writer was rich perhaps because _ .
|
[
"when given equality of opportunity",
"through doing business",
"by protecting their individual freedom",
"by way of competition"
] |
by way of competition
|
President Coolidge's statement, "The business of America is business," still points to an important truth today---that business institutions have more prestige in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions possess this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly of power. In contrast to one, all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers' dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, than democracy in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the noble idea of inherited privilege.
|
Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only _ .
|
[
"Parents should control the situation.",
"Parents should give their way to children.",
"Parents should spend more time on children.",
"Parents should take on their responsibility."
] |
Parents should take on their responsibility.
|
Bringing up children is hard work, and you are often to blame for any bad behavior of your children. If so, Judith Rich Harris has good news for you. Parents, she argues, have no important long -term effects on the development of the personality of their children. Far more important are their playground friends and neighborhood. Ms. Harris takes to hitting the assumption, which has dominated developmental psychology for almost half a century.
Ms. Harris's attack on the developmental psychologists' "nurture" argument looks likely to reinforce doubts that the profession was already having. If parents matter, why is it that two adopted children, brought up in the same home, are no more similar in personality than two adopted children brought up in separate homes? Or that a pair of identical twins, brought up in the same home, are no more alike than a pair of identical twins brought up in different homes?
Difficult as it is to track the clear effects of parental upbringing, it may be harder to measure the exact influence of the peer group in childhood and adolescence. Ms. Harris points to how children from immigrant homes soon learn not to speak at school in the way their parents speak. But acquiring a language is surely a skill, rather than a characteristic of the sort developmental psychologists hunt for. Certainly it is different from growing up tensely or relaxed, or from learning to be honest or hard -working or generous. Easy though it may be to prove that parents have little impact on those qualities, it will be hard to prove that peers have vastly more.
Moreover, mum and dad surely cannot be ignored completely. Young adults may, as Ms. Harris argues, be keen to appear like their peers. But even in those early years, parents have the power to open doors: they may choose the peers with whom their young associate, and pick that influential neighborhood. Moreover, most people suspect that they come to resemble their parents more in middle age. So the balance of influences is probably complicated. Even if it turns out that the genes they pass on and the friends their children play with matter as much as affection, discipline and good example, parents are not completely off the hook
|
What does the author mean by saying parents are not completely off the look at the end of the passage?
|
[
"The words alone makes Tillman's books the writer's favorite.",
"Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You is published earlier than On the Night You Were Born.",
"My favorite drawing shows the feeling of wonder with the child swirling in sparkling lights.",
"The drawings in Wherever You Are convey love with pictures involving animals."
] |
The drawings in Wherever You Are convey love with pictures involving animals.
|
Nancy Tillman's wonderful On the Night You Were Born is one of my very favorite books. Its celebration of the uniqueness of each and every child told in lyrical language makes it the gift I choose most often for expectant or adoptive parents. I also read it regularly with my grandchildren and talk with them about how special they are.
Tillman feels that the most important message for children to receive is simply, "You are loved." And it's that message that is the focus of this, her newest book, Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You. Once again, it is her turn of phrase that most fascinates me: In the green of the grass ... in the smell of the sea ... in the clouds floating by ... at the top of a tree ... in the sound crickets make at the end of the day ... "You are loved. You are loved. You are loved," they all say. Phrases encourage children to grow, to try new things, to "march to the front" of their "own parade" and assures them that, no matter how far they go or what they do, they will be loved.
Though the words alone would convince me to buy, share and recommend this book, Tillman is also a gifted artist and her lovely work makes this book a visual treasure as well. Through the pages, a child rides hippos, splashes in the surf with elephants, plays hide and seek with rabbits, shares a trampoline with a kangaroo and enjoys some quiet time with a pair of pandas. My favorite drawing has the child walking away along a wide path that runs between trees covered in mist. In all of the drawings, swirls of sparkling lights wrap around the child--the love that will always be with him/her.
I've read On the Night You Were Born dozens of times and with every single reading, I am incredibly touched. Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You creates the same feeling of wonder, peace and happiness in me. It's a keep-forever book and I'm so happy to have it in my collection to share with the children I love most.
|
Pick out the true statements according to the passage.
|
[
"you can know all the American rivers",
"you must try hard to get many prizes",
"you can get tickets from a website",
"you must keep silent in the evening"
] |
you can get tickets from a website
|
Delta College starts Street Fair
San Joaquin Delta College will introduce its new Summer Street Fair, which runs from noon to 8 p. m every Friday stating this week through Aug. 9 in Delta's L-l parking lot near Pacific Avenue and March Lane. The fair goes with Delta's weekend flea market.
This week's featured performers are guitarist Travis Matsumoto from noon to 3 p.m., and Julio and his Jazz Trio from 3 to 6 p.m.
Lode Farmers Market opens
The Angels Camp Certified Farmers Market begins its yearly run from 5 p.m. to dusk this Friday in Utica Park in downtown Angels Camp. Opening night will feature wine tasting from award-winning Four Winds Cellars, and live music by guitarist Nicholas Leffler. Visitors will find fresh, locally grown produce and specialty foods. There will also be barbecue and California-
Mexican fusion cuisine.
Join River Rafting for a good cause
Whitewater enthusiasts can participate in Mokelumne Rive, Rafting Adventures on June 16 in Mokelumne Hill. Local outfitter O.A.R.S. is donating its services to help with the event. Departures are at 8 a.m., noon, or 4 p.m. The trip should last about three hours.
The trip is appropriate for those 7 and older, and the ability to swim is not required. The cost is $ 70 per person.
Films center on paddling water
The festival is an annual contest that awards winning films that focus on paddling in rivers, lakes and oceans in a variety of locales. Tickets to the film festival are $12 in advance and $15 at the door, and are also available online at
ticketriver.com/event/7002-reel-paddling-film-festival.
The evening also includes a drawing. Prizes include whitewater trips on the South Fork of the American River.
|
If you are interested in paddling in rivers.
|
[
"Learned.",
"Honorable.",
"Determined.",
"Promising."
] |
Honorable.
|
Last Friday, I was coming home late after spending time with friends and thought I'd go down to the $99 cent pizza place. On the way, I saw a man sitting on the stairs alone there. I'd seen him before every day I run late to work, but this time I had no place to rush off to.
There was something about him, a quiet manner, different from many of other homeless people I had seen in New York City. I walked past him, went to the pizza place, and those 10 seconds waiting in line was enough to practice stepping outside of my usual, familiar flow. So with a few slices in hand, I went back to join him. I asked him if he was hungry. He said yes, but not for pizza because it made him uncomfortable. He'd rather have a few bucks for chicken and rice since it was easier on his stomach. It's funny, in that moment, he became more real to me.
This man I had seen almost every day was someone with specific conditions, needs, and experiences. We exchanged names and ended up talking for a little over an hour that night as Kevin told me stories from his life, how he had done things when "he was younger and didn't know any better" and how he tried to make amends but too much time had passed. He shared his views on the value for young adults to learn the history of other people.
He talked about his one wish being in his 60's before he leaves this earth, which is to share his story with the teenagers and young adults so they could avoid the mistakes he went through. Throughout the conversation, he eventually got his chicken and rice and gifted me a rose he had been carrying. Shortly afterwards, I made my way home, thinking to myself, "I met an amazing homeless person".
|
How do you like the homeless man after reading the passage?
|
[
"an introduction to Shakespeare's life and his works",
"the main features and styles of Shakespeare's plays",
"how culture influenced Shakespeare and he influenced culture.",
"Shakespeare's greatest influence on the world culture."
] |
how culture influenced Shakespeare and he influenced culture.
|
Today, we complete our story about the influential English writer William Shakespeare. He wrote plays and poems during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which remain very popular today.
During earlier times, people would probably have learned several ancient Roman and Greek plays. It was not unusual for writers to produce more current versions of these works. For example, in Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors"(<<>> )Shakespeare borrowed certain details from the ancient Roman writer Plautus. For his play "Macbeth"(<<>> ), Shakespeare most likely used a work on Scottish history by Raphael Holinshed for information. Shakespeare might have borrowed from other writers, but the intensity of his imagination and language made the plays his own. While many plays by other writers of his time have been forgotten, Shakespeare and his art live on.
Shakespeare was also influenced by the world around him. He described the sights and sounds of London in his plays. His works include observations about political struggles, the fear of diseases, and the popular language of the city's tradesmen. Shakespeare's knowledge of the English countryside is also clear. His works include descriptions of deep forests, local flowers, and the ancient popular traditions of rural people.
It would be impossible to list all of the ways in which Shakespeare's works have influenced the world culture. But the first and greatest example would be his great influence on the English language. During his time, the English language was changing. Many new words from other languages were being added. Shakespeare used his sharp mind and poetic inventiveness to create hundreds of new words and rework old ones. For example, he created the noun forms of "critic", "mountaineer" and "eyeball". Many common expressions in English come from his plays, including "pomp and circumstance "from "Othello"(<<>> ), "full circle " from "King Lear"(<<>> ), etc. The list of cultural creations influenced by Shakespeare is almost endless. From paintings to television to music and dance, Shakespeare was well represented. Shakespeare's plays have been translated into every major language in the world.
Shakespeare became a well-known writer during a golden age of theater. His years of hard work paid off.
|
The passage is mainly about _ .
|
[
"it's not easy to complete a huge project",
"there are many problems to be solved before doing something",
"discussions among countries usually take a lot of time",
"the preparation takes longer time than the construction"
] |
the preparation takes longer time than the construction
|
Experts have put forward detailed plans for a tunnel to connect Taiwan with the Chinese mainland.
The shortest proposed route would be 126 kilometers more than twice the length of the English Channel Tunnel. And the longest proposed route would be 207 kilometers.
A recent conference in Xiamen, Fujian Province brought together more than 70 experts. The event was co-sponsored by universities from Taiwan and the Chinese mainland.
Fujian is the province where both proposed routes would begin. There is direct passenger access between the mainland and Taiwan by air and sea at the moment. Experts say that it is better to start research sooner rather than later, although there is a lack of government funding . There are no technical problems to build a Taiwan tunnel. But it will require an improved political relationship across the Straits .
A professor of Tsinghua University said, "A special feature of huge projects is that the period of preparation is longer than the period of construction."
For example, he said, the English Channel Tunnel took 14 years of planning and had been discussed for two centuries. And preparations for the huge Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River began in the 1950s.
The Xiamen conference focused on the longest southern route, which would pass Jinmen and Penghu.
The first stage of the new project could be a bridge to cross the five kilometers between Xiamen and Jinmen. This would mean that travelling from Xiamen to Jinmen by car would only take five minutes.
The longest tunnel now being planned anywhere in the world is the 54-kilometer land tunnel to link Lyon in France with Turin in Italy. The tunnel will not be completed until 2015-2020.
|
The example of English Channel Tunnel shows _ .
|
[
"It was the vocal talents that built Susan's confidence",
"Susan Boyle was not good at her lesson when at school.",
"Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance.",
"Simon Cowell didn't think Susan Boyle a good singer at the first sight."
] |
Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance.
|
When we talk about stars ,especially women stars ,it seems that they are always young, pretty and own charming body shapes. But recently a Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely.
Simon Cowell ,one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyle's voice. "This lady camp up ,and I'm thinking, 'This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea'. That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed to Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face through -it was one of my favorite moments," Cowell said.
The performance was posted on line and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world.
Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hasn't thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. "I mean, that's hardly a makeover," she added.Ms Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal talents, "I was kind of slow at school, so getting like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence."
|
According to the passage, which is NOT true?
|
[
"friendly and helpful",
"kind and humorous",
"clever and active",
"strict and boring"
] |
friendly and helpful
|
I have many new teachers in high school, but Lori Runkle, my English Language and Composition teacher, is my favorite teacher.
Ms. Runkle enjoys getting to know more about students, so I have many chances to talk with her after class. I have always wanted to become a journalist . Since Ms. Runkle used to be a journalist back in the United States, she has introduced many helpful journalistic writing skills to me.
Although she is my teacher, Ms. Runkle and I are more like friends. She often invites my classmates and me to take part in different activities outdoors. For example, I went to listen to a journalist's speech, which helped me better understand current events .
Not only does Ms. Runkle talk with me outside of school, she is also a great teacher in the classroom. English Language and Composition is a really hard subject for a second language learner. We felt worried in the beginning, but Ms. Runkle really makes an effort to help us out. In class, Ms. Runkle always encourages students to question everything to keep us active. One part of class I love the most is when groups of students are requested to give speeches on events that are happening in the world. It requires a lot of deep thinking and I really learn quite a lot from it.
I love Ms. Runkle very much. She not only helps me to get good scores, but also acts as a good friend and always gives me advice on life.
|
We can infer from the passage that Ms. Runkle is _ .
|
[
"was pleased to see her son playing the piano on the stage",
"admired the master so much that she went to watch his performance",
"encouraged her son to play the piano on the stage",
"was talking with a friend when her son slipped onto the stage"
] |
was talking with a friend when her son slipped onto the stage
|
A mother, who wished to encourage her son's progress in playing the piano, bought tickets for a performance by the great Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski.When the evening arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the impressive Steinway waiting on the stage.Not long after they arrived, the mother came across a friend in the hall and they began to talk with each other.Meanwhile the boy slipped away and could be found nowhere.
At eight o'clock, the lights in the concert hall began to fail, and then the spotlights came on.Only then did they notice the boy who was up on the piano bench, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".Seeing this, his mother was shocked and embarrassed.But before she could bring her son back, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard.
He whispered gently to the boy, "Don't quit.Keep playing." Learning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part.Soon his right arm reached around the other side and performed a delightful accompaniment .Together, the old master and the young boy performed so wonderfully and harmoniously on the stage and they held the attention of the crowd with their beautiful music.
In all our lives, we receive helping hands from time to time--some we notice; some we don't.Equally we ourselves have countless opportunities to offer helping hands--sometimes we want our assistance to be noticed, sometimes we don't.Little of what we all achieve is without learning from others and without support from others.We are supposed to hand out what we have received.
|
We can learn from the text that the mother _ .
|
[
"three",
"four",
"five",
"six"
] |
five
|
For the rest of the week, Joe practiced kicking football hard, concentrating on his each kicking. Sometimes Joe hit the ball straight. Sometimes it went wide again. But it seemed that the more he believed he could do it, the easier it was.
"I'm not a joke now," thought Joe. "Not a joke at all!" But a practice wasn't like a real match and his boots were still not giving him enough power.
He should have told his mum and dad about it straight away but, of course, he didn't. He was always shy to ask for things.
Finally, late on the night before the match, he could hold himself back no longer.
"Dad, I haven't got any proper football boots ..." he said.
"Ah," said Dad, "I might be able to help you there."
At the words, Joe was excited. New boots! He thought. "He's got me some new boots! He must have got me them for Christmas," thought Joe, "But now that I'm in an important match, he's giving them to me early. Wonderful!"
Dad went upstairs. Joe excitedly tried to watch the football preview on TV. He wasn't playing for Manchester United or Liverpool, of course, but he was part of it all now; part of the thrill. His legs twitched with every kick on the screen. His head shook with every centre. And all the time, his mind was racing ahead to his own great game the next morning, in his super new boots.
It was ages before his dad came downstairs again. He put a large pair of shiny black boots in front of Joe.
As he stared at them, the boy felt as if someone had poured ice into his brain. The boots were awful!
"Good, eh?" said his dad.
Joe found it hard to speak. He had never seen anything like them before.
They weren't low-cut, soft or.... They had big, hard square toes, great big long studs and they were high at the ankle. They were his dad's old rugby boots, polished up.
Joe was filled with disappointment. They had been good boots, quality boots. And they were his size. Joe's feet were enormous for his age. But he could imagine what everyone at school would say.
" ...," he finally gasped, " should be exactly my size."
"At least I won't slip," he thought, "the studs are like sharks' teeth!" Then he couldn't help thinking about those in Ashton's windows, which he had been longing to get.
That night, he went to bed early but he didn't sleep much because he was so terrified of being late. He woke at 1.17, 2.49, 3.37, 3.43, 4.55. The numbers jumped off the big face of his digital clock. Then 10.40!
Ahhh!!!
He jumped out of bed. He seized the clock. 6.03! 10.40 had been only a dream. At eight, breakfast time, it was raining like mad.
"Might get called off, Joe," suggested his mum.
"Never, Mother. ...will not be like cricket," said his dad. "Will take a lot to stop football."
Joe checked everything for the tenth time. He put his boots at the very bottom of his large bag, well out of sight. He had decided to put them on when nearly everyone had left the changing room. Then his classmates wouldn't make fun of him. Soon, it was time to set out.
"Good luck!" said his mum, giving him a kiss.
His dad had his coat on, ready for his morning deliveries. "Want a lift to school?" he said. "I hope to get down to watch you when I've done the trip to Eccles."
"Okay," said Joe.
As Dad's van carried him down the hill to school, Joe was thinking about the boots. If only ... but no, he had to stop that kind of thinking. It doesn't matter about the boots, he told himself.
|
The night before the football match, how many times did Joe wake up before he jumped out of bed finally?
|
[
"it is our natural emotion in the life",
"culture asks us to be different from others",
"everyone has their own opinions on things",
"we dislike something in the beginning"
] |
we dislike something in the beginning
|
One of the greatest sources of unhappiness, in my experience, is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are.
When we see something we don't like, we wish it could be different. We cry out for something better. That may be human nature,or perhaps it's something ingrained in our culture. The root of the unhappiness isn't necessarily that we want things to be different.However, it's that we decided we didn't like it in the first place. We've judged it as bad,rather than saying, "It's not bad or good, and it just is it."
In one of my books, I said, "You should expect people to mess up and expect things to go differently than you planned". Some readers said it's too sorrowful to expect things to go wrong.However, it's only negative if you see it as negative and judge it as bad. Instead,you could accept it as the way the world works and try to understand why that is.
This can be applied to whatever you do:how other people act at work,how politics works and how depressing the news media can be.Accept these things as they are,and try to understand why they're that way. _ will save you a lot of sadness,because you'll no longer say, "Oh, I wish bad things didn't happen!''
Does it mean you can never change things? Not at all. But change things not because you can't accept things as they are, but because you enjoy the process of changing, learning and growing.
Can we make this world a better place? You can say that you'll continue to try to do things to help others, to grow as a person, to make a difference in this world. That's the correct path you choose to take,because you enjoy that path. Therefore, when you find yourself judging and wishing for difference, try a different approach: accept, and understand. It might lead to some interesting results.
|
The author believes that we feel unhappy maybe because _ .
|
[
"My school.",
"My ideal subject.",
"My ideal school.",
"My ideal park."
] |
My ideal school.
|
I like to get up late, so my ideal school starts at 9 a.m. It finished at 3 P.m., so we will have lots of time for after-school activities. There is a big dining hall.
We have an hour for lunch. We eat lunch and chat there. We can also listen to pop music in the hall. We eat fruit and vegetables every day.
We have Maths every day because I think Maths is very interesting to us. I love computers, so we have Computer Studies every day. We wear school uniforms, but we do not wear ties. The classes are quite small. There are 15 students in each class.
There is a park on one side of our school and a shopping mall on the other. We have a big library
lots of useful books. We also have a tennis court and a swimming pool.
There are lots of clubs and after-school activities. We only have half an hour of homework every day, and we do not do homework at weekends. Every month, we go on a school trip to a museum or a theater.
|
What's the best title for the passage?
|
[
"On a cold day.",
"On a rainy day.",
"On a cloudy day.",
"On a sunny and windy day."
] |
On a sunny and windy day.
|
Spring is a good season to fly kites. You can fly your kites in the park, in the field or on the play ground. There are many different kinds of kites. Some look like birds; Some look like planes and some look like butterflies. People often fly kites on a sunny and windy day. And the best month for flying kites is March. How can we fly our kites in the sky. First, we run with our kites _ the wind. Then when the kite can fly in the sky, you can just stay there with your string reel in your hand. When the kite doesn't fly in the sky, just adjust the string reel. The string on the reel must be very strong. If you want to fly kites very well, you should practice it more with your friends. Maybe you feel a little difficult at first, but if you fly kites often you will find it very easy and interesting. Flying kites is a very good activity in spring, and a lot of people like it.
|
When do people often fly kites?
|
[
"noticed some of the boys on the field were heisting",
"guessed his presence would affect the boy's decision",
"learned some of the boys on the field knew Shay well",
"understood Shay did need a feeling of being accepted"
] |
understood Shay did need a feeling of being accepted
|
Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son, mentally and physically disabled, were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much. The boy looked around and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning .I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the final inning.
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the final inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously joyful just to be in the game and on the field. In the bottom of the final inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. Would they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was almost impossible. The first pitch came and Shay missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to throw the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The pitcher could have easily thrown he ball to the first baseman and Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game .Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, beyond the reach of all teammates, The audience and the players from both teams started screaming, "Shay, run to first! " Never in his life had Shay ever run that far but made it to first base, wide-eyed and shocked..
Everyone should, "Run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time, could have thrown the ball to the second baseman, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head.
All were screaming,"Shay,Shay,Shay,all the way Shay." Shay reached third base when one opposing player ran to help him and shouted, "Shay, run to third." As Shay rounded third, all were on their feet, crying,"Shay, run home!"Shay ran to home, stepped on the home base and was cheered as the hero who the who won the game for his team.
That day, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece true love and humanity into this world. Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy and coming home and seeing his mother tearfully hug her little hero of the day!
|
Not expecting much, Shay's father still asked the boy if Shay could play, mainly because the father _ .
|
[
"go fishing off Cape St Germain, near Wainiri",
"go across to the Wainiri Islands to swim or fish",
"see the famous sea-life off the coast of the Wainiri",
"go by bus to the Wainiri Island, for peace and quiet"
] |
go across to the Wainiri Islands to swim or fish
|
The Garden Hotel
When you are next in Nanoko, be sure to stay at the Garden Hotel.Whether you come on business or on holiday, you will find everything as comfortable and convenient as you would expect in a first-class international hotel.
Every bedroom has its own private bathroom, telephone, wall-to-wall carpeting and color1ful, modern materials and furniture in the local style.
In the Mitsu Restaurant, you can choose your meals from as wide a variety of dishes, both Eastern and European, as you will find anywhere in the country.In the Beach Bar, you can drink with your family and friends in air-conditioned comfort, to the music of internationally known artists.Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden that gives the hotel its name, or to the tables that surround the swimming pool.Throughout the hotel, you will find the service is both friendly and efficient.
By day, the pool is alive with the holiday spirit and the happy shouting of children; and by right, soft lights and music make it the perfect place for a party, or simply for an after-dinner drink and conversation.
The Garden Hotel has its own private mini-bus service.Give us a ring and we will arrange to collect you at the airport or in the city center.Every day a bus leaves the hotel for day trips up into the hills to see the ruined city of Morote, or the villages and temples of the hill people;or along the coast to the seaside towns and wonderful beaches of Cape St Germain.
If you prefer, we can arrange for you to visit the Wainiri Islands that lie just off the coast.Here you can swim and sun-bathe in private and in peace;or you can fish for one of the many varieties of sea-life for which the Wainiris are justly famous.
The Garden Hotel is right on the beach, only five minutes for Nanoko's modern shopping centre.Here you will find all that money can buy, at prices you can afford.
GARDEN HOTEL, BEACH AVENUE, NANOKO, P.R.T.TEL:46-0488
|
The hotel can arrange for the visitor to _ .
|
[
"tell tourists the route to Paris",
"inform people about the cost of traveling to Paris",
"introduce the city of Paris",
"attract tourists to Paris"
] |
attract tourists to Paris
|
Paris in springtime was, is and always will be, something rather special. Why not experience it for yourself with this excellent break for four days? This attractive city has something to offer everyone with prices at just PS 129. It's of great value too.
Your break begins with executive coach transfer from a regional pick-up point and you travel to Paris via cross-channel ferry and arrive at your hotel in the evening. The Ibis is an excellent quality hotel with private facilities in all rooms: a satellite TV, a radio, a telephone and ban alarm clock.
The following day, after a continental breakfast (included), the coach takes you on a comprehensive sightseeing tour of the city, during which you will see the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, L'Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, in fact almost every famous landmark you have ever heard of. You then leave Paris and take a short drive to the magnificent Palace of Versailles, the home of Louis XIV. The tour ends mid-afternoon back in Paris where you will have the remainder of the day for your leisure. In the evening there is a "Paris By Night" tour that shows you the beautiful buildings with bright lights.
Day three takes you to Montmartre, perhaps the most charming quarter of Paris and home of the Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. In the afternoon you are free to explore this beautiful city as you wish, perhaps a pleasure voyage on the River Seine. In the evening you will have the opportunity to visit the best nightclub in the city. On the final day it's time to go back to the UK via channel ferry.
Included in the price of PS129 per person are the following:
*Return executive coach travel to Paris
* Return ferry crossings
* 3 nights accommodation in a two-bed room in a Central Paris hotel with private facilities
* Continental breakfast during your stay
* Guided sightseeing tour of "Paris By Day" and "Paris By Night"
* Visit to Palace of Versailles (admission not included)
* Tour on Montmartre
* Services of an experienced tour guide at all times
|
The main purpose of this passage is to _
|
[
"Zyban tablets.",
"Nicotine patches.",
"Nicotine inhalers.",
"Nicotine nasal spray."
] |
Nicotine patches.
|
There are some strong-minded people that are able to stop smoking today and be free from the addiction the next day. However, some smokers may have to seek help from medication in order to kick the habit.
What medication actually does is to reduce the wish to smoke. Some of the medication must be taken with a doctor's guidance. The five most common medications to stop smoking are Bupropion SR, nicotine gum, nicotine inhalers, nicotine nasal spray and nicotine patches. People can buy nicotine gum and nicotine patches in chemists. However, the other medications require a prescription.
Zyban tablets have been found to be highly effective in curing people of smoking addiction. The tablet needs to be taken whole, without crushing it, as crushing can lead to side effects. It can be bought on the prescription of a doctor.
Nicotine patches are filled with nicotine and they are applied to the skin. The skin takes in the nicotine and carries it to the blood stream. The amount of nicotine in these patches is quite limited, not enough to lead to addiction. But you shouldn't take them for dinner. In fact, millions of people have benefited from these nicotine patches.
Nicotine gum is supposed to be a safer choice. It is used in such a way that it comes into contact with the blood vessels in the mouth and then releases the nicotine. The nicotine should not go through the stomach; otherwise, it may cause certain side effects.
These different types of medications have to be taken quite carefully. Do ask your doctor before taking any of these.
|
Which of the following medicines can be bought without a prescription?
|
[
"to show the way to rescue the victims in the ruins",
"to introduce the instruments to save victims in a disaster",
"to tell readers that dogs can smell out victims buried in the ruins",
"to show how to train dogs to save victims in a mudslide"
] |
to tell readers that dogs can smell out victims buried in the ruins
|
Dogs may help save the day in the Philippines, as they use their noses to smell out survivors buried by Friday's mudslide . The team of dogs arrived in the Philippines from Spain, and this Tuesday they were just beginning their work. Search officials told CNN they hope the recent rain will wash away the smell of rescue teams so the dogs can do their job more accurately.
The dogs were brought in after sound equipment found sounds coming from deep inside the ruins, at a place where a school stood before the mudslide covered it. The sounds could mean people are still alive under all the mud or it could just be the earth resettling.
On Monday, rescue workers worked at the school site until three in the morning, trying to locate survivors, and they will begin digging again as soon as the dogs think they find someone.
Human teams from the US, Malaysia, and Australia are all trying to help, too. But so far they have yet to locate any survivors. Rescue workers told CNN that an earlier report that 50 survivors had been found was false.
How did all that mud bury the village in the first place? On Friday, 2,400-foot Mt Kanabag turned into a mudslide after two weeks of constant rain weakened it. The mountain crumbled and the mud fell onto the village Guinsaugon, burying the 1,800 people who lived there . Out of the 300 houses in the village, only 3 were not covered by the mud . The village is on a southern Philippine Island called Levte. Rescue efforts have been difficult because the village takes six hours to reach from the nearest airport. Hopefully, the dogs can help their human friends find survivors.
|
The main purpose of this passage is probably _ .
|
[
"believes both of the stories",
"doesn't believe a word of the stories",
"is not sure whether the stories are true",
"is telling the stories just for fun"
] |
is not sure whether the stories are true
|
There are stories about two U.S . presidents,Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren,which attempt to explain the American English term OK.We don't know if either story is true,but they are both interesting.
The first explanation is based on the fact that President Jackson had very little education.In fact,he had difficulty reading and writing.When important papers came to Jackson,he tried to read them and then had his assistants explain what they said.If he approved of a paper, he would write "all correct"on it.The problem was that he didn't know how to spell.So what he really wrote was "ol korekt".After a while,he shortened that term to "OK".
The second explanation is based on the place where President Van Buren was born,Kinderhook,New York.Van Buren's friends organized a club to help him become President .They called the club the Old Kinderhook Club,and anyone who supported Van Buren was called"OK".
|
.The author _ .
|
[
"is quite common",
"is caused by brain injuries",
"results in permanent memory loss",
"causes people to lose part of their memory"
] |
causes people to lose part of their memory
|
A 34-year-old mother has spoken of how she woke up thinking she was 15 years old and living in 1992.
Naomi Jacobs, from Manchester, was convinced she was still a teenager. In her mind, John Major was Prime Minister and George Bush Sr. was running the White House. She also showed how she screamed when a boy appeared and called her "Mum". Mobile phones and e-mails were puzzling and Google, Facebook and YouTube sounded like made-up words, she said.
Ms. Jacobs, who had no memory of the years, was told by doctors that she had Transient Global Amnesia (TGA). She has now written a book about the experience which happened in 2008.
"I fell asleep in 1992 as a brave, very confident know-it-all-15-year-old, and woke up as a 32-year-old single mum living in a rented house," Ms. Jacobs said. "The last thing I remember was falling asleep in my bed, dreaming about a boy in my class. When I woke up, I looked in the mirror and had the fright of my life when I saw an old woman with wrinkles staring back at me. Then a little boy appeared and started calling me Mum. That's when I started to scream. I didn't know who he was. I didn't think he was much younger than I was, and I certainly didn't remember giving birth to him. I began sobbing uncontrollably. I just wanted my mum. I couldn't get my head around going to bed one night and waking up in a different century."
TGA is a rare type of amnesia which can occur suddenly, affecting around three people per 100,000 each year. Fortunately, permanent memory loss is rare. Ms. Jacobs' memory started to return after eight weeks.
Some people who often suffer from migraines also appear to be more likely to have TGA. The cause of TGA is unknown. Some think that it may be caused by a temporary cut of blood flow to parts of the brain involved in memory.
|
According to the text, TGA _ .
|
[
"It helps to find jobs for college students.",
"It offers shelters to the homeless people.",
"It helps to build schools for poor students.",
"It engages young people to teach at high-poverty schools."
] |
It engages young people to teach at high-poverty schools.
|
Harvard student Julie Zauzmer turned 20 on January 22, and her birthday couldn't have been better: She got to working the overnight shift at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.
That might seem an extraordinary act of selflessness for someone turning 20. But there's increasing evidence that commitment to community service is becoming much more ordinary to today's young adults.
"Young adults are doing more volunteer service than in any point in history,'' said Scott Seider, an assistant professor of education at Boston University who studies the civic development of young adults.
At Harvard, the Winthrop Street Homeless Shelter is one of 86 social service programs associated with the Phillips Brooks House Association, which is a student-run nonprofit organization. Students can work with deaf children, bring pets to nursing homes, and prepare Chinese students to become US citizens, and so on.
Volunteerism develops well outside of colleges, too. Applications to AmeriCorps have risen to a very high level, jumping from 91,399 in 2008 to 258,829 in 2010. City Year, which puts young people in high-poverty schools as tutors and mentors for at-risk students, has had a 140 percent increase in applications since its 2007-2008 service year. Citizen Schools, which uses volunteers to work with students in middle schools, has had a 28 percent jump in applicants between 2008 and 2009.
"Most of my friends know it's their duty to give back before they settle down,'' said Samantha Wolf, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate serving with City Year in a Mattapan school.
City Year corps member Antonio Gutierrez, 22, graduated last year from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., and is applying for admission to law schools, but this year he is tutoring and mentoring students at the Blackstone Elementary School in the South End.
"I grew up in similar circumstances,'' said Gutierrez, who said he was a weak student until enrichment programs changed his academic trajectory . Raised by a single mother in low-income housing across the street from City Year's South End Headquarters, he used to watch the red-jacketed corps members come and go, and decided to become one someday.
|
What's the goal of the program of City Year?
|
[
"a surgeon",
"an army man",
"a sailor",
"a life-saver"
] |
a sailor
|
As a boy, Sanders was much influenced by books about the sea, but by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a doctor. So he was often with the doctors and got along very well with them. When he was fourteen, he was already hanging around the hospital where he was supposed to be helping to clean the medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the doctors' conversations with patients in the next room.
During the war Sanders served in the army as a surgeon . "That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with real sufferers and on the whole making a success of my job." In Rhodes he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skill to himself and had a firm belief that he could serve those who lived simply, and were dependent upon him. Thus, while in a position to tell them what to do he could feel he was serving them.
After the war, he married and set up a practice deep in the English countryside, working under an old doctor who hated the sight of blood. This gave the younger man plenty of opportunity to go on working as a life-saver.
|
When he was a small boy, books about the sea had made Sanders want to be _ .
|
[
"the president of the record company",
"his supporters",
"his own confidence",
"his own hard work"
] |
his own confidence
|
Ray Charles Robinson, a blind musician in America, was famous for his records of jazz, rock 'n' roll, blues and country music. But the world knew him better as Ray Charles. He had an influence on American popular music.
The song Let's Go Get Stoned is an example of Ray Charles' own kind of music--his own sound. He worked hard for several years to create that sound. No one ever tried it before. He mixed black church music, blues and rock 'n' roll. The sound was extremely successful. In the nineteen fifties, his records began to sell millions of copies. At the same time, Ray Charles recorded jazz music. Those records sold well, too. People said they were new and exciting.
Ray Charles became famous because he could play blues, rock and jazz. He also liked other kinds of music. He told the record company officials that he wanted to record an album of country and western music.
The president of the record company told him it would be a mistake. He said Ray's fans would not buy the album. Charles disagreed. He said he believed he would gain many new fans to replace the few he might lose. He produced the album and it was an immediate success.
The album was called Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Many of the songs sold very well. One of the most popular songs was I Can't Stop Loving You. It is a countryandwestern song with Ray Charles' sound of blues and black church music.
|
Ray Charles achieved great success after producing his album because of _ .
|
[
"achievement in literature",
"achievement in the nationalist movement",
"achievement in his study of languages",
"mastery of the English language"
] |
mastery of the English language
|
James Joyce was an Irish novelist who revolutionized the methods of depicting characters and developing a plot in modern fiction. his astonishing way of constructing a novel, his frank portrayal(, )of human nature in his books, and his complete command of English have made him one of the outstanding influences on literature in the 20th century. Many critics judge that _ in his mastery of the English language. Joyce was deeply influenced by Ireland and wrote all his books about Dublin.
When he was in Dublin College, he studied languages and spent his spare time reading books. He refused to take part in the nationalist movement like his fellow students, but he became passionately(, )interested in literature. He wrote outspoken articles of literary criticism that shocked his teachers and even taught himself norwegian so that he could read Ibsen's works in the original.
When he graduated in 1902, he knew he would become a writer and an exile(, ), because he felt he could not be one without the other. In order to preserve his ideal of writing truthfully, fully, and as objectively as he knew how, about the people and places he knew best, he had to escape from all temptations to become involved in popular opinion or public life. He went to France, Italy and Switzerland, where he lived in poverty and obscurity for the first 20 years, only returning to Ireland when his mother was dying. Except for a couple of brief trips, he stayed abroad all his life.
|
"he is second only to Shakespeare" is a comment on his _ .
|
[
"how Starbucks has grown",
"Starbucks' customers",
"what Starbucks makes",
"how Starbucks makes its coffee"
] |
how Starbucks has grown
|
The first Starbucks coffee shop opened in 1971 in downtown Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It was a small coffee shop that roasted its own coffee beans. The coffee shop's business did well, and by 1981 there were three more Starbucks stores in Seattle.
Things really began to change for the company in 1981. That year, Howard Schultz met the three men who ran Starbucks. Schultz worked in New York for a company that made kitchen equipment. He noticed that Starbucks ordered a large number of special coffee makers, and he was curious about the company. Schultz went to Seattle to see what Starbucks did , and he liked what he saw. He wanted to become part of the company. In 1982, the original Starbucks owners hired Schultz as the company's head of marketing.
In 1983, Schultz traveled to Italy. The unique atmosphere of the espresso bars there caught his eye. To Schultz it seemed that Italians spent their daily lives in three places: home, work , and coffee bars . His experience in Italy gave Schultz a new idea for Starbucks back in Seattle.
Schultz created an atmosphere for Starbucks coffee shops that was comfortable and casual, and customers everywhere seemed to like it. Between 1987 and 1992, Starbucks opened 150 new stores---and that was only the beginning. As a matter of fact, by the year 2000, three new Starbucks stores opened somewhere around the world every day!
Today, Starbucks has thousands of stores, including stores in twenty-six countries. One thing that helps make Starbucks succeed in cities outside the United Stateds is the way Starbucks works with local stores and restaurants. By working together with a store already in the city, Starbucks gains an understanding of customers in the city. This understanding helps Starbucks open stores in the right locations for their customers.
|
What is the main topic of the reading?
|
[
"It has too many programs for advertising.",
"It makes husbands talk little to wives.",
"It gives too much loud music.",
"Its noise does harm to our ears.."
] |
Its noise does harm to our ears..
|
Dear Editor;
Why do newspapers carry so many advertisements for electronic equipment? Last Sunday I counted ads for seven kinds of televisions and thirteen kinds of radios in the Atlanta Journal. Besides that, there were pages and pages of ads for Citizens' Band radios and tape recorders.
Don't you realize what electronic equipment is doing to our daily life? Everywhere you go you may hear loud musician advertisements over radios; this continual noise is ruining our ears. Husbands don't talk to wives any more; they are always watching the news or a ball game. Children ruin their eyes (not to mention their minds) with endless hours of watching not only the programs for children but those for grown-ups as well. And worse, hidden microphones find out about our private lives, and computers keep records of personal information about us. Enough is enough! I think you should limit the amount of advertising of electronic equipment in the Atlanta journal. Otherwise it will make life unbearable for us all.
|
What problem does Jason Collins think radio causes?
|
[
"lose the chances of learning",
"handle complex social situations well",
"adapt to the digital world quickly",
"develop strategies to deal with public life"
] |
lose the chances of learning
|
Bicycles, roller skates and skateboards are dangerous. I still have scars on my knees from my childhood run-ins with various wheeled devices. Admittedly, I was a foolish kid, but I'm glad I didn't spend my childhood trapped indoors to protect me from any injury.
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." But parents can't handle it when teenagers put this theory into practice. And now technology has become the new field for the age-old battle between adults and their freedom-seeking kids.
Locked indoors, unable to get on their bicycles and hang out with their friends, teens have turned to social media and their mobile phones to gossip and socialize with their friends. What they do online often mirrors what they might otherwise do if their mobility weren't so heavily restricted in the age of helicopter parenting. Social media and smartphones have become so popular in recent years because teens need a place to call their own. They want the freedom to explore their identity and the world around them. Instead of climbing out of windows, they jump online.
As teens have moved online, parents have projected their fears onto the Internet, imagining all the potential dangers that youth might face.
Rather than helping teens develop strategies to deal with public life and the potential risks of interacting with others, fearful parents have focused on tracking, monitoring and blocking. These approaches don't help teens develop the skills they need to manage complex social situations. "Protecting" kids may feel like the right thing to do, but it denies teens the chances of learning as they come of age in a technology-soaked world.
The key to helping youth in the modern digital life isn't more restrictions. It's freedom -- plus communication. Urban theorist Jane Jacobs used to argue that the safest neighborhoods were those where communities collectively took interest in and paid attention to what happened on the streets. Safety didn't come from surveillance cameras or keeping everyone indoors but from a collective willingness to watch out for one another and be present as people struggled. The same is true online.
What makes the digital street safe is when teens and adults collectively agree to open their eyes and pay attention, communicate and work together to deal with difficult situations. Teens need the freedom to wander the digital street, but they also need to know that caring adults are behind them and supporting them wherever they go. The first step is to turn off the tracking software. Then ask your kids what they're doing when they're online -- and why it's so important to them.
|
According to the passage, helicopter parents may make kids _ .
|
[
"You are ugly.",
"You are alone.",
"You are strong.",
"You are rich"
] |
You are alone.
|
Barefoot and dirty, the girl just sat and watched the people go by. She never tried to speak. Many people passed, but never did one person stop.
The next day I decided to go back to the park, curious to see if the little girl would still be there. Right in the very spot as she was yesterday, she sat with the saddest look in her eyes.
Today I was to make my own move and walk over to the little girl. As we all know, a park full of strange people is not a place for young children to play alone.
As I began walking towards her, I could see the back of the little girl's dress indicated a deformity . I smiled to let her know it was okay, I was there to help, to talk. I sat down beside her and opened with a simple "Hello". I smiled and she shyly smiled back. We talked until darkness fell and the park was completely empty. I asked the girl why she was so sad. The little girl looked at me and with a sad face said, "Because I'm different."
I immediately said "That you are!" and smiled. The little girl acted even sadder. She said, "I know." She looked at me and smiled. Slowly she stood to her feet, and said, "Really?"
"Yes, dear, you're like a little guardian angel sent to watch over all those people walking by." She nodded her head "yes" and smiled, and with that she spread her wings and said with a twinkle in her eye, "I am. I'm your guardian angel."
I was speechless, sure I was seeing things. She said, "For once you thought of someone other than yourself, my job here is done."
Immediately I stood to my feet and said, "Wait, so why did no one stop to help an angel!?" She looked at me and smiled, "You're the only one who could see me, and you believe it in your heart." ...and she was gone.
And with that my life changed dramatically. So, when you think you're all you have, remember, your angel is always watching over you. Mine is!
|
What does "You're all you have" mean?
|
[
"By coincidence.",
"By random guess.",
"By logical and reasonable analysis.",
"By checking the file in the computer."
] |
By coincidence.
|
A policeman was questioning 3 blondes who were training to become detectives. To test their skills in recognizing a suspect, he shows the first blonde a picture for5 seconds and then hides it.
"This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"
The first blonde answers, "That's easy, we'll catch him fast because he only has one eye!" The policeman says, "Well...uh...that's because the picture shows his profile."
Slightly confused by this ridiculous response, he flashes the picture for 5 seconds at the second blonde and asks her, "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"
The second blonde giggles, flips her hair and says, "Ha! He'd be too easy to catch because he only has one ear!"
The policeman angrily responds, "What's the matter with you two? Of course only one eye and one ear are SHOWING because it's a picture of his profile!! Is that the best answer you can come up with?"
Extremely frustrated at this point, he shows the picture to the third blonde and in a very testy voice asks "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?" He quickly adds, "Think hard before giving me a stupid answer."
The blonde looks at the picture intently for a moment and says, "Hmmmm...the suspect wears contact lenses."
The policeman is surprised and speechless because he really doesn't know himself if the suspect wears contacts or not. "Well, that's an interesting answer...wait here for a few minutes while I check his file and I'll get back to you on that." He leaves the room and goes to his .office, checks the suspect's file in his computer, and comes back with a beaming smile on his face. "Wow! I can't believe it...it's TRUE! The suspect does in fact wear contact lenses. Good work! How were you able to make such an acute observation?"
"That's easy," the blonde replied. "He can't wear regular glasses because he only has one eye and one ear."
|
How did the third blonde know that the suspect wore contact lenses?
|
[
"China is the first country to start group buying",
"the price of group buying depends on the market",
"you can`t get the best you need through group buying",
"group buying is becoming popular in China"
] |
group buying is becoming popular in China
|
Modeled after US hot website.com, group buying websites are now popular in China. These websites use the power of group buying to get competitive discounts for a daily deal on some best stuff to do, see, eat and buy in the cities across China. Discounts are available within just one click. Zhao lei, a software engineer in Beijing, loves the one-hour lunch break at noon,as it is the best time for him to check "today`s special" at his favorite group buying websites . Sometimes he searches for great deals at directory sites devoted to the new shopping space. Zhao spends around 800 yuan($117.65) on group buying every month, mostly to buy food coupons for eating at some nice restaurants and occasionally to find something fun to do. " I love group buying. In addition to the competitive discounts it offers, it helps me get something fun, exciting and new, and such surprises give me a reason to try something new," he said. When he finds a really good bargain, he will send the link to friends or colleagues through MSN,QQ, or e-mail, or share the information at some social networking websites. In doing so, he often gets a certain cut off the price. At some sites, buyers are invited to leave notes about what they want to buy and the website will consider it if similar applications reach a certain number. That is how Zuo got her digital camera after waiting for two months. "It is cool. I want to buy a new digitgal camera for my trip to Switzerland this winter, but I never expected such cheap prices!" Zuo said.
|
We can learn from the passage that _ .
|
[
"Arsenal",
"Charlie",
"Tiaamii",
"Noah"
] |
Charlie
|
Recently a couple in New Zealand were forbidden from naming their baby son 4 Real. Even though New Zealand has quite generous rules about naming children, names beginning with a number are not allowed. They decided to call him Superman instead.
In many countries around the world, unusual names for children are becoming more popular, especially since the increasing trend for celebrities to give their children _ . In Britain, you can call a child almost anything you like--the only restrictions on parents relates to offensive words such as swear (,) words.
Some parents choose names which come from popular culture. For example, there have been six boys named Gandalf after the character in the Lord of the Rings novels and films. Equally, names related to sport are fairly common--since 1984, 36 children have been called Arsenal after the football team.
Other parents like to make up manes, or combine names to make their own unique version, a method demonstrated by Jordan, the British model, who recently invented the name Tiaamii for her daughter by combining the names Thea and Amy (the two grandmothers). She was quoted as saying that the accent and double letters were added to make the name "more exotic".
Other countries have much stricter rulers when it comes to naming children. Countries including Japan, Denmark, Spain, Germany and Argentina have an approved list of names from which parents must choose. In China, there are some rules about what you may call a child --- no foreign letters or symbols are allowed. As a result a couple were recently banned from calling their baby @.
In Britain, some names which were previously thought of as old-fashioned have become more popular again, such as Maisie or Ella for a girl, or Alfie or Noah for a baby. But the most popular names are not the odd ones. The top names are fairly traditional -- Jack, Charlie and Thomas for boys and Grace, Ruby and Jessica for girls.
|
Which of the following names is best accepted according to the passage?
|
[
"work",
"book",
"study",
"trip"
] |
book
|
Li Shizhen was born in 1518. When he grew up, he liked his father's job and he was interested in medicine. He read many books about medicine and found something wrong in them. So he decided to write a new one. He tried his best to study medicine. He set out many times on long trips to collect herbs and talked with old farmers. In this way, he learned a lot from the working people.
After many years of hard work and study, Li Shizhen at last finished his great work, the Ben Cao Gang Mu in 1578. The book was one of the most important books in the medical science of the world.
|
"his great work" means his _ Ben Cao Gang Mu.
|
[
"It used to be associated with poor quality.",
"It has lost its leading status in the world market.",
"Its products are recognized by luxury fashion brands.",
"It reflects China's investment in producing technology."
] |
It has lost its leading status in the world market.
|
"Made in China" has Changed
Many shoppers in the West still prize labels, boasting a product was made in Italy without knowing that a growing number of Italian products come from factories that are Chineseowned and staffed. The products which were marked "Made in China" gave the buyer an impression of "low pride and low cost, low technology and development". The statement used to be true, but now it has changed.
"Made in China" is becoming a leading part in the world market. China's garment industry has been investing in producing technology and training for decades, and its workforce has collectively gotten better at sewing garments. As a result, the quality of Chinesemade clothes is rising fast. It has been home to a highlyskilled, highlyspecialized garment industry, one that supplies even some highend labels and offers the best mix of price, speed, and quality.
"If I was to make a basic men's jean, I'd make that in Pakistan," said Edward Hertzman, coowner of the trade publication Sourcing Journal. "If I was going to make a fashionable women's garment, I would move to China because their skill set is better, their hand is better, their finishing is better, and they can handle that type of fashion."
Indeed, luxury fashion labels now routinely make things in China. Burberry, Armani, and Prada have all produced things there, because they're still able to get good workmanship at a relatively low price. Even the Japanese brand Visvim, known for its crazy attention to detail, also produces highend, handmade footwear in China.
Despite the rising wages and costs of doing business in China, companies have not walked away. "China is viewed by people who make buying decisions as unique and hard to copy elsewhere," says Josh Green, CEO of Panjiva.
|
Which of the following is NOT true about "Made in China"?
|
[
"brought back a pair of wrong shoes",
"brought back of a pair of right shoes",
"didn't bring any shoes; she knew the other pair at home was not a pair, either",
"couldn't find anything at home"
] |
didn't bring any shoes; she knew the other pair at home was not a pair, either
|
One day a farmer went out for a walk with his daughter. The farmer put on a pair of wrong shoes-one with a thick sole and the other with a thin one. So as he began to walk, he felt very uncomfortable. When he was just out of the house, he turned to his daughter and said, "Why should one of my legs be longer than the other today?"
The daughter looked at his father's legs carefully as he was walking, and then laughed, "Oh, no, Daddy, your legs are all right. You have put on the wrong shoes."
The farmer was very happy to hear that and said to himself, "What a clever daughter I have got!" Then he asked his daughter to go back and get the other pair of shoes for him.
The farmer had only two pairs of shoes.
When the daughter ran back to the house, she found that the other pair was also a pair of wrong shoes.
She had to return to his father with nothing in her hands and said out of breath, "It's no use changing them, Daddy! The shoes at home were not a pair, either!"
|
The father asked his daughter to go and get the other pair of shoes for him and the daughter _ .
|
[
"takes his parents to visit cities",
"practice speaking Chinese",
"goes to see his friends",
"reads the world news."
] |
goes to see his friends
|
Wade is my good friend. We study at the same school. At weekends he usually turns on his computer. He sends and gets e-mails to and from his friends back in France. He also gets on the Internet to learn about what is going on in the world. His parents sometimes take him to some places of interest in China. Sometimes I ask him to come over to my home for a weekend. My parents say that they can't understand what we talk about because there are two languages in our talks--Chinese and English. My mother sometimes says to him,"Can you talk to my son in Chinese only,Wade?" He always smiles and answers, "Not today. I'm going to speak good Chinese very soon." He is not good at Chinese and I am weak at English. But we like these talks because we can learn when we are talking.
|
At weekends Wade sometimes _ .
|
[
"To show that their training is widely used in the country.",
"To show that the training program is fully supported by famous companies in the prefix = st1 /US.",
"To prove the value of their training in every area.",
"To show the importance of getting recognized by the most famous companies."
] |
To prove the value of their training in every area.
|
Have you ever wondered what a Degree might be worth to you in your job or career ? It means a lot of Americans with an Associate Degree average nearly $10 000 more in yearly earnings than those with just a High School Diploma .
Harcourt Learning Direct offers you a way to get a Specialized Associate Degree in all of today's growing fidds--without having to go to college full time. With Harcourt, you study at home, in your spare time, so you don't have to give up your present job while you train for a better one. Choose from exciting majors like
Business Management, Accounting, Dressmaking & Design, Bookkeeping, Photography, Computer Science, Engineering and more! Your training includes everything you need! Books, lessons and learning aids are all included in the low tuition price you pay. Your education is nationally recognized! Nearly 2 000 American companies--including General Electric, IBM, Mobile, General Motors, Ford, and many others--have used our training for their employees. If companies like these recognize the value of our training, you can be sure that employees in your area will, too!
Earn your degree in as little as two years! Get a career diploma in just six months! The career of your dreams is closer than you think! Even if you have no experience before, you can get valuable job skills in today's hottest fields! Prepare for promotions , pay raises, even start a business of your own! Send today for FREE information about Harcourt at home training!
Simply fill in your name and address on the coupon above. Then write in the name and number of the one program you're most interested in, and mail it today. We'll rush your free information about how you can take advantage of the opportunities in the field you've chosen. Act today!
Mail coupon today! Or call the number below 1-800-372-1589. Call any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Website: www. Harcourt-learning. com. E-mail: [email protected].
|
What does the writer of this ad intend to say by naming General Electric, IBM, Ford, etc.?
|
[
"Do not mind it at all.",
"Worry about it too much.",
"Run away as quickly as possible.",
"Learn about the reason of the argument."
] |
Learn about the reason of the argument.
|
It's normal for parents to disagree and argue from time to time. Sometimes parents stay calm when they disagree, and they give each other some time to listen and talk. But many times when parents disagree, they argue.
It's OK for parents to argue sometimes.
It's common for people to have different opinions, feelings, or ways to do things. Talking about these differences is the first step to solve the problem. It's important for people in a family to be able to tell each other how they feel and what they think, although sometimes they may disagree with each other. Sometimes parents can feel so terrible about their differences that it may cause arguments.
Try to create a happy and healthy family.
If your family argue from time to time, try not to worry about it. No family is perfect. Even in the happiest home, problems will happen and people will argue. Usually the family members should know what the problems are and talk about them. Then everyone feels better and life can get back to normal.
Being part of a family means everyone should try to make life better for each other. Arguments may happen but with love, understanding, and some work, families can solve almost any problem.
|
What should you do when your parents argue?
|
[
"Our company can protect you from being harmed by fire.",
"If your property is destroyed by fire, we will help you build it up again.",
"Our company will always be energetic and wealthy.",
"If needed, we will save you at the risk of losing lives."
] |
If your property is destroyed by fire, we will help you build it up again.
|
The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, "city of the sun", and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia.
It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians' idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame rook, a large black bird like a crow. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn't get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix!
Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in _ .
Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.
|
What does the phoenix probably mean in the logo of a fire insurance company?
|
[
"To have a big family.",
"To paint more good pictures.",
"To have a good friend.",
"To see the angel."
] |
To have a good friend.
|
Once upon a time there was a boy named Ankit. One day he made a painting and he loved it so much.
One night when he slept, an angel came and blessed his painting that it should come alive. He was always lonely. He always wanted a friend to talk to and share his work and secrets. Next morning when he woke up he heard some sounds near his painting. When he looked at the painting, he was surprised that it was talking! He thought that his wish had come true.
The man in the painting needed food, water and clothes. The news of the magic painting _ all over the world. It even came in newspapers and in the news on TV.
One night a thief came to steal the painting. The moment he came in front of the painting, the man in the picture shouted and said, "Help! Help, a thief!" The thief got scared and ran away.
One day the painting said to Ankit that it wanted to be married. Then Ankit had to paint a woman. He made both the paintings marry and live happily ever after. His loneliness was also cured forever.
|
What is Ankit's wish?
|
[
"Animals like to use warm coats and heater.",
"The pets like dogs ad cats also migrate.",
"Birds like to migrate to different places every year.",
"Some animals migrate."
] |
Some animals migrate.
|
Winter is very cold in many countries. It's easy for you and me to keep warm. If we are cold, we can just buy a warm coat or use a heater and we will feel better. But what about animals? How do they keep warm in winter?
Some animals migrate . This means they travel to places where the weather is warmer. Many birds leave before the winter starts. They fly in groups. If they fly together, the trip will be safer. They like to migrate to the same places every year. Do you know how they can find the same places? Scientists say that birds use the sun, moon and stars to help them. Other animals like moose also migrate. Fish and whales swim to warmer water.
Some animals don't have leave their homes. They hibernate in winter. They fall into a very deep sleep. The animals' temperature drops and their breathing slows down. Before the winter, these animals must eat too much food that they get very fat. If they don't eat enough, they may die when they are hibernating.
|
In winter, _ .
|
[
"with imagination",
"at a distance",
"outdoors",
"in a studio"
] |
at a distance
|
The history of modern art begins with Impressionism, a movement started in Paris in the mid-1800's. At that time many artists painted in a very traditional way that involved spending hours in a studio,painstakingly creating paintings that were extremely detailed. These paintings were sometimes of people or landscapes or historical events. In 1863, Edouard Manet exhibited his painting "Dejeuner sur l'erbe" at the Salon des Refuses. The painting caused acommotion , thus starting the Impressionist movement. Although Edouard Manet is the declared leader and founder of the group, he was not present at the first group exhibition or any of the other eight collective Impressionist shows. The movement gained more attention in the April of 1874 when Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Jean-Frederic Bazille formed Society of Artists, Painters, Sculptors, Engravers and began exhibiting outside of the official salon. The same year, the term Impressionism was invented by criticizing journalist Louis Leroy to describe their paintings, who worked for the magazineLe Charivari.
The Impressionists often paint out of doors and want to show how light and shadow fall on objects at particular times of the day. Their works are sometimes described as "captured moments" and are characterized by short quickbrushstrokes of colour which, when viewed up close looks quite messy and unreal. If we step back from the Impressionist paintings, the colours are blended together by our eyes and we are able to see the painters' subjects which often show colourful landscapes, sunlight on water as well as people busy with outdoor activities.
|
The works of the Impressionists are best viewed _ .
|
[
"wanted to try a new singing style",
"hated his father for his carelessness",
"didn't want to benefit from his father's fame",
"planned to give his father a surprise when he succeeded"
] |
didn't want to benefit from his father's fame
|
Enrique Iglesias is a most successful singer! Born in 1975 in Madrid, Spain, Enrique is the child of the famous singer Julio Iglesias. Enrique's mother is a journalist. His parents divorced in 1978. Although Enrique lived with his mother, she sent him to live with his father because of concerns about her son's safety. Enrique wanted to be a singer secretly, he didn't wish his father to know that and didn't want to live under his shelter. He sought his dream on his own.
Enrique released his first album "Enrique Iglesias" in 1995. This album had a collection of rock ballads and five singles from it went straight to the top spots in Latin music. This album was followed by another "Vivir" in 1997. Three singles from this album occupied the top spots on the Latin charts yet again! Enrique also found himself nominated for the "Favorite Latin Artist" at the American Music Awards. By 1998, he had released his 3rdalbum, "Cosas Del Amor". This year Enrique won the "Favorite Latin Artist". "Bailamos" got him great fame. One of the songs in this album was also used in a movie. With the success of "Bailamos", Enrique now already had many loyal fans. The album, "Enrique", was released in 1999.
The year 2001 brought more success for him. His album, "Escape" had a few singles that reached the top spots. Enrique became a household name. This album is his biggest successful album so far. "Hero" and "Don't Turn Off the Lights" soon turned Enrique into a super star. His next release in 2002 was a Spanish album "Quizas". This album brought Enrique a "Latin Grammy Award" for the Best Pop Vocal Album. In 2007, he released another album "Insomniac" and the song "Do You Know" became an instantly popular song.
|
Enrique didn't tell his father about his dreaming of becoming a singer because he _ .
|
[
"Disney's Club Penguin",
"the Warm Coats& Warm Hearts Drive",
"the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program",
"the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes Program"
] |
the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes Program
|
The holidays are a time to give. These charities---and many more--are looking for volunteers and donations.
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wildlife Fund is helping to protect endangered species through the Symbolic Species Adoption program. Those who "adopt" an animal will receive an adoption certificate and a photo of their species. Anyone can support endangered species year round by buying WWF apparel . worldwildlife. Org/giving
DoSomething. org
This month, Dosomething. org launched their holiday campaign, "Grandparents Gone Wired". The goal of the campaign is to make it easier for senior citizens to keep in touch with their loved ones using the Internet. Teens can volunteer to help seniors in their community. Volunteers are able to win prizes and scholarships. dosomething. org/grandparents
Coins for Change
Disney's Club Penguin, a virtual gaming site for kids, launched its annual Coins for Change campaign this month. From Dec. 15 to Dec. 27, Club Penguin players can donate virtual coins to real-world causes. If players reach the donation goal, Club Penguin will donate $2 million to charity projects. clubpenguin.com.
Toys for Tots
Each year, the U.S. Marine Corps Toys Program collects new, unwrapped toys for the holidays. Communities across the nation host Toys for Tots drives around the holiday season. The toys collected are given as gifts to needy children so they can experience the joy of Christmas. toyfortots.org
American Red Cross
All you need is a pen and a piece of paper. The American Red Cross Holiday Mail Heroes Program is collecting handwritten card to send to members of the U.S. Armed Forces during the holidays. The charity has also set up a Holiday Giving Catalog where you can buy personal gifts, such as babysitting lessons. redcross.org
The Warm Coats & Warm Hearts Drive
The Warm Coats & Warm Hearts Drive is a non-profit organization sponsored by ABC's Good Morning America and Burlington Coat Factory. During the holiday season Burlington stores collect gently worn coats. The donated coats are given to people in need to keep warm during the winter. onewarmcoat.org
|
Handwritten cards for members of the U.S. Armed Forces are collected by _ .
|
[
"to sell their produce at high price",
"to go home earlier",
"to keep their produce fresh",
"to win more customers than their competitors"
] |
to keep their produce fresh
|
By the mid-nineteenth century, the term "icebox" had entered the American language, but ice was still only beginning to affect the diet of ordinary citizens in the United States. The ice trade grew with the growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels, taverns , and hospitals, and by some forward-looking city dealers in fresh meat, fresh fish, and butter. After the Civil War (1861-1865), as ice was used to refrigerate freight cars, it also came into household use. Even before 1880, half of the ice sold in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and one-third of that sold in Boston and Chicago, went to families for their own use. This had become possible because a new household convenience, the icebox, a precursor of the modern fridge, had been invented.
Making an efficient icebox as not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenth century, the knowledge of the physics of heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration, was rudimentary . The commonsense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the ice from melting was of course mistaken, for it was the melting of the ice that performed the cooling. Nevertheless, early efforts to economize ice included wrapping up the ice in blankets, which kept the ice from doing its job. Not until near the end of the nineteenth century did inventors achieve the delicate balance of insulation and circulation needed for an efficient icebox.
But as early as 1803, and ingenious Maryland farmer, Thomas Moore, had been on the right track. He owned a farm about twenty miles outside the city of Washington, for which the village of Georgetown was the market center. When he used an icebox of his own design to transport his butter to market, he found that customers would pass up the rapidly melting stuff in the tubs of his competitors to pay a premium price for his butter, still fresh and hard in neat, one-pound bricks. One advantage of his icebox, Moore explained, was that farmers would no longer have to travel to market at night in order to keep their produce cool.
|
Without an ice box, farmers had to go to the market at night _ .
|
[
"Singing songs may get earworms out of your head.",
"Earworms are used for keeping long-term memory.",
"Humans do not have complete control over their mind.",
"You won't suffer from earworms unless you hear the song."
] |
Humans do not have complete control over their mind.
|
"Earworms", some people call them. Songs that get stuck in your head go round and round, sometimes for days, sometimes for months. For no clear reason you cannot help yourself from humming or singing a tune by Lady Gaga.
To a psychologist, the most interesting thing about earworms is that they show a part of our mind that is clearly outside of our control. Earworms arrive without permission and refuse to leave when we tell them to. They are parasites living in a part of our minds.
If you have got an earworm you can suffer an attack of it simply by someone mentioning the tune, without having to hear it. This proves that earworms are a part of long-term memory. Humans have an "inner ear", for remembering phone numbers, for instance. When it gets infected with earworms, rather than review our plans for the day, or lists of things to remember, the inner ear gets stuck on a few short bars of music or a couple of phrases from a song. A part of us that we normally do not have to think about, that should just do what we ask, has been turned against us, upsetting us with a request that we never asked for. The mind is an inner world which we do not have complete knowledge of, or have control over.
Fortunately psychology can provide some advice on how to deal with an uncontrollable mind. Consider the famous "don't think of a white bear" problem, which tells you to try not to think about white bears, or to do something else, to avoid both thinking of the white bear and not thinking of the white bear. For earworms, the solution may be the same. Our inner ear has become infected with an earworm. This is a part not under our control, so just sending in instructions to "shut up" is unlikely to be of much help (and has been shown to make it worse). Much better is to employ the inner ear in another task. If your mind is poisoned by Brittany Spears' Toxic, for instance, then try singing Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You out Of My Head. Let me know if
works!
|
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
|
[
"show what budget trips are generally like",
"introduce the best trip she's had over the years",
"show how difficult it can be to spend as little money as possible",
"display her ability to spend her money cleverly"
] |
show what budget trips are generally like
|
One day on my luxury holiday cost 30 yuan. Bus ticket: 2 yuan. Breakfast, lunch and dinner: 5 yuan. Hotel: 20 yuan. OK, so it was a 10-seater bus with only four seats that weren't broken and 20 other people on it. OK, all my food came from one steamed bun stand at the side of the road, and the "hotel" was a hostel , and I shared a room with four strangers. But the steamed buns I bought were so delicious and the bed in the hostel was soft and comfortable and I had the best night's sleep I'd had in years.
Cheap travel is " _ ". It's on reality shows, and it's all around us. People who once went to five-star scenic spots are suddenly filling youth hostels and campsites, showing off to their friends about their 24-hour trip in the third-class sleeper train across Mongolia.
Now, I'm not a millionaire who can afford more than a budget holiday. But even if I could, I don't think I'd spend the money.
Budget travel is addictive . It's partly the challenge of squeezing the most out of your pennies -- and it can get a bit ridiculous . My stomach wasn't too impressed with the meat stir-fry I bought from a stand simply because it was 1 yuan, for example.
But it's easy to travel in a smart way, too. With the Internet, you can always check out reviews and find hostels, food and things to do, recommended by other budget travelers who've been there before. You don't have to suffer, and it means you can afford to spend more nights on holiday, see more things and have more experiences.
|
The author mentions her budget travel story at the beginning to _ .
|
[
"had no possibility to study better than those who didn't",
"couldn't graduate from school normally in the future",
"might have trouble in finding a job in the future",
"were more independent than those who didn't in the future"
] |
might have trouble in finding a job in the future
|
Students who work during term time to support themselves at university are far more likely to graduate with a poor degree, according to a government-funded study published yesterday.
Undergraduates with part-time jobs are a third less likely to get a first or upper second-class degree than other students, harming their career chances. Students from the poorest backgrounds were most likely to take jobs during term because they could not depend on help from their parents.
The report, commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills, also found a clear relation between fear of debt and employment in non-graduate jobs. Students from poorer backgrounds are known to be more unwilling to be in debt than those from middle class families.
The study of 8,600 people who graduated in 1999 was made by Peter Elias, of Warwick University, and Kate Purcell, from Bristol Business School. They found that twice as many first-class degrees were awarded to students who did not work during term compared with those who did. Between 35 and 38 percent who worked during term achieved a lower second, compared with about 28 percent of those who did not.
Professor Elias said that the increase in school fees next year to PS3,000 would have to be monitored carefully for its effect on poorer students. "Higher education is going to be a harder struggle for those who do not come with all the advantages," he said.
He suggested that universities could get in touch with employers to provide work experience on good salaries to choose students during holidays, so that they did not have to work during term.
|
Students who took term-jobs at university _ .
|
[
"Mining Accidents in America",
"Robots in Mines",
"Cave Crawler, the Latest Robot",
"The Future of Robots"
] |
Robots in Mines
|
Why do human beings still risk their lives under ground and doing one of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in the world? It's an increasingly urgent question, given the recent mining accidents in Sago. W. Va. and Huntington, Utah. A small group of engineers and robotics experts look forward to a day in the not-too-distant future when robots and other technology do most of the dangerous mining work.
Robotic technology, in particular, holds much promise, McAteer says, especially when it comes to mapping mines and rescuing trapped miners--the special operations of the mining industry.
One of the first mining robots was developed five years ago at Canegie-Mellon University's Robotics Institute. It was called Groundhog. It used lasers to "see" in dark tunnels and map abandoned mines - some of the most dangerous work in the business
The latest design is called Cave Crawler. It's a bit smaller than Grondhog, and even more advanced. It can take photos and video and has more sensors that can discover the presence of dangerous gases. The robot has a real sense of logic, which is hard to believe. If it comes across a thing in the way it gets confused. It has to think through the process and where to go next, and sometimes it _ just like a real person.
The greatest problem, though, is cost. The money of the earliest research project was provided by the government, but that money has dried up, and it's not clear where future money will come from. Partly for that reason, and partly because of advances in safely, mining is not nearly as dangerous as it was in the past. Since 1990,fatalities have declined by 67 percent and injuries by 51 percent, according to the National Mining Association.
Some experts predict that robots in the mines will serve much of the same function that they do in the automotive industry. The robot do the most boring and dangerous jobs, but don't eliminate the need for human workers.
|
What can be the best title for the text?
|
[
"Economic growth will slow down.",
"Government budgets will increase.",
"More people will try to pursue higher education",
"There will be more competition in the job market."
] |
Economic growth will slow down.
|
Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-education well off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individual and society, are profound.
The world is facing as astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.
But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.
That even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding generation. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management knowhow to creativity. Do not necessarily decline with age.
|
what do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20th century?
|
[
"There are hundreds of miles of new bike lanes in 21\n stcentury New York City.",
"Drivers slow down their cars and bikes are taken off the sidewalk in New York.",
"Bikes are used as a means of transport in 21\n stcentury New York City.",
"It's possible to make the streets safe for pedestrians in New York."
] |
Bikes are used as a means of transport in 21
stcentury New York City.
|
Today is National Bike-to-Work Day. And on New York City's jammed streets, people are cycling on hundreds of miles of new bike lanes. But New York's widespread efforts to make streets safer for bikes have also left some locals complaining about the loss of parking spots and lanes for cars.
When the weather is good, Aaron Naparstek likes to pedal his two young kids to school on a special Dutch-made bicycle. Naparstek supports the new lane.
Aaron: The bike lane on Prospect Park West is really introducing a lot of new people to the idea that it's possible to use a bike in New York City for transportation or to travel around. This is what 21stcentury New York City looks like.
Prospect Park West is still a one-way road, but where it used to have three lanes of car traffic, now it has two, plus a protected bike lane. Supporters say that makes the road safer for everyone, including pedestrians, by slowing down cars and taking bikes off the sidewalk. But some longtime residents disagree. Lois Carswell is president of a group called Seniors for Safety. She says the two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents who are used to one-way traffic.
Lois: We wanted a lane -- the right kind of lane that would keep everybody safe, that would keep the bikers safe. But we want it to be done the right way. And it has not been done the right way.
Craig Palmer builds bars and restaurants in Manhattan. I was interviewing him for a different story when he brought up the bike lanes all on his own.
Craig: I think the biggest problem is that Bloomberg put all these bike lanes in. You took what used to be a full street and you're shrinking it.
Then there are the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who forced the city to remove a bike lane through their neighborhood. But polls show that the majority of New Yorkers support bike lanes by a margin of 56% to 39%. Bicycle advocate Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives calls that _
Caroline: If this was an election, we would have already had our victory. The public has spoken and they keep speaking. And I think, more importantly, the public is starting to vote with their pedals.
|
What does Aaron mean by saying "This is what 21stcentury New York City looks like."?
|
[
"The rich customers behaved themselves well.",
"The young boys could be both rude and nice.",
"Some rich women customers were more impolite.",
"Wealthy women are pleasant customers."
] |
Some rich women customers were more impolite.
|
"No, no, no, dear, I want that wrapped in red paper." A middle-aged woman came through my line and talked to me as if my IQ were that of a grade school kid. When I first started working, it was simply a way to decrease the time I spent at home and make my parents happy. I never thought that a year and a half later, I would still be at Marshalls, waiting for this woman to get through my line.
I smiled and said, "Oh, that's no problem." She bent over the counter to look at the computer and made sure I was doing my job correctly. Her sweater grazed my hand and she smiled like she meant well. I wanted to roll my eyes but instead I just smiled. Ever since I started working here, I've tried not to let people like her get to me. And forget judging a book by its cover, because I have been proved wrong time and time again. The wealthy middle-aged women were far ruder than the teenage boys. At first, I was constantly surprised. Now, I tried not to even guess how the person coming near my line was going to act, because it was never the way I imagine.
I never expected people to be so rude and at the same time nice. But for every rude person I saw, at least five pleasant customers came through my line.
"Here you go," I handed the woman her receipt and hoped her $5 wine glass was wrapped to her liking. "Have a nice day!" I said. And just as I thought I was fed up, the next customer came through. "She had about one more minute and I was going to tell her to get out of line," she whispered to me with a smile.
|
What surprised the writer in her work at first?
|
[
"excited",
"disappointed",
"annoyed",
"relieved"
] |
annoyed
|
Washington, November 1, 2012 (CNN) -- After years of planning and months of campaigning , the most expensive presidential race in history comes down to a final five-day whirlwind of speeches and television ads in the eight states still up for grabs.
President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney plan to hold virtually nonstop events between now and the Tuesday election considered too close to call.
The focus is on battleground states worth 95 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Both sides are trying to close the deal with a decreasing number of uncommitted voters, while making sure supporters actually cast ballots.
That means a game of campaign chess that started Thursday, with appearances by the candidates and their assistants as well as advertising dollars allocated to the places considered most vital to success.
Concluding a race expected to cost more than $6 billion overall, Obama and Romney and their running mates will hit all the battleground states -- Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, Nevada, Virginia and Wisconsin. The campaigns also are unloading a blast of television ads and mailings that threaten to overwhelm voters already saturated with politicking. Perhaps no one said it better than 4-year-old Abigael Evans of Fort Collins, Colorado, who -- according to NPR -- cried after listening to more election coverage on the radio and told her mother, 'I'm tired of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.'
|
The public generally feel _ about these last-days election efforts.
|
[
"It has two similar variants.",
"Some people don't have it.",
"It's bad for people's memory.",
"Everyone has one of its variants."
] |
Everyone has one of its variants.
|
Are you a forgetful person? You might be able to blame your genes, a new study in the journal Neuroscience Letters suggests.
Researchers from the University of Bonn have identified a variant on the DRD2 gene that seems to be associated with increased forgetfulness.
Everyone has one of two variants of the DRD2 gene, the difference is just one letter in the genetic code: Some people have the cytosine (C) variant, while others have the thymine (T) variant. The researchers wanted to see how having one variant over another was associated with forgetfulness.
To test this, they analyzed the DRD2 gene of 500 study participants, and also had the participants answer surveys about their forgetfulness (such as how often they misplaced their keys, or forgot names).
Most of the study participants--three quarters of them--had the thymine gene variant, while the other quarter had the cytosine gene variant. Researchers found an association between more forgetfulness problems and having the thymine gene variant of DRD2. Meanwhile, the cytosine gene variant seemed to have a protective effect against forgetfulness.
However, "there are things you can do to compensate for forgetfulness; writing yourself notes or making more of an effort to put your keys down in a specific location--and not just anywhere," study researcher Dr. Sebastian Markett, of the University of Bonn, said in a statement.
Research has also suggested that some age groups are more forgetful than others. A recent national poll showed that millenials, who were born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, are actually more likely than seniors to be absent-minded with things like what day of the week it is, where they put their keys and remembering to bring their lunch.
Meanwhile, another study recently published in the journal BMC Psychology showed that men are more likely than women to experience minor memory problems.
|
What do we know about the DRD2?
|
[
"a blue and white dog",
"a black and white box",
"a blue and white box",
"a black and white dog"
] |
a black and white dog
|
(A) Lost and Found
Found
Is this your book? Please call Tony at 5010000.
Found
Is that your school bag? Please call Mary. Phone number 5013333.
Lost
My pencil box .Blue and white. Call Tom at 5014444.
Lost
My school ID card. My name is Mike. Please call 5016666.
Found
A set of keys. Please call Jane at 5019999.
Found
A dog. Black and white. At the school gate . Call Jenny at 5018888.
|
Jenny found _ .
|
[
"burn",
"run out",
"give off heat",
"get weak"
] |
run out
|
How many things can you see in the night sky? A lot! On a clear night you can see the moon, some planets, and thousands of sparking stars.
You can see even more with a telescope. You might see that many stars look larger than others. You might see that some stars that look white are really red or blue. With bigger and bigger telescopes you can see more and more objects in the sky. And you can see those objects in more and more detail.
But scientists believe there are some things in the sky that we will never see. We won't see them with the biggest telescope in the world, on the clearest night of the year.That's because they're _ . They're the mysterious dead stars called black holes.
You might find it hard to imagine that stars die. After all, our sun is a star. Year after year we see it up in the sky, burning brightly and giving us heat and light. The Sun certainly doesn't seem to be getting old or weak. But stars do burn out and die after billions of years.
As a star's gases burn, they give off light and heat. But when the gases run out, the star stops burning and begins to die.
So next time you look up at the night sky, remember: there's more in the sky than we can see!
|
When a star's gases _ ,the star begins to die.
|
[
"open it and get out",
"find another way out",
"stop to pick up something",
"go back for something"
] |
find another way out
|
What should we do if a fire happens? Look at the following.
1. Shout----Shout as loudly as you can ,because people may be asleep.
2. Call 119----Never try to put out a fire yourself. Tell 119 where you are and what is on fire.
3. Keep down close to the floor----There's less smoke down there, so it's easier to breathe and see where you are going.
4. Test the door---- the door is cool, open it carefully. If the door is hot, don't open it! Try to find a different way out.
5. Get out---- not stop to pick up anything. A fire can become very big in afew seconds!
6. Don't use the lift ----ways use the stairs. The lift may go wrong and keep you inside.
7. Don't go back---- if you have left your pet or favorite toy inside, don't go back for it.
Animals have a very good sense of smell. They often get out of building before people.
|
If the door is hot, we should _ .
|
[
"August 1st.",
"August 2nd.",
"August 3rd.",
"August 4th."
] |
August 2nd.
|
M: Hi, Ann! Tomorrow will be August 1st. When is your holiday going to start?
W: Very soon. I'm going to leave the day after tomorrow.
M: How long are you going to be away?
W: About two weeks.
M: Where are you going?
W: I'm going to the beach this time.
M: Are you going to stay alone?
W: No. I will stay in a hotel with my friends.
M: Oh, good. It's hard to find a place to stay at the beach in August.
W: That's right. And in a few days, I will swim every day, play beach ball, lie in the sun and just take it easy.
M: Don't tell me about that. It sounds so great!
W: What about you, John? Where are you going to spend your holiday?
M: I don't know. I should think about it.
|
When is Ann going to leave for her holiday?
|
[
"$25.",
"$50.",
"$l00.",
"$150."
] |
$150.
|
Trip 1 One Week in The Mountains
Bring your strong shoes and warm clothes for this walk in a beautiful area of the Green Mountains. You may go hiking or have a try of rock climbing. This is also a protection area for wild animals. You can find many kinds of animals living in this area.
Time: May 8--May 14 Tel: 64639818
Adult : $1l0.00 Child: $55.00
Trip 2 Three Days In The Country
There are many beautiful gardens. Take your camera and enjoy the wonderful sight in Hunter Valley. It is a good place for fishing and horse riding. You can also find different kinds of flowers here. This is also a great walk for bird-lovers.
Time: May 20--May 22 Tel: 63986432
Adult $50:00 Child: $25.00
Trip 3 Flashlight Adventure
Put on your warm clothes, bring a flashlight and come for a night walk along the Dungog Valley. It is a trip full of adventure . A guide will lead the tour. Many of the plants you will see on this trip can only be seen at night.
Time: May 16--May 18 Tel: 63875629
Adult: $30.00 Not for children
Trip 4 Five Days By The Sea
Wear your sun hat and enjoy wonderful sunshine all the time from morning to evening. Our hotel is next to the sea. We have our own boats too. You can swim in the sea or in the swimming pool. Every day our boat will take you to different places for swimming.
Time: May 23--May 27 Tel: 67538293
Adult: $80.00 Child: $40.00
,.
|
Sam wants to stay in Hunter Valley with his wife, his five-year-old daughter and his seven-year-old son. How much will it cost?
|
[
"it was too cheap",
"it smelt bad",
"it cost too much",
"it wasn't big enough"
] |
it wasn't big enough
|
Joe Brown had a shop where he sold meat.One day a woman came into the shop at five to one."I'm sorry I'm late."she said, "I need some more meat for my dinner tonight."Joe had only one piece of meat in his shop.He took it out of the fridge and said:"This is $ 6.50."
"That piece is too small."the woman said, "haven't you got anything bigger?"Joe went into the room behind his shop,took the meat into the fridge,took it out again and closed the door with a lot of noise.Then he brought the piece of meat to the woman and said:"This piece of meat is bigger and more expensive.It's $ 8.75."
"Good." the woman said with a smile, "give me both of them, please?"
|
Why didn't the woman want that piece of meat at first? Because
|
[
"had some trouble with his granddaughter",
"couldn't sign the document he was given",
"wanted to share his own experience with others",
"was inspired by George Dawson's story"
] |
was inspired by George Dawson's story
|
James Arruda Henry, a 98-year-old retired lobsterman, has written and published his first book, "In a Fisherman's Language", after learning to read at the incredible age of 91.
Mr. Henry spent most of his life without even his closest family members knowing he was illiterate .Forced to quit school in the third grade to take some jobs, he kept the secret close to his chest - only telling to his late wife.
A family problem in his 90s sparked his encourage to restart his education."He signed a document he could not read," Mr Henry's granddaughter said. And then, after hearing about George Dawson, a son of slaves who learned to read at the age of 98 and went on to write a book of his own, entitled "Life Is So Good" at the age of 101, Mr. Henry took up reading.
"If he can do it.I'm going to try," Mr. Henry said.Starting with his name, he eventually moved on to ABC's and children's books. He put them down for four years after the tragic loss of his wife. But eventually he went back to reading and with the help of his tutor began to record his life.
He wrote about his family's voyage from Portugal to the U.S. his many journeys at sea and how he was unable to save another fisherman who had fallen overboard. He became a carpenter and even a professional boxer - and eventually built his own home in Stonington Borough.
His life stories have become so popular, in fact, nearly 800 copies were sold in the first two weeks of the book's release last month.One thousand more have since been printed as requests for the book flood in from as far as Germany.And now even Hollywood producers have approached Mr. Henry about optioning the rights to his life story for a big screen adaptation.
|
Mr. Henry made up his mind to study because he _ .
|
[
"is a club for travelers",
"wants to make more money",
"cares about the customers' safety",
"is an organization helping customer"
] |
cares about the customers' safety
|
Attention Tim Hortons
Stainless Steel Travel Mug Owners
Lid Recall-15 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mug
A fault at the cup has been recognized. The fault may result in some lids lifting slightly from the body of the mug, and could probably cause injury from hot liquid leaking. Therefore, we have given an immediate lid recall notice.
This Recall notice is related only to Tim Hortons 15 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mugs sold between October 2002 and January 2003. The bottom of the mug is stamped with distributor's name, "ThermoServ". There is no printing on the handle of the mug.
At Tim Hortons, we value our customers' safety above anything else. So, whether your lid is leaking or not, in the interest of your safety, we are requesting that you bring your mug to your nearest Tim Hortons (excluding Esso Tim Hortons), where they will exchange the lid for a new lid that fits safety. The new lids will be available February 1, 2003; please do not use your mug until you exchange the lid.
Here's what you do:
* Please do not use your mug until you have exchanged the lid for a new one.
* New lids will be available February 1, 2003.
* Return your travel mug to a Tim Hortons store (as of February 1, 2003).
* Your lid will he exchanged for a new lid.
If you prefer to return the entire mug, bring it back at any time for a full repayment.
If you have any questions regarding this recall, please contact us at:
Toll Free Number: 1-888-601-1616
8:30 am - 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time
Tim Hortons
|
From the passage we can learn that Tim Hortons _ .
|
[
"the author lost his sight because of a car crash.",
"the author wouldn't love life if the disaster didn't happen.",
"the disaster made the author appreciate what he had.",
"the disaster strengthened the author's desire to see."
] |
the author lost his sight because of a car crash.
|
I lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a box car in a freight yard in Atlantic City and landing on my head. Now I am thirty two. I can slightly remember the brightness of sunshine and what color red is. It would be wonderful to see again, but a calamity can do strange things to people. It occurred to me the other day that I might not have come to love life as I do if I hadn't been blind. I believe in life now. I am not so sure that I would have believed in it so deeply, otherwise. I don't mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes. I simply mean that the loss of them made me appreciate the more what I had left.
Life, I believe, asks a continuous series of adjustments to reality. The more readily a person is able to make these adjustments, the more meaningful his own private world becomes. The adjustment is never easy. I was totally confused and afraid. But I was lucky. My parents and my teachers saw something in me--a potential to live, you might call it--which I didn't see, and they made me want to fight it out with blindness.
The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself. That was basic. If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have collapsed and _ for the rest of my life. When I say belief in myself I am not talking about simply the kind of self confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase alone. That is part of it. But I mean something bigger than that: an assurance that I am, despite imperfections, a real, positive person; that somewhere in the sweeping, intricate pattern of people there is a special place where I can make myself fit.
It took me years to discover and strengthen this assurance. It had to start with the simplest things. Once a man gave me an indoor baseball. I thought he was making fun of me and I was hurt. "I can't use this." I said. "Take it with you," he urged me, "and roll it around." The words stuck in my head. "Roll it around! "By rolling the ball I could hear where it went. This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought impossible: playing baseball. At Philadelphia's Overbrook School for the Blind I invented a successful variation of baseball. We called it ground ball.
All my life I have set ahead of me a series of goals and then tried to reach them, one at a time. I had to learn my limitations. It was no good to try for something I knew at the start was wildly out of reach because that only invited the bitterness of failure. I would fail sometimes anyway but on the average I made progress.
|
We can learn from the beginning of the passage that _
|
[
"they are often told they are unique and perfect",
"the society judges them differently from their parents",
"they are worried that they may let their parents down",
"they have no freedom to express how they really feel"
] |
they are worried that they may let their parents down
|
My children are perfect. All four of them. Perfect and beautiful and clever. I bet yours are, too. Except, of course, they are not. In reality, my children and yours are likely to be reasonably average in terms of looks, behavior, intelligence and charm. That's why it is called average. Your belief in your child being special is more probably a biological thing than a fact.
A loved one, particularly a loved child, is edited as we observe them. Other people's children are spoiled; ours are spirited. Theirs are naughty; ours are confident.
This is all natural and even touching when not taken too far. However, it is one thing feeding this idea to ourselves but feeding it to our children may be a little less desirable. We have the idea that -- unlike my parents' generation -- we should build our children's self-respect as high as we can. Therefore, their random scribble is up there with Picasso, their C-minus is an unfortunate oversight on the part of the teacher, and the fact that no one wants to be friends with them is because they are particularly clever or sensitive.
Children see through this kind of thing very quickly and ignore their parents' praises as a matter of course. As they grow up, they sense that the wider world judges them differently. This leads to a - hopefully gentle - cynicism about anything their parents tell them about their achievements. Perhaps that is OK -- but I'm not sure if it is good for them to have the parental praise so overlooked.
If parents were a little _ sometimes, this could have two positive effects -- first, when praise came, it would be more likely to be believed and, second, it would fit in rather more accurately with the picture of reality that the child is forming in their heads.
A lot of pressure is put on children who are told they are beautiful, special and perfect. Because then, where is there to go? Only downwards. They become too much aware of their status in your eyes, and a danger must be that they fear failing you. To be over-praised by your parents is the counter side of being criticized all the time. Both can have negative consequences.
It is important to give your children the freedom to be flawed -- to know that it's OK to be imperfect, and that, in fact, we often love people for their flaws -- perfect people (whom we can only imagine, as they do not exist) are easy to respect, but hard to love.
Now I am nearly 60, my main insight is that I am much less special than I once believed. This knowledge has actually been helpful in leading a more well-balanced life.
I certainly wouldn't like to go back to attitudes that my parents, particularly my father, held, that to praise the child was to "spoil them" or make them bigheaded. However, the history of families is like the history of everything else -- the story of overreactions. We praise our children to the skies, partly because we think it makes them feel good, but also because it makes us feel good. And perhaps it is more the latter than the former.
Too much love can be as big a burden as a shortage of it. My advice is to limit your praise. Then every piece of praise will count, rather than being just ignored.
|
According to the passage, some children feel pressure because _ .
|
[
"on Black Friday",
"in a particular store",
"on the Internet",
"from retailers"
] |
on the Internet
|
It's a goal for millions and millions of families every year----keep the Christmas spending within a certain amount, but can still afford the gifts that your loved ones will enjoy. Never has this concern been greater in recent years than right now. Even so, there are several things that you can do to help.
Hit the sales.
No one wants to get up at four o'clock in the morning and fight to get the best deal on Black Friday, and it's surely very tough to pick up the courage and get out there in the cold for a good deal, but sometimes----it can be well worth. Many retailers offer _ all through the day----and some even offer online Black Friday specials, so you may still be able to get a great deal on Black Friday.
Pay close attention to advertisements.
Once the Christmas shopping season is coming, retailers hungry for business will do just about whatever to get you in the store. Pay very close attention to weekly advertisements of sales among the major retailers and you may be lucky enough to find different prices for the same thing in different shops.
Shop online.
Some of us don't like running from store to store in order to get the best price on the perfect gift, and some of us don't like to go out in the cold at all----thankfully for us, we can do online shopping.
The world of online shopping lets people visit all the major retailers as well as some specialty stores that could only be found on the Internet. Customers can find exactly what they are looking for, at the best possible price without ever having to leave the house. With traditional Christmas shopping consumers are sometimes limited to what's left in stock if they wait too long to get to a particular store.
|
We can have more choices _ .
|
[
"Repressing the anger.",
"Expressing the anger.",
"Learning how to make a deal.",
"Treating the anger properly."
] |
Expressing the anger.
|
Doctors say anger can be an very harmful emotion unless you learn how to deal with it. They warn that angry feelings can lead to heart disease, stomach problems, headaches, emotional problems and possibly cancer.
Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time to time. Some people express anger openly in a calm reasonable way. Others burst with anger, losing control of themselves. But other people repress their anger. They cannot or will not express it.
For years many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to a person's health than expressing it. They said that when a person is angry, the brain gives off the same hormones that are produced during tense situations. They speed the heart rate, raise blood pressure, or sugar into the blood and narrow the blood vessels to the interstices . In general, the person feels excited and ready to act.
Doctors said that repressing these feelings only makes the feelings continue. And this can lead to many medical problems. Doctors thought a person could prevent these problems by letting the anger out by expressing it freely. But recently some doctors held a different view. They said that people who express anger repeatedly and violently did become, in fact, more and not less angry.
They said this,too,can cause medical problems.
Some doctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous. They believe that those who express anger violently may be more likely to develop heart disease, and they believe that those who keep their anger inside may face a greater danger of high blood pressure.
Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger. They say the first step is to admit that you are angry and to recognize the real cause of the anger, and then decide if the cause is serious. If it is, they say: "Do not express your anger while angry. Wait until your anger has cooled down and you are able to express yourself calmly and reasonably. "
|
When you get angry,which of the following should you do for the good of health?
|
[
"heat stoke",
"dehydration",
"diarrhoea",
"all above"
] |
all above
|
South Asia heatwave kills nearly 100
DHAKA - A heat wave sweeping India, Bangladesh and Nepal has killed nearly 100 people over the past two weeks, officials said on June 3, 2005.
A third of the people died in northern Bangladesh, mostly women and children from dehydration , heat stroke and diarrhoea .
"We are getting reports of several deaths due to heat wave and related diseases almost every day," an official said, as temperatures touched 43degC .
The weather office in Dhaka said the hot weather will persist for another week until the monsoon rains which are normally due by the middle of June.
Severe heat conditions in the southern Indian have killed at least 55 people, officials in the two states said.
While temperatures have fallen from a high of 45degC in Andhra Pradesh to around 40degC, giving a respite to people, they are still on the rise in Orissa with Talcher town registering 48.5deg C, a weather official said.
At least five people have died in prefix = st1 /Nepalfrom extreme heat, the government said.
|
We can infer that the heatwave can cause _ .
|
[
"Taking a camera",
"Reading a good book",
"Listening to music",
"Sleeping for some time"
] |
Reading a good book
|
Here are some advice about trips.
1. Forget fashion! Always wear your most comfortable clothes when going on long trips.
2. Travelling on trains and buses can be boring, so take a good book to read.
3. If you're going somewhere cold, remember to put on warm clothes!
4. If you are going somewhere sunny, remember to bring your sun-block and sunglasses.
5. Always take a camera with you to _ those special moments.
6. Look after your things well whenever you go to a busy place, like a train station. There are many thieves there!
7. Most countries have lower prices for students, so if you are a student, take your student card with you.
|
From the passage, which is a good way to keep away a boring trip when you're on a train or a bus?
|
[
"Chinese charity work.",
"Charity work of some Chinese artists.",
"Some famous Chinese artists,",
"Organizations started by Chinese artists."
] |
Charity work of some Chinese artists.
|
Do you know more and more Chinese artists have made regular donations to charity or put their efforts into charity work in China? Here let's know some of them.
Faye Wong and her husband Li Yapeng started the Yan Ran Angel Foundation for harelipped children three years ago. It was named after their daughter. Its purpose is to help children under 14 to cure their harelips. The couple donated one million yuan (about $ 133,000) to start the organization.
Cong Fei was born in a poor family. He became a successful singer in Shenzhen. He helped 178 poor students and disabled people for more than 10 years. Before he died of an illness at the age of 37 in 2006, he decided to donate his cornea to people with eye problems. He helped six people see the world.
Guan Mucun has donated money to Project Hope to help poor students finish primary education. Thirty of these poor students have already finished high school with her support. Guan has also helped with charity work for environment protection, HIV/AIDS prevention, blood donation and "Mother Water".
Guan had an unlucky childhood: her mother died when she was only 10 years old. With the help of the government and her neighbours, she grew up and was successful as a famous singer.
Action star Jackie Chan is a wholehearted supporter of charities including UNICEF, Operation Smile and his own Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation. In 2007, he used much of his spare time to visit the farthest parts of China on his Dragon's Heart Charity Missions. The Dragon's Heart Foundation aims to meet the needs of poor children and the elderly in the hardest-to-reach areas of the country. Chan has made several trips to these poor villages, bringing warm clothing, wheelchairs and school supplies, and helping to build schools.
|
What is the passage mainly about?
|
[
"None.",
"PS 155.",
"PS 615.",
"PS 515."
] |
None.
|
Money Matters for Students
GETTING A GRANT
Who pays?
The local education authority (LEA) for the area in which the student is living.
Who can get this money?
Anyone who gets a place on a first degree course,although a student who has already attended a course of advanced further education may not.Students must also have been resident in the UK for at least three years,which can exclude some students from overseas. SPECIAL CASES
If a student has worked before going to college:
A student who is 26 or more before the course starts and who has worked for at least three of the previous six years will get extra money--PS 155 a year if 26,increasing to a maximum of PS 615 at 29 or more.
If a student is handicapped:
LEAs will give up to PS 500 to help meet extra expenses--such as buying a tape recorder for a blind student,extra heating or special food.
Banking:
Most of the big banks offer special services to students who open accounts (in the hope that they will stay with the bank when they become rich officials).A student won't usually have to pay bank charges as long as the account stays in credit.Some banks allow students to overdraw by PS 100 or so,and still don't make charges (though they do charge interest).
|
A 31 year old nurse wishes to qualify as a doctor at a university.She has worked since she was 25.How much extra money will she get a year?
|
[
"In1790.",
"In 1793.",
"In 1796.",
"In 1799."
] |
In 1799.
|
This is a song, and millions of Americans will hear it on New Year's Eve. It is called "Auld Lang Syne" (<<>> ). It is the traditional music played during New Year's celebration. "Auld Lang Syne" is an old Scottish poem. It tells about the need to remember old friends.
The words "auld lang syne" mean "old long since". No one knows who wrote the poem first.
However, a version by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published in 1796. The words and music we know today first appeared in a song book three years later.
The song is played in the United States mainly on New Year's Eve. The version you are hearing today is by the Washington Saxophone Quartet. One of the 4 musicians in the group is VOA's Rich Kainfaite. As we end our programme with "Auld Lang Syne",I would like to wish all of our radio friends a very happy New Year! This is Buddy Thomas.
|
When did the words and music of "Auld Lang Syne" we know today first appear?
|
[
"Angry.",
"Excited.",
"Modest.",
"Worried."
] |
Modest.
|
Ole Bull was a very famous violinist from Norway. He really liked to play the violin. But his father thought that playing the violin was not useful. So his father sent him to university to study. However, playing the violin was his dream. He didn't want to give up his dream. So he left university before he finished his studies and spent all his time and energy practicing the violin. Unfortunately, his violin teacher was not very good. So when it was time for him to start his concert tour, he still couldn't play the violin very well.
Therefore, a Milan newspaper critic1criticized him and said that he was an untrained violinist. The critic said, " _ 2yet."
When facing this kind of problem, some people may become very angry and some people try to learn from it. Fortunately, Ole Bull belonged to the second group. He went to the newspaper office and found the critic. Instead of being angry, he talked about his mistakes with the man and listened to the man's advice.
After he met the critic, he gave up the rest of his concerts. Then he went back to practice the violin with the help of good teachers. In the end, he got great success when he was only 26. He also became one of the most famous violinists in the world.
|
What was Ole Bull's attitude towards the critic's article?
|
[
"40 hours",
"20 hours",
"16 hours",
"10 hours"
] |
40 hours
|
Cab you understand how older people feel?Do you have good listening skills? Can you work weekends? If you have answered YES to the above, we would like to hear from you.
--Free uniform
--$8.56 per hour
--Excellent training
_
Wowee Magazine is looking for writers for its website. Pay is based on the number of people who read your stories. This is a good chance to get great work experience. We want people who are
--skilled
--interesting
--creative
_
You will work 40 hours a week, Monday to Saturday. Your responsibilities will include: washing hair, bringing coffee and tea to customers, and keeping the shop clean and tidy at all times.
cathy@ cut--above. brighton .com
_
Think you could be a model? If so, we'd like to meet you! Girls should be with a minimum height of 172cm and boys should have a minimum height of 182cm , If you are under 16, we would also like to meet you, but you must bring a parent.
info@ top--model --agency. uk
|
A trainee hairdresser will work _ a week.
|
[
"a newspaper",
"a story",
"a science book",
"a guide book"
] |
a newspaper
|
Are you working hard? Do you like to Do you like to talk with people? Do you like to
meet people? If your answer is "Yes", then we write stories? If you want to work for our
have a job for you as a waiter. magazine as a reporter, please call Karen at
Call AL Hotel at 556779 558366
(3)HELP WANTED (4)CLEANER WANTED
Do you like babies? Can you look after one Can you make a large house clean and
baby for two days? If you are sure to take good tidy? If you hope to get the job paid at $20
care of it, call us at 766588. once a week, call us this evening.
$ 80 0rmore 8: 00-20: 20
Today Hurry Tell: 833800
|
The above job ads are probably from _ .
|
[
"Because no surgeons were on duty in the first hospital that day.",
"Because the author wanted his son to stay in a hospital nearer her home.",
"Because no surgeons in the first hospital knew the injuries to the author's son.",
"Because no surgeons in the first hospital could do surgery on the author's son."
] |
Because no surgeons in the first hospital could do surgery on the author's son.
|
As I was busy working on my work plan in my bedroom, I could hear my four children playing upstairs. Suddenly, I heard the children running down the stairs and shouting, "Freddie, Freddie." _ My three-year old son Freddie was lying on his side on the ground. I cried for my husband Simon to dial 999 and within minutes the air ambulance arrived. They quickly took him in the helicopter. During the flight, Freddie was looking at me and I remember thinking was a good sign, but then his eyes began to roll. As the doctors tried to stabilize him, I couldn't believe what was happening.
When we arrived at the hospital in Portsmouth, there were some doctors and nurses waiting for us and they immediately set to work on Freddie. I was hopelessly wishing everything would be alright, but Freddie had broken his skull in two places and blood clots were forming in his brain. He needed surgery , and only a surgeon at another hospital in Bristol could do it. This meant another helicopter ride, but we couldn't go with Freddie because there was no enough space. Simon and I drove the long 130 miles from our home in north Devon in silence. Neither of us dared say what we were thinking, "What if we get there and he's dead?" "Is he going to be brain-damaged?"
Freddie was just coming out of surgery when we arrived. The surgeon said it had gone well. When I finally saw him, I hardly recognize my child--he was covered in tubes and there were wires coming out of his head.
On the third day, Simon went home to see our three girls and to pick up some clean clothes for us. While he was gone, the pressure in Freddie's brain suddenly increased. He was taken into theater again and this time I fell apart. Luckily, the surgery managed to stabilize Freddie. After almost a week, Freddie was finally woken up. When he opened his eyes, he looked at me. He didn't say anything, but I knew straight away that it was my old Freddie, and that he was going to be alright. Over the next two weeks, his recovery went well. After help with learning to swallow again and encouragement with speaking, he was soon playing with his Gruffalo cards and eating meals by himself.
I still don't know how the accident happened, but we got some idea from our girls. Clearly Freddie and Minnie had been sitting on the window ledge, and Freddie must have opened it to look out and fallen 20 feet onto the ground below.
The guilt I feel is awful-- for weeks I was full of " if onlys", and we put window locks everywhere. Six months later, although the accident seems a lifetime ago, it has changed me. I feel differently about life now. I've left my job to put my children first. I want to spend every minute with them.
|
Why did the author's son have to be moved to another hospital in Bristol?
|
[
"To inform people of different steamers",
"To run an advertisement for steamers",
"To find out a suitable steamer to buy",
"To learn how to cook with steamers"
] |
To inform people of different steamers
|
The latest fashion in kitchen is the food steamer. All the stores are selling them; everyone wants one. Steaming is one of the simplest and healthiest ways of cooking food.However, that cooking time is usually longer than with other methods. In case you're thinking of buying a steamer, I've done a survey about the steamers available on the market to help you decide which will suit you best.
*Folding Steamer
The simplest and least expensive is the folding stainless-steel version.
Advantages: This is a good, basic design which sits inside a variety of different shapes of pans with the water under it; a ring in the center allows for easy lifting and it's easy to clean.
Disadvantages: It only holds small dishes. Also, if you put too much water in the pan, it will boil up through the vegetables and they will be watery. If you put too little water in and let it get dry, you will burn the pan and get strange-smelling vegetables.
*Steaming Pan
This is a three-layered black Teflon-coated version with a lid and two double-handled steamers, which sits on the oven ring. The brand I bought is called Nutritious Living.
Advantages: This is an excellent steamer, lightweight, easy to clean, and of all the steamers I've tried, this cooks the fastest. Fish and chicken can be cooked on the bottom with rice or vegetables on the top. It's easier to store.
Disadvantages: Water can boil away until the pan is dry, but if you make sure you fill the pan up to the suggested level and do not overcook the food, this should not happen.You cannot see the food cooking from the top. It doesn't supply a dish for cooking rice.
For serious users of steamers, I recommend having one of each version. If you just want to try it, get the folding stainless-steel type.
|
Why did the author carry out the survey?
|
[
"4, 500 years ago",
"no less than 4, 500 years ago",
"less than 4, 500 years ago",
"nearly 4, 500 years ago"
] |
no less than 4, 500 years ago
|
The making of glass is a very old industry---at least 4,500 years old. Glass has many extraordinary qualities and it is often being used in new ways.
One of the most interesting new uses for glass is in telephone communication. Scientists have developed glass fibers as thin as human hair which are designed to carry light signal. When the light reaches the other end,it is first changed into electrical signals , which are in turn changed into sound messages.
Called lightwave communication, the new system was used successfully in an experiment in Chicago in 1977. During the experiment, two glass fibers were able to carry 672 conversations at the same time. The lightwave cable , containing 144 glass fibers, is able to carry 50,000 conversations at the same time.
The lightwave communication system has two important advantages. First, the glass fiber cables are smaller and weigh less than copper cables. Second, they cost less.
Perhaps it can be said that telephone communication has entered the age of light.
|
According to the passage,people started to make glass _ .
|
[
"it important to add an e to every English word",
"an English word should be ended neither by n nor by v",
"it natural to change the spelling of sonic Latin words",
"the letter e at the end of any word shouldn't be pronounced"
] |
an English word should be ended neither by n nor by v
|
Before the print was brought to England in 1476, everything was written by hand. The few people who knew how to write were trained in schools set up by the church. Those who made a living by writing for other people were called scribes .
The work of scribes was not easy. Much of it had to be done fast in order to meet the needs of the King. the church and traders. Most of the writing was in Latin ,but some of it was in the English of the day. And no one was quite sure how some English words should be spelled.
One problem was that several letters were written with short vertical strok that all looked like each other. Among them were the letters , i, u, v, m and n, Thus .five straight lines in a row might stand for uni nui uvi or mii.
As a result .reading was sometimes difficult, especially when the writing was done in a hurry.
The scribes solved the problem in part, by changing the letter u to o when it came before m. n or v. This is how sum and cum came to be written as some and come.
At some point, too, the scribes seemed to have decided that no English word should be ended by u or v. Thus, in time an e was added to such words as live, have, due and true. It was added, but not pronounced.
|
It is believed that some scribes thought _
|
[
"Create more jobs for art students.",
"Treat every subject in university equally.",
"Keep tuition low for majors leading to more jobs .",
"Create more jobs for science and business students ."
] |
Keep tuition low for majors leading to more jobs .
|
Should people who study science and business pay less for college than people who focus on art and history? That may soon be the case at Florida's state universities.
In tough economic times, Florida governor Rick Scott wants to lead college students toward careers that will pay off after graduation. There are more jobs available in Florida in the fields of business, engineering, healthcare, science and technology. So why not encourage students to focus on these "high-demand" subjects by charging less tuition for them?
"We assume students go to college because they want to pursue jobs," Dale Brill said. He is the head of a group of business people, educators and lawmakers who made the recommendation to the governor to keep tuition low for job-friendly areas of academic study. "We all share the goal of students getting jobs and being productive citizens. Some majors are more valuable than others."
Supporters of the plan have their reasons. More students will choose these "high-demand" majors and get jobs after graduation. The state will gain an
educated workforce that is qualified to fill open jobs. Universities that can show that their
graduates are getting jobs will qualify for more funding from the state.
But critics of the plan say it's unfair to load humanities majors--those who study literature, philosophy, history and art--with debt while keeping tuition low for so-called "high-demand" majors in business and science. In fact, university professors wrote a letter to Governor Scott arguing that if students majoring in history and other humanities subjects are forced to pay higher tuition, they may simply choose to attend universities in other states.
Still others argue that the plan sets students up for failure. Students should choose majors based on their interests, skills and talents, rather than on what jobs are available at any given time. Those who choose majors because they are interested in a particular field of study will be more successful and satisfied in their careers.
|
What does Dale Brill think the government should do ?
|
[
"Women' s brains are better organized for language and communication",
"Women love to talk because they are more sociable than men.",
"Men do not like talking because they rely more on facts.",
"Social conditioning is not the reason why women love talking."
] |
Women' s brains are better organized for language and communication
|
When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, they usually talk simultaneously about a variety of subjects, including children, men, careers and what' s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen -- they can' t do both -- and they don' t understand that women can. Besides, women consider that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships -- not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen.
During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the subtle body language signals that reveal how the characters are feeling emotionally. Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully in order to maintain relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to relate the facts.
Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a means of bonding. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours.
There is no convincing evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls' mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr Michael Lewis, author of Social Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to and looked at, baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents respond to the brain bias of their children. Since a girl's brain is better organized to send and receive speech,we therefore talk to them more. Consequently, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short grunts in reply.
|
What does the author want to tell us most?
|
[
"a cup of tea",
"a pen and some paper",
"to light a fire",
"the door of the house"
] |
a pen and some paper
|
Marek was a farmer who lived in a village far away. One day he became very ill, and everyone thought he would die. They sent for a doctor, who arrived two days later and examined the sick man. The doctor asked for a pen and some paper to write down the name of the medicine. But there was no pen or paper in the village, because no one could read or write.
The doctor picked up a piece of burnt wood from the fire. Using the wood, he wrote the name of the medicine on the door of the house. "Get this medicine for him," he said,"and he will soon get better."
Marek's family and friends did not know what to do. They could not read the strange writing. Then the village baker had an idea. He took off the door of the house, put it on his cart and drove to the nearest town. He bought the medicine, and Marek was soon well again. He would not let anyone wash the magic words away from the door.
|
The doctor wanted _ after the careful examination.
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.