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[
"Dewey, an abandoned cat who touched the world.",
"Vicki Myron , a small-town librarian who adopted Dewey.",
"How a little cat made the Spencer Public Library famous.",
"How Vicki Myron made Dewey, an abandoned cat, world-famous."
] |
Dewey, an abandoned cat who touched the world.
|
Dewey is the true story of an abandoned kitten who went on to live an extraordinary life, inspiring a struggling single mother , transforming a sleepy library and the local people of Lowa farm town, and eventually getting hold of the hearts of animal lovers around the world.
Vicki Myron was a single mom ,who , after surviving the loss of her family farm and an alcoholic husband ,went back to school and became a librarian .As the director of the Spencer Public Library, her biggest challenge was to raise the spirits of the residents of a remote town affected deeply by the farm crisis of the 1980s .Her solution came when Vicki found a tiny kitten almost frozen to death in the library's night drop box.Recognizing the extraordinary strength and uniqueness of this kitten , Vivki received approval from the library board to adopt him as Spencer's resident cat.From that moment on, her life ---and the town of Spencer--- would change forever.
Dewey, as the townspeople named the kitten, grew into a friendly cat whose funny behavior kept people laughing and whose sixth sense about those in need created hundreds of deep and loving friendships.As his fame grew, people drove hundreds of miles to meet Dewey, and he even became a subject of a hit documentary in Japan !Through it all, Dewey remained a loyal companion , a beacon of hope not just for Vicki Myron, but for the entire town of Spencer as it slowly pulled itself up from the worst financial crisis in its long history.
When Dewey died in 2006 at the age of 19, his _ appeared in over 250 newspapers , including the New York Times and USA Today , and was announced on the national television evening news.
|
What is the best title of the passage?
|
[
"4",
"2.1",
"2.7",
"10"
] |
4
|
As the economy begins to recover, salary increases should do the same.
In the past few years, employers have raised workers' salaries by about 4 percent per year--except for 2009, when the figure dropped to a historically low 2.1 percent, according to a survey of World at Word. About one-third of companies froze raises altogether.
For 2010, World at Work's survey projects an average salary increase budget of 2.7 percent, a figure that shows the situation has improved but the job market is still weak. Between 10 percent and 15 percent of companies said they would freeze raises--far fewer than in 2009, but still more than in most years.
How can you get a raise? Avalos and others offer the following tips:
* Do your job well. This means producing high-quality work, of course, but also keeping the big picture in mind.
"It really comes down to positioning yourself as a high performer, somebody who is aware of business goals and helps the company meet their goals as an organization", Avalos said
* Be visible. When times are tough, some workers think. "I'm going to hunker down and hope that nobody notices me, because I don't want to be on a layoff list," said Richard Phillips, owner of Advantage Career Solutions. This is a mistake, because you're unlikely to get a raise if no one knows what you have accomplished. "If anything, what you want to do is be more visible."
* Make your boss's life easier. This means everything from having a good attitude to taking on extra tasks. If you don't know how you can help your boss, ask.
* Ask for a raise. Talk to your boss and present your case: Here's what I've done, here's how it fits with the company's goals, and here is why I think it's worth a salary increase. In some cases, even if your company has an official raise freeze, you can get a raise if you make good case.
If the answer is no -- or if you're not ready to ask directly -- Phillips suggests asking, "What would you like to see from me that would put me in line for a raise?"
A question like this can improve your standing. "Just asking the question says to the boss, 'I'm thinking about where I fit in here, what I can do," Phillips said, "That in and of itself has value."
|
Employers have raised workers' salaries by about _ percent in 2007.
|
[
"Because he ate too much.",
"Because he was too old.",
"Because he ate too fast.",
"The passage didn't tell us."
] |
The passage didn't tell us.
|
A man walked into a restaurant and asked for a glass of water. Then the girl in the restaurant pulled out a gun and shot him dead. Why? People asked to give reasonable explanation for the strange happening. All kinds of suggestions were made.
She was able to recognize him as a dangerous prisoner who ran away from the prison; she thought he was to rob her; she misheard what he said; asking for a glass of water had a special meaning for her and so on. All these explanations showed that the gun was used on purpose to harm the man. The idea was easily accepted.
In fact, the explanation was that the man had an attack of hiccups . It so happened that the girl in the restaurant knew that a great and sudden fear could get rid of hiccups. But she didn't know the gun happened to be loaded that day.
|
Why did the man have an attack of hiccups?
|
[
"peacefully",
"respectfully",
"fearfully",
"fondly"
] |
respectfully
|
The phenomenon is becoming more and more popular that human beings have developed a closely relationship with the most dangerous of animals-Kevin Richardson treats lions like kitty cats,Andre Hartman has a special bond with Great White Sharks and now there is 79year old Werner Freund who has spent the last 40 years of his life in the company of wolves.
While details about how and why the former paratrooper became attached to these beautiful wild animals are a little summary,he has been tending them in his 25acre Wolvespark located in the German province of Saarland,since 1972.While he currently has a group of 29,over the years he has raised almost 70 wolves belonging to all breeds ranging from Siberian to Arctic,Canadian,European and even,Mongolian.The wolves treat Werner as if he were one of their own.They nuzzle against him,play with him and are generally sheeplike when he is around,just like they would be around a head wolf!
This,however,is not accidental-It is a position that Werner works on establishing and maintaining with a simple act,every single day-Whenever it's feeding time,he calls his wolves to come for the raw meat by howling.As the hungry animals rush to get their food,they are always met with this scene-Werner sinking his teeth into the raw meat first.While this may sound a little rude,that is how the position of hierarchy is established in the animal world.It is always the leader male that gets the first meal and only when he signals,can the rest join in.Werner's wolves know this rule quite well and never challenge his authority.
While wolves,the largest member of the dog family,are believed to be dangerous,they rarely attack humans.Werner says that in reality,they are beautiful gentle souls,whose reputation has been tarnished,by fairy tales like Red Riding Hood!
|
We can infer that the wolves treat Werner Freund _ .
|
[
"To help the earth",
"To make some money",
"To help other people",
"To clean the forest"
] |
To help the earth
|
Editor's note: do you care about the environment ? Have you ever wanted to help protect it ? Well read on, as this month we're going to hear from overseas teens about what they do to help the environment.
I can't remember when I started collecting litter . But it was when I got tired of seeing litter near my home and realized that no one else was going to pick it up.
I live close to a forest in Ohio, America. I can walk there in three minutes!
I used to love going there to play with my dog. But one day there was so much litter there that I became very unhappy. I decided I had to clean up the forest. I wanted to feel happy going there again.
I made my first trip to clean the forest that afternoon. I took a big black rubbish bag with me. Ten minutes after starting to pick up litter, my bag was full! It had cans, bottles, broken glass and newspapers in it.
Since that first trip three years ago. I've gone to the forest four times a year to pick up litter. I'm often there for three hours. It makes me feel great to do something for the environment.
After each trip, I look at all the litter I've found. If any of it is recyclable , I keep it.I can't understand why people drop litter. But I will keep picking it up until they stop dropping it.
I know I am only doing a small bit to help the earth, but I still think it is important.
|
Why did the writer start collecting litter?
|
[
"All Mrs. Blake's friends support their idea.",
"The name\"1900\"is also a computer software term.",
"When Mr. Blake had a second child, he would name it \"John Version 3.0\".",
"Mrs. Blake didn't agree to name her son after a computer software term at the very beginning."
] |
Mrs. Blake didn't agree to name her son after a computer software term at the very beginning.
|
There was a strange father, John Blake, from Michigan, who named his children after a computer software term. He told the local newspaper the US traditional way of adding "Junior" or "II" after a boy's name was too common. So, when his son was born last week, he decided on the name John Blake 2.0, as if he were a software programmer.
Mr. Blake admitted that it took months to persuade his wife, Jamie, to accept the idea. Mrs. Blake said she asked several friends whether they could accept this name or not. "All the men," she said, "felt the name was cool." However,her women friends did not think so. "I think the women end up like it,"she said.
Mr. Blake told the local newspaper he got the idea from a film called The Legend of 1900,in which an abandoned baby is given the name 1900 to remember the year of its birth. "I thought that if they can do it , why can't we?" he said. After little John version 2.0 was born, Mr. Blake even sent a celebratory e-mail to the family and friends, which was designed to look as if he and his wife had created a new software. "I wrote things like there are a lot of new features from Version 1.0 with additional features from Jamie," he said. And he has already planned for his son's future. "If he has a child, he could name it 3.0," he said.
|
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
|
[
"Favorable",
"Critical",
"Indifferent",
"Not known"
] |
Favorable
|
Because I am extremely vulnerable to both slick advertising and peer pressure, I've been thinking about getting an iPad. But here's the problem: I'm cheap, and the iPad's not. If I'm going to fork over at least $499 for a new device, I want to try it out and make sure it's not just a larger, shinier version of my iPhone. But if I went to my local Apple Store, I'd get to spend only a few minutes testing out the machine. I wanted more time than that, so I rented one for $15 a day from a guy on SnapGoods.
The Internet start-up in Brooklyn runs on simple reasoning: there are people who want to borrow stuff - camping equipment, food processors, robot vacuums, etc. - and there are people who have stuff they want to lend. SnapGoods helps these two groups connect over the Web. SnapGoods is one of many sites that have sprung up to facilitate offline sharing. Some sites have a narrow, obvious focus (like SwapBabyGoods.com) while others are more obscure (Neighborhood Fruit helps people share what's growing in their yards or find fruit trees on public land). But regardless of whether the sharing is free or involves a fee, these transactions often come with a stick-it-to-the-man attitude. "Borrow these things from your neighbors," reads one earnest request on neighborrow.com, "The owner-ship has SAILED!"
All of these sites are encouraging something academics call collaborative consumption - in other words, peer-to-peer sharing or renting. Renting something you don't need to use very often makes a lot more sense than buying it and letting it collect dust in your garage. There's a green aspect as well, since sharing helps cut down on overall use of resources. But one of collaborative consumption's most surprising benefits turns out to be social. In an era when families are scattered around the country and we may not know the people down the street from us, sharing things - even with strangers we've just met online - allows us to make meaningful connections.
"This isn't just about saving the environment or saving a dollar," says SnapGoods CEO Ron Williams, who came up with the idea after renting a stranger's motorcycle via Craigslist. "This is about saving yourself by making informed consumer decisions."
I'm not sure if I got a thrill when I borrowed Goodwin's iPad, but it did feel good to make a connection. In the end, though, I decided not to purchase an iPad. Sorry, Steve Jobs. I'm just not that into owning things anymore.
|
What is Ron Williams' attitude towards collaborative consumption?
|
[
"cycling around the town",
"developing a waste ground",
"repairing cycles",
"buying empty shops"
] |
repairing cycles
|
When Boris left school,he could not find a job.He tried hard and pestered his relatives,but they had problems of their Own. He answered advertisements until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. Boris grew annoyed,then depressed,then a little hardened.Still he went on trying and still he failed.He began to think that he had no future at all.
"Why don't you start your own business?" one of his uncles told him."The world is a money-locker. You'd better find a way of opening it."
"But what can I do?"
"Get out and have a look round," advised his uncle in a vague sort of way."See what people want;then give it to them,and they will pay for it."
Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of a waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer.He worked hard,made friends with his customers and gradually managed to build up his goodwill and profit.A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself.He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good:in the wrong position,too expensive or with some other snag . But at long last,he managed to find an empty shop on a new estate where there were plenty of customers but no competition.
Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair scooters and motor-cycles.Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed. At last,Boris had managed to open the money-locker and found bank notes and gold Coins inside.
|
Boris start his career by _ .
|
[
"No, they can't. Because they can't remember which tire is flat.",
"Yes, they can. Because there is a flat tire.",
"No, they can't. Because they may give a different answer.",
"Yes, they can. Because all four tires are flat."
] |
No, they can't. Because they may give a different answer.
|
Four girls go to school every day by taxi. One day one of the girls says, "There is a test this morning. Let's get to school late. Then we will not have the test."
"What can we tell the teacher?" One of the girls says. "He will be angry. We will need a good excuse."
The girls think for a moment, then one of them says, "Let's tell him that our taxi has a flat tire ."
"That's a good idea," the other girls say. "We will tell him that."
They get to school an hour later. The test is over. "Why are you late? You missed the test."
"Our taxi had a flat tire." One of the girls said.
The teacher thought for a moment, then he said, "sit down, One of you in each corner of the room." The four girls do this.
Then the teacher says, "Write down a piece of paper the answer to this question: Which tire is flat?"
|
Can the girls answer the teacher's question?
|
[
"Can dogs smell cancer?",
"Dogs and treatment",
"A new research on breast cancer",
"An interesting experiment on lung cancer"
] |
Can dogs smell cancer?
|
In a society where lung and breast cancers are leading causes of cancer death worldwide, early detection of the disease is highly desirable. In a new scientific study, researchers present astonishing new evidence that man's best friend, the dog, may have the ability to contribute to early cancer detection.
Researchers show scientific evidence that a dog's extraordinary smelling ability can distinguish people with both early and late stage lung and breast cancers from healthy people. Researchers first discovered this in the case report of a dog warning its owner to the presence of a melanoma by constantly sniffing the skin lesion . Later studies published in major medical magazines proved the ability of trained dogs to detect both melanomas and bladder cancers. The new study is the first to test whether dogs can detect cancers only by sniffing the breath of cancer patients.
In this study, five household dogs were trained within a short 3-week period to detect lung or breast cancer by sniffing the breath of cancer patients. The experiment consisted of 86 cancer patients (55 with lung cancer and 31 with breast cancer) and 83 healthy people. All cancer patients had recently been diagnosed with cancer and had not yet undergone any chemotherapy treatment . The dogs were presented with breath samples from the cancer patients and the healthy ones, captured in a special tube. Dogs were trained to give a positive identification of a cancer patient by sitting or lying down directly in front of a test station containing a cancer patient sample, while ignoring healthy samples.
The results of the study showed that dogs can detect breast and lung cancer between 88% and 97%. Moreover, the study also proved that the trained dogs could even detect the early stages of lung cancer, as well as early breast cancer. The researchers concluded that breath analysis might become a potential of cancer diagnosis.
|
What's the best title of the passage?
|
[
"Mona Lisa ,the Mysterious Woman",
"Mona Lisa was a New Mother",
"Great Discovery in Painting",
"Leonardo's Painting Technique"
] |
Mona Lisa was a New Mother
|
Mona Lisa, the mysterious woman in Leonardo da Vinci's 16th century masterpiece, had just given birth to her second son when she sat for the painting, a French art expert said on Tuesday. The discovery was made by a team of Canadian scientists who used special infrared and three-dimensional technology to study the paint layers on the work, which now sits in the Louvre museum in Paris.
Bruno Mottin of the French Museums' Center for Research and Restoration said that on very close examination of the painting it became clear that the Mona Lisa's dress was covered in a thin transparent gauze veil.
"This type of gauze dress was typical of the kind worn in early 16th century Italy by women who were pregnant or who had just given birth. This is something that had never been seen up to now because the painting was always judged to be dark and difficult to examine," he told a news conference.
"We can now say that this painting by Leonardo da Vinci was painted in memory of the birth of the second son of Mona Lisa, which helps us to date it more precisely to around 1503."The young woman with the ambiguous half smile has been identified as Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco de Giocondo. She had five children.
"People always wrote that Mona Lisa had allowed her hair to hang freely over her shoulders. This greatly surprised historians because letting your hair hang freely during the Renaissance was typical of young girls and women of poor virtue ," he said.
The team had hoped to discover more details about Leonardo's painting techniques, which the artist used to create a hazy effect. But scientist John Taylor said the team had been disappointed by the lack of brush stroke detail on the painting.
|
What is probably the best title for the test?
|
[
"Ben can't play soccer.",
"Leo and Ben are classmates.",
"Seven people are in Lily's family.",
"Lily and Gina think ping-pong is difficult."
] |
Leo and Ben are classmates.
|
I'm Leo. I'm 13 and I'm in Class Six. I have three good friends. They are Lily, Gina, and Ben. Lily and Gina are in Class Seven. Ben is in Class Six, too. We're all in Grade Seven.
We like sports. My favorite sport is ping-pong. It is interesting. I have three ping-pong balls and four ping-pong bats. Lily and Gina are sisters. They don't like ping-pong. They think it is boring. Their favorite sport is tennis. They have five tennis balls and they play tennis with their parents and two brothers. Ben's favorite sport is soccer. He has two soccer balls and he plays soccer very well.
|
?
|
[
"a high brand wins the loyalty of consumers",
"a high brand usually sets a much higher price",
"it's easy for a high brand company to launch new products",
"a high brand company is more competitive when doing business with retailers"
] |
a high brand usually sets a much higher price
|
A brand is a name, word, sign, symbol, design, or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of a company or a group of companies. Another purpose of a brand is to contrast one company from another. The most important skill of professional marketers is the ability to create, maintain, protect, and enhance the brands of their products and services. Branding has become so important that today hardly any company or product is without one. Therefore, brand management is an increasingly important element in marketing.
Brand power refers to the relative strength of a company's brand in the minds of consumers, and can influence consumers' choice of products. Brands are powerful to the extent that they give high brand loyalty and strong brand associations, name recognition, perceived quality and other assets to a company. A strong brand can be one of a company's most important assets.
High brand power provides a company with many competitive advantages. A powerful brand enjoys a high level of consumer brand awareness and loyalty. Because consumers expect stores to carry the brand, the company has more bargaining power when negotiating with retailers . And because the brand name brings high credibility, a company with a strong brand can more easily launch new products with the same brand name.
Many companies use the advantage of a strong brand power strategically to expand their business. When a company introduces an additional item with a new flavour, form, colour or package size in a given product category and under the same brand name, it is called a line extension. Another strategy is called brand extension. This involves the use of a successful brand name to launch new or modified products in a new category, thereby employing brand recognition in order to increase sales of new products.
Brand recognition is certainly important. Because consumers often hold long-standing perceptions about brands, high brand power ensure a company continued sales of its products.
|
All of the following statements are the advantages of a high brand power EXCEPT that _ .
|
[
"15 minutes.",
"30 minutes.",
"1.5 hours.",
"3 hours."
] |
15 minutes.
|
RichardSolo 1800 Rechargeable Battery
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Use the iPhone while charging it. Even charge the RichardSolo 1800 and iPhone together at the same time. Take only one charger when traveling and wake up in the morning with the RichardSolo and the iPhone charged.
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|
How long does it take the battery to charge up an iPhone?
|
[
"How Valentine died",
"The emperor of Rome",
"How Valentine's Day is celebrated",
"The origin of Valentine's Day"
] |
The origin of Valentine's Day
|
Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine's Day. One legend dates as far back as the days of Roman Empire . According to the story, Claudius, the Emperor of Rome, wanted to increase the size of the army. He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join the army. Therefore, he made a rule that no young men could marry until he had served in the army for a certain number of years.
A priest named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great number of young people. Finally, Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison, where he remained until his death on February 14.
After his death, Valentine was made a saint and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine's Day. It became the custom for lovers to send each other message on this day. Now Saint Valentine's Day is a time for people to send one another their greeting of many kinds.
February 14, Valentine's Day, is sweetheart's day, on which people in love with each other express their tender emotions .
People sometimes put their love message in a heart-shaped box of chocolates or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons . Words of letters may be written on the flower-covered card, or something else. Whatever the form may be, the message is almost the same "Will you be my Valentine?"
|
The message mainly tells us about _ .
|
[
"Maine's puffin once nearly became extinct",
"Maine's puffins' eggs were of high prices",
"baby puffins grew up quickly",
"the number of Maine's puffins is worrying"
] |
Maine's puffin once nearly became extinct
|
Thousands of puffins live in Maine and on islands in the Gulf of Maine. But the puffins may be in danger. Last summer, the percentage of laid eggs that successfully produced baby puffins took a dive. Scientists also found a decline in the average body weight of the adult and baby puffins on Machias Seal Island, home to the area's largest colony. Over the winter, dozens of the seabirds from the region were found dead, likely from starvation.
What's causing the puffin trouble? Scientists think it may be a shortage of food. With ocean temperatures rising, fish populations have moved around. Normally, puffins' primary food source is herring, a type of fish. A lack of herring in the area could be causing the problem.
Butterfish from the south have become more abundant in the Gulf of Maine and could be a new food source for birds. But Steve Kress says butterfish may be too big and round for baby puffins to swallow.
Puffins spend most of their lives at sea. They come ashore to breed each spring and return to the ocean in August. The chicks swim to sea about 40 days after hatching. Puffin populations stretch across the North Atlantic, from Maine to northern Russia.
Maine's puffin population has been at risk in the past. In the 1800s, they were hunted for their food, eggs and feathers. By 1901, only one pair of puffins remained in the state. Thanks to the help of local lighthouse keepers and seabird restoration programs, the state's puffin population has been restored to more than 2,000 birds.
Scientists aren't sure what will happen to the Gulf of Maine's puffins. The birds may move further north. Kress says he hopes the Gulf population will sustain itself and then he continued. "You never know what climate change will bring," Kress said. "Historically fish could move out and more southerly fish could move in, and puffins may adapt to the new fish. Only they will know how the story will unfold."
|
It can be inferred from the passage that _ .
|
[
"20 minutes",
"at least one hour",
"half an hour",
"two hours"
] |
at least one hour
|
How much pocket money do you get from your parents every month--200 yuan? Some may need more to buy birthday presents, fast food lunches, ice cream or cartoon books.
But for Zhou Li, 30 yuan a month is enough. The only thing she buys is lunch--1.5 yuan each day. "My favorite is fried potato slices and rice," said Zhou, "meat is too expensive for me."
Zhou, 14, is a Junior 1 student at Hongzhi Experimental School in Beijing. Her parents are migrant workers . They came to Beijing from a village in Luohe of Henan two years ago. Her father now works as a cleaner and earns 500 yuan every month. Her mother has no job.
Every day, Zhou gets up at 5: 30 a.m. and rides 20 minutes to school. She studies hard, and even reads books during breaktime. Her favorite subject is computer."I'm learning typing now. I hope to be the fastest in my class."said Zhou. Like many teens, Zhou has a lot of homework. It usually takes her at least one hour to do it every day. But that is not all her work. She helps her mom cook. On weekends, she helps wash clothes."I could cook when I was eight. Father said sometimes I cooked better than mom!"
Zhou said she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up."I watched TV and found that there were many people with AIDS in Henan. Some are kids. They need help."said Zhou. But she is afraid of having to leave school."I hope I will always be in school," said Zhou. "Dad works hard to make money. I promise him I will study hard to be a good student at present and a good doctor in the future."
|
Zhou Li spends _ on her homework every day.
|
[
"sportsmen should be allowed to carry advertising on TV",
"advertising cigarettes should be officially forbidden at football matches",
"advertising on television should be forbidden",
"golf tournaments should not be sponsored by banks"
] |
sportsmen should be allowed to carry advertising on TV
|
Sir,
Last Saturday I watched the TV coverage of the latest Grand Prix motor race and could not fail to notice how much advertising there was. In particular, the leading car (and the one that eventually won) was almost constantly on the screen; it was painted to look like a packet of well-known cigarettes. Not only that, but the car was, on more than one occasion, referred to by the commentator not by the name of the driver or the motor company, but by the name of the product. However, the football team that I support is not allowed to wear shirts advertising anything when their matches are being televised.
The rule preventing sportsmen and sportswomen from carrying advertisements on television is a good one. Keep it and do it. To take one example, what is the effect, I wonder, on the young and old, of the apparent connection between cigarette smoking and an exciting sport like motor-racing?
L. H. Gray, London
Sir,
What a ridiculous situation our television companies find themselves in with regard to sport and advertising!
I watched a televised football match in which the players did not carry any advertisements on their shirts, and yet there was advertising all around the ground. (Do the TV producers think we viewers are blind or something?) And when a well-known international player was interviewed after the match, both he and the interviewer referred by name to the make-ups firm! And as if that were not enough, the sports item that followed was the National Bank Golf Tournament.
Advertising is all around us every day. Long live advertising, I say, and let the television companies recognize it and allow football players, athletes, racing drivers and others to wear sponsors' advertisements. At least we would all know where we were!
Mrs. R. P. Laing, Bristol
|
Mrs. Laing believes that _ .
|
[
"Humans and rats differ in their preference for risk-taking.",
"Too much risk-taking can do more harm than good.",
"Risk-taking can be used to treat people with impulse control problems.",
"Risk-taking is a means of survival and brings higher returns to humans."
] |
Risk-taking is a means of survival and brings higher returns to humans.
|
Scientists have exactly discovered the set of brain cells involved in making risky decisions, and have been able to control them in rats using targeted light. By changing the activity of the cells they were able to change the behaviour of risk-taking rats to avoid risk, hinting the approach could in future be used to treat people with impulse control problems.
Risk-taking is a key part of survival, knowing when to take a chance could pay off--such as moving to a new area to look for food when pickings are slim.
While all animals need an element of risk, the preference towards it varies between individuals. Researchers found this variation, which determines how risk-averse an individual is, is regulated by brain cells in a region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. This cluster of neurons releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which regulates the brain's reward and pleasure centres.
Previous studies have shown that in patients with Parkinson's disease, taking medication which blocks specific dopamine receptors (DR2) leads to increased gambling behaviour and risk taking behaviour. In studies with rats, researchers were able to use a technique called optogenetics --which uses light sensitive proteins to change the activity of cells--to modify cells with DR2 in the nucleus accumbens.
Rats were trained to choose one of two levers, offering them a choice between a "safe" or "risky" choice. The safe option resulted in a small, but consistent amount of a sugar water treat. But the risky choice consistently delivered smaller amounts of sugar water, with the occasional large pay off--essentially encouraging the animals to gamble for a bigger prize. Around two-thirds of the animals weren't keen on risk, opting for the safe option, but the remaining third were risk-seekers. Brain scans of the animals showed that those with low levels of DR2 consistently went for the gamble.
But using pulses of light to stimulate the DR2 cells and improve their activity could cause the risk-takers to play it safe and opt for the guaranteed but less rewarding option. Once the light-pulses stopped, the risk-takers returned to their gambling strategy.
In the _ , stimulating the same cells had little to no effect.
Professor Karl Deisseroth, of Stanford University in California, said: "Humans and rats have similar brain structures involved."And we found a drug known to increase risk preference in people had the same effect on the rats. So every indication is that these findings are relevant to humans. "Risky behavior has its moments where it' s valuable. As a species, we wouldn't have come as far as we have without it."
|
What can be inferred from what Professor Karl Deisseroth said?
|
[
"food",
"nothing",
"the visitor's cap",
"the visitor's bag"
] |
the visitor's cap
|
Almost everyone likes dogs, and almost everyone likes to read about dogs. I have friend. He has a big police dog with the name Jack. Police dogs are very clever. Every Sunday afternoon my friend takes jack for along walk in the park. Jack likes these long walks very much. One Sunday afternoon a young man came to visit my friend. He stayed a long time. He talked and talked. Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for walk. But the visitor still stayed. Jack became much worried. He walked around the room several times and then sat down in front of the visitor and looked at him. But the visitor paid no attention to Jack. He went on talking. At last Jack got angry. He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later. He sat down again in front of the visitor, but this time he took the visitor's cap in his mouth.
|
At last Jack took _ in his mouth.
|
[
"The Culture Revolution lasted for 10 years.",
"People were not allowed to speak outside during that time.",
"People had no access to foreign literature during that time.",
"It happened at the same time as the Great Leap Forward."
] |
The Culture Revolution lasted for 10 years.
|
Mo Yan was born in 1955, in GaomiCounty inShandongprovince to a family of farmers. Mo was 11 years old when theCultural Revolutionwas launched, at which time he left school to work as a farmer. At the age of 18, he began to work at a cotton factory. During Mo's teenage years, with a series of political campaigns from theGreat Leap Forwardto theCultural Revolutiongoing on, his access to literature was limited to novels in thesocialist realiststyle under Mao Zedong, which centered largely on the themes of class struggle and conflict.
At the close of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, Mo joined in the People's Liberation Army(PLA), and began writing while he was still a soldier. He began his career as a writer in thereform and opening upperiod, publishing dozens of short stories and novels in Chinese. His first novel was Falling Rain on a Spring Night, published in 1981. In 1984, he received a literary award from the PLA Magazine, and at the same year he began attending the Military Art Academy, where he first adopted the pen name of Mo Yan. He published his firstnovella , A Transparent Radish in 1984, and released Red Sorghum in 1986, launching his career as a nationally recognized novelist. In 1991, he obtained a master's degree in Literature from Beijing Normal University.
"Mo Yan" -- meaning "don't speak" in Chinese -- is his pen name. In an interview, he explained the name came from a warning from his father and mother not to speak his mind while outside, because of China's revolutionary political situation from the 1950s, when he grew up.
Mo Yan's Red Sorghum Clan is about the generations of a Shandong family between 1923 and 1976. The author deals with great changes in Chinese history such as the War of Resistance Against Japanese Invasion, theCommunist Revolution, and theCultural Revolution, but in an unusual way, for example from the point of view of the invading Japanese soldiers. His second novel, The Garlic Ballads, is based on a true story of the farmers of Gaomi Township fighting against a government that would not buy its crops.
|
What can we infer from the passage about the Cultural Revolution?
|
[
"The 27\nthfloor.",
"The 4\nthfloor.",
"The 9\nthfloor.",
"The ground floor."
] |
The 27
thfloor.
|
My name is Ben. I live with my brother, mother and father in a flat. There are 27 floors in the tall building. My apartment is on the top floor. My father has a car .He parks it in the basement of the building.
Our apartment is not in the centre of the city. It is 4 kilometers from the centre. My father works in the city, so he goes to work by train every day. He doesn't often drive his car. He uses his car only at weekends. He takes us into the country or to the beach on Saturdays or Sundays.
Our apartment has three bedrooms. There is a bedroom for my mother and father, one for me and one for my brother. There is also a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom in the apartment. We do not have a garden, but there is a small balcony. There are some plants on the balcony.
|
Which floor do Ben's family live on? _
|
[
"It's enough for them to cook for the students.",
"It's hard for them to interact with the students.",
"They have the most interaction with students at school.",
"They can also meet the emotional needs of the students."
] |
They can also meet the emotional needs of the students.
|
There are various aspects that go into making a successful school, and success can be measured in various ways. Often, the teachers are praised for a school's success and blamed for its failure. Yet, in order for a school to be effective, it must be a place where teaching and learning can easily take place, and that requires the hard work of more than just educators. Students must take learning into their own hands and feel as if what they are doing is as important as it actually is. This can only be done with the cooperation of every adult that is involved in the students' life. Some of these individuals often go unnoticed, yet the role they play in the students' lives is immeasurable.
In the school, administrative assistants greet students at the start of the day and answer a large quantity of questions. When an assistant remembers a student's name or even something special about that student, it communicates to him that he is cared for. The assistant can also give that extra encouragement for a student to make better choices, especially when they are visiting the principal's office.
Meanwhile, though cafeteria workers have a short space of time to interact with students, they can make a big difference as well. Beyond meeting nutritional needs, cafeteria workers may also on occasion meet the emotional needs of the students they serve. Students benefit from positive interaction with adults, and cafeteria workers may give that extra bit of encouragement that a child needs.
Custodians are usually underappreciated for what they offer to schools. They have to be knowledgeable about everything from cleaning to fixing the most intricate tools. They get to school early in the morning before teachers arrive and lock up late at night after the last student has left from the after-school event. They also make sure teachers are equipped with the necessary items and prepare the rooms so that they are ready for learning. A great custodian also gives that kind word or extra smile to that student who needs it most.
|
Which of the following is TRUE about cafeteria workers?
|
[
"From India to Australia.",
"Turning Trash to Treasure.",
"Living in a New Country.",
"In Search of New Friends."
] |
Turning Trash to Treasure.
|
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport .
He reported the case to the police and then sat there, lost and lonely in strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband's name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only _ the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish to their way.
|
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
|
[
"he is unwilling to take family responsibilities",
"he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single",
"he finds more fun in dating than in marriage",
"he fears it will put an end to all his fun, adventure and excitement"
] |
he is unwilling to take family responsibilities
|
People hold the belief that a fun-filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people don't like the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, commitment ,self-improvement.
Ask a
why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment, for commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most obvious features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or a three-day vacation. I don't know any parent who would choose the word "fun" to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting true happiness is one of the most liberating realizations because true happiness has nothing to do with fun. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actully may not be happy at all.
|
According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because _
|
[
"Tie strips of colored poncho to bushes.",
"Tie strips of newspaper to bushes."
] |
Tie strips of colored poncho to bushes.
|
Mark hunting trails.
|
Which solution is correct?
|
[
"they are made in green factories",
"they are cheaper than other goods",
"they will help to reduce trash on the earth",
"they can be used for a very long time"
] |
they will help to reduce trash on the earth
|
As global warming continues to be a major concern for the future of our planet,people are starting to turn to green living practices to help save it for future generations.Green living involves every aspect of our daily life from driving to work to mowing our lawns.
Making the switch to green living all at once might scare most people away from carrying out those earth-friendly changes.There are many ways to ease into this practice and still help save the earth's environment.
Air pollution is a major problem for some cities.A lot of it comes from the factories, but that's not the only way contributing to global warming.Automobiles give off a fair amount of pollutant into the air.When you have a lot of cars driving around on the city streets, you're multiplying the amounts of pollutant being emitted by each car that's destroying our ozone .If you want to save the environment,you can start by either car pooling,walking more instead of driving or even purchasing hybrid models that don't do as much damage.
Then let's take a look at your home.What kinds of bulbs are you using? The standard bulbs we use only contribute to higher electricity bills and more carbon dioxide.If you switch at least some of your standard bulbs with the compact fluorescent bulbs,you can save the environment while saving on your electric bill.
Recycling is also an excellent way to save our environment.Try to buy as many products as you can that can be recycled.The less trash that has to be burned or buried into our soil,the better off our planet will be.
These small changes may seem that they couldn't help much for the environment,but they can help tremendously.Every little bit we do is a much-needed step toward reserving natural resources for our future generations.
|
The author recommends recyclable products because_.
|
[
"Can old people be as bright as young people?",
"How old is \"old\" ?",
"What tells you how well you've lived?",
"What is the average life span today?"
] |
What tells you how well you've lived?
|
How old is "old"? The answer has changed over the years.Two hundred years ago, you were old at 35.At the beginning of the 20th century, the average life span was 45.In 1950,70-year-olds were really old.Today, a healthy 70-year-old person is still thought young.
So, how old is old? The answer is one you've heard many times, from all kinds of people."You are as old(or young) as you feel." Your age simply tells you how many years you have lived.Your body tells you how well you've lived.
"Nobody grows old by living a number of years," wrote a writer."People grow old when they don't have their ideals ." People should not have the wrong ideals about aging.Sometimes, old minds can be as bright as young minds.Alice Brophy once said, "It makes me happy who people say.You look young for your age." What does that mean? You know you can die old at 30 (30) and live young at 80.
|
Which question is NOT answered in the passage?
|
[
"$15.",
"$12.",
"$7.5.",
"$30."
] |
$7.5.
|
A few years ago, David had the idea of selling CDs over the Internet. He started his work from his home. Now he sells over 500,000 CDs a year and has made himself into a millionaire , at the age of 24.
"I could see that this was the future of shopping," says David. "Why should you pay $15 for a CD and spend the time and the money going into the shop? You know sometimes you have to find a place for your car too. You can have the same CD for half of the price by clicking on your computer. And we can find any CD you want and bring it to your door in 24 hours!"
David said this is the only beginning, "One day we'll do our shopping over the Internet: it's easier, quicker and cheaper. Shops and supermarkets will be the past."
|
If you pay $15 for a CD in the shop, how much should you pay for it on the Internet?
|
[
"Ann doesn't 1ike playing the violin",
"Ann can have more 1essons",
"Ann doesn't want to have more 1essons",
"Ann's father doesn't have a friend"
] |
Ann can have more 1essons
|
"Can I learn to play the violin.Daddy?"Ann asks her father.
"That sounds good.But how long can you learn?"
"A month," Ann says."After a month,I can play for you.If I don't play well,I won't play it."
"All right." her father says.
He soon finds a violin teacher and Ann starts her lessons.The fee isn't cheap,but her father doesn't say anything.
A month passes.The time comes for Ann to play for her father.
She says to her father, "I want to play for you,Daddy."
"OK,Ann,"her father says."Start"
She starts to play.She doesn't play well.Her father has a friend with him,and the friend can't stand it.
When Ann stops,her father says, "Great! Ann, you can have more lessons."
Ann runs out of the room.Her father's friend says to him, "I don't think your daughter plays well."
"Well,you're right."her father says."But she's very happy, right?"
|
From this passage we can see that _ .
|
[
"He visited all the McDonaId's branches in Europe.",
"He introduced \"open door\" visitor's days in each country.",
"He had done a reliable job as head of the group's French subsidiary.",
"He engaged in a dialogue with the public."
] |
He introduced "open door" visitor's days in each country.
|
When Denis Hennequin took over as the European boss of McDonald's in January 2004, the world's biggest restaurant chain was showing signs of recovery in America and Australia, but sales in Europe were sluggish or declining.One exception was France, where Mr.Hennequin had done a reliable job as head on the group's French subsidiary to sell more Big Macs to his relatives, His task was to copy this success in all 41 of the European countries where anti-globalisers' favourite enemy operates.
So far Mr.Henncquin is doing well.Last year European sales increased by 5.8% and the number of customers by 3.4%, the best annual results in nearly 15 years.Europe accounted for 36% of the group's profits and for 28 of its sales.December was an especially good month as customers took to seasonal menu offerings in France and Britain, and to a promotion in Germany based on the game of Monopoly .
Mr.Hennequin's recipe for revival is to be more open about his company's operations, to be "locally relevant", and to improve the experience of visiting his 6.400 restaurants. McDonaId's is blamed for making people fat, exploiting workers, treating animals cruelly, polluting the environment and simply for being American.Mr.Hennequin says he wants to engage in a dialogue with the public to address these concerns.
He introduced "open door" visitor days in each country which became hugely popular.In Poland alone some 50,000 visitors came to McDonaId's through the visitors' program last year.The Nutrition Information Initiative launched last year, put detailed Sables on McDonaId's packaging with data on calories, protein, fat, carbohy drates and salt content, "the details are also printed on tray-liners.
|
What did Denis Hennequin do to increase the sales of McDonald in Europe?
|
[
"Make plans for the new term.",
"Attend additional courses.",
"Earn money for their education.",
"Prepaer for their graduate studies."
] |
Earn money for their education.
|
More students than ever before are taking a gap-year before going to university.It used to be called the "year off" between school and university.The gap-year phenomenon originated with the months left over to Oxbridge applicants between entrance exams in November and the start of the next academic year.
This year, 25,310 students who have accepted places in higher education institutions have put off their entry until next year, according to statistics on university entrance provided by University and College Admissions Serbice(UCAS).
That is a record 14.7% increase in the number of students taking a gap year. Tony Higgins from UCAS said that the statistics are good news for everyone in higher education. "Students who take a well-planned year out are more likely to be stisfied with, and complete, their chosen course. Students who take a gap year are often more mature and responsible," he said.
But not everyone is happy. Owain James, the president of the National Union of Students(NUS), argued that the increase is evidence of student hadship - young people are being forced into earning money before finishing their education. "New students are now aware that they are likely to leave university up to PS15,000 in debt. It is not surprising that more and More students are taking a gap year to earn money to support their study for the degree.NUS statistics show that over 40% of students are forced to work during term time and the figure increases to 90% during vacation periods,"he said.
|
What would most students do on their vacation according to NUS statistics?
|
[
"France",
"China",
"Canada",
"America"
] |
France
|
Although I am not in my childhood. I still prefer reading fairy tales. They often make me think of some special experiences and feelings. This summer I have received this kind of tales ,The Little Prince .It was
Published in 1940 .It is the world-famous fairy tale by the Frenc h author Antoine.
I ,the narrator of the story ,is a pilot . His plane has something wrong and lands in the Sahara . The little prince lives on a small planet ,and he grows a flower called ROSE there . One day they have a quarrel ,so the little prince runs away . On his all alone journey, he meets different kinds of people . From these people he gets a conclusion that grow-ups are strange . And with the help of the man he meets , he descends in the Sahara .
The book moved me a lot . It is not only a fairy tale for children and teenagers, but also for grow-ups .
,.
|
The writer of The Little Pri nce is from _ .
|
[
"boring",
"meaningless",
"tough",
"satisfying"
] |
satisfying
|
Zoe Chambers was a successful PR(Public Relations) consultant and life was going well--she had a great job, a beautiful life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. "The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through," she said. "After everything I'd done for the company, they dismiss me by text! I was so angry and I just didn't feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life."
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, then months later, she is still on the farm.
"The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay." said Zoe. "Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless."
Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. "It's a hard life, physically very tiring." she says. "In London I was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and on of Kathy's wonderful dinners."
Zoe says she has never bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing-watching a lamb being born is unbelievable. She says, "It's one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. I could never go back to city life now "
|
According to the author, Zoe lived a _ life as a PE consultant in London.
|
[
"Her husband's nervousness affected her",
"She didn't like the Browns.",
"She wanted to enjoy the music.",
"She didn't know anybody in the room"
] |
She didn't know anybody in the room
|
Standing alone at Browns party,Anna Mackintosh thought about her husband Edward,establishing him clearly in her mind's eye. He was a thin man,forty-one years of age,with fair hair that was often untidy.In the seventeen years they'd been married he had changed very little:he was still nervous with other people,and smiled in the same shy way,and his face was still almost boyish.
She believed she had failed him because he had wished for children and she had not been able to supply any.She had been annoyed for this fact over the years and in the end,quite some time ago now,she had consulted Dr.Abbat at Edward's request.
In the Browns'rich living room,its walls and ceilings giving out a bright light with a metallic surface of imitation gold,Anna listened to dance music coming from a tape recorder and continued to think about her husband.
In a moment he would be at the party too,since they had agreed to meet there,although by now it was three quarters of an hour later than the time he had planned to come.
The Browns were people he knew in a business way,and he had said he thought it wise that he and Anna should attend this gathering of theirs. She had never met them before,which made it more difficult for her,having to wait about,not knowing a soul in the room.
When she thought about it she felt herself unfairly treated,for although Edward was kind to her and always had been,it was far from thoughtful to be as late as this. Because of her nervous condition she felt afraid and had developed a sickness in her stomach.She looked at her watch and sighed.
|
Why did Anna stand alone at the party?
|
[
"for about two thousand years",
"since people began to use fire for cooking",
"for about two hundred years",
"since people used the heat from the sun"
] |
for about two thousand years
|
Long, long ago people made fires from lightening . But they had to keep the fire burning, for they couldn''t start it again if there was no lightening. Later, they found out hitting two pieces of stone together could make a spark . The spark could fire dry leaves. In this way they could make the fire again if it went out. Then people also learned to make a fire by rubbing . They made a hole in a piece of wood and put a smaller stick into the hole. They turned the stick again and again. After a few minutes they got a fire.
Years went by, and people learned other ways to make a fire. Sometimes they used the heat from the sun. They held a piece of glasses in the right way and made a piece of paper on fire.
About two centuries ago, people began to make matches. Matches brought people a quick and easy way to make fires. Today matches are still being used, but people have more new ways to make fire. One of them is to use an electric fire starter. Of course an electric fire starter is much more expensive than a box of matches. But it is very useful.
|
Matches have been used _ .
|
[
"to celebrate the 2010 Shanghai World Expo",
"to support their work",
"to write Expo-related stories in English for them",
"to win a prize"
] |
to write Expo-related stories in English for them
|
We Are One--'Expo Through My Eyes'
Sharing increases your happiness. To celebrate the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, China Daily invites you to share what you've seen, heard and experienced at the 6-month international event or Expo-related stories in ENGLISH. Whether you are an Expo volunteer, a journalist, or a tourist, we'd like you to share with us your expo experience, as viewed through your eyes. So if you like, please join us today in sharing the joy!
Eligibility : Everyone
Topic: 2010 Shanghai World Expo
Language: ENGLISH Only
Length: No more than 1,000 words
Content: Stories accompanied by photos are encouraged.
Duration: May 1, 2010--October 31, 2010
How to _ your stories: Send your stories and photos to [email protected]
Why join us: In addition to(......) the satisfaction of supporting our work.
- Your stories will come out on China Daily's website;
- You will go in a lucky draw to win a prize.
|
China Daily invites us _ .
|
[
"Davey was a good ballplayer after the Wiffle ball came into existence",
"David Mullaney wanted to run the family business on his own",
"Mullaney's family made a big fortune through the production of Wiffle balls",
"Mullaney's business was nearly bought out but they worked hard to keep it"
] |
Mullaney's business was nearly bought out but they worked hard to keep it
|
Davey wanted to play baseball. But fifty years ago, in his small town, he couldn't find enough players for two full teams or an empty lot big enough for a field. And when he played ball in his back yard, he just broke windows and got into trouble. So Davey began playing with a plastic golf ball and a broom handle for a bat.
When his dad, David Mullaney, a former semi-pro baseball pitcher , realized his son was hurting his arm trying to throw curves with the little plastic ball, he decided to find a better solution. Mullaney got a bunch of hollow plastic _ from a local factory, sat down at his kitchen table and began cutting different size holes in the balls with a razor knife. He thought maybe the holes would alter the ball's flight and help his son throw curves and sliders without hurting his arm.
All the balls failed--except the one with the eight oblong holes cut into one of the hemispheres. This ball curved naturally and sharply without a violent snap of the wrist. In fact, Davey was now striking out so many batters; he called his new ball a "wiffle ball". A year later, Mullaney borrowed $20,000 from family and friends and started producing Wiffle Balls in his little suburban town of Shelton, Connecticut.
"I didn't want investors." He said, "I wanted to control my own company." This was the beginning of one of the hottest fads of the fifties and a perennial best seller well known all around the world. Since then millions of boys and girls have enjoyed countless hours of safe, wholesome fun playing with a Wiffle ball and bat. Esquire Magazine has even called the Wiffle Ball "a national treasure". By producing a high quality product at an affordable price, three generations of Mullany's have enjoyed the satisfaction and benefits of running a successful and profitable family business.
Over the years, they've had plenty of offers to buy them out, but they're still working out of a small factory in Shelton, making a new Wiffle Ball every couple of seconds. Creativity and persistence are two of the important sources for wealth. If he gave up his attempts at trying new things, Mullany would not have invented the wiffle ball, nor would he have made such a big fortune.
|
All the following are true EXCEPT _ .
|
[
"LCA is used to study the impact on a product.",
"LCA is one of the exhibitions at this year's fair.",
"LCA can help manufacturing industries decrease carbon release a lot.",
"LCA advises industrial customers to focus on the initial investment."
] |
LCA can help manufacturing industries decrease carbon release a lot.
|
"Developed and developing nations can learn from each other seeking a low-carbon economy. In terms of energy saving and green economy, China doesn't _ developed nations," said Zhou Changyi, director of the energy saving department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
"While we can learn many aspects from developed nations, they also should learn something from us, such as water conservation," Zhou said in a speech during the new Path of China's Industrialization forum at the ongoing China International Industry Fair.
He said industrialized nations and China are dealing with different issues to fight climate change. The United Kingdom, for example, is concerned about transport, buildings and new energy in reducing carbon emissions. For China, the most urgent task is how to realize new type of industrialization and avoid mistakes that other countries made when they industrialized.
Swiss power and automation technology group ABB called for a stronger focus on product life-cycle assessment, or LCA, which is used to study the environmental impact of a product from the research and manufacturing stage through its usage and recycling.
Tobias Becker, head of ABB' s process automation division for North Asia and China, said LCA is an effective tool in helping manufacturing industries to reduce carbon emissions.
LCA shows that industrial customers should focus on a product's environmental impact throughout its life-cycle instead of on its initial investment.
Richard Hausmann, North East Asia CEO of Siemens, said, "The color of future industrialization is green. "
The Germany company recently announces that it wants to receive orders worth more than 6 billion Euros ( US 8. 8 billion) for intelligent power networks, Smart Grid, over the next five years. Siemens has set a 20 percent market share target for the global smart grid business.
A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology, advanced sensors specialized computers that save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability. The United States and China are considered the two biggest markets for smart grid.
|
What do we know about LCA from the text?
|
[
"Because she was lazy.",
"Because she didn't like learning flying skills.",
"Because she thought she could go to hell by doing this.",
"Because she thought she didn't have to learn flying skills."
] |
Because she thought she could go to hell by doing this.
|
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful bird, which was very curious about hell. When she was little, her mother always told her that if she didn't _ the flying skills, she would go to hell. She was so curious about hell that she always asked others what hell looked like, but no one was sure, because none of them had ever been there. Some said hell was a place full of water, and others told her that hell was full of burning fire. However, the bird knew they were lying. She wanted to find out what hell was.
When other birds were learning flying skills, she always hid herself and watched them. She thought in this way she could go to hell and see what hell looked like. However, she spent so little time learning flying skills that one day she was caught by a little boy. The little boy gave her to his grandpa in the countryside as a gift. The old man liked her very much. He made a delicate cage and put her in it. The bird was very worried because she thought she couldn't find out what hell was like staying in this small cage. However, she couldn't escape. Day after day, she just stayed in the cage, watching other birds flying. She lost her freedom and she became sadder and sadder. At last, she became ill. The old man finally opened the cage, but she was too weak to fly. Lying on the ground, she thought of the question that she ever asked all the time.
"What does hell look like?"
"Hell is a small well-decorated cage." Before she closed her eyes forever, she finally answered that question herself.
|
Why did the bird hide herself when other birds were learning flying skills?
|
[
"in a year",
"about half a century later",
"in the year 2050",
"about a century later"
] |
about a century later
|
We often think of future. We often wonder what the world would be like in a hundred years'time.
Think of space,perhaps a permanent station on the moon will have been set up. Perhaps people will be able to visit the moon as tourists. Cheap rockets for space travel will have been developed,permitting long journeys throughout the solar system . When that time comes,people will be taking holidays in space and visiting other planets. Great progress will have been made in medicine,too. Perhaps a cure will have been discovered for the most terrible of all diseases--cancer. Pollution is a problem we must solve. In a hundred years'time it will have been controlled.
All the world will have been developed -- even Antarctica. There will be large cities in Antarctica. We already have supersonic flight,but in a hundred years'time we will have supersonic land travel as well.
We will have used up most of earth's land to build our cities, so floating cities will have been built. The Japanese already have plans for cities of this kind. And there will be cities under the sea. The first of these will have been completed.
|
Man will also have supersonic land travel _ .
|
[
"serious",
"normal",
"unlucky",
"uncomfortable"
] |
normal
|
This sense of total discomfort that you're both feeling is pretty normal. And I don't say that to in any way reduce your problems. I just don't want you to think that you're the one person in the world who's stuck with a neurotic mom. Think about it: for most of the past 14 years, you have depended on your mother for every little thing you've ever needed. Now suddenly you're putting up all sorts of boundaries because you're growing out of being that little kid who needed her for everything, and it's hurting her feelings. What we need here is a little understanding and some new rules to take into account the changes you're going through. You can't just stop sharing things with your mom. It's mean.
So why not make a point of telling her some things about what's going on with you every day? She wants to feel that she's still a part of your life. And after consistently doing this for about a month, why don't you tell her where you'd like a little privacy -- maybe there are certain things you don't want her to always ask about? Promise her that whenever there's an update on those topics, you will completely let her know. And follow up on it!
The bottom line is that you guys need to build a new relationship based on the young woman. The only way to do this is to work through some really uncomfortable moments and big fights and then come up with a solution, which is what you're doing now. So don't worry -- it's all going to be okay. But it will take some work, honesty and communication to get there.
Having a good relationship with your mom is a really important thing. She's the one person who will always be on your side.
|
In the writer's opinion, the problems a guy may face are _ .
|
[
"20 dollars",
"40 dollars",
"60 dollars",
"80 dollars"
] |
60 dollars
|
Blue Ocean Aquarium is a great place for families to take a holiday. Children love to see the sea animals and watch films about sharks in it.
Last Saturday morning, Mr Jackson took his wife and two little sons to the aquarium. At the ticket office, he asked, "How much shall I pay to get in?" The woman at the ticket office answered, "The price is 20 dollars for each adult or any kid older than five. We let kids in free if they are five or younger. How old are your kids?" Mr Jackson said, "The older one is six and the younger one is three. I think I must buy three tickets. " The woman was surprised. She said, "Sir, don't you want to save 20 dollars? If you tell me your older son is five, I won't know the difference. " Mr Jackson said with a smile, "Yes, that sounds right, but my kids will know the difference. "
From Mr Jackson' s story, we know _ is very important in the modern society . We should tell the truth to the people around us, especially to the kids.
|
Mr Jackson spend _ on their tickets to the aquarium at last.
|
[
"7",
"9",
"10",
"11"
] |
11
|
Hello, my first name is Jenny and my family name is Brown. I am a girl. I am 11. My telephone number is 025-7658.
I have two friends. One is a boy. His name is Mike Green. He is 10. His telephone number is 636-7654. Linda Smith is my friend, too. She is 9. Her telephone number is 356-7890.
,.
|
Jenny is _ .
|
[
"He thinks it puzzling",
"He likes it",
"He is interested in it",
"He doesn't accept it as part of his life"
] |
He likes it
|
Now and again I have had horrible dreams, but not enough of them to make me lose my delight in dreams. To begin with. I like the idea of dreaming, of going to bed and lying still and then, by some queer magic, wandering into another kind of existence. As a child, I could never understand why grown-ups took dreaming so calmly when they could make such a fuss about any holiday, this still puzzles me. I am puzzled by people who say they never dream and appear to have no interest in the subject. It is much more astonishing than it would be if they said they never went out for a walk. Most people do not seem to accept dreaming as part of their lives. They appear to see it as an irritating little habit, like sneezing or yawning I can never understand this. My dream life does not seem as important as my waking life because there is far less of it, but to me it is important.
|
What is the author's attitude toward dreaming?
|
[
"felt familiar with the job",
"felt much puzzled",
"wanted to learn a foreign language",
"decided to do the same work"
] |
felt much puzzled
|
My father never wanted his children to know what he did for a living.Dad worked in Plant C.Lying beside lake Erie, it saw him in at sunrise and out at nightfall.Sometimes my mother would take my siblings and me to the public beach in our hometown of Ashtabula.she'd gather us round.and point to the smokestacks, coughing clouds into the sky.
"Wave to daddy!" she'd shout. Four little hands would shoot into the air. I never knew what Dad did in Plant C, but during 34 years of hard work, he had surgery on his shoulder and hand. At 48, he had his first heart attack. He retired in 1993, right after the last kid graduated from college.But the damage was done.A few years later, the next heart attack killed him.
I saw my dad in Plant C only once, when l took dinner to him. That night, I looked at my father, covered in sweat and coal, and for the first time I knew why he was so often angry for no reason
Recently my father' s friend, Toby Workman, walked me there.I knew my father never wanted me to see it.At every station, he described the job and the danger.It was like listening to a foreign language.I walked past many DANGER signs.Toby put his hand on my shoulder. "Look," he said, "you need to understand something.Your dad was a maintenance mechanic.He worked the most dangerous job.If something broke, he fixed it. "
A few days later, my daughter graduated from college.I gave her the hard hat Toby handed to me as I left, and this note: " Whenever you feel something difficult, put this on, Look in the mirror, and remember your roots. "
|
When Toby Workman described the author' s father' s job, the author _ .
|
[
"had a good sleep",
"had no seat",
"didn't have a good rest",
"always closed his eyes"
] |
didn't have a good rest
|
A driver stopped his car on a street side to have a rest. As he lay down in the seat and closed his eyes, a person came up and knocked at the window to ask the time. The driver opened his eyes and looked at his watch: "It's 8:05," he said. Then he went to sleep again. But soon he was waken up again because a second person was knocking at the window. "Sir, do you know the time?" he asked. The driver looked at his watch again, and told him it was half past eight. In this way, the driver thought he could not have a good rest, so he wrote a short note and stuck it on the window for all to see. It said, "I don't know the time." Again, he lay down in the seat for his sleep. A few minutes later, a third person came and began to knock at the window, "Hey, sir," he said. "It's a quarter to nine."
,.
|
The driver _ in his car.
|
[
"The young man couldn't live with his family.",
"There were many white ribbons on the apple tree.",
"He was afraid.",
"The young man was very sad."
] |
There were many white ribbons on the apple tree.
|
John once told me a story about his friend, Michael. Michael happened to be on a train sitting next to a young man who seemed worried. Finally the young man told the friend that he was a convict returning home from a prison far away. What he did had brought shame on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written to him. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel and too busy to write.
When he was set free he had written to tell them he wanted to go home. To make matters easy for them, however, he had asked them to put up a signal for him when the train passed their little farm. If the family had forgiven him, they were to put up a white ribbon in the big apple tree near the railway. If they didn't want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go far away.
As the train neared his hometown his _ became so great that he was afraid to look out of the window. He asked Michael to watch for the big apple tree. They changed seats. In a minute, Michael put his hand on the young convict's shoulder, "There it is," His eyes was filled with sudden tears. "It's all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons."
|
Why did Michael cry at the end of the story?
|
[
"by bike",
"by train",
"by air",
"by bus"
] |
by train
|
Mrs Green lives in a small village . Her husband is dead ,but she has one son .His name is Jack . He is twenty-one .He worked in the shop in the village and lived with his mother , but then he found a job in a faraway town named Green Sea .He went and lived there .Mrs Green was not happy about it .
Last Sunday ,Mrs Green was angry .She got on a train and went to her son's house in Green Sea . Then she said to him,"Jack ,why do you never telephone me ?"
Jack laughed , "But ,mother ,you don't have a telephone ."
"No,"she answered, "I haven't , but you have one !"
|
Last Sunday ,Mrs Green went to Green Sea _ .
|
[
"drinking coffee has some risk",
"drinking coffee is perfectly healthy",
"coffee drinkers always live longer",
"coffee does more harm to health than cigarettes"
] |
drinking coffee has some risk
|
Your morning cup of coffee may start to taste even better after a major government study found that frequent coffee drinkers have a lower risk of dying from a variety of diseases, compared with people who drink little or no coffee.
The report, published online in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, analyzed the coffee-drinking habits of more thatn 400,000 men and women from 50 to 71 years old, making it the largest-ever study of the relationship between coffee consumption and health.
Previous studies have offered conflicting results on the benefits, or harm associated with regular coffee consumption. While coffee contains caffeine, which may temporarily increase heart rate and blood pressure in some people, coffee also contains hundreds of unique compounds that may do good to health. Further confusing much of the research into coffee is the fact that many coffee drinkers are also smokers, and it has been difficult to untangle the health effects of coffee and cigarettes.
To learn more, researchers from the National Institutes of Health analyzed diet and health information collected from questionnaires filled out by 229,119 men and 173,141 women, who were members of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) between 1995 and 1996. They were followed until 2008, by which point 52,000 had died.
As expected, the researchers found that the regular coffee drinkers in the group were also more likely to be smokers. They are more red meat and fewer fruits and vegetables, exercised less and drank more alcohol -- all behaviors associated with poor health.
But once the researchers were able to separate the risks, the data showed that the more coffee a person consumed, the less likely he or she was to die from a number of health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, infections and even injuries and accidents.
|
According to the passage, previous studies have shown that _ .
|
[
"they are working on it carelessly and hurriedly",
"they attempt to get only part of the information memorized",
"they spend too much time doing it without understanding",
"they fail to take in the information after finishing it"
] |
they fail to take in the information after finishing it
|
After students come home from a tiring day at school, they tend to worry a lot about their homework.
Whether students are working on English or chemistry homework, they are simply working on the assignment in order to get it done, attempting to memorize the concepts for the time being and do not absorb any of the information afterward. Students are wasting their time on insignificant assignments rather than effectively using that time to achieve other accomplishments. According to www.dailymail.com, many parents are concerned that homework is being assigned rather than being used to integrate what teachers are covering in the classroom. In their eyes, if less homework is assigned, students would have much less stress and could focus more on their passions and hobbies.
Homework gets in the way of participating in community service events as well as opportunities for getting a job or being a part of an extra-curricular activity. These responsibilities are important for teenagers to take on because they prepare the teenagers for the "real world." Without the proper exposure to work that is not school related, students will find themselves lost after they graduate. If homework were no longer given, students would have a lot more time to mature in other fields rather than being educated only on academics.
In spite of the fact that teachers want students to do better on tests and absorb the material that they are teaching, homework is not accomplishing its purpose. Because school is becoming increasingly more competitive and challenging, homework is becoming a setback rather than extra practice. Its removal would benefit the well being of teenagers as well as encourage them to get out in the "real world" and discover themselves instead of staring at a pile of assignments.
|
Students are wasting their time on insignificant homework because
|
[
"our friendships are mainly affected by our nurture",
"we can move when children have made a lot of friends",
"the impact of moves will disappear when one reaches adulthood",
"there is some way to minimize the impact of moves during childhood on children"
] |
there is some way to minimize the impact of moves during childhood on children
|
Many women write to me perplexed about why they can't form close friendships. They try new approaches, put themselves in all the right places, see therapists, and read relevant self-help books. They consider themselves interesting, loyal, kind and friend-worthy people. But for reasons unknown to them, they have a tough time forming intimate relationships. Many admit to not having even one close friend.
A recent study published in the
offers some clues as to how both nature (personality) and nurture (experience) impact our friendships. Researchers at the University of Virginia and University of Toronto, Mississauga studied more than 7,000 American adults between the ages of 20 and 75 over a period of ten years, looking at the number of times these adults moved during childhood. Their study, like prior ones, showed a link between residential mobility and adult well-being: The more times participants moved as children , the poorer the quality of their adult social relationships.
But digging deeper, the researchers found that personality--specifically being introverted or extroverted -- could either intensify of buffer the effect of moving to a new town or neighborhood during childhood. The negative impact of more moves during childhood was far greater for introverts compared to extroverts.
"Moving a lot makes it difficult for people to maintain long-term close relationships," stated Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, the first author of the study, in a press release from the American Psychological Association, "This might not be a serious problem for outgoing people who can make friends quickly and easily. Less outgoing people have a harder time making new friends."
Families often have to relocate -- across town, across the country, or across the globe. Yet, in many cases, their kids and young adolescents haven't yet built up a bank of friendships. So the conventional wisdom is to try to minimize moves for the sake of your child, whenever possible , and to move at the end of the academic year.
|
We can infer from the passage that _ .
|
[
"was sent to Europe during the war",
"worked as a surgeon during the war",
"was satisfied with his career as a surgeon.",
"decided to give up medicine for faith"
] |
was satisfied with his career as a surgeon.
|
As a boy,Tim was much influenced by books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic of a local doctor where he was supposed to be helping to wrap up medicine bottles,but was actually trying to listen to the conversations taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.
During the war Tim served in the Navy as a surgeon ."That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it ."In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus,while he was able to tell them what to do, he could feel he was serving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside,working under an old doctor who was popular in the area,but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the younger man many opportunities to go on working as a life -saver.
|
From the passage we can infer that Tim_.
|
[
"To work closely with the author.",
"To do everything possible for the school.",
"To move in easily when the author returns.",
"To work with the author for a few days and make a future plan."
] |
To work with the author for a few days and make a future plan.
|
Because I will be away for a few days after Spring Break, I am writing this during the actual holiday, when I can use time to catch up on a number of purely administrative items.
First of all, you should have received the letter I sent out on April 2 advising of the transition arrangements to new leadership at ISM (International School of Moscow). In that letter I pointed out that Dr. Paul Malone will be arriving in Moscow on Monday, May 4th, and that I will work with him during that week to ensure smooth transition. My last day at ISM will be Friday, May 8th.
Several people have asked me why I required Dr. Malone to come early. There are many problems facing ISM at the moment which have major implications for the future, and it makes sense for the new director to come aboard before the end of the school year. This will give him the chance to play a major role in the planning process for 2014--2015 and beyond. The fact that Paul Malone is able to arrive in early May is good for the school. I have been working closely with him, and will do everything possible to see that he can move in easily when I leave. From here I will go to Hong Kong for a couple of weeks to spend time in my new situation, and then I will return to the United States for a few weeks' vacation.
In the most recent edition of the Compass(a kind of paper of ISM), I wrote briefly what I consider to be the major challenge for ISM in the future. I am sure that the new leadership of the school will be able to face those challenges in an active manner, which will ensure a strong future for the school. I shall certainly watch the progress of the school with interest. The results of the school for the past few years have been quite outstanding, and I fully expect that level of performance to continue.
|
Why should Dr. Malone come to ISM early?
|
[
"the writer",
"the man",
"the pocket",
"the boyhood"
] |
the man
|
The tall man was sitting in the chair. He was reading a book. When I talked to him, I found that from boyhood , he had the habit of carrying a little book in his pocket. He often read every minute when he was not doing anything else. He found a book very useful during the time of waiting, such as waiting for meals, buses, doctors, telephone calls, plays to begin or something to happen.
That was how he found his fifteen minutes a day for reading.
That was how he read his twenty books a year --one thousand in his lifetime.
|
The habit of carrying a book was the habit of _ .
|
[
"People across the world get married in different ways and for different reasons.",
"Every culture had its own ways of bringing good luck to the young couple.",
"A truly good marriage is something that grows with care.",
"In many countries, marriage is a practical matter."
] |
People across the world get married in different ways and for different reasons.
|
When you grow up, could you imagine your parents choosing your husband or wife for you? Besides, can you imagine not setting eyes on him or her until your wedding day? This situation is common in India, the Middle East and many parts of Africa. Marriage customs around the world often differ from our own. We don't realize that people in other places often get married in very different ways--and with different motives.
In many countries, marriage is a practical matter. A marriage provides a safe and stable home for the husband and wife. It also joins two families, which benefits the couple's parents and makes them happy. Marriage also brings children, making sure the couple will be taken care of in old age. Because marriage is important for the whole family, some cultures don't let young people choose whom to marry.
Just as there are many different reasons for marriage, there are also many different wedding _ . Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the happy couple. In a typical Western wedding, the bride seeks good luck by wearing "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue." Something old represents the past. Something new represents success in the future. Something borrowed reminds the bride she can get help from her friends and family. And something blue reminds her to be true to her husband.
In Poland, one wedding tradition is not only lucky, but also very practical. The wedding guests pin money to the bride's dress while she is dancing. The money is meant to bring luck and to help the young couple build their new life. In Bermuda, the young couple plant a tree in the yard of their new home. Once they move in, they take good care of the tree and make it grow. The planting of the tree is a good metaphor for marriage. A truly good marriage is something that grows with care.
|
What can be the subject of this passage?
|
[
"They helped the driver clean up the road.",
"They helped the drivers to go on with their journey.",
"They tried to stop the people from arguing.",
"They would find out who should be responsible for the accident."
] |
They helped the drivers to go on with their journey.
|
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong.A day may begin well enough,but suddenly everything seems to get out of control.It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen.Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time.The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning.While you are on the phone,the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table,destroying your half-prepared meal.You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby.Meanwhile,the meal gets burnt.As if this were not enough to bring you to tears,your husband arrives,unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can go wrong on a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue.The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner.She suddenly got into a panic and stopped her car.This made the driver following her stop suddenly.His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake.As she was thrown forward,the cake went right through the window and landed on the road.Seeing a cake flying through the air,a truck-driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden.The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck on the road.This led to yet another angry argument.Meanwhile,the traffic piled up behind.It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again.In the meanwhile,the truck-driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles.Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident,for they were happily having what was left of the cake.It was just one of those days!
|
What did the police do after the accident?
|
[
"They make green trips by riding bikes or walking dogs.",
"They go to visit their parents or grandparents together.",
"They stay at home making delicious food for lovers.",
"They spend money creating romantic environment."
] |
They spend money creating romantic environment.
|
Valentine's Day, for many couples, means cards, flowers, and candlelight dinners. For most couples it also means withdrawing money at the ATM to express their love. Fortunately, there are ways to save money by saving energy -- even during the date -- so you can spend the money you save on the things that really matter to your sweetheart. Here are five easy tips for those couples out there who want to save energy and save money:
A fireplace is always a perfect background to set up holiday decorations because of the space it provides, in addition to the grand role it plays in the house as being an important part of each room. If you plan on spending your Valentine's Day near the fireplace, be sure to prevent the heat loss and make sure of the chimney efficiency. If you never use your fireplace, plug and seal the chimney flue.
If you plan on having a nice, romantic dinner at home and want to set the mood with proper lighting, use energy efficient light bulbs that save you money, and look for bulbs that are lower in lumens. Lumens tell you the brightness of the bulb. The lower the lumens, the weaker the light.
For those who plan to cook that romantic dinner, there are some simple energy efficient ways you can prepare that meal. For example, did you know that if you're baking in a china or glass dish, you can typically set your oven for 25 degrees less than the recipe calls for? Learn more about saving energy while cooking.
For those couples who would like to have a movie night, plug your TV and DVD into an electronic power strip to save money on your gas of the car. By plugging in electronic devices into a power strip and turning it off when not in use, you can save up to $100 per year.
If you plan on going on a romantic "escape" from your house by car, be sure to check out these tips to reduce fuel consumption and costs.
|
How do most people spend their Valentine's Day according to the passage?
|
[
"He was laughed at by other boys",
"Amery turned out to be in the same grade",
"He pushed Amery hard and hurt him",
"He played a joke on an outstanding athlete"
] |
He played a joke on an outstanding athlete
|
I first went to Harrow in the summer term.The school had the biggest swimming pool I had ever seen.It was a good joke to come up behind a naked boy, and push him out the pool. I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or 1ess.
0ne day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel on the side of the poo1.He was no bigger than 1 was,so I thought him _ .Coming secretly behind,I pushed him in,holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet.1 was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water, and being of great strength making its way by face strokes to the shore.I fled,but didn't succeed.He overtook me,pulled me hard,and threw me into the deepest part of the poo1.I soon climbed out on the other side,and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys."Do you know what you have done? " They said."It's Amery:heis in Grade Six.He is champion at gym.he has won his football award."
1 was frightened and felt ashamed.How could I tell his position when he was wrapped in a bath towel and so small.He didn't seem pleased at all.so I added in a most brilliant word."My father.who is a great man.is also small."At this be laughed,and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future,expressed all was over.
|
The writer felt "ashamed" because _ .
|
[
"show her gratitude to her customers",
"collect birthday presents for the girl",
"raise money for people with illnesses",
"celebrate the poor girl's last birthday"
] |
collect birthday presents for the girl
|
"Josie Metz's father won't live long enough to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day.But thanks to photographer Lindsey Villatoro,the 11-year-old girl was able to experience what it might be like anyway.
Her father, Jim,62,had already been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when he and his wife.Grace,hired Villatoro--a photographer.Two years ago,Villatoro began offering photography sessions for people with serious illnesses to document their journeys and was hired by the Metz family."I try to really showcase the person for who they are and not the illness,"she told The Huffington Post during a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon.
Villatoro went to Jim and Grace's home for a shoot and offered to do one with their young daughter,Josie.After she left,she posted about the family on her website to get gift donations for the girl to help make her last birthday with her father memorable.But she decided to take a step further as a surprise and dreamed up the idea of a wedding for the girl--complete with,flowers,desserts,a promise ring and a dress from L.A.Fashion Week--so that her father could walk her down the aisle."
For today,appreciate those you love.Give them lots of hugs and be grateful they are in your life.You never know what can happen.Say more"I Love Yous"and show more appreciation for all of your friends and family.Appreciate the blessings you have.I'm going to hug my husband Rich more today,call my Dad,call my friend in NC,and give lots of kitty hugs to my pets.Hugs to all of you--I appreciate you all so much and am grateful to have you in my life every single Day!
|
Villatoro posted about the family on her website to _ .
|
[
"Only after class.",
"Only at home.",
"Only when they are driving.",
"Before class, after class and at lunch."
] |
Before class, after class and at lunch.
|
Every student in America likes popular music. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music as they drive on the street.
Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, the life of American people. Most of the radio programmes are music.
Pop music singers make much money. Once the popular singer is famous all over the country, young people buy his or her tapes . Some of the money from these tapes comes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her.
There are other kinds of music. They are important to Americans. One is folk music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is western or country music. This kind of songs started by cowboys watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl we call western or country music.
|
When do students in America listen to pop music?
|
[
"She has done the research by herself.",
"Her research was based on two studies.",
"Her research lasted about three years.",
"People should eat all kinds of nuts every day."
] |
Her research was based on two studies.
|
Eat nuts, live longer. Researchers have found that those who eat a handful of peanuts every day significantly decrease their risk of dying from all causes compared to those who do not eat nuts. A new study concludes that all types of nuts seem to be protective.
Researcher Ying Bao is with the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard University Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. She and her colleagues looked at the impact of nut consumption by analyzing two huge studies that began in 1980 - the Nurses' Health Study, which tracks the
of more than 76,000 women, and 42,000 men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Among the questions asked at the beginning of the studies was, 'how frequently do you eat nuts?' The information was updated every two to four years. Bao says the participants were followed for three decades.
"What we observed is that people who eat more nuts are less likely to die over the next 30 years," said Bao. "So, for example, if a person eat(s) nuts once per day, that person has a 20 percent lower risk of dying."
Bao says eating a handful of nuts five or more times per week was associated with a 29 percent reduced risk of dying from heart disease and an 11 percent lower risk of cancer death. A serving size is 28 grams.
Nuts contain nutrients, including high quality proteins, vitamins and minerals, all of which have anti-cancer effects and may help protect the heart.
Bao says researchers are planning studies to find out how nuts are beneficial to human health.
The study on the health benefits of nuts was funded by the International Tree Nut Council Research and Education Foundation.
|
About Bao's research, which statement is true?
|
[
"Cut the top and bottom off so that you have a rectangular box. Cut the box at the seam so that you have a large sheet.",
"Cut the top and bottom off so that you have a rectangular box. Cut the top at the seam so that you have a large sheet."
] |
Cut the top and bottom off so that you have a rectangular box. Cut the box at the seam so that you have a large sheet.
|
To cut a milk carton to make it into a wallet.
|
Which solution is correct?
|
[
"dangerous",
"safe",
"healthy",
"harmful"
] |
dangerous
|
Walking certainly isn't the safe activity it was when many of us were school children. There are the normal safety risks such as speeding vehicles and errant(,)bicycles. Here are a few tips for dads of children who are early morning and late afternoon pedestrians.
Know the routes your children take. Develop a safe walking route to school and insist that your children follow it. Avoid having them cross busy streets except where there is a signal or a crossing guard. If your child does not make it to school or home and if you have a standard route, it will be easier to track them down.
Have your children walk with others. This may seem a simple rule, but it is one that is often _ . A boy or a girl alone is a much easier target for a predator . Make sure the children walk in a group. And besides, it is a lot more fun for them.
Follow generally smart pedestrian rules. Remind them to use sidewalks where possible. If there are no sidewalks, walk on the side of the road as far to the right as possible. Where possible, walk on the side of the road facing oncoming traffic so they can see anypotential risks before they get to them.
|
Walking certainly is the _ activity it was when many of us were school children.
|
[
"Swine flu is spreading quickly globally.",
"Swine flu is confirmed in New York City.",
"How does swine flu spread?",
"Many people died of swine flu in Mexico."
] |
Swine flu is confirmed in New York City.
|
New York City was dealing with a growing public health threat Sunday after tests confirmed that eight students at a private Catholic high school had contracted the same strain( type ) of the swine flu that has ravaged Mexico. Some of the school's students had visited Cancun on a spring break trip two weeks ago.
Officials reported 68 U.S. cases of swine flu in five states so far, with the latest in Ohio and New York. Unlike in Mexico, cases in the United State have been mild and U.S. health authorities can't yet explain why.
In New York City, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that there were 45 cases, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
About 100 students at St. Francis Preparatory School complained of flu-like symptoms; further tests will determine how many of those cases are swine flu. St. Francis is the largest private Catholic high school in the nation, with 2,700 students. The school canceled classes on Monday and Tuesday in response to the outbreak.
Bloomberg stressed that the New York cases were mild and many are recovering, but said that some family members of students also had flu symptoms.
In Mexico, health officials say a strain of swine flu has killed up to 160 people and sickened over 2,000. New York officials said the flu strain discovered in the patients here is the same strain as in Mexico, though all the New York cases are mild.
Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A flu viruses. Human cases are uncommon but can occur in people who are around pigs. It also can be spread from person to person. Symptoms include a high fever, body aches, coughing, sore throat and respiratory congestion .
|
Which is the main idea of the article?
|
[
"British colonialism.",
"The wide use of English.",
"English around the world.",
"The history of the English language."
] |
English around the world.
|
Although the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have English as an official language, the United States does not have an official language. This is why it's possible to become a US citizen without speaking English. Canada also has French as an official language, though it is mostly spoken in the province of Quebec. Because many of the English speakers who originally lived in Canada came from the US, there is little difference in American and Canadian English. Similarly, Australian English and New Zealand English have few differences, except Australia was originally settled as a penal colony and New Zealand was not. New Zealanders were more attached to the Received Pronunciation of the upper class in England, so their dialect is considered closer to British English.
British colonialism has spread English all over the world, and it is still popular in South Africa, India, and Singapore, among other nations. In South Africa, English became an official language, along with Afrikaans and 9 African languages, in the 1996 constitution. However, only 3% of the country's 30 million people are native English speakers. Twenty percent are descendants of Dutch farmers who speak Afrikaans, and the rest are native Africans.
India became independent from Britain in 1947. However, today English and Hindi are the official languages. Indian English is characterized by treating mass nouns as count nouns, frequent use of the "isn't it?" tag, use of more compounds, and a different use of prepositions. In Singapore, Chinese, Malay and Indian languages all influence the form of English spoken. Everyone is taught English in the school system, but there are a few differences from British English as well. Mass nouns are treated as count nouns, "use to" means usually, and no articles are used before occupations.
|
What is the text mainly about?
|
[
"the author succeeded at the third attempt",
"the author managed to help the boys",
"the author suffered a heart attack",
"the author spaced no efforts to help"
] |
the author spaced no efforts to help
|
Dear Guys,
I'd like to talk to you about the two minutes of total embarrassments you put me through last night. You a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building, I, a beautiful looking young woman, was walking by with my groceries. That's when your ball came flying over the fence and landed at my feet. One of you came to me, and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you.
Fighting the urge to flee screaming down the street, I agreed. And I put my bags down, picked up the ball and with eyes half shut, threw it as hard as I could. It hit the middle of the fence and bounced right back to me.
I picked up the ball again and threw the ball upward with all my strength. The ball once again hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me. This is the point where I start to blame you. Wouldn't it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and collected the ball then? I was clearly struggling. And yet you all just stood there, staring.
Seeing that you weren't going to get the ball yourselves, I become desperate. But I picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a smile while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me like I was a two-year-old holding a beech ball for the first time.
"Throw it granny-style!" one of you said. "Just back up a little end throw it hard!" another offered And, most embarrassing of all, "You can do it!" I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the embarrassment. However, I accepted your advice, took a deep breath, and let it fly. It hid the edge of the -fence and bounced back to me.
I hoped that I would have a heart attack and pass out, just so I'd be put out of my misery. Alas, the heart attack didn't happen. Finally, I had to pick up the ball, walked close to the fence, and said angrily, "Please just come top get it." And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that moment I would never throw anything over again, except scornful glances at people who play sports.
Sincerely yours,
Jen Cordery
|
According to the text _ .
|
[
"necessary for the buyer to tap the watermelon",
"foolish of the buyers to buy watermelon without tapping it",
"funny that the buyers will tap the watermelons when buying them",
"wise of the elderly gentleman to tap watermelons before buy them"
] |
funny that the buyers will tap the watermelons when buying them
|
I had once helped a friend of mine run a watermelon stall. I noticed something interesting. Almost every buyer would lift the melon up to their ear,smartly tap it, apparently trying to listen to something. I wondered what they expected to hear.
Finally I could no longer hold back my curiosity and made bold to ask a customer--an elderly gentleman--about this. Hearing my question,he roared with laughter. Then he replied in a selfmocking tone."Young lady,I have been doing this for more than fifty years. All I know is that everybody would stare at you as if you were a fool if you just pick up the melon and leave!"
Not long after that,my watermelon stall friend unexpectedly sent me an invitation for her wedding,which really surprised me. I asked her, "How come you are seized by a sudden desire to get married? I don't remember ever hearing you mention that yon've got a boyfriend." She answered while counting money,"Everyone has to get married anyway,so it is better to get married sooner than later."
I could think of no word to refute her. It seems that everybody is living for everybody else and has forgotten the need of their own heart. It may be safe and save a lot of worries by following others' suit in doing things. The use of We or Us will give one a steady and sure sense of pride. But using the pronoun "I" would often give one a guilty conscience.
I find all these things somewhat funny. We have got used to taking cue from others and follow their suit. In turn,we also take it for granted that we should judge the right and wrong of others by our own standard. As a matter of fact,this massive practice is still wrong though we all follow others' suit like this, but we feel at ease and, _ simply because this is the way of us, and so we can have an easy conscience because this has been practiced by so many people.
|
The writer probably feels that it is _ .
|
[
"350,000 years.",
"350 years.",
"66 years.",
"44 years."
] |
66 years.
|
Crossing Texas and Mexico, the Big Bend region is high in biodiversity . It's a place so _ that if something doesn't bite, stick, or sting, it's probably a rock.
You know you have arrived in the heart of the Chihuahuan Desert when it feels as if you have fallen off the edge of the earth and into the rabbit hole. Nothing is as it appears. Moths are the size of birds. Are those twin pillars of black rock (a landmark known as Mule Ear Peaks) ten miles (16 kilometers) away or fifty (80 kilometers)? Visibility reaches more than a hundred miles on a clear day, and since there are few roads or buildings to use as milestones, distance is difficult to judge.
This is a place where water runs uphill, where rainbows have to wait for rain. The line between myth and reality is unclear. Stare long enough at the Chisos Mountains or the Sierra del Carmen, the two mountain ranges, known as sky islands, which lie on the land, and they rise and float above the plain.
The vast Chihuahuan Desert is a land of no people. There is always the chance you'll die of thirst. The "You Can Die"possibilities are endless, and keep some visitors -- 350,000 a year to Big Bend National Park, built in 1944 -- from coming back. Those who do return are left to think of the remarkable courage of the brave few who have managed to survive in this terrible environment.
|
How many years are there since the Big Bend National Park was built?
|
[
"so small",
"so quiet",
"so interesting",
"such interesting"
] |
so interesting
|
When Mr. David retired , he bought a small house in a village near the sea. He liked it and hoped to live a quiet life in it. But to his surprise, many visitors came to see his house in summer holidays, for _ was the most interesting building in the village. From morning to night, there were visitors outside the house. They kept looking into the rooms through the windows and many of them even went into the house. He decided to drive the visitors away. So he put a notice on the window. The notice said,"If you want to satisfy your curiosity ,come in and look around. Price: twenty dollars."Mr. David was sure that the visitors would stop coming, but he was wrong. More and more visitors came and Mr. David had to spend every day showing them around his house. "I came here to retire, not to work as a guide ", he said angrily. In the end, he sold the house and moved away.
|
Mr. David's house was _ that many visitors came to see it.
|
[
"is a standard computer",
"is better than a laptop in any function",
"is a \"revolutionary\" product between a laptop and a smart phone",
"helps Apple to beat Amazon"
] |
is a "revolutionary" product between a laptop and a smart phone
|
In modern society, people can hardly do without mobile phone or computer. The youth of today are even more looking forward to Apple Corp's products.
The iPad is an Apple tablet computer. The device sits somewhere between a laptop and a smart phone, according to Apple's chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, and does certain things better than both of them, like surfing the Web, reading e-books and playing videos. The iPad went on sale on April 3, 2010, and Apple said it had shipped 500,000 units in the first week. The handheld device puts Apple on a direct collision course with the Kindle from Amazon, which Mr. Jobs ever considered as pioneering the category.
It is common knowledge that media companies hope the iPad will finally lead to available ways for them to charge for news, books and other materials. The half-inch thick, 1.5-pound device features a 9.7-inch multi-touch screen and is powered by a customized Apple microchip, which is called A4. It has been designed with an exposed screen and without a camera or separate keyboard. The iPad has the same operating system as the iPhone and also has access to its 140,000 applications.
The price of the device starts at $499 for the most basic model, with a Wi-Fi wireless connection. More expensive models with more memory and with 3G wireless access will cost $629 to $829, depending on storage size. Because Apple is attempting to popularize a new kind of computing device, acceptance among consumers is expected to be slower than with previous Apple devices. Critics assume that some buyers are waiting for future versions of the iPad to appear, perhaps with a camera or USB ports .
On its first day on sale, iPad users downloaded more than one million applications from the company's AppStore and more than 250,000 electronic books from its iBookstore. A new wave of apps is expected in response to the iPad. For an application developer, having an application accepted for a highly desired Apple product means reaching a passionate group of consumers. The potential income is huge: the apps market for the iPhone and iPod Touch alone is already worth a billion dollars a year in sales.
|
In Mr. Job's opinion, the iPad _ .
|
[
"Peers you have never met cannot influence you.",
"You can ask your friends to make a decision for you.",
"You should not play with peers you don't like.",
"Your peers may cause you to experience new things."
] |
Your peers may cause you to experience new things.
|
Your peers are people your age or close to it. Besides close friends, your peers include other children you know who are the same age------like people in your grade, sports team, or neighborhood. Peers may have a positive influence on each other and play important roles in each other's lives:
Positive examples
Peers set plenty of good examples for each other. Having peers who do well in school or do their best in a sport can influence you to work hard to realize your dream, too. Peers who are kind and helpful can influence you to build these qualities in yourself. Even peers you've never met can be role models . For example, watching someone your age compete in the Olympics or give a piano concert might inspire you to go after a dream of your own.
Feedback and advice
Your peers listen and give you feedback as you try out new ideas. They can help you make decisions, too: what courses to take, whether to get your hair cut or let it grow, or how to solve a problem. Peers often give each other good advice. Your peers will be quick to tell you when they think you're making a mistake or doing something dangerous.
Socializing
Being with your peers----such as classmates or teammates----gives you a chance to learn how to make friends and deal with disagreements with people.
New experiences
Your peers might get you involved in clubs, sports, or volunteer groups. Your world would be far less rich without peers encouraging you to try some new food for the first time, or listen to a CD you have never heard before.
|
With which of the following may the author agree?
|
[
"they are above the water",
"they are under the water",
"they are very high",
"they are very low"
] |
they are very high
|
Can dolphins talk? Maybe they can't talk with words, but they talk with sounds. They show their feelings with sounds.
Dolphins travel in a group. We call a group of fish a "school". They don't study, but they travel together.
Dolphins talk to the other dolphins in the school. They give information. They tell when they are happy or sad or afraid. They say "welcome"when a dolphin comes back to the school. They talk when they play.
They make a few sounds above water. They make many more sounds under water. People cannot hear these sounds because they are very, very high. Scientists make tapes of the sounds and study them.
Sometimes people catch a dolphin for a large aquarium . People can watch the dolphins in a show. Dolphins don't like to be away from their school in an aquarium. They are sad and lonely . Dolphins
There are many stories about dolphins. They help people. Sometimes they save somebody's life. Dolphin meat is good, but people don't like to kill them. They say that dolphins bring good luck. Many people believe this.
|
People can't hear the dolphin's sounds because _ .
|
[
"sea hunters have better diving equipment",
"their knowledge of world history is limited",
"dredging machines cause damage to the ports",
"sold artifacts can hardly be regained for research"
] |
sold artifacts can hardly be regained for research
|
When a Swedish ship that sank in 1628 was recovered from the port of Stockholm, historians and scientists were overjoyed with the chance to examine the remains of the past. The ship construction showed how ships were built and operated during the seventeenth century. In this way, artifacts, objects made by human beings, provided a picture of daily life almost 400 years ago.
Underwater archaeology-----the study of ships, aircrafts and human settlements that have sunk under large bodies of water-----is really a product of the last 50 years. The rapid growth of this new area of study has occurred because of the invention of better diving equipment. Besides the Swedish ship wreck ,underwater archaeologists have made more exciting discoveries such as the 5000-year-old boats in the Mediterranean Sea.
Underwater archaeology can provide facts about the past. In ancient ports all over the world are ships sunken in the past 6,000 years. There are also sunken settlements in seas and lakes telling of people's way of life and their systems of trade in ancient times.
Underwater archaeologists want to study these objects to add to the world's knowledge of history, but they have to fight two enemies. One enemy is treasure hunters who dive for ancient artifacts that they can sell to collectors. Once sold, these objects are lost to experts. The second enemy is dredging machines often used to repair ports. These machines destroy wrecks and artifacts or bury them deeper under sand and mud. By teaching the public about the importance of underwater "museums" of the past, archaeologists are hoping to get support for laws to protect underwater treasures.
|
Underwater archaeologists are worried because _ .
|
[
"Because the services in Beijing used to be very poor.",
"Because many people can't find jobs in their hometown.",
"Because many visitors will come to Beijing.",
"Because there are too many buildings"
] |
Because many visitors will come to Beijing.
|
China is the first developing country to host the Olympic Games in modern Olympic history. It hopes to learn from other countries that have held Olympic Games. As well as new buildings, the government wants more people to work in all the services in Beijing. There are a lot more people in the city, because of all the visitors to the Olympics. The city also need more places to eat and drink, because visitors eat out a lot.
The government says the Beijing Olympics are "green", "hi-tech" , and "the People's Olympics". They want everyone to feel part of the Olympics. So the Chinese people have prepared for the Olympics too. Many people learn English to work as guides in 2008.
The Beijing organizers make sure everything that is built for the Olympics can be used after the Games are over. So the Chinese people work for the Olympics and they can benefit from the Olympics too. When the Olympics are over, the people of Beijing can use the swimming pools and other Olympics sports centers.
|
Why does the government want more people to work in Beijing?
|
[
"They should deepen diplomatic and military cooperation to defend North Korea.",
"Japan should apologize for the crimes they have done.",
"They can use nuclear weapons against North Korea when necessary.",
"Japan hopes Korea can take a positive attitude as to nuclear and missile issue."
] |
They should deepen diplomatic and military cooperation to defend North Korea.
|
WASHINGTON -- President Obama brought together the leaders of Japan and South Korea to discuss cooperation on containing North Korea and its nuclear weapons programs. Japan and North Korea have had tense relations over unresolved issues, some of them dating back 100 years. The three leaders emphasized the importance of cooperation in dealing with North Korea.
The meeting took place Tuesday in the Hague, after a twoday nuclear security summit. President Obama praised South Korean President Park Geunhye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for overcoming their differences to discuss a serious threat to regional peace. He emphasized the importance of cooperation on the North Korean nuclear issue.
Obama said the three discussed steps to deepen diplomatic and military cooperation, including joint military exercises and missile defense against Pyongyang. He said further discussions would take place next month, during his visits to Seoul and Tokyo.
The South Korean president stressed the importance of a united response to North Korea, but also called on the North to choose a peaceful path. "I sincerely hope that this meeting will offer a chance for us to reconfirm our trilateral coordination and strengthen the cooperation on the nuclear front," said Park.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed. "Particularly it is extremely important that we were able to confirm close cooperation among Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea on the issue of North Korea, the three countries who would like to cooperate so that North Korea will be able to take a positive position with regard to nuclear and missile issue," said Abe.
Japan and South Korea have several unresolved issues, including Japan's refusal to apologize again for crimes committed 70 years ago. Former U.S. diplomat Richard Armitage told an audience this week that painful historic injustices take a long time to heal, and that it is in Japan's interest to continue apologizing for as long as necessary. "There is a historical record of enormous generosity, achievement and respect for human rights and human freedom," said Armitage.
|
According to the report, what are the three leaders' opinions to the meeting?
|
[
"Many animals do not react well in their backyard",
"Studies should be done before new ecotourism projects are started",
"Ecotourism has been growing at about 10--30 percent a year.",
"polar bears in areas visited by ecotourists are producing smaller babies."
] |
polar bears in areas visited by ecotourists are producing smaller babies.
|
LONDON (Reuters) Ecotourism is causing a lot of damage to wildlife and may be endangering the survival of the very animals people are flocking to see, according to researchers.
Biologists and conservationists are worried because polar bears, dolphins, penguins and other creatures are getting stressed and losing weight and some are dying.
"Evidence is growing that many animals do not react well to tourists in their backyard," New Scientist magazine said.
The immediate effects "researchers have noticed are changes in behavior, heart rates. or stress hormone levels but they fear it could get much worse and over the long term " could endanger the survival of the very wildlife they want to see. "
Although money produced through ecotourism, which has been growing at about 10-30 percent a year, has major benefits for poor countries and people living in rural areas, the Swiss-based World Conservation Union (IUCN) and some governments fear not all projects are audited and based on environmentally friendly policies,according to the magazine.
Transmission of disease to wildlife,or small changes to wildlife health through disturbance of daily life or increased stress levels, while not obvious to the casual observer, may translate to lower survival and breeding," said Philip Seddon , of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Scientists have noticed that bottleneck dolphins along the northeastern coast of New Zealand become nervously excited when tourist boats arrive. Similar changes in behavior have been observed in polar bears and yellow-eyed penguins in areas visited by colorists are producing smaller babies.
Conservationists are now calling for more research into the effect of ecotourism on animals and say the industry must be developed carefully. They also want studies done before new ecotourism projects are started.
_ said Rochelle Constantine of the University of Auckland in New Zealand
|
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text?
|
[
"Assist him with some practical tasks.",
"Make a bibliography.",
"Lend him some reference books to read.",
"Do further editing."
] |
Do further editing.
|
I still remember my college days after I was initiallygiven my assignments of writing different papers. I enjoyed my first week with new friends and teachers as they were quite friendly and sociable. But I didn't realize that there was a dark era in my life, which was the horrifying day after I found that my term papers with empty pages. I had no way out. I was not alone. All the new students were feeling exactly the same way.
I gathered some courage and started thinking to find methods to help me write my term papers. I went to my history teacher. She was very kind and always prepared to help new students. She told me that I should act like a professional student and not take my work lightly. She also provided some encouraging tips which really improved my confidence. I was instructed to go to the library and gather books that have relevant material or topics about the term papers. The next step was to find related chapters in those books. I did as I was ordered.
Throughout the whole process of term papers there was something quite interesting and pleasing. She didn't assist me in doing any practical thing, but gave instructions one by one. With a large pile of reference books, we left the library and she told me to review those chapters. I got a lot of information and data. I had been feeling proud and happy as I got a good idea about the topics. She told me to create a 2000-word essay in my own words. I had been happy that it took only two days to finish my task. She did further editing and told me to make a bibliography , which was not a hard task.
I felt quite lucky to see the term papers had a professional appearance. I also felt lucky to have such a good teacher as her.
|
What did the author's history teacher do for him?
|
[
"enables us to live in society more easily",
"lets people understand others better",
"brings about conflicts between people",
"smooths away difficulties in our life"
] |
enables us to live in society more easily
|
What are you feeling right now as you start to read this? Are you curious? Hoping that you'll learn something about yourself? Bored because this is something you have to do for school and you're not really into it -- or happy because it's a school project you enjoy? Perhaps you're attracted by something else, like feeling excited about your weekend plans or sad because you just went through a breakup.
Emotions like these are part of human nature. They give us information about what we're experiencing and help us know how to react. We sense our emotions from the time we're babies. Young children react to their emotions with facial expressions or with actions like laughing or crying. They feel and show emotions, but they don't yet have the ability to name the emotion or say why they feel that way.
As we grow up, we become more skilled in understanding emotions. Instead of just reacting like little kids do, we can identify what we feel and put it into words. With time and practice, we get better at knowing what we are feeling and why. This skill is called emotional awareness.
Emotional awareness helps us know what we need and want, or don't want! It helps us build better relationships. That's because being aware of our emotions can help us talk about feelings more clearly, avoid or settle conflicts better, and move past difficult feelings more easily.
Some people are naturally more in touch with their emotions than others. The good news is that everyone can be more aware of their emotions. It just takes practice. But it's worth the effort.
Emotional awareness is the first step toward building emotional intelligence, a skill that can help people succeed in life.
|
From the passage we know that emotional awareness actually _ .
|
[
"share his experience",
"introduce a product of good quality",
"advertise his product",
"teach how to use a new product"
] |
introduce a product of good quality
|
Password strength has been a topic about the Internet lately. I have seen lots of clever methods for generating and remembering strong passwords. Some are better than others, but in my opinion , none are adequate . Here's the problem : it doesn't matter how strong your passwords are if you use the same one on multiple sites. All it takes is for a site to get hacked , like Gawker media, or even Sony did , and now your super-strong password has been stolen , and every site on which you used that password has been accessed .
So, the bottom line is that no matter how strong your passwords are , and no matter what clever tricks you use to help you remember them , if you surf the Internet often , the only truly secure password system is what you need .
Enter LastPass. It's not the only password manager out there, but I like it the best. You create ONE strong password that you have to memorize and use it to access your LastPass database . The LastPass database is stored online, on LastPass's servers. LastPass recognizes the site you're on and automatically logs you in (after , optionally , asking you to re-enter your master password). LastPass also has automatic form fill and automatic password generation. This means that you can have a different , unique , very strong password for every site you log into , but you only have to remember one master password . It's the best of both worlds.
One argument against LastPass is that if their database is attacked , then all of your sites are in danger, and that's true, but given that their entire line of work is keeping that information safe , I'm willing to take that chance. The alternative is rolling dice or picking phrase to create passwords, writing all of them down on a piece of paper or something , and then having to manually type them in when I go to a site . A terrible mess.
There is a free version of LastPass , with additional features unlocked if you pay $ 12 for a year's subscription .
----Joshua Bardwell
|
Joshua Bardwell writes the passage to _ .
|
[
"Bobby Lewis wanted to save three dollars.",
"Bobby Lewis should pay $3.00 for him and his sons to get in.",
"The man at the ticket counter wanted Bobby Lewis to pay $9.00.",
"We should set a good example for our children."
] |
We should set a good example for our children.
|
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon. My friend Bobby Lewis was taking his two little boys to play golf. He walked up to the young man at the ticket counter and said,''How much is it to get in?"
The young man answered,''$3.00 for you , $3.00 for any kid who is older than six. We let them in free if they are six or younger. How old are they?"
Bobby said,''Sam's three and Henry's seven, so I think I should pay $6.00."
The man at the ticket counter said, "Hey, you are too honest. You can save yourself three dollars if you tell me that _ is six. I don't know the differences." Bobby said, "Yes, that may be true, but the kids know the difference."
When ethics are more important than ever before, make sure you set a good example for everyone you work and live with.
|
Which of the following is TRUE?
|
[
"make his pupils worthy men",
"help his pupils find a way to be famous",
"help his pupils make themselves useful men",
"make his pupils men of strength and courage"
] |
help his pupils make themselves useful men
|
"Depend on yourself" is what nature says to every man. Parents can help you. Teachers can help you. But all these only help you to help yourself.
There have been many men in history. But many of them were very poor in childhood, and no uncles, aunts or friends to help them. Schools were few. They could not depend upon themselves for an education. They saw how it was and set to work with all their strength to know something. They worked their own way till they became well known.
One of the most famous teachers in England used to tell his pupils, "I can not make worthy men of you, but I can help make men of yourself."
Some young men don't try their best to make themselves valuable to the human beings. They can never gain achievement unless they see their weak points and change their course. They are nothing now, and will be nothing as long as they live, unless they accept the advice of their parents and teachers, and depend on their own efforts.
|
According to the famous teacher in England, a teacher can _ .
|
[
"explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all",
"explain why men now speak different languages",
"show the relationship between man and God",
"prove that language is very important"
] |
explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all
|
A story from the Bible tells of old Babylon, where the men decided to build a tower that would touch the sky.But God was unhappy, and he made them speak different languages.They couldn't understand each other, so their dream never came true.
Yet the dream remains alive: if all men speak the same language, they can do anything.L.L.Zamenhof from Poland was among the men who
this dream.He developed Esperanto between 1877 and 1885.
As the most successful man-made world language, it is spoken by over two million people around the world.Last month, the World Esperanto Congress , dealing with language rights, ended in Sweden.The 2004 conference will be held in Beijing.Most Esperanto speakers are in Central and Eastern Europe and in East Asia, particularly Chinese mainland.
Esperanto has two advantages.First, it's easy.Each letter has exactly one sound and there are just 16 basic grammar rules.The second advantage is that it belongs to no one country.But Esperanto has only reached a small number of people compared with natural languages widely used around the world-such as English or Chinese.While these languages are deeply connected with their nations and cultures, Esperanto doesn't have this background.
Will Esperanto really become a global language? It remains a question.
|
The writer tells us a story at the beginning to _ .
|
[
"To find out whether strangers need help when they are in trouble.",
"To find out whether someone can help those who want to help others.",
"To find out whether strangers can be helped when they are in danger.",
"To find out whether someone can help strangers who are in need of help."
] |
To find out whether someone can help strangers who are in need of help.
|
Recently, China UnionPay did an experiment in a subway station in Beijing--Are you willing to offer a hand to a stranger who needs help?
The leading role of the experiment was an old man. With a small bag in one hand and a large case in the other, the old man appeared in a cold winter morning in the bustling subway station. He was so old that he couldn't carry the heavy case up the stairs. Standing in front of the steps, he looked helpless.
Something good happened finally. At 9 o'clock, a kind man showed up, he offered to carry the case for the old man and walked up the stairs with him, at 9:25, another man helped ...
Within six hours,the old man walked up the stairs for 25 times,among which he was helped for 23 times.
What's more,two ladies tried to help the old man--one in the front and the other in the back. They carried the case up the stairs for him. The most noteworthy thing was that another old man tried to help too.
When these kind people were asked why they helped the stranger,they all said " It's just the right thing to do," "I always help people as long as I can" ,or "it's not a big thing, and I just want to help".
We often see negative news about fake falling and blackmailing or scheming and cunning. But this experiment brought sheer warmth into our heart.
|
Why did China UnionPay carry out the experiment?
|
[
"may develop faster because of the challenge of \"Shanzhai\" culture",
"is the challenge of \"Shanzhai\" culture",
"will be replaced by \"Shanzhai\" culture",
"is held back by \"Shanzhai\" culture"
] |
may develop faster because of the challenge of "Shanzhai" culture
|
The Chinese word "Shanzhai" means a small mountain village, but now it becomes an accepted name for fakes , after "Shanzhai Cell-phones" produced by small workshops in southern China became popular in the mainland market over the past two years.
Besides "Shanzhai" electronic products, there are "Shanzhai" movies, "Shanzhai" stars and even a "Shanzhai" Spring Festival Gala , a copy of the 25-year-old traditional show presented by CCTV on Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve.
"Shanzhai" has become a culture of its own, meaning anything that imitates something famous.
In Chongqing, "Shanzhai" version "Bird's Nest" and "Water Cube" woven by farmers with bamboo attract wide attention from tourists. Both are copies of the famous Olympic buildings in Beijing.
A literature critic said that taking the "Shanzhai" Gala as an example, when the traditional CCTV program becomes less and less attractive to the audience, the"Shanzhai" version appears timely to attract people. "Although it is often connected with poor techniques and operation, 'Shanzhai' culture meets the psychological needs of common people and could be a comfort to their minds," he said.
To the mainstream culture, the rise of "Shanzhai" culture is a challenge and a motivation . People believe different kinds of cultures developing together is a perfect situation and it is for the public to choose.
|
We can infer that the mainstream culture _ .
|
[
"He Qiangcheng.",
"Lin Zi'en.",
"Yang Haibin.",
"Hu Danhua."
] |
Lin Zi'en.
|
He Qiangcheng, 22, a senior and geology major from Sichuan Normal University, has almost given up trying to act like his childhood hero, Lei Feng.
"I once tried to help a woman with heavy luggage, and she gave me a suspicious look," he complains. "Then another time, when I returned a lost dining card to the canteen, the staff asked me to use up the cash on it rather than bothering to find the owner." But, despite having met with rejections, He still wants to be like his idol. His hero, Lei Feng, was a People's Liberation Army soldier who came to represent altruism , modesty and devotion.
March 5 marks the 50th year of Lei's death. In 1963, Chairman Mao Zedong designated the day as "Learn From Lei Feng Day" and started a national campaign for people to copy his deeds.
Several decades after the campaign was initiated, there has been a debate about whether the spirit of Lei lives on, and whether an altruistic role model is relevant anymore in a materialist society.
Some think _ . "In a world when everyone emphasizes the importance of 'me', many of my peers think there's little ground for giving up one's interests purely for the sake of others," says Lin Zi'en, 19, a sophomore English major from South China Normal University in Guangdong.
Commentators, however, point out those who regarded Lei's spirit as being outdated have misinterpreted its meaning. Yang Haibin, deputy secretary of China Communist Youth League Beijing Committee said, "Learning from Lei Feng could be a mutually caring and benefiting act, which is the basis of civilized society. And, Lei's spirit can be modern and relevant, says Yang. He believes that lending a helping hand for no reward is an early form of volunteering. "It's also about being content with a simple and humble way of life," Yang says.
Hu Danhua, 21, an international business major from China University of Political Science and Law, agrees. "I've gained peace of mind and spiritual fulfillment through small acts of kindness, such as teaching village pupils. I could obtain it from nowhere else," Hu says.
|
Who has a negative attitude towards Lei's spirit according to the passage?
|
[
"He noticed that no one was looking at him.",
"He didn't want to see the cheese bread to go to taste.",
"He valued kindness more than his own pride.",
"He remembered a homeless man at that very moment."
] |
He valued kindness more than his own pride.
|
The passengers on the subway who caught a glimpse of me may have thought I was strange. In particular a gentleman sitting opposite me was always staring at me, looking at the cheese bread on the floor in front of me and then staring back at me. A passenger probably dropped it by mistake and got off at a previous stop, but the gentleman might not think so. "Next stop, St. Patrick Station" -- my stop was quickly coming up. I had few minutes to either take the cheese bread, which nobody else was claiming, or left it there.
In those few minutes I felt my pride getting in the way. "What would others on the subway think of me if I took the cheese bread? Would they think that I was poor and hungry? Would they think that I was stealing?" The ignorant thing to do was say "yes" to any of those _ questions. Actually, they were just my own thoughts. Though I would leave the subway, walk a block to my office, get settled at my desk, and sit comfortably in my office for the whole day, I couldn't get rid of the enormous sense of guilt and regret.
My thoughts once pushed me towards pride and ignorance, but finally I had to admit I was wrong. This missing cheese bread could be a gift for a homeless person who suffered from cold and hunger. So why not overcome a little bit of my pride and pass along so much kindness?
Just as the doors opened at my stop, I grabbed the cheese bread and left the subway. It felt awesome, but I didn't care if people were looking at me or what they were thinking. Instead of going directly to my office as usual, I walked a few more blocks up to Queen's park, where I often saw a homeless man sitting outside. I always wanted to give him something, but only today I walked toward him, who wrapped himself in a sleeping bag. I was full of satisfaction, and so did the homeless man, I thought.
|
Why did the author grab the cheese bread when he got off?
|
[
"the saying \"You don't have a leg to stand on\" means someone loses his legs",
"the saying \"Break a leg\" means someone hurts his or her leg",
"if we say \"Break a leg\" to someone, we give him or her a good wish",
"if we say \"I am ill\" aloud, we will become healthy"
] |
if we say "Break a leg" to someone, we give him or her a good wish
|
Learning English grammar and English vocabulary can be hard enough, but trying to understand English sayings can be more difficult. Some are just hard to figure out and others don't make any sense at all. Here are four funny English sayings that you can use every day.
I'm happy as a clam .
Think of a clam. It doesn't have to do anything. It just sits on a beach or on the bottom of the ocean all day doing nothing. It never has to work. That sounds like happiness, doesn't it? If someone asks, "How are you today?" you can answer "I am happy as a clam" to let him or her know what a great mood you are in.
I wouldn't touch that (or him/her) with a ten-foot pole.
Maybe there is a person who you don't want to be friends with or even talk to. Well, this saying means that you dislike him or her so much that you don't want to touch or go near him or her, even within ten feet!
You don't have a leg to stand on.
This saying doesn't mean that the person you're talking to has no legs. It means that his or her argument is incorrect. He or she doesn't have a leg to stand on because he or she has no facts to support what he or she is saying. This saying is a good way to tell people that you think they're wrong.
Break a leg!
This saying actually means the opposite of what it sounds like. If you tell this to a person, you're wishing him or her good luck!The saying comes from a superstition that whatever you say aloud, the opposite will come true.
|
We can learn from the passage that _ .
|
[
"the disadvantages of being married",
"the emotional problems arising from marriage",
"the responsibility of taking care of one's family",
"the consequence of a broken marriage"
] |
the disadvantages of being married
|
Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life.Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship.The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Fair, who wrote that widows and widowers were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers.Studies since then suggest that marriage could and as much as seven years to a man's life and two to a woman's.The effect holds for all rouses of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.
Even if the odds are stacked against you, marriage can more than compensate.Linda Waite from the University of Chicago has found that .I married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart.Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn't smoke.There's a _ , however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse's death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems.
Even so, the odds favour marriage.In a 30 - year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.
So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio - economic factors, health - service provision, emotional support and other more physiological mechanisms.For example, social contact can boost development of die brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression ?later in life.People in supportive relationships may handle stress better.Then there are the psychological 9 benefits of a supportive partner.
A life partner, children and good friends arc all recommended if you aim to live to 100.The ultimate social network is still being mapped out, hut Christakis says: "People are interconnected, so their health
is interconnected.
|
It can be inferred from the context that the "Hip side" (Line 4.Para.2) refers to _
|
[
"How to Lose Weight",
"What's a Healthy Diet",
"Surprising Results of a Study",
"Breakfast - A Meal That Breaks You Fast"
] |
Breakfast - A Meal That Breaks You Fast
|
If you have to miss a meal a day, which meal will cause you fewest health problems if you don't eat it? If you have to make a decision of this type, most people (especially very busy people) will choose to skip breakfast.
However, many experts in the field of health consider breakfast ( the meal which "break" you "fast" ) to be the most important t meal of the day. If we eat a good breakfast, they say, we will have the energy and nutrients we need to begin our working day with vigor and stay hopeful with good honor. However, many people skip breakfast or _ . What happens if we ignore the importance of breakfast?
One recent study conducted in the United States tested a large number of people. Participants included both males and females who ranged in age from 12 to 83. The results showed that if a person eats an adequate breakfast, he or she will work more efficiently and more productively than if he or she skips breakfast or eats a very poor breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person's work involves mental activities. The study showed that if school-children eat fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, they will learn more quickly and will be able to concentrate on their lessons for a longer period of time than if their breakfast is inadequate.
The study also showed that contrary to what people believe, if you skip breakfast, you will not lose weight. This is because people become so hungry if they skip breakfast that they eat too much for lunch and end up gaining weight instead of losing. So remember, if you want to lose weight, skipping breakfast will not help you. You will likely lose more weight if you decrease your other meals.
|
The best title of the passage is _ .
|
[
"environment",
"education",
"lifestyle",
"Science"
] |
education
|
A team of researchers in the UK has shown that children who were taken to the library more often and owned more books at two years old achieved higher scores in school tests when they began primary school. The research also showed that although social background has a noticeable effect on a child's readiness for school, attending pre-school and having their parents teach them a wide range of activities have a positive effect---while extended exposure to television lowers their scores.
"One message coming through loud and clear is that how a child learns in his very early years is critical for a smooth transition into the educational system," said Professor James Law. "This is a very positive message, as it gets us away from the belief that a child's educational future is pre-determined by standard measures of socio-economic disadvantage, such as income, housing, or the mother's education."
Data from the study shows that children from a positive communication environment had a better expressive vocabulary by their second birthday. These children went on to achieve higher scores in language, reading and maths tests when they entered school. In the early years, the communication environment was a better predictor of children's success with language than their general social background.
Most children develop speech and language effortlessly, but some are slow to acquire these skills and go on to struggle with literacy and academic skills throughout their schooling. This project set out to uncover what factors contributed to these problems.
Professor Sue Roulstone said, "These findings are an encouragement to all parents to provide a positive communication environment for their children from the very start of their lives. The project did identify particular aspects of the communication environment, such as having children's books around and not having the television on too much. But the main message is that, as parents, we can have an impact on how our children learn to talk by providing a range of communication experiences. And the better our children are at talking by the age of two years, the better they will do when they start school."
|
People can most probably find this passage in the _ section of a website.
|
[
"Homecoming",
"the football game",
"graduation",
"winning the game"
] |
graduation
|
In American schools there is something called Homecoming. Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a Homecoming game. This can be the most important event of the year except graduation or commencement day. Students plan Homecoming for many weeks in advance.
Several days before Homecoming, students start to decorate the school. There are signs to wish luck to the team, and many other signs to welcome all the graduates. Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after their graduation.
The members of school clubs build booths and sell lemonade, apples and sandwiches. Some clubs help to welcome visitors. During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago. Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school.
Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over, the band comes onto the field and plays school songs. Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears. All the students _ a most popular student Homecoming Queen or King. It is a great honor to be chosen.
Homecoming is a happy day, but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game. Even if the team loses, the students still enjoy Homecoming. Some stay at the school to dance, and others go to a party. For everyone it is a day worth remembering.
|
The most important event of the year in high schools and colleges is _ .
|
[
"Hong Kong Disneyland Park",
"a Hong Kong family",
"Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel",
"Disney's Hollywood Hotel"
] |
Hong Kong Disneyland Park
|
Stay in the magic with your friends and family and book a hotel stay at either Disney's Hollywood Hotel or Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.As a hotel guest, you can enjoy an extra day at Hong Kong Disneyland Park during your stay when you buy a one-day ticket!
How It Works
Hotel guests staying at either the Disney's Hollywood Hotel or Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel who buy a Hong Kong Disneyland Park ticket will receive an extra park admission for the following day.Guests can buy Stay and Play for 2 Days tickets as soon as you check in at the Front Desk.Ticket price will be based on the first day a guest visits the Park.If the first visit day is a Regular Day, guests can buy Regular Day tickets even though the following day may be a Peak or Special Day.If the first visit day is a Peak Day, Guests should buy Peak Day tickets even though the following day may be a Regular Day.
This offer is available 13 May through 30 September 2006.Guests who have bought their Hong Kong Disneyland Park tickets before 13 May 2006 can exchange their unused and not expired tickets to Stay and Play for 2 Days tickets at the Hotel Front Desk.
Where to Buy
Guests can book their hotel stay through the following:
Call Hong Kong Disneyland Reservation Center at +852 1-830-830, opens daily 9 am-6 pm.
OR
Get in touch with your travel agent.
Dates to Remember
Offer Period 13 May 2006 - 30 September 2006
Last Day to buy Stay and Play for 2 days tickets 29 September 2006
Last Visit Date 30 September 2006
For more information, please click here.
|
As a guest at Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, you can enjoy an extra day in _ .
|
[
"People who live far away from noisy cities often seem to be happier.",
"An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better.",
"The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house.",
"With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired."
] |
An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better.
|
"Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell."
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD 53 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this. You're rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went "back in time" to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave , computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, "The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes." The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a "trendy , beer-drinking granny", to one who cooked things.
|
According to the passage, which id NOT right?
|
[
"encourage people to be drop-in visitors",
"explain how to deal with unexpected visitors",
"share his feelings about the drop-in tradition",
"show the importance of making friends"
] |
share his feelings about the drop-in tradition
|
I recently ran into a friend I hadn't seen for a long while.Our conversation was lively and full of news from both sides.Before we parted she said,"You'll have to drop in sometime." I immediately sensed that if I simply "dropped in'' I would take my friend by surprise,and I would be discouraged by the image of her standing in her doorway,staring at me,and asking,"Oh,err ...what brings you here?"
Whatever happened to the unannounced drop-in visit? When I was growing up in the 1960s, it seemed that people - mostly relatives, but also friends - were always _ . My parents would put coffee on,and my mom would find something in the kitchen to serve along with it.Then the conversation would begin...The neighbor lady,a worrier,was unloading her sadness while my mom quietly listened.The Irish man next door had such an accent that I remember asking what language he spoke.My Polish relatives arrived in packs...But I never heard my parents say anything like "We weren't expecting you'' or "This isn't a good time."Drop-in visitors had a certain right of way and became No.1.
What happened to such visits? Actually I know the answer.Times have changed.Everybody gets busy with work.There is no longer a stay-at-home mom keeping a pot of hot coffee or tea ready throughout the day for a surprise guest.Exploding malls and stores are now replacing homes as a central form of entertainment.
Just the other day a former student of mine showed up."I'm sorry for the surprise visit."my student began."I just wanted to see if you still lived here.I'll only stay a minute."My response was immediate." No, you won't," I said."Just come in, sit, have coffee, and we'll talk.''
I had nothing in the kitchen but we ordered pizza.And we had a lovely time.I have tried to keep the drop-in tradition alive though it takes some effort.
|
The author writes the passage intending to _ .
|
[
"advertise a website called www.Pinkewang.com",
"show how young Chinese are dealing with the economic situation",
"show the life conditions of white-collar workers in China",
"tell the readers about the economic problems China is facing"
] |
show how young Chinese are dealing with the economic situation
|
Has the recent economic downturn affected your life? For many young Chinese, it has driven them to embrace a far more frugal (economical) lifestyle.
Wang Hao, 24, is a prefix = st1 /Beijingoffice worker. He made a resolution in June last year to limit his weekly living expenses to 100 yuan. That's the cost of eight Big Macs inChina.
"The financial crisis has taught a spending lesson to young people in China, including me," said Wang, who posted his resolution on his blog, which has drawn over 200,000 hits.
As the financial crisis affects the economy, white-collar workers speak of reducing salaries. Some are unemployed. And university students are facing the worst job prospects since China's economic reform began 30 years ago.
To save money, people have started to share dinners, houses, taxis and other activities with strangers they meet online. Web users post their activities on sites, such as www.Pinkewang.com and invite others to join them. Lin Xiongbo, the founder of Pinkewang, said his website saw a 100 percent increase of visitors last November after the global financial crisis broke out.
People are also using websites like Lin's to share other activity ideas such as training programs, sports, and entertainments.
"Sharing activities with others can save a lot of money without lowering one's quality of life," said 27-year-old Xu Li. He's a manager at a public relations firm and a long-time user of websites like Pinkewang.
It was on the Internet that Xu recently found another person to take part in an English training program with him. By joining the program with another person, he and his partner received a 10 percent discount for the course, saving them more than 1,000 yuan.
Young Chinese born in the 80s used to be accused of being materialistic. They favored designer clothes and the latest electronic products, and many of them spent their monthly salaries rather than saving them. They became known as the "Yueguang group".
However, since the economy slowed down, this lifestyle has lost much of its charm. Now, more and more young Chinese consider saving money to be more fashionable than spending.
The frugal lifestyles these young Chinese are embracing seem to be accepted by the authorities too. In a commentary published in the People's Daily recently, the writer said frugality did not conflict with the government's demand-stimulating policies, as it called for reasonable rather than reckless spending.
"Frugal lifestyles should become a fashion, especially in the financial crisis," said the writer Wang Jinyou.
|
The passage was written to _ .
|
[
"to make it clear that the poles have much to do with a healthy earth",
"to provide practical theory to further develop this distant area",
"to call on as many scientists as possible to do research on the poles",
"to discover more mysteries unknown to man"
] |
to make it clear that the poles have much to do with a healthy earth
|
The North and South poles are remote and freezing places that receive lots of animal visitors but few human tourists.
But even if you never plan to visit the polar bears in the north or penguins in the south, now is a perfect time to start thinking about them. That's because 2007 marks the beginning of the International Polar Year (IPY), a two-year-old activity of science projects that aim to show how important the poles are to the health of our planet. During the IPY, which will last until March 2009, thousands of researchers from more than 60 countries will conduct more than 200 projects and expeditions to both the top and bottom of the world.
In recent years, the polar regions have begun to change severely as a result of global warming. Temperatures there are rising faster than anywhere else on Earth. As a result, the ice and snow in these regions are melting at record-setting rates. One result is that sea levels are rising around the world, putting animals and people at risk.
Only by studying the poles, say IPY researchers, can we find ways to protect them and ourselves.
Both the Arctic and the Antarctic are cold and remote, but the two regions have important differences. For one thing, the Arctic is an ice-covered ocean surrounded by land. The Antarctic, on the other hand, is a continent of ice-covered land surrounded by water.
Most polar studies have focused on the Arctic, and that is where scientists have observed the most remarkable changes in the ice. During a typical year, Arctic ice expands in the winter and shrinks in the summer. But recently, the amount of ice covering the ocean has been steadily dropping in both seasons.
|
The goal of the International Polar Year is _ .
|
[
"Bathroom.",
"Beef.",
"Pork.",
"Flowers."
] |
Bathroom.
|
Coke is the most popular drink and many people enjoy it. But they don't know it has many other uses.
* Cleaning. You can use it to clean your hands, your bathroom or your clothes. When you do some washing and you can put some Coke into the water. And Coke can make them cleaner.
* Cooking. Put Coke on beef or pork while it's cooking. And we can also cook chicken with Coke, it's very nice.
* Health &beauty. Coke can make you more beautiful. Use it on your hair or your skin to make them brighter and smoother.
* Housework help. Watering flowers with Coke can make them more lovely and beautiful.
So give Coke a try next time.
|
What can we use Coke to clean?
|
[
"more schools should be built",
"schools are necessary",
"schools are not necessary",
"there should be fewer schools"
] |
schools are necessary
|
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.
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In the writer's opinion , _ .
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[
"Yes, he does",
"No, he does not",
"Yes, he must",
"No, he mustn't"
] |
Yes, he does
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It is in autumn . A young man comes to a forest . He's walking beside the forest. On his right is a river. On his left is the forest. Suddenly he sees two green eyes looking at him from the trees. A tiger is getting ready to jump on him.
What does he do? He must jump into the river. But in the river there is a big crocodile . Its mouth is very big. The young man closes his eyes. The tiger jumps over him. And the young man opens his eyes. The tiger jumps over him. And the young man opens his eyes. The tiger is now in the mouth of the crocodile.
|
Does he close his eyes at first ? _ .
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