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Question-Answering-Generation-Choices

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Photographs are everywhere. They decorate the walls of homes and are used in stores for sales of different goods. The news is filled with pictures of fires, floods, and special events. Photos record the beauties of nature. They can also bring things close that are far away. Through photos, people can see wild animals, cities in foreign lands, and even the stars in outer space. Photos also tell stories. Reporting the news through photos is called photojournalism. At times photojournalists tell their stories through a single picture. At other times, they use a group of pictures to tell a story. Each picture is like a chapter in a book, which can do more than record the facts. It can also be a strong force for social change. Jacob Riis was among the first photojournalists. He took pictures of parts of New York City where the poor lived. Riis believed that poverty caused crime, and he used photos to help him prove his point. A few years later, the photos of small children working in factories by Lewis Hine shocked the public. Hine's pictures helped bring about laws to protect such children. Hundreds of pictures may have to be taken in order to get one or two really good photos. It takes science to have the photo come out clearly and art to make a photo that has a good design and expresses feeling. Photojournalists make an actual record of what they see. A photo, however, can be both a work of art and an actual record. It can record an important event as a beautiful or exciting picture. As historical and artistic documents ,photos can become more important over time. Today photojournalists still have their pictures appear in newspapers and magazines. They also publish them in books and on the Internet.

The text is mainly about _ .

telling the story through picture

['decorating the walls of homes', 'publishing historical papers', 'expressing feeling through pictures']

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 prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if these 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 went 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 and fell onto 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 to 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.

Which of the following is true?

It is not strange to experience such accidents.

["The woman's husband brought three guests home to dinner unexpectedly.", 'The meal got burnt.', 'Her baby pulled the table-cloth off the table.']

Happiness is a feeling that lights up your eyes, makes your steps light and makes you want to sing for no reason. Everyone wants to be happy. But sometimes, a guest comes in without invitation. It's unhappiness. Don't let it get you down. Send it away! When you are happy, the world feels like a better place. As the saying goes: When you smile, the world smiles with you; when you cry, you cry alone. Wearing a smile will make you more charming and help you to win lots of friends. A good mood always gives you hope, which makes troubles and problems easier to handle. No matte how happy you are, it's normal to feel angry, sad or gloomy once in a while. Life is full of ups and downs. We can't change the way life is, but we can do our best to change a bad situation into a good one. To help us do this, it's good to know some of the factors that influence happiness. One of the biggest factors is social relationships. People who are close to family and friends are happier than people who don't have those relationships. Talking and sharing is a good way to relax and build confidence . Knowing someone is there for you will make you braver and more outgoing. Another factor is work or school. If you enjoy school, even if you have lots of homework or extra classes, you will still feel that your school life is meaningful and happy. But if you hate school, your negative attitude may cause you to feel bored and upset that you have to do so much work. A third factor is your attitude towards life. How do you feel if you fail in an exam? Maybe you think it's unfair because you always study hard and should get a good mark. You can't stop blaming yourself. Or, maybe you accept it. You go through the paper carefully, find our why you made stupid mistakes, and tell yourself, "Take it easy! I'll do better next time!" Your attitude makes a big difference.

The writer tells us _ factors that influence happiness.

three

['two', 'four', 'five']

Who says Americans worship the almighty dollar? It's not true. Having enough free time is more important to most Americans than being rich, according to a new survey. Only 13 percent of more than 2,400 people questioned in the telephone survey ranked being wealthy as most important to them, while 67 percent ranked free time as their top priority , higher than having a successful career, getting married, and having children. "Everyone wants free time to do the things they want to do, young, middle-aged or old," said Richard Morin, of the Pew Social ~ Demographic Trends Project, which conducted the survey. "So our desire to play unites us." The survey also showed that people who were educated in university valued career success over wealth, so did middle-aged people. Not surprisingly, those who didn't have money, ranked wealth very highly. This included minorities, first generation Americans and less educated people. The survey also revealed that a disproportionate number of people under the age of 30 and retired people in the group made $ 20,000 or less a year. But the emphasis on wealth lessens with age, with younger people putting value on it but hardly any seniors. "It just diminishes with time as the reality sets in that you would never be rich," Morin said. "But also, as for old people the reality sets in that you don't have to be rich to lead a very comfortable and fulfilling life. " While wealth was not at the top of people's list of priorities, 43 percent still said it was somewhat important.

According to the survey, what did middle-aged people regard as more important?

success in career

['education level', 'wealth', 'comfort']

A Tale of Two Cities was written by the famous English writer Charles Dickens. The tale is mainly about the French Revolution in 1789, where the poor rose up against the king and the nobles. Dickens showed deep sympathy for the poor and deep hatred for the cruelty of the upper class, though he wrote quite a lot about the love triangle between Lucie, Charles and Sydney. In this novel, Dickens wrote some lively characters like Sydney and those crazy revolutionaries. In this tale, we can't see any absolute roles. Charles, though he's a brave and good man, obviously he hasn't as much ability as Sydney. Sydney, a typical tragic man, a man like him, usually has great ability. But he has some weak points on characters and the worst is that he always loves a woman he shouldn't love and 99.99% die for her at last in an extremely heroic or tragic way. The revolutionaries are not as full of justice as usual. They get mad when they can get revenge for their unfair treatment. The fire of hatred burns everything. When they're at the bottom of the society, they're calling for justice, for fair treatment, for freedom, but when they're in charge of the society, their world is up-side-down. They hate everything that is connected to the very people against them, even including Charles' wife, Dr. Manette's daughter. So _ have no difference from those former governors at heart. Though Dickens told us how the authority is recycling over and over again in some way, the novel is about something good. Love from Sydney to Lucie is one of the only few bright points in the novel and it's really great. A man can sacrifice his life to save his lover's husband. He doesn't have any personal purpose and just for his lover's happiness. So Dickens may imply us, only love can solve the problems between people, between the poor and the rich, love is everything.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

Sydney loves a woman he shouldn't love.

['Charles is as brave and able as Sydney.', 'The revolutionaries show justice as usual.', "Charles hates his wife, Dr. Manette's daughter."]

Seemed decently intelligent . Is it bad that I ' m not excited to go on a second date ? I do n't do this dating thing too often . He seems like a decent human being , and maybe he 'll loosen up a little and be a little more fun the second time . Is it too much to ask for someone who 's a little fun , yet not a frat boy or redneck ?

Since the narrator did n't like their first date what they suggest for their second date ?

The narrator should ask if they can go to the local Carnival to ride rides and play games .

['The narrator should ask to go to the Alpha party on campus .', 'The narrator should suggest a quiet restaurant for intelligent conversation .', 'The narrator should suggest the human being exhibit at the Museum .']

It is the most piercing pain , all in the head , somehow feeling like an intolerable whistle focused and drilling at speed into your brain . It came on so suddenly last night that I almost vomited . The world shrank to a blinkered pinhole and I zoned out so completely that I only came back to reality twenty minutes after taking two Ibuprofen , and numbing the top - notes of the pain .

Why was I in so much pain that day ?

My headache would not go away .

['I was having a hole drilled in my skull .', 'None of the above choices .', 'I was sick with the flu and had a sore throat .']

If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems. Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of view. Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different. If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer to the disorganized methods of their secretaries; alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses. Here is an example, which I heard at a nurses' convention, of a story which works well because the audience all shared the same view of doctors. A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself. "Who is that?" the new arrival asked St. Peter. "Oh, that's God." came the reply, "but sometimes he thinks he's a doctor." If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it'll be appropriate for you to make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman's notorious bad taste in ties. With other audiences you mustn't attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman. You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system. If you feel awkward being humorous, you must practice so that it becomes more natural. Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff remarks which you can deliver in a relaxed and unforced manner. Often it's the delivery which causes the audience to smile, so speak slowly and remember that a raised eyebrow or an unbelieving look may help to show that you are making a light-hearted remark. Look for the humor. It often comes from the unexpected. A twist on a familiar quote "If at first you don't succeed, give up" or a play on words or on a situation. Search for exaggeration and understatements. Look at your talk and pick out a few words or sentences which you can turn about and inject with humor.

The joke about doctors implies that, in the eyes of nurses, they are _ .

very conscious of their godlike role.

['impolite to new arrivals.', 'entitled to some privileges.', 'very busy even during lunch hours.']

The Candle Nara Festival is a celebration of Canberra - Nara city sisterhood , which this year , is their 15th year . The Candle Nara Festival started back in 2003 , and it is an annual thing . Located at the Nara Park , and it normally starts at 3 pm until 9 pm . After a quick rest at home , we drove to the park in anticipation of great food and entertainment .

What country is the narrator trying to promote ?

Down Under .

['Canada .', 'None of the above choices .', 'The United Kingdom .']

The water level of oceans rises and falls alternately twice a day. This movement of water is called the tide. Tides are causer by the pull of the sun and the moon on the earth' s surface; since the moon is closer, it affects the tides more than the sun. When the moon is directly overhead, it actually pulls on the water that is below it. This causes the water level to rise because the water is pulled away from the earth. As the moon disappears over the horizon, the pull lessens and the water level settles back towards the ocean bottom. When the water reaches its highest level, we have high tide. And when the water comes to its lowest level, we have low tide from its lowest point, the water rises gradually for about six hours until it reaches high tide. Then it begins to fall continuously for about six hours until it reaches low tide. Then the cycle begins again.

High tide occurs _ .

every 12 hours

['every 6 hours', 'every 24 hours', 'every 18 hours']

Camping is one of the most popular forms of outdoor activities. Now, most people are under too much pressure and like going outdoors to relax. Other activities like hunting and fishing, are often connected with camping trips. It's also a good idea to spend time camping with your family during a holiday. That will help you create some of the best memories with the family. Here are some things you have to consider while planning your camping trip. The first thing that you need to think about is deciding the camping destination. For most people who like camping, the best place to choose is the spot that they haven't visited before. As soon as you get to your destination, there will be a lot you will have to do, such as putting up your tent. Of course, food is another necessary factor to be considered. You'd better carry some convenient food like biscuits, nuts and boiled eggs. When all the things are done, fun activities should be planned. It's a good chance for you to spend time with your family. Lots of open space is perfect when you want to do something as simple as letting your kids ride their bicycles. If your kids are old enough, activities like fishing and horse-riding are also good to choose. These are a few ideas about having fun camping. Once you get ready for it, you don't need to worry about anything. Go ahead and be a happy camper.

Where can you do outdoor activities according to the passage?

On the open space

['On the playground', 'In the forest', 'By the sea.']

There is growing concern about food insecurity in the developing world. Rising food prices, weather emergencies and political problems are deepening the struggle for families in many countries. Three UN agencies have published a report recently, saying high prices are likely to continue. Gregory Barrow, who is with the World Food Program in Rome, says, "If you look at the places where the World Food Program works, particularly in developing countries, you see people who might be spending more than 60 percent of their salary in purchasing food for their families." East Africa is suffering its worst drought in years. In Kenya, at least three and a half million people are going hungry, mostly in the north. Yet food is going to waste in central Kenya. Now, farmers there want the government to buy their food and give it to those in need. Farmers say bad roads and lack of transportation make it difficult for them to get their produce to the market. Mr. Barrow says, "It needs the government to make some arrangements such as providing transport. They can buy it at a good price, then give it to those people instead of asking for food from overseas, which is very bad. When we are throwing away food, _ are asking for food from overseas." Economists say that imports reduce local food prices, decrease productivity and increase the dependency on other countries. Farmers in Kenya hope the government can pay higher prices for their crops so that they can feed more Kenyans.

What do we know about Kenya from the passage?

At least three and a half million Kenyans lack food.

['The people in central Kenya are suffering from hunger.', 'The Kenyan government wants to improve road conditions.', 'People in northern Kenya refuse to ask for food from overseas.']

What was fortunate tho was meeting 2 flyerers for the show literally after leaving the bar and realising we had no idea where we were going . They jokingly gave me flyers to hand out , so I flyered on the way to the venue with them . Never a dull moment !

Why is the narrator not showing purpose in putting flyers up ?

The narrator is inebriated .

['The narrator is wasteful with others .', 'The narrator is a careless employee .', 'None of the above choices .']

What I was not searching for would be friends or lovers . No , I needed to keep myself distanced and removed from these people , lest my emotions compromise the choices that would need to be made . Oh , I knew them-- better than they knew themselves in some cases . I committed their names and histories to memory , kept myself familiar with their abilities and strengths and monitored their weaknesses .

What may be the reason for their feelings ?

They want to focus on themselves .

['They want to be alone .', 'They prefer to be anti - social .', 'None of the above choices .']

NEW YORK PLUMBING & HEATING Since 1968 Plumbing and Heating Fixing LARGE OR SMALL 24 Hours 7 Days Service Tel: 56568833 268 Pine Street 5 Avenue

For which of the following problems would one call New York P & H?

The floor of the bathroom is covered with water.

['Rainwater drops from the roof.', 'A refrigerator stops working.', "There's something wrong with the furniture."]

Michael Morzeny put his hands into the pockets of his overcoat and hugged the fabric tighter around his body. The winter wind hurried down Columbus Avenue and the hem of his coat flapped around his knees letting little pockets of cold waft up to invade the warmth his body had spent so much time preparing and storing around his torso. With a bitter squeeze of his hands, his knuckles now getting cold, Morzeny bowed his square shoulders to the wind and continued walking. At sixty-seven years old the New York winters bothered Morzeny more than he cared to admit. And, although no doctor would admit it to him, he was positive that the first faint hints of arthritis tweaking through his hands were made worse by the cold. At every cross street the setting sun flashed through to the avenue in shades of crisp pink and red. Morzeny didn't want to be working right now. But these outings were the price he paid for having a hybrid job, owning buildings and brokering as many of his own leases as possible. When he had first come to the city he had been told that he needed a job, not for income, his providers took care of that, but for his own sanity. Something to keep him going. He had asked for something in real estate and had never bothered to wonder what other paths he might have taken. He had always been able to focus to the point of blindness. It helped him in every aspect of his work. He arrived at the brownstone building housing the apartment he was to show tonight. His building was tucked into a short row of buildings that squatted over the street, their steps reaching towards the curb like stunted growths. More to prove to himself that he could do it than anything else, Morzeny took the front steps two at a time.

Morzeny believes that:

Working right now is the price he has to pay

['Owning restaurants is a good idea', "He shouldn't have to work", 'not enough information']

There’s a story in my Tuscan family of nobility and forbidden love. It’s set in Taranto, Puglia, on Italy’s southern heel and involves my daughter’s great-great-grandmother. The best known version is told by my husband Marco’s uncle, Riccardo, who remembers it being told to him by his elderly Nonna Anna herself. Anna Michela Comasia Maria Calianno. Her long name was a sign of her family’s noble status. She was born in Taranto, Puglia, in 1889, into a wealthy, well-educated Tarantine family of physicians, surgeons and landowners. One day, by chance, young Anna answered the door instead of the butler. There was Nicola Cardellicchio, the postman. He came from a poor family of bricklayers and wool spinners, raised by a single mother. “He was no adonis,” noted Nonna Anna. Nicola was rather short and stocky, but she liked him immediately. She continued answering the door whenever the postman passed. When Anna’s mother, Girolama, noticed her daughter’s growing interest in the postman, she forbid her to see him again, threatening to disown her. So Anna did what any lovesick girl would do: she ran away, eloping with Nicola. The couple had nine children in Taranto — Mario, Marco’s grandfather was born in the middle of the First World War — but times were very hard, and they moved north to Torino to look for work. Nonna Anna was perhaps not an instinctive cook. I wondered whether she ever had the possibility to learn how to cook. Her grandchildren, Angela (my mother in law) and Riccardo, remember her only ever making lesso (boiled meat) and these polpette, which became variously known in the family as “sugo di nonna Anna” and, oddly, “amatriciana” (which is actually a different recipe, a chilli-spiked sauce of fried guanciale and tomato to coat pasta). But these polpette – plump meat balls, cooked slowly in tomato sauce, a very traditional dish from Puglia – were passed down to Anna’s daughter in law, Angela’s Tuscan mother, Lina, who made them so often for her own family that she in turn taught her daughter in law, Franca, Riccardo’s wife, who continues to make them today for her own grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It has become this Tuscan family’s recipe, spread throughout the branches of the family tree, made for guests and special occasions especially (it feeds a crowd wonderfully).

Anna's marriage probably lasted:

50 years

['1 year', 'not enough information', '1 week']

Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese-style spelling bee . In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries. Perhaps the show's popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It's possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them. But there's still hope for the paint brush. China's Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write. In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher's examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. "If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?" we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. "The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture," she reasons. "Students must learn now so they don't forget when they grow up." says the teacher.

According to Shen Bin, being able to write characters by hand is _ .

helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive

['necessary for adults to survive in China', 'a requirement made by the Education Ministry', 'an ability to be developed only when you are students']

Dear God, Now that I am no longer young, I have friends whose mothers have passed away. I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully appreciated their mothers until it was too late to tell them. I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. I appreciate her more each day. My mother does not change, but I do. As I grow older and wiser, I realize what an extraordinary person she is. How sad that I am unable to speak these words in her presence, but they flow easily from my pen. How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? For the love, patience and just plain hard work that go into raising a child? For running after a toddler, for understanding a moody teenager, for tolerating a college student who knows everything? For waiting for the day when a daughter realizes how wise her mother really is? How does a grown woman thank a mother for continuing to be a mother? For being ready with advice (when asked) or remaining silent when it is most appreciated? For not saying, "I told you so", when she could have said these words dozens of times? For being essentially herself -- loving, thoughtful, patient, and forgiving? I don't know how, dear God, except to bless her as richly as she deserves and to help me live up to the example she has set. I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine. A daughter

Why does the daughter write the letter?

She wants to tell God how much she loves her mother.

['She feels sorry to her mother.', 'She expects God to retell her appreciation to her mother.', 'She wants to pray for her mother.']

It is said that most people have not more than 30 friends at any given time, and 400 over the whole of their lives. However, on social networking sites, most users have about 150 friends. If these numbers are correct, then friendship means different things in different situations. Also, there are no rules about friendship. There are no instructions about how to make friends, how to keep friendships going, and how to finish friendships if we want to move on. People have very different opinions about this: some people would die for their friends and they value them more than family. Others say that friends are temporary, only there to help each other until they are no longer needed. If people with such different views become friends, this can lead to problems. Because of these different definitions of friendship, it is easy to be unhappy about our friendships. We may want them to be deeper or closer, or we may want to have more friends in our lives. Sometimes we simply do not have the time to develop our friendships, or we fear we have left it too late in life to start. If we move to another country or city, we have to find ways to make new friends again. This dissatisfaction shows us how important friendships are for most of us. We should not think that it could be too late to build friendships. We also need to understand that the need to be around other people is one that is shared by many. Therefore, we should not be too frightened about starting to talk to people who in the future may become our friends: it is likely that they too would like to get closer to us. Remember what people say: strangers are friends we have not met yet.

According to the text, how many friends do the majority of people probably have?

30 friends or fewer at a certain stage.

['Over 400 friends in their whole lives.', '400 internet friends in their whole lives.', '150 internet friends at a certain stage.']

Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker You may not play poker yourself but for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the fate of the free world has been determined by men who do. So this recommendation is not for those who already play the game - if you do, you needn't bother reading the rest of this review, just go off and buy the book - as to the non-player, this is seriously worth their attention. Although it began as poque, a French game that developed in New Orleans and headed up the Mississippi steamboats, by the mid-19th century poker was the most popular American amusement; the national game, in effect. So the history of America can be viewed through the history of poker, as James McManus quietly demonstrates. In this book you watch America grow up over a card table, from the wild west games which could either leave you broke, or dead, or both to the more polite early 20th-century scenes of respectable games. And it is possible to argue, after reading this book, that history would be different if there were no such game which combined luck, intelligence, dishonesty, courage, skill and character. (There's a very good chapter which tries to work out how much luck is involved in the game.) Few over here have read or will read Shelby Foote's 2,836-page history of the American civil war, so we can be grateful that McManus provides us with a clear and elegant outline which tells how it was "the first work of history to explore how the game's wisdom and logic fit into the whole scheme of _ ". Not only, for instance, was Ulysses S Grant a good poker player, but as a student at West Point he'd learned the betting strategies of many of his contemporaries who would go on to become rebel generals. Nixon's poker game has already been analysed by Garry Wills in his Nixon Agonistes; Oskar Morgenstern, one of Eisenhower's advisers, pointed out that chess was Russians' national game and poker was the Americans'. This is not, though, the history of poker, but, as the subtitle tells us, the story of poker, you will find fuller details elsewhere. This is a very flowing and impressionistic account, with a huge knowledge of the game; at times, in its mixing together of anecdote and observation, it produces the feeling you might get from studying a work of art. McManus is a first-rate writer: controlled, sensitive, accurate and convincing. And if the game makes no sense to you or holds no appeal, it might be the case that you are putting yourself at a disadvantage when it comes to dealing with the rest of humankind.

Which of the following is the conclusion that the writer of this passage has drawn?

If you don't play poker, you may be at a disadvantage in human society.

['World history would certainly be different without poker.', 'History book is harder to understand than poker book.', 'Poker originated in New Orleans and became popular with sailors.']

As I mentioned in my previous post on Sacré-Coeur, one of the other places I didn’t get a chance to see when I was in Paris last summer was the catacombs so I wanted to be sure to fit in a visit this time around. Long Queue vs Online Tickets You can either wait in line to get in or buy tickets online for specific time slots to bypass the line. Wait times can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 3+ hours and in the summer time, it’s common to wait for hours. I definitely recommend buying a ticket online. Keep in mind that they have a limited number of tickets for each time slot, so don’t wait too long to buy or you may be stuck in that loooooong line. We got quite a few less-then-friendly looks from those in the line when we bypassed the entire queue and went right in. C’est la vie (insert Gallic shrug here). For some inexplicable reason, the site says you must print your tickets if you buy them online. Given that most visitors to the catacombs are tourists with limited or no access to a printer, this seems particularly silly, but what can you do? Luckily, we were in a hotel with a small business center so we printed our tickets there. Online tickets cost quite a bit more (27€ compared to 12€ for adults and 10€ for those age 26 or under). Totally worth it if that works with your budget. Online tickets also come with an audio guide. If you buy tickets at the door, the guide is an extra 5€. It’s a nice cool 14°C (57°F) down there, a lovely break from the hot summer weather above. It is damp in places and the ground can be slippery so watch your step as you walk.

What is the most probably reason why the author decided to visit the catacombs?

It's a must see attraction while in Paris

['not enough information', 'She wanted to cool off after being in the heat all day', 'She really wanted to see the Sacre-Coeur, but they were sold out']

Years ago while lying in my hammock and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence.Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the next door neighbor' s 10 - year - old daughter' s rabbit.For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard.I knew that day would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast. The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower.Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as "natural caused". Back to the hammock and JD.Within the hour the neighbor' s Volvo palled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage.Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: " D - A - D - D - Y!!!" Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage.Being the good neighbor that I am, I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do. Her father less than calmly shouted, "What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl's rabbit and put it back in its cage?"

That day the girl ran to the cage _ .

because she.had a habit of going there to see her rabbit

['because her rabbit was there', 'because she wanted to see her rabbit again', 'because the rabbit was dead']

I mean , his girlfriend dies , ( or he thinks she does ) and he tries to kill himself ? What , did he stop maturing when he became a vampire at 17 ? I 'll admit that Jacob can be immature , but he has a good excuse , he 's 16 . I ' m not ragging on the books .

What is the narrator critiquing ?

They are reviewing a film .

['They are reviewing a vampire show .', 'They are reviewing a high school musical .', 'None of the above choices .']

You can do it! That's a better way to motivate yourself than saying "I can do it, " according to a new study that shows giving yourself advice and encouragement in the second-person before an upcoming task may actually improve your performance more than first-person self-talk. "People are used to receiving and giving advice in the second-person, and they seem to prefer using the second-person pronoun to encourage themselves," says study co-author, Dr. Sanda Dolcos, a researcher at the University of Illinois. "Self-advice expressed using 'You' probably enables people to have a broader perspective , consider how others might view the event, and reproduce the kind of encouragements previously received from others." For the study, Dr. Dolcos and her colleague, Dr. Dolores, asked 143 undergraduate students to write down advice to themselves before completing a series of puzzles. Half of the students were asked to use the first-person, while the others wrote in the second-person. What did the researchers find? The students who wrote in the second-person managed to complete more puzzles and appeared to have a more positive attitude. The researchers also asked the students to write down advice to themselves in relation to exercising more often in the next two weeks. Those who wrote in the second-person, again, reported a more positive attitude toward the task and even planned to do more exercise than the students who referred to themselves in the first-person. "We were not surprised and had previous research showing that people _ use 'You' in situations that require high levels of self-control and action," Dolcos said. But why did the researchers ask students to write down their self-talk instead of saying it out loud? " Writing as a tool of conversing with oneself has long been used as a therapeutical approach," Dolcos explained. "However, further research is needed to determine which form of self-advice, written or spoken, is more beneficial."

How did the students perform in the experiment?

The ones who encouraged themselves by writing in the second-person were better.

['The ones who wrote in the first-person had a better attitude.', 'The ones who talked to themselves completed the most puzzles.', 'The ones who encouraged themselves in the first-person were more positive than others.']

Most rain forests lie close to the equator ,where the climate is often mild and there are long hours of sunshine.The warmth of the land heats the air above,causing it to rise and tiny drops of water to fall as rain.The rainfall can reach at least 98 inches a year.This wet,warm world with plenty of sunlight is perfect for plants to grow,so the trees grow fast with green leaves all the year round.The trees themselves also have an effect on the climate.They gather water from the soil and pass it out into the air through their leaves.The wet air then forms clouds,which hang over the treetops like smoke.These clouds protect the forest from the daytime heat and night-time cold of nearby deserts,keeping temperatures fit for plant growth. Rain forests slightly farther away from the equator remain just as warm,but they have a dry season of three months or more when little rain falls.Tree leaves fall during this dry season and new leaves grow when the wet season or monsoon begins.Thus these areas are known as the "monsoon forest". Another type of rain forest grows on tropical mountains.It is often called the "cloud forest" because clouds often hang over the trees like fog. The rain forest is the ideal place for the growth of many different trees.Most of them depend on animals to eat their fruits and spread their seeds.When the fruits are eaten,the seeds inside them go undamaged through animals' stomachs and are passed out in their droppings.The seeds lying on the forest floor then grow into new trees.

This passage is most likely to be found in _ .

a geography book

['a travel guide', 'a story book', 'a technical report']

The story happened during the Second World War. An old man lived in a small town of Germany. He had three sons and they all worked in the same factory where he had worked. After the war had begun, his sons were all made to join the army one after another and they all died in the fights. The old man was very sad. He didn't have enough food and was often hungry. And nobody helped him and he didn't know how to go on living. It was a very cold winter night. The old man couldn't go to sleep. He had been hungry for two days and it was so cold in his room that ice could be seen. He had to get up and began to run in the room until he lay down on the floor. The next morning he had to beg from door to door. He had been to a lot of cities and knew a lot. Once he came to a village, but the villagers were all poor and couldn't give him anything. He was too hungry to go to another village. He thought hard and found a way. He came to a police station and called out, "Hitler is a foolish pig!" Out came an old policeman at once. He took the old man into a room, gave him some bread and a cup of tea. Then he said, "Don't say so in our village, sir!" "I'm sorry, sir," said the old man. "I don't know it's Hitler's hometown." "No, no, sir," the policeman said in a hurry. "It's pigs' hometown!"

The old man's sons joined the army because _ .

they had to do so

['they were all strong', 'they loved their country', 'they wanted to be full']

Most American teenagers can't wait to get rid of their "mental mouth" nickname . They count down the days they can finally take their braces off. However, trendy teenagers in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand can't wait to get them on, even if they don't need them. Braces are the latest teenage fashion trend in Southeast Asia. Having a mouthful of metal has become so popular with Asian teens that there have been reports of many teens wearing fake braces. Many Asian beauty shops are now offering to put in cheap fake braces. There are even cheaper do-it-yourself braces such as " Hello Kitty," Mickey Mouse" or others for a price of around $100. Braces are considered a sign of wealth in Southeast Asia. A real set of braces in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, for example, will cost around $ 1,200, which is a large amount for the country with a GDP of $345 billion ( a billion is 1,000 million), compared to the US which had a GDP of $1,506 Trillion ( a Trillion is 1,000 billion) last year. While Asian teens may think that their colorful fake braces are cool, experts say that these trendy fashion braces can cause illness and can even lead to death. According to the New York Daily News, fake fashion braces have already been linked to the deaths of two teens in Thailand.A 17-year-old in the northeast city of Khon Kaen died from heart failure caused by a thyroid infection from a pair of fake fashion braces. Police also linked the death of another 14-year-old girl in Chonburi to a pair of fashion braces she had brought from an illegal shop. Although the government is giving warnings about fake braces, the trend has been going strong for at least four years. What's worse, the trend for fake braces shows no sign of slowing down.

Why does the author compare Thailand's GDP with that of the US?

To show the high cost of Braces in Thailand.

['To explain the importance of the GDP.', 'To describe the development of Thailand.', 'To introduce the capital city of Thailand.']

After about 9 hours on the road ( including a few stops , so technically less of a drive than that ) we arrived last night around 8 pm . We 're staying at an awesome lakeside resort about 45 minutes north of Montreal -- the same one we stayed in eight years ago , with the entire stepfamily . Of note : that trip was the summer after I discovered Notre Dame de Paris for the first time , and on this trip I picked up my first Bruno CDs . And Garou .

What does the narrator like to see while on vacation ?

They like observing old churches .

['They like observing Montreal clubs .', 'They like observing modern Montreal buildings .', "They like observing Montreal 's secular community ."]

“Hey, Natalie! Nice sweatshirt!” I was passing through the hallways of school last year, being messenger boy for the teachers, when this girl walked up to me. I had no clue who she was, but I thought she was a year younger than me. That’s why I thought it was weird that she said my name. But the “nice sweatshirt” bit was what really got me. I wasn’t even wearing my sweatshirt. So. There was a substitute teacher in my literacy class, so my class was split. half of us did actual work, and the other half watched a documentary. Ben, Evan, Isabelle and myself were put together in the class watching the super boring documentary. We got bored, so, when Ben left the classroom for a bit and left his jacket behind, I don’t remember why, but, I put on his sweatshirt and traded it for mine. This turned into everyone swapping sweatshirts for the next hour until school was out. At one point I was called to the office to deliver a message to a different classroom. I walked out of the office with the information, and turned around at the sound of my name. “Hey, Natalie! Nice sweatshirt!” I smiled and thanked her like the nice human being I want people to think I am. Once she started down the stairs I looked down at my sweatshirt. Black and orange? Nike? But my sweatshirt’s gray and purple! Then I remembered our little game of “try not to get caught swapping sweatshirts and giggling”. I wasn’t wearing my sweatshirt. Someone else had it. I was wearing Evan’s. It’s also kind of sad because that was one of the only compliments I’ve gotten from a stranger all year. Complimented on something that wasn’t even mine… Welcome to my life, everybody!

What is probably true about Natalie?

She starrts trends with her friends

['She wears her sweatshirt a lot.', 'She gets a lot of compliments about her looks', 'not enough information']

Ammie was only 18 months old when she had an accident that scarred her for life. While her mother was away for a moment , the curious baby reached up to a hot kettle in the kitchen and poured boiling water all over her body. An ambulance was called and rushed the baby to nearby hospital . About 20 percent of Ammie's body had been burned and all of her burns were third degree. The doctors could tell immediately that Ammie's best chance of survival was specialized burns unit some miles away at Glasgow Royal hospital. There , using tissue taken from unburned areas of Ammie's body, surgeons performed complex skin grafts to close her wounds and control her injuries , an operation that took about six hours. Over the next 16 years, Ammie underwent 12 more operations to repair her body. When she started school at the age of 4 , other pupils made cruel comments or simply wouldn't play with her . "I was the only burned child in the street , the class and the school," she recalls, "Some children refused to become friends with me because of that." Today , age 17 , Ammie can only ever remember being a burned person with scars ; pain is a permanent part of her life, she is still awaiting two further operations. Yet she is a confident, outgoing teenager who offers inspiration and hope to other young burnt victims. Ammie's parents have been a great support to her. "They told me of people had a problem with my burns, the problem with my burns, the problem was theirs not mine," says Ammie. "They taught me to cope with other people's reactions and constantly reminded me I was valued and loved." Ammie's positive attitude to life means she is often contacted by burns charities , helping younger patients build their self-respect to live with permanent scars. Now she is a member the Scottish Burned Children's Club. "Ammie provides so much encouragement for the younger ones. She is optimistic and outgoing and a perfect role model for them , " say Donald Todd, chairman of the club. This month , Ammie will join some younger children on a summer camp. "I'll show them how to _ unkind stares from others , " she says. Ammie loves wearing fashionable sleeveless tops , and she plans to show the children at the summer camp that they can too. "I don't go to great lengths to hide my scars , " she says . "I gave up wondering how other people would react years ago."

Ammie was taken to Glasgow Royal hospital because _ .

it was a local hospital excellent at treating burns

['it was the nearest hospital to her home', 'it was the only hospital curing her burns', 'surgeons there were skilled at performing skin grafts']

SEOUL — The recent U.S. missile strikes against Syria could increase pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, or reinforce in Pyongyang the need for nuclear deterrence. The United States, France and Britain fired 105 missiles at three Syrian chemical weapons facilities on Saturday, in response to an alleged Syrian chemical weapons attack in the city of Douma that killed at least 40 people and wounded or sickened hundreds of others. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied any use of banned weapons. The combined military strike on Syria comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are preparing for an expected summit in late May or early June to discuss dismantling the North’s nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees. Trump’s willingness to use force against Syria can be seen to reinforce his “maximum pressure” campaign message, that in addition to imposing tough sanctions banning most North Korean exports, the U.S. would take military action, if necessary, to force Kim to terminate his nuclear program and end the continued development of a nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. mainland. Calling the U.S. attack on Syria “a warning for Pyongyang,” the South Korean newspaper the Korea Joongang Daily, in an editorial on Monday said, “If Kim wants to be free from the fear of a potential raid, then he must be willing to denuclearize.” From this perspective the U.S. show of force in Syria will increase pressure on the leadership in North Korea to offer meaningful nuclear concessions at the Trump-Kim summit. “Unless it abandons at least part of its nuclear and missile capabilities then the Trump administration will not be satisfied,” said Bong Young-shik, a political analyst with the Yonsei University Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul However the U.S. military strike on Syria could also reinforce concerns in North Korea that giving up its nuclear deterrent would make the country more vulnerable to a similar attack. “If it thinks that its regime is not guaranteed, it will keep the nuclear program,” said Kim Hyun-wook, a professor of American studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul.

Who or what will keep the nuclear program if it thinks that its regime is not guaranteed?

North Korea

['not enough information', 'President Trump', 'Syria']

We hosted dinner for a young couple who just moved to Eugene ( daughter & her partner of Chicago friend . ) Bri expressed amazement when Bob announced he was going to make the whipped cream for the dessert . " You 're making the whipped cream ? ! " I guess she thought it was some complicated process , and was amazed further to find that all you do it put heavy cream in a bowl and whip it .

Why was Bob making whipped cream ?

It tastes better and is healthier if you make it yourself .

['Bob is hosting a cooking show and needed footage .', 'Bob gets angry and whipping things lets him get his anger out .', 'None of the above choices .']

With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most heated argument across the United States today is the death penalty . Many argue that it is an effective deterrent to murder , while others think there is no enough proof that the death penalty reduces the number of murders. The argument advanced by those who are against the death penalty is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, that it is a mark of a bad society and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent to crime anyway. In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary action. Throughout recorded history there have always been those peculiar persons in every society who made terrible crimes such as murder. But some are more dangerous than others. For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in time of blind anger, but quite another to coldly plan and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of different degree. While it could be argued with some reason that the criminal in the first instance should be merely kept from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer. The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to discussion. But the majority of people believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is proved by the fact that the death penalty prevents murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was carried out from time to time in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100, 000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been done only once, and the murder rate has risen to10.4 murders for each 100, 000 population. The sharp climb in the state's murder rate, which began when killings stopped, does not happen by chance. It certainly shows that the death penalty does stop many murderers. If the law about death penalty is vetoed , some people will be murdered----some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is really a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of people must be protected.

It can be inferred that the writer thinks that _ .

the second type of murderers (in Paragraph 2) should be sentenced to death

['the death penalty is the most important problem in the United States today', 'the veto of the law about death penalty is of little importance', 'the value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime is not to be discussed']

In this century the traditional American family is constantly faced with the threat of breakdown. Some people suggest that one little - noticed cause may be the introduction of the TV dinner. Before the appearance of television seats, the American dinner was a big event for the family. In many homes dinner time may be the only time when everyone got together. A typical dinner was usually in three periods In the preparation period, the children and Father frequently helped with setting while Mother put the last touches on the roast. In the eating period, family members shared the day's experiences and more than food was eaten. In this period,families got to know one another and made joint decisions around the dinner table, and thus the family solidarity was strengthened. In the cleaning - up period,children or Father again gave their hands, so that their meaning to the home community was clear. Unfortunately, all of these have been abandoned by a product--the television set. By the beginning of the 1980s, the typical American family dinner was just twenty minutes long. The speed - up of this once - leisurely experiences is clearly connected to the overall pace of modern life and maybe a model of the modern life is the TV dinners--meals designed to be used between the opening and closing credits of a half - hour program. The once family affair has now become nothing more than the use of a fork and knife.

According to the passage, the American family is now threatened by_.

separation

['Being poor', 'having few children', 'poor living conditions']

We have entered a new age of embedded , intuitive computing in which our homes, cars, stores, farms, and factories have the ability to think, sense, understand, and respond to our needs. It's not science fiction, but the dawn of a new age. Most people might not realize it yet, but we are already feeling the impact of what's known as the third wave of computing. In small but significant ways it is helping us live healthier and more secure lives. If you drive a 2014 Mercedes Benz, for example, an "intelligent" system tries to keep you from hitting a pedestrian. A farmer in Nigeria relies on weather sensors that communicate with his mobile device. Forgot your medicine? A new pill bottle from AdhereTech reminds you through text or automatic phone messages that it's time to take a pill. Technology is being integrated into our natural behaviors, with real-time data connecting our physical and digital worlds. With this dramatic shift in our relationship to technology, companies can adapt their products and services. To understand how revolutionary the third wave is, we ought to consider how far we have come. The first wave began when companies started to manage their operations through mainframe computer systems over 50 years ago. Then computing got "personal" in the 1980s and the 1990s with the introduction of the PC (personal computer). For the most part, computing remained immobile and lacked contextual awareness. In computing's second wave, mobile computing and the smartphone took center stage. Billions of people, some of whom might not have had access to clean water, electricity, or even housing, were connected. Developers created applications and provided consumers with access to just about everything through their phone at the cost of a monthly data plan. As the third wave keeps developing, designers must meet the demands of consumers who want to experiment with new technology. Historically, designers have focused their attention on a product's form and function. While that still matters, of course, the definition of a meaningful user experience has expanded significantly and will continue to do so. Instead of creating a single product, designers will need to imagine a series of connected products and services that have awareness of each other and their surroundings.

What can we conclude from the passage about the new age we are facing?

There's closer relationship between technology and people's natural behaviours.

["There's a shift of attention from people's physical worlds to their digital worlds.", 'People live more happily with the convenience brought by advanced technology.', 'People become lazier with the products that can think and respond to their needs.']

Can people change their skin colour without suffering like pop king Michael Jackson? Perhaps yes. Scientists have found the gene that determines skin colour. The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 per cent of Europeans. The other is found in 93 to 100 per cent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of Science. Scientists have changed the colour of a dark-striped zebra fish to uniform gold by inserting a version of the pigment gene into a young fish. As with humans, zebra fish skin colour is determined by pigment cells, which contain melanosomes . The number, size and darkness of melanosomes per pigment cell determines skin colour. It appears that, like the golden zebra fish, light-skinned Europeans also have a mutation in the gene for melanosome production. This results in less pigmented skin. However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in human and zebra fish genes. Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about 1.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra-violet rays of the sun, which can cause skin cancer. But when modern humans leave Africa to live in northern latitudes, they need more sunlight on their skin to produce vitamin D. So the related gene changes, according to Cheng. Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the action of some other gene that affects skin colours, said Cheng. The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer. It also could lead to research into ways to change skin colour without damaging it like chemical treatment done on Michael Jackson.

We can infer from the passage that _ .

people will be able to change their skin colour without chemical treatment in the future

['people like to change their skin colour', 'a mutation in the gene for melanosome production is different in human and zebra fish gene', 'skin cancer can be cured now']

I ' m not sure there are words to describe how happy the summer season finale ( sniff ! ) of Psych made me Okay , so when I saw that this episode was going to be about Gus being help hostage in a bank , I was hoping to gets lots of anxious , freaked out Shawn , but I was prepared to be disappointed . I was not . Shawn tried to run into the bank and Lassie and Jules had to grab him to stop him .

Why might someone have tried to enter the establishment .

To save their friend .

['None of the above choices .', 'To take a hostage .', 'To withdraw some emergency cash .']

There once was a very wealthy man who had made great achievement. He had more money than he could ever spend, and he was admired and looked up to by his neighbors. Still,he knew that something was missing in his life. He wasn't happy. All his life he had been striving for happiness, but he had never been able to find it. Then one day, he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret of happiness. He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple. After many years of searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was tired and penniless, but he knew that none of that was important now because he had found the temple. He asked a wise, smiling monk if he could enter the special room. The monk agreed and showed him the stairs leading to the room. He climbed them with legs shaking with expectation and slowly opened the door. He stared into the room with sunlight streaming through the window and saw what he had come so far to find. There hanging on the wall was the secret of happiness. The man gazed at himself in the mirror and laughed. It is time that we all realized that we were the secret of our own happiness. Happiness is a choice that we can make. Don't spend the rest of your life searching the world for happiness then. Just look in the mirror and laugh. Just let the happiness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all those around you.

According to the text, the man_.

found the secret of happiness at last

['was not happy because of his wealth and success', "wasn't popular with people of his neighbors", 'would regret for what he had done']

As millions of playthings are recalled, doctors are reminded that the risks of lead exposure continue for young patients. Lead is such a well-known health - perhaps even contributing to the fall of the Roman Empire- that it came as a shock to discover that toys played by children could contain lead. Doctors are now dealing with the aftershocks. Just how dangerous is this exposure? That's the question physicians are being asked by parents who find a lead-polluted Elmo, of Dora. Millions of others toys, lunch boxes and pieces of jewelry manufactured in China have been recalled because they contain lead either in the paint that coats them or as a component of the plastic used to make the item more flexible. The lead content in some of the toys recalled this summer was 180 times the amount allowed by law. Some pieces of jewelry were almost 100% lead. Experts advise that the items do cause a risk and that doctors should urge parents to check the comprehensive lists of recalled products on the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Web site and return any appearing on those lists to the manufacturers. If exposure is suspected, a blood test is in order . Since there is no safe level of this universal element, the risk face by children for lead poisoning and its accompanying threat of learning disabilities and behavior problems is considerable. Doctors who have toys in their waiting rooms also are advised to see if any of them have been recalled and to check for chipped, flaking paint-even on those that haven't yet been recalled--since new announcements of toy risk continue.

From the report we can infer that _ .

some toy and jewelry manufacturers will suffer heavy losses

['children who are exposed to lead have learning disabilities', 'the unsafe toys have all been listed on the website', 'lead is used mainly to make the products flexible']

One of the more surprising objects in the Getty Villa’s newly reinstalled gallery of later Roman sculpture is a marble bust of a youth leaning out of a circular frame, mounted high on the gallery wall. J. Paul Getty originally acquired this particular sculpture in 1973, but it has been off view for many years. The recent reinstallation of the Getty Museum’s antiquities collection at the Villa provided the opportunity to resurrect many such objects from storage and put them on display. Bringing this strange object back to the public eye enabled us to ask—and answer—several questions about it. Who—if anyone—does it represent? When was it carved? Where was it made, and how did it end up in Los Angeles? In preparation for its display, we researched and reinterpreted the object, exploring both its ancient function and modern history. In its new display, this object is fittingly surrounded by other examples of late Roman sculpture from the third and fourth centuries. Its inclusion in this gallery was not always a given, however, as the figure was long misidentified as a portrait of young Caracalla, who at ten years old became joint emperor with his father in A.D. 198.(1) But recent scholarship questioned the Caracalla identification and the object’s date, suggesting it was carved at least a hundred years later.(2) In light of this research, curator Jens Daehner pushed to reexamine the sculpture and consider including it in the reinstallation. In early 2015, the Antiquities Department brought this tondo and many other potential objects for the new galleries out of storage for viewing, providing curators, conservators, mount makers, preps, and registrars a chance to approve and prepare artworks for possible display. After the storage viewing and subsequent research, we updated the object record to conform with what scholars had suggested: this is not a second-century portrait of Caracalla but a fourth-century bust of a youth or divinity. To answer our next question of who the tondo represents, we then had to take a closer look at the curious origin and function of this sculpture type.

Why did scholars re-examine the unusual bust?

Because it was being considered for a new display at the Getty Villa

['Because it had both ancient function and modern history', 'not enough information', 'Because it was originally acquired in 1973']

When you're having a hard time with your homework or when you're preparing for your term paper, these student-focused websites can help you with just about anything you need. The key to getting the most out of these online resources is to know how they can best be used to your advantage. Facebook Although Facebook can be one of your biggest time-wasters and distractions when you are supposed to getting work done, it can also be one of your most valuable resources. Most of your classmates will probably have a Facebook account, so anyone you need to connect with about a class you missed or about a problem is usually just a few clicks away. SparkNotes With a free library of history, philosophy study guides and summaries, SparkNotes has covered just about any reading-related tasks you have to finish. Just search for the book, play, or short summary of the material you are supposed to read. Amazon.com Do you finish every term with many expensive textbooks you will never open again? Instead of letting the money spent go to waste, get back some of your cash by selling your books on Amazon. RateMyProfessors.com Choosing new classes can sometimes be like trying to pick out your clothes in the dark, a total guessing game. Which teacher gives out the hardest problem? How much homework will that history professor give you every week? At RateMyProfessors.com, students all over the country rate their professors on quality, helpfulness, and how hard their classes are. Wikipedia While Wikipedia isn't aimed specially at students, it is difficult to think of another website that does more to reduce the pain of paper writing and researching. Wikipedia gives you a quick way to find sources and get the details of almost any topic you need research - all without walking to the library.

While you are taking great pains to write a research report, _ can most probably be a help.

Wikipedia

['SparkNotes', 'Amazon.com', 'Facebook']

CARDIFF, Wales Poets, singers and musicians from across the globe gathered in Wales to celebrate the tradition of storytelling. "It might seem strange that people still want to listen in age of watching television, but this is an unusual art form whose time has come again," said David Ambrose, director of Beyond the Border, an international storytelling festival in Wales. "Some of the tales, like those the Inuit from Canada, are thousands years old. So our storytellers have come from distant lands to connect us with the distance of time," he said early this month. Two Inuit women, both in their mid 60s, are among the few remaining who can do Kntadjait, or throat singing, which has few words and much sound. Their art is governed by the cold of their surroundings, forcing them to say little but listen attentively. Ambrose started the festival in 1993, after several years of working with those reviving (coming back into use or existence) storytelling in Wales. "It came out of a group of people who wanted to reconnect with traditions. and as all the Welsh are storytellers, it was _ here." Ambrose said.

Ambrose believes that the art of storytelling _ .

will be popular again

['will be more popular than TV', 'started in Wales', 'are in the hands of some old people']

President Donald Trump suffered a political setback Tuesday when Democrats won easy victories in governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey. In addition, Democrats cheered a turnout that could have major implications for next year's congressional midterm elections, when all 435 House seats and one-third of the Senate will be on the ballot. Democrats are pointing to exit polls in both Virginia and New Jersey that showed that anger at Trump was a major factor in stimulating Democrats to get to the polls. They also note Democratic gains in the battle for state delegate seats in Virginia, another sign of grass-roots enthusiasm that could help Democrats in races for lower-level offices across the country. In New Jersey, Governor-elect Phil Murphy, a Democrat, saw his election as a direct rebuke of the Republican president. "New Jersey sent an unmistakable message to the entire nation. We are better than this!" Murphy told cheering supporters at his victory rally. In Virginia, Democrat Ralph Northam defeated Republican Ed Gillespie in a campaign that focused, in part, on Trump and his policies, especially on immigration. At a news conference Wednesday, Northam said his victory showed that Virginians had a message for the country and the world. "The divisiveness, the hatred, the bigotry, the politics that is tearing this country apart, that is not the United States of America that people love and it certainly not the Commonwealth of Virginia that they love," he said. Political analysts said Democratic enthusiasm and a focus on Trump were clearly on display in both states. "We have heard for months and months about all this energy on the left. It had not materialized until tonight," said Steve Peoples of the Associated Press. "A big night for Democrats and, really, it was a repudiation of sorts of the Trump nationalist message." Even some Republicans saw the results as a rejection of the Trump political brand. Representative Scott Taylor of Virginia told the New York Times that he believes the president's "divisive rhetoric" helped the Democrats on Tuesday. "I do believe this is a referendum on this administration," Taylor said.

What did Ralph Northam think about Phil Murphys win

not enough information

['He loved it', 'He was pleased by it', 'He was enthused by it']

TOKYO--Lonely astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) may soon be getting a robot friend from Japan. Japan's space agency is considering putting a talking humanoid robot on the ISS to watch the work while astronauts are asleep, monitor their health and stress levels and communicate to Earth through the microblogging site Twitter. Japan's space agency JAXA announced this week that it is looking at a plan to send a humanoid robot to the space station in 2013 that could communicate with the ground through Twitter--primarily feeding photos, rather than original ideas --and provide astronauts with "comfort and companionship". Following up on US NASA's "Robonaut" R2 program, which is set for launch on the Discovery shuttle next week, the Japanese robot would be part of a larger effort to create and refine robots that can be used by the elderly, JAXA said in a statement. Japan is one of the leading countries in robotics and has a rapidly aging society with one of the world's longest life expectancies. Improving robot communication capabilities could help elderly people on Earth by providing a nonintrusive means of monitoring the robot owner's health and vital signs and sending information to emergency responders if there is an abnormality, JAXA said. "We are thinking in terms of a very humanlike robot that would have facial expressions and be able to talk with the astronauts," said JAXA's Satoshi Sano. The robot was being developed with the advertising and communications giant Dentsu Inc and a team at Tokyo University. The NASA project has a humanlike head, hands and arms and uses the same tools as station crew members. The "Robonaut" called R2 is intended to carry out maintenance tasks in the station's Destiny lab. NASA says it hopes that humanoid robots could one day stand in for astronauts during spacewalks or perform tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans. For now, the $2.5 million NASA robot is limited to activities within the lab.

According to the passage, a humanoid robot, put on the ISS, shall carry out the tasks except _ .

get a friend for astronauts from Japan

['keep in contact with Earth', 'take care of the ISS sometimes', 'keep an eye on the health of the astronauts']

In the Internet age, speed reading is a necessary and important skill. We skim over articles and e-mails to try to get key words and the main idea of the text. With so much information through our electronic devices , it would be impossible to get through everything if we read word by word, line by line. However, a new trend calls on people to enjoy reading slowly. A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones. They sit back in comfortable chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike typical book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn't to exchange ideas about certain books, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the story, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the traditional way of reading. Traditional readers, like Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to understand others. Some of these benefits have been backed up by science. For example, a study of 300 elderly people published by the journal Neurology last year showed that adults who take part in activities that use their brain, such as reading, suffer less memory loss as they get older. Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand others' mental states and beliefs -- a key skill in building relationships. Yet technology has made us less careful readers. Computer and phone screens have changed our reading patterns from the top-to-bottom, left-to-right reading order we traditionally used, to a wild skimming pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text online that has many links to other web pages also leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says British journalist Patrick Kingsley, only half joking. Because of the Internet, he says we have become very good at collecting a wide range of factual tidbits , but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, think and connect all these facts with each other.

Speed reading is a necessary and important skill in the Internet age because people _ .

have much more information to read

['no longer read word by word, line by line', 'have to get the meaning faster', 'must use their smartphones more frequently']

When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get. For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved . In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party. In adulthood the things that bring deep joy--love, marriage, birth--also bring responsibility and the risk of loss.For adults, happiness is complicated . My definition of happiness is "the capacity for enjoyment".The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are.It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health. I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day. Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work.I don't think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her. We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our "right" to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier. Happiness isn't about what happens to us--it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.

As people grow older, they _ .

feel it harder to experience happiness .

['associate their happiness less with others', 'will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness', 'tend to believe responsibility means happiness']

An eighteen-year-old high school student from Utah won the top prize in the Intel Science Talent Search in the United States. The winner received a computer and a scholarship for a college education. More than 1,500students from across the country entered projects in the competition this year. Their research included chemistry, medicine, physics, mathematics, engineering, and computer science-almost every area of science. Forty students were invited to Washington, D.C. for the final judging. A group of scientists judged them on their research abilities, critical thinking skills and creativity. The judges also questioned the students about scientific problems before deciding on the winners. The top winner received 100,000 dollars for college. Shannon Babb of American Fork High School studied the water quality of tile Spanish Fork River in Utah for six years. She found that people have a harmful effect on the river through human activity, including agriculture. And she suggested ways to improve the water quality in the future. These include educating the public not to put household chemicals down the drains , which lead to the river eventually. Seventeen-year-old Yi Sun of the Hanker School in San Jose, California, earned the second place. He won a 75,000-dollar scholarship for new discoveries about a mathematical theory known as random walks. His work could help computer scientists and chemists. Yi Sun was born in China. The third-place winner was also seventeen and born in China. Yuan "Chelsea" Zhang of Montgomery Blair High School in Rockville, Maryland, won a 50,000-dollar scholarship. She researched the molecular genetics of heart disease. Her findings could aid the development of new medicines. The Intel Science Talent Search is the oldest science competition for high school students in the United States. It is 65 years old this year. Past winners have gone on to receive six Nobel prizes and other top honors in science and math.

Where are you most likely to find this text?

In a newspaper.

['In a handbook.', 'In a textbook.', 'In a medical magazine.']

If teens could reduce the salt they take in every day by 3,000 milligrams (mg), they would cut their risk of heart disease and stroke greatly in adulthood, researchers say. Based on the results of a computer modeling analysis, researchers found that a 3,000 mg reduction in sodium by teenagers could reduce hypertension by 30 percent to 43 percent when they become adults. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a common condition that may have no symptoms for years, but can eventually cause serious health conditions, including heart attack and stroke. Other benefits over time as teens hit 50 years of age include a 7-12 percent reduction in coronary heart disease , an 8-14 percent reduction in heart attacks, and a 5-8 percent reduction in stroke. Fast food typically contains too much sodium. One bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos has 310 milligrams. Pizza is one of the biggest problems for teens when it comes to sodium, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. "The additional benefit of lower salt intake early is that we can hopefully change the expectations of how food should taste, ideally to something slightly less salty," says Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, the lead author of the study and associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. "Most of the salt we eat is not from our salt shaker , but salt that is already added in food that we eat." she added.

Which is a benefit of a low sodium diet according to the text?

Smaller chance of stroke.

['No risk of heart disease.', 'Low blood pressure.', 'Slightly more heart attacks.']

This piece of music is something I started originally for my album " Threology " . It never felt complete to me . I spent hundreds of hours laying down and editing live drums on it and then lost all that work when my computer crashed .

Was the single part of a larger composition of singles ?

It was part of the Threology album so yes .

['None of the above choices .', "No , the single did n't belong to an album", 'The Threology album was made by another artist so no .']

Just a quick review today to talk about these haircare and bodycare products from Yes to… Regular readers of Beauty Best Friend will know that I’m always looking out for new natural skincare and bodycare ranges as I’m passionate about products that don’t contain lots of nasty chemicals. Yes to… is one of these natural brands, based in California their products are always made from at least 95% natural ingredients, are free of parabens, phthalates and SLS, and made with recyclable materials. There are 6 collections, each involves saying ‘Yes to’ a different fruit or vegetable. The products I’ve been trying out are Yes to Grapefruit Rejuvenating Body Wash* and Yes to Carrots Nourishing Shampoo and Pampering Conditioner*. Yes to Grapefruit Rejuvenating Body Wash – the grapefruit range is aimed at those with uneven or dull skintone. This pearlised white shower gel has a gentle zingy grapefruit scent to wake you up in the morning and exfoliating fruit acids help to remove dead skin cells leaving your skin glowing and smooth. The ingredients are 98% natural and the body wash gives a light foam in the shower. I really like it, grapefruit is one of my favourite fruity scents and the large 280ml tube will last me for ages. Yes to Carrots Nourishing Shampoo & Pampering Conditioner – I always avoid sodium laureth sulphate (SLS) in my haircare products as I have a very sensitive scalp and SLS makes it really itchy and sore, so I was really pleased to read that this shampoo and conditioner are SLS free. Made from 97% and 95% natural ingredients respectively this shampoo and conditioner have been formulated for those with a dry scalp and contain carrot seed oil. Both products have a pleasant sweet scent although I wouldn’t say they smell of carrots! My thick hair feels clean and soft after using this duo and my favourite thing is that the conditioner totally prevents my hair from tangling in the shower leaving it manageable afterwards. I can run a brush straight through it when drying without having to get all the knots out first!

Why does the writer use natural bodycare products

They help with dry scalp

['not enough information', 'They leave your hair tangled', 'because they contain a lot of SLS']

In 1918, after four years of war which had left millions of people dead, the people alive began to look for a better and happier world. The cinema supplied an answer. For little money, people could forget their unhappy lives and dream of better ones. In the years between 1918 and 1939, going to the cinema became the most popular family free-time activity. Hollywood in America, made more films than any other film center in the world. The warm climate and long hours of sunlight meant that film-making was easy and quite cheap. This was also a rich part of America and there were many businessmen who wanted to make money from the film industry. At first short cowboy films were popular because they added excitement and adventure to people's lives. Later comedy films were made so that people could laugh and forget their troubles. Charlie Chaplin was probably the most liked of all comedy actors.

A "comedy" is something that is _ .

funny

['exciting', 'full of danger', 'Sad']

He met her at the party. She was so outstanding, with many boys around her, while he was so normal, with nobody paying attention to him. At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised, but due to being polite, she agreed. They sat in a nice coffee shop. He was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, thinking, "Please let me go home." Suddenly he asked the waiter, "Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at him---so strange! His face turned red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, "Why do you have this hobby?" He replied, "When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea. I liked playing in the sea, and I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood. I miss my hometown so much. I miss my parents who are still living there." While saying that, tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell about his homesickness must be a man who loves home, cares about home, and has a good sense of responsibility. Then she also started to speak, about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands: he was kind-hearted, warm and careful. He was such a good person but ! Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married the prince, then they were living a happy life...And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee. After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which said, "My dearest, please forgive my whole-life lie. This was the only lie I said to you ---the salty coffee." "Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time. Actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead." "I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything." "Now I'm dying, I'm afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don't like the salty coffee. What a strange and bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!" "Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for a second time, I still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again." Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her, "What's the taste of salty coffee?" "It's sweet," she replied.

From the passage, we can see that the man is _ .

caring and loyal

['dishonest but responsible', 'shy but kind-hearted', 'warm and understanding']

Ocean Park Hong Kong is a theme park in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island. The park was built with donations from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (now Hong Kong Jockey Club) and opened on 10 January 1977. Today it offers affordable marine animal education and entertainment and is a private organization for commercial purpose. In the early operation of the park, the main sources of income for the park were the ticket prices and the funding from the Jockey Club. Since the ticket price was low, most of the time Ocean Park was operating under deficit . In July 1987, the government established a 200 million trust from the funding of Jockey Club, under the Ocean Park Corporation Ordinance. This separated Ocean Park from Jockey Club and became a non-profit organization; it needs to be responsible for its own income and was allowed to use commercial means to operate the park. Since it was permitted to use commercial means to operate, it gradually raised its ticket price and the deficit turned into profit. In 1992, 3 million visitors visited the park. Since 1998, the East Asian financial crisis , aging attractions, and the passing away of the killer whale, the park recorded a deficit for a couple years. Although it was allowed to host 2 pandas in 1999, the number of visitors did not go up and Ocean Park was forced to close its water attractions and the "Old Village" attraction and turned to bring in more rides in an attempt to capture the youth demand. Together with the opening up of mainland visitors under the Individual Visit Scheme, Ocean Park recorded an astonishing 4 million visitors in the year 2004-2005, the highest since the park opened. In March 2005, Ocean Park made its redevelopment plan. On 23 November 2006, Ocean Park held a groundbreaking ceremony for its redevelopment.

At the beginning, Ocean Park Hong Kong _ .

mainly got income from the ticket prices and donations

['was built with the money from the government', 'sold its tickets at a high price', 'was a great success once it was opened']

Honestly , friends are the least of my worries -- and were the least of my worries while I was going through the intense homesickness . Maybe I ' m being too cocky , but I ' m confident that I 'll end up with a nice group of friends . I dunno . I ' m okay , for now .

Why was n't she worried about friends ?

She knew she would make new ones .

['She was somewhat worried about her friends .', 'She was a bit on the cocky side .', 'None of the above choices .']

It came up sooner than expected , again ... I had missed the flower shop , again ... I do n't think Gunny would really care about the flowers though . He liked watching me work on the flowers and veggie garden in our yard , but never paid much attention to them , himself ... We laughed over some Gunny stories , filling Anita in on what Gunny was like , and cried some , too .

Where was Gunny while we were talking about him ?

He had passed away and we were reminiscing about him .

['None of the above choices .', 'He was with Anita at our garden picking the flower and vegetables .', 'He was at work at the flower shop he owns with his wife .']

In the depths of my memory, many things I did with my father still live. These things come to represent, in fact, what I call joy and love. I don't remember my father ever getting into a swimming pool. But he did love the water. Any kind of boat ride seemed to give him pleasure. And he loved to fish; sometimes he took me along. But I never really liked being on the water, the way my father did. I liked being in the water, moving through it, having it all around me. I was not a strong swimmer, or one who learned to swim early, for I had my fears. But I loved being in the swimming pool close to my father's office and spending those summer days with my father, who would come by on a break. I needed him to see what I could do. My father would stand there in his suit, the only person not in swimsuit. After swimming, I would go inside his office and sit on the wooden chair in front of his big desk, where he let me play with anything I found in his top desk drawer. Sometimes, if I was left alone at his desk while he worked in the lab, an assistant or a student might come in and tell me perhaps I shouldn't be playing with his office things. But my father always showed up and said easily, "Oh, no, it's fine." Sometimes he handed me coins and told me to get myself an ice cream... A poet once said, "We look at life once, in childhood; the rest is memory." And I think it is not only what we "look at once, in childhood" that decides our memories, but who, in that childhood, looks at us.

The author loved being in the swimming pool close to her father's office mainly because _ .

she loved showing her progress in swimming to her father

["she was interested in her father's office things", 'she wanted her father to buy her some ice-cream', 'she wanted others to know how much her father loved her']

It's not every week that England's greatest playwright William Shakespeare hits the headlines, but the Bard of Avon has been the subject of two news stories in recent days as new information has come to light about the writer and his working environment. In the first development, a portrait of Shakespeare, which is believed to be the only picture painted of him during his lifetime, was _ in London. The artwork has been dated back to 1610, meaning it was painted six years before the writer's death. The painting had been owned by a family descended from Shakespeare's literary patron tor hundreds of years without them ever knowing who the man in the picture was. Alec Cobbe, who inherited the portrait, realized that the painting was a likeness of Shakespeare after visiting an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery where he saw a portrait that had, until 70 years ago, been accepted as a life portrait of Shakespeare. Mr Cobhe immediately realized he was looking at a copy of the painting that had been in his family for centuries. The painting will now go on display in Shakespeare's hometown Stratford-upon-Avon. In a separate story, archaeologists in London believe they have unearthed the remains of Shakespeare's first theatre. The site was excavated by a team from the Museum of London last summer, and is believed to have been built in 1576. Experts think that Shakespeare himself acted at the theatre, which may have been where the play Romeo and Juliet was premiered . It is believed that 25 years after construction, the building was pulled down and moved timber by timber to the South Bank of the Thames, where a reconstruction of the theatre now stands.

.Before visiting the exhibition, Alec Cobbe _ .

was unknown who the man in the painting was

['knew his painting was a copy of the portrait of Shakespeare', 'thought his painting was a little like Shakespeare', 'realized his painting was very valuable']

Bum rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate would be $ 50,000 a month when my new media company started. So, I began looking around for individuals who would be my first investors. "Angel money" it was called. But when I reviewed my list of acquaintances to find those who might be able to help, I found the number got small. With no other choices, I began meeting with the venture-capital companies. But I was warned they took a huge share of your company for the money they put in. And if you struggled, they could drop you cold. As I was searching for "angel money", I started to build a team who trusted me even though I didn't have money for paychecks yet. Bill Becker was an expert in computer programming and image processing at a very famous Media Lab at M. I.T. With his arrival, my company suddenly had a major technology "guy" in-house. Katherine Henderson, a filmmaker and a former real-estate dealer, joined us as our director of market research. Steve White came on as operating officer. He had worked for the developer of a home-finance software, Quicken. We grabbed him. We had some really good people, but we still didn't have enough money. One night, my neighbor, Louise Johnson, came for a visit. She and I were only nodding acquaintances, but her boys and ours were constant companions. She ran a very good business at the time. Louise was brilliant and missed nothing. She had been watching my progress closely. She knew I was dying for money and I had prospects but could offer no guarantees of success. She told me that her attorney had talked to mine and the terms had been agreed upon. She handed me an envelope. Inside was a check for $ 500,000. I almost fell down. I heard her voice as if from heaven. "I have confidence in your plan," she said. "You' 11 do well. You're going to work hard for it, but it' s satisfying when you build your own company." Who would have thought I'd find an angel so close to home? There were no words sufficient for the moment. We just said good night. She left and I just stood there, completely humbled and completely committed.

By "Angel money", the author refers to _ .

the money needed to start a business

['the money borrowed from banks', 'the money spent to promote sales', 'the money raised from close friends']

In Florida,one McDonald's customer started a pay-it-forward chain that inspired other 249 customers to be generous and do the same. ABC News reports the spirit of giving is in the air as 250 drive-thru customer at a local McDonald's paid for the meals of the people next to the them.Lakeland customer Torie Keene was paying for her food on Wednesday morning when she decided to pay for the meal of the car next to her. Keene then purposely told McDonald's cashier Marisabel Figueroa to greet the other customer "Merry Christmas" and not "Happy Holidays."The next customer was moved when Figueroa said her food was already paid by the previous car.That's when she thought that she would love to do the same and the domino effect followed. Figueroa,who worked from 9 a.m.to 3 p.m.on Wednesday,said that the chain reaction almost lasted for her entire shift."I just kept giving everyone the same message,and they were all so stunned and so happy,"she continued."One lady even paid for the meals of the next three cars behind her." While people were amazed by how generous they could get,Figueroa said she had "never experienced something like that before" in her 12 years of working for McDonald's."I feel very blessed to have been a part of a11 that,"the cashier said. Keene contacted Figueroa on Facebook when the pay-it-forward chain came out in the local news.She revealed that she was the "mystery customer" that started the long chain of kindness. Keene added that she was surprised by the number of people who continued her good deed when she was only trying to brighten someone's day.

For how long did the chain last?

About six hours.

['A week.', 'A whole day.', 'About twelve hours.']

Once again , I found myself sat , minding my own business , at Leicester Forest service , earlier tonight . A group of four people sat at a table near me . All were wearing Great Britain tracksuits , and were obviously just back from the Olympic Games ... now , as far as I know , they could have been trainers or physiotherapists or whatever , as I did n't watch any of the games , or even see the news while it was taking place !

What may be the reason for them not seeing the games or the news ?

They were too busy .

['They were watching something else .', "They do n't have cable .", "They do n't have a television ."]

SEOUL — South Korean Foreign Minister Kang, Kyung-wha said on Wednesday that the U.S. and South Korea jointly made the decision to suspend combined military exercises scheduled for August, but would not confirm if her government was given advanced notice before U.S. President Trump announced his intention to cancel the drills, after he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12. “We have made it clear that this is a goodwill gesture to strengthen the dialogue momentum at this point, but they are not irreversible. They could quickly come back should we see the dialogue momentum losing speed or North Korea not living up to its denuclearization commitment,” said Foreign Minister Kang. During a press briefing in Seoul, the foreign minister said she was in in close communication with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the drills directly following the Singapore summit. And while the announcement canceling the exercises came suddenly, Kang said, South Korea was also considering this option to keep diplomatic momentum moving forward following the U.S.-North Korea summit where Kim reaffirmed his commitment to the “complete denuclearization” of North Korea. The now cancelled Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises normally held in August usually bring in 3,000 more American troops from abroad and involve 50,000 South Korean troops. No decision has yet been made whether the other large-scale joint exercise held in the spring would be suspended as well. At the Singapore summit Trump said he would cancel the “war games” that he said were both enormously expensive and “provocative,” as an act of good faith and in response to North Korea’s commitment to denuclearization, its continued suspension of nuclear and missile teats, and the recent closing of its nuclear testing site. North Korea has long called for the end of these joint military exercises that it says are offensive “rehearsals for war.” In the past U.S. officials refused to suspend the joint drills, that they defended as defensive in nature and legal under international law, for a pledge from North Korea to freeze its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities that are prohibited by United Nations resolutions.

After the end of the story, North Korea probably is

still happy that talks of peace are in the works

['still wondering if they can trust the US', 'not enough information', 'Happy to become denuclearized']

Dear God, This is Charles. I'm twelve. I'm typing this letter. Sometimes it's hard for me to write. It's a disease called dysgraphia. I also have learning disabilities, but my IQ was tested at 140. I could never hold a pencil in the right way. My brain doesn't sense what my hand is doing. I can feel the pencil, but the message doesn't get through right. I have to hold the pencil tighter so that my brain knows I have it in my hand. It's much easier for me to explain things by talking than writing. There are so many things I can picture in my mind, but my hands just can't draw it the way I see it. It's OK. I'm not complaining. I'm really doing fine. You see, you gave me a wonderful mind and a great sense of humor. I'm great at figuring things out, and I love to debate. We have some great discussions in class, and that's where I really shine. I want to be a lawyer when I grow up. I know I'd be good at it. You have told me that you made me special. You make me believe that you will see me through, and that you have plans for me to give me a future and hope. My parents want to help me, so they buy me a laptop. My teacher is the best this year! I am allowed to do a lot of my work on the computer. Life's hard sometimes, but I accept the challenge. Thanks for loving me. Thanks for everything. Charles

The boy wanted to be a lawyer because of the following EXCEPT _ .

he had a great sense of humor

['he loved to debate', 'he was good at explaining things', "lawyers don't have to depend on writing"]

Eleven-year-olds are to learn Shakespeare using the approaches taken by actors, and English teachers will be encouraged to let pupils walk around the classroom rather than read the plays while pupils are sitting at their desks. Within the English curriculum you tend to look at a play text as a piece of literature rather than performance. But you can't possibly understand Shakespeare's language if you're just reading it in your head. Shakespeare is difficult; it's not a 21stcentury text. You have to use different ways to understand it. The new teaching way focuses on how actors come to understand Shakespeare's language. In fact actors have the same nervousness about Shakespeare's language as young people in schools do. But in six to eight weeks they get to a place of complete confidence about the play. Pupils can do as well. Exercises devised are to let children aged 11 to 14 imitate the methods of professional actors. Written and oral assessments developed alongside the lessons will show how well students have understood the texts. In one task pupils will work on creating four key physical figures of king, warrior , lover and joker, finding which lines of their chosen character go with those features first and then acting them out. Through this they can examine how a character such as Macbeth can switch dramatically within one scene from soldier to kingly figure to trick planner. It's really creative but you're still getting a really wonderful model of understanding. _ Educators think Shakespeare should be a central part of every young person's education. Developing a love of Shakespeare at a young age often leads to a lifelong passion for literature and helps to improve a child's reading and writing.

You cannot understand Shakespeare's words easily because _ .

their expressions are different

['they are pieces of literature', 'ordinary people cannot understand them', 'they are performances']

Gosh I ' m so nervous right now . Not that it 's been a while since I did a interview , I know I did my shire interview really well and that is why they hired me , but gee this is the big time for me . ( Haha I still think it 's funny , and this as a side story .

What may be the reason why they are nervous ?

Its a huge job opportunity that they ca nt miss .

['Its their very first job interview since finishing school', 'Its the only interview they forgot to get prepared for .', 'None of the above choices .']

On Christmas Eve Slawek Przekosniak received an SMS with these wishes: Wishing yo good ping super new". He didn't know who sent him that surprisingly enigmatic message. And he doesn't know to this day. A pity, because thanks to that person he reached his current status and number 67 on the list of the wealthiest Poles. Back then, during that beautiful, rusty white Christmas Eve night, Przekosniak, who was rudely kicked out from a social network for utopian fanatics of extreme phobias (www.ilovefobia.pl) just a few days earlier, got an idea. It was a quite good idea too, and the next SMS ("All at cart by unintentionally only honest lamb") convinced him it was the best idea of his life. Slawek Przekosniak, together with a friend from ilovefobia.pl - Czesiek Ciag, decided to set up an on-line service, through which one could send SMS greetings to mobile phones. And the most important feature of the service was that texts of the wishes were not going to be predetermined and there would be no set list of pre-selected options. Messages would be created by a special software program from random words provided by a customer. Such a system would allow for truly unique greetings, and after all, nobody said they had to be comprehensible. Czesiek took care of the development of the software, which for now they named "John of the Disc". Czesiek had suitable experience in the matter. While on the forum for (select as appropriate) phobics he designed an application, which created slogans for street protests. The application, even though it produced phrases completely illogical and nonsensical, became quite popular, and some of its most unique catchphrases you could have seen on TV - "Out With There Harm Out!" or "To Them Bag Away Now Now!" Two future men of success got to work and the SMS greeting portal bestbestbest.pl went live just before Easter.

who is Czesiek Ciag?

not enough information

['Slawek Przekosniak coworker', 'Slawek Przekosniak boss', "Slawek Przekosniak's brother"]

What McCain voted against was a measure to invoke the War Powers Act and to authorize the deployment of U.S. Marines in Lebanon for an additional 18 months . The measure passed 270 - 161 , with 26 other Republicans ( including McCain ) and 134 Democrats voting against it . Secondly , I liked Obama playing to red state fears that Iraq is a distraction from the real danger : Look , over the last eight years , this administration , along with Senator McCain , have been solely focused on Iraq . That has been their priority . That has been where all our resources have gone .

How did the narrator feel about the actions of Obama described in the text ?

They approved of them

['They felt they were a distraction .', 'None of the above choices .', 'They voted against them .']

Contrary to people's previous knowledge, it's food shortage not dietary preference that motivates birds to migrate thousands of miles back and forth between breeding and nonbreeding areas each year, a new research shows. "It's not whether you eat insects,fruits or candy bars or where you eat them that counts,but how reliable that daytoday food source is," said the study leader W.Alice Boyle of the University of Arizona. To figure out the underlying pressure that drives some birds to leave home for the season,Boyle examined 379 related species of New World flycatchers and compared their sizes,food types, habitats, migratory behaviors and whether or not they fed in flocks. To compare the birds,the researchers constructed a "supertree" showing the exact evolutionary relationships among different species. A computer analysis then determined whether a particular species was migratory because it ran in the "family" or whether something in the bird's environment was forcing it to leave each season.Boyle and her colleagues found that food shortage was the number one issue that predicted a species' migratory behavior. "Food availability is the underlying pressure, not diet and habitat," Boyle said. An alternative strategy that the birds use to handle food shortage is to hunt in flocks, since a group is more likely to find a new source of food than an individual. "If you suffer from food shortage, you have two options," Boyle said."You can either hunt with other birds or you can migrate."

The passage implies that _ .

the birds' food sources are getting rare in the world

['the living surroundings are severe for birds', 'birds search for food separately', 'birds can survive only by hunting in flocks']

Mat 's a good kid , he just pushes the limits with my parents ... oh yeah ... and he has broken some promises he had with them . When we where moving we let him stay in the empty house we were trying to sell an he threw parties in it . he left beed cans , garbage and he even left holes in the carpet from lit cigarettes . Besides that ... college went well today .

What was the narrator doing earlier in the day ?

attending class

['None of the above choices .', 'drinking beer', 'smoking cigs']

I trusted you and you simply came out at me with that kind of shit ? Even if you did n't fucking cheat on me , Bryan , guess what ? You apparently ca n't love again after Keira , yeah , the girl who you fucking found ANNOYING beyong belief and you HATED being with because of how much of a bitch she was .

What may happen during this argument ?

They will leave each other .

['None of the above choices .', 'They will fix their problem .', 'They will make - up .']

Who live just down the street from us . And that was the tail end of a most delightful weekend of neighbourhood neighbourliness , most of which was along the same lines . Today : back to the grind . I dipped my toe into the oozing pit of Websphere 6 at work , and well , it got oozed on , as expected .

Was Websphere 6 difficult to work with ?

It was very complicated .

['It was simple and fun to use .', 'None of the above choices .', 'It was easy to work with .']

But we will never be back together . I am happy with this decision because he got rid of me , and I am happy because he is happy . I just want what makes him happy . I will always love him deeply .

Why might they still be happy about the break - up ?

They had a healthy break - up with each other .

['None of the above choices .', "They know they 'll get back together soon .", 'They want to hide their jealousy .']

"Norton," Sheppard said, "I saw Rufus Johnson yesterday. Do you know what he was doing?" The child looked at him with a kind of half attention, his eyes forward but not yet engaged. They were a paler blue than his father's as if they might have faded like the shirt; one of them listed, almost imperceptibly , toward the outer rim. "He was in a path," Sheppard said, "and he had his hand in a garbage can. He was trying to get something to eat out of it." He paused to let this soak in. "He was hungry," he finished, and tried to pierce the child's conscience with his gaze. The boy picked up the piece of chocolate cake and began to bite it from one corner. "Norton," Sheppard said, "do you have any idea what it means to share?" A flicker of attention. "Some of it is yours," Norton said. "Some of it is his," Sheppard said heavily. It was hopeless. Almost any fault would have been preferable to selfishness--a violent temper, even a tendency to lie. The child turned the bottle of tomato sauce upside-down and began thumping sauce onto the cake. Sheppard's look of pain increased. "You are ten and Rufus Johnson is fourteen," he said. "Yet, I'm sure your shirts would fit Rufus." Rufus Johnson was a boy whom he had been trying to help at the reformatory for the past year. He had been released two months ago. "When he was in the reformatory, he looked pretty good, but when I saw him yesterday, he was skin and bones. He hasn't been eating cake with peanut butter on it for breakfast." The child paused. "It's not fresh," he said. "That's why I have to put stuff on it." Sheppard turned his face to the window at the end of the bar. The side lawn, green and even, sloped fifty feet or so down to a small suburban wood. When his wife was living, they had often eaten outside, even breakfast on the grass. He had never noticed then that the child was selfish. ks5u "Listen to me," he said, turning back to him, "look at me and listen." The boy looked at him. At least his eyes were forward. "I gave Rufus a key to the house when he left the reformatory---to show my confidence in him and so he would have a place he could come to and feel welcome any time. He didn't use it, but I think he'll use it now because he's seen me and he's hungry. And if he doesn't use it, I'm going out and find him and bring him here. I can't see a child eating out of garbage cans." The boy frowned. It was dawning upon him that something of his was threatened. Sheppard's mouth stretched in disgust. "Rufus's father died before he was born," he said. "His mother is in the state penitentiary . He was raised by his grandfather in a shack without water or electricity and the old man beat him every day. How would you like to belong to a family like that?" "I don't know" the child said lamely. "Well, you might think about it sometime," Sheppard said. Sheppard was City Recreational Director. On Saturday he worked at the reformatory as a counselor, receiving nothing for it but the satisfaction of knowing he was helping boys no one else cared about. Johnson was the most intelligent boy he had worked with. Norton turned what was left of the cake over as if he no longer wanted it. "You started that, now finish it," Sheppard said. "Maybe he won't come," the child said and his eyes brightened slightly.

Which of the following do you think is the real cause of the father's disappointment?

Norton's selfishness and lack of sympathy.

["Norton's carelessness and self-confidence.", "Norton's pride and self-protection.", "Norton's bad manners and lies."]

Growing up, I remember my father as a silent, serious man--not the sort of person around whom one could laugh. As a teenager arriving in America, knowing nothing, I wanted a father who could explain the human journey. In college, when friends called home for advice, I would sink into deep depression for what I did not have. Today, at twenty-seven, I have come to rediscover them in ways that my teenage mind would not allow--as adults and as friends with their own faults and weaknesses. One night after my move back home, I overheard my father on the telephone. There was some trouble. Later, Dad shared the problem with me. Apparently my legal training had earned me some privileges in his eyes. I talked through the problem with Dad, analyzing the purposes of the people involved and offering several negotiation strategies .He listened patiently before finally admitting, "I can't think like that. I am a simple man." Dad is a brilliant scientist who can deconstruct the building blocks of nature. Yet human nature is a mystery to him. That night I realized that he was simply not skilled at dealing with people, much less the trouble of a conflicted teenager. It's not in his nature to understand human desires. And so, there it was--it was no one's fault that my father held no interest in human lives while I placed great importance in them. We are at times born more sensitive, wide-eyed, and dreamy than our parents and become more curious and idealistic than them. Dad perhaps never expected me for a child. And I, who knew Dad as an intelligent man, had never understood that his intelligence did not cover all of my feelings. It has saved me years of questioning and confusion. I now see my parents as people who have other relationships than just Father and Mother. I now overlook their many faults and weaknesses, which once annoyed me. I now know my parents as friends: people who ask me for advice; people who need my support and understanding. And I have come to see my past clearer.

After the author overheard her father on the telephone, _ .

he consulted with her about his problem.

['he blamed her for impoliteness.', 'he rediscovered human nature.', 'he changed his attitude towards the author.']

Odd fellow , I ' ve always thought so ... Peet converts the penalty , the score is twenty - nil to Chudley ... " Miles ' notes were covered in smudges and tiny flecks of ink : he was in deep concentration as he listened to the match . It was relaxing , almost , these reveries : just himself and the Wireless and the numbers . Nervewracking , yes : the Prophet counted on the collective statistics of himself and two of his fellow interns for their information .

What may be the reason his notes were covered in smudges ?

He forgot to wash his dirty hands while holding the paper .

['He poured ink all over the notes and made it hard to write on .', 'He dirtied up his hands so he could smudge up the notebook .', 'None of the above choices .']

City Varieties The Headrow, Leeds. Tel. 430808 Oct. 10 - 11 only A Night at the Varieties. All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer, Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Duval and the Tony Harrison Trio. Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favourite songs. Performances: 8 pm nightly. Admission L5; under 16 or over 60: L4 York Theatre Royal St. Leonard's Place, York. Tel. 223568 Sept. 23-Oct. 17 Groping for Words-a comedy by Sue Townsend. Best known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class which two men and a woman attend. A gentle comedy. Performances: 8pm Admission: First night, Mon.: L2; Tues-Fri: L3.25-5.50; Sat.: L3.35 -5.75. Halifax Playhouse King's Cross Street, Halifax. Tel. 365998 Oct. 10 - 17 On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson. This is a magical comedy about real people. A beautifully produced, well-acted play for everyone. Don't miss it. Performances: 7:30 p. m. Admission: L2. Mon.: 2 seats for the price of one. Grand Theatre Oxford Street, Leeds. Tel. 502116 Oct. 1 - 17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13. Sue Townsend's musical play, based on the best-selling book. Performances: Evenings 7:45pm. Oct. 10 - 17, at 2:30 pm. No Monday performances. Admission: Tues-Thurs: L2 - 5; Fri. & Sat. : L2 - 6

Which play will be shown for the longest period?

Groping for Words.

['The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13', 'A Night at the Varieties.', 'On Golden Pond.']

Doctors say anger can be an very harmful emotion unless you learn how to deal with it. They warn that angry feelings can lead to heart disease, stomach problems, headaches, emotional problems and possibly cancer. Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time to time. Some people express anger openly in a calm reasonable way. Others burst with anger, losing control of themselves. But other people repress their anger. They cannot or will not express it. For years many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to a person's health than expressing it. They said that when a person is angry, the brain gives off the same hormones that are produced during tense situations. They speed the heart rate, raise blood pressure, or sugar into the blood and narrow the blood vessels to the interstices . In general, the person feels excited and ready to act. Doctors said that repressing these feelings only makes the feelings continue. And this can lead to many medical problems. Doctors thought a person could prevent these problems by letting the anger out by expressing it freely. But recently some doctors held a different view. They said that people who express anger repeatedly and violently did become, in fact, more and not less angry. They said this,too,can cause medical problems. Some doctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous. They believe that those who express anger violently may be more likely to develop heart disease, and they believe that those who keep their anger inside may face a greater danger of high blood pressure. Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger. They say the first step is to admit that you are angry and to recognize the real cause of the anger, and then decide if the cause is serious. If it is, they say: "Do not express your anger while angry. Wait until your anger has cooled down and you are able to express yourself calmly and reasonably. "

Repressing anger is considered to be dangerous because of all the following except that _ .

the blood contains sugar

['the heart rate increases', 'the blood pressure rises', 'some blood vessels become thinner']

Replaced what we thought was a bad sparkplug wire , but that did n't help , and we ( incorrectly , we found out later on ) determined it was possibly overheated and we blew the head gasket . We edged it off to the next exit , only to find all gas stations and restaurants there were closed . We stopped next to a brightly lit , closed mcdonalds , looking for a hose , when the sprinklers came on .

What may happen after they discover their car issue ?

They will try to call someone to help them .

['They will wait until the morning to find help .', 'None of the above choices .', 'They will push their car to a gas station .']

At like 3:30 Foot got on again and I was talked into going into his chat and that 's where serious lolz ensued . We talked about the party and he is def coming and he 's actually stoked for it . I do n't know how I feel about this .

What will happen at the upcoming party ?

Foot will be there .

['Foot will be a maybe for attendance .', 'None of the above choices .', 'Foot will not show up .']

right now i feel like i ' ve started a routine of non-existance.it's really pretty odd . i ' m not sad or anything , or lonely . i just feel awkward , and guilty for shrugging everyone off all the time . and i know i ' ve been doing it a lot to you guys , and i ' m really sorry .

What may happen after this situation ?

They will try to make an effort to save their friendships .

['They will seek out a therapist to talk about it .', 'None of the above choices .', 'They will continue avoiding others .']

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that would protect from arbitrary dismissal the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. The measure, backed by 10 Democrats and four Republicans, would codify Justice Department regulations that the special counsel can only be fired by the attorney general or a designee for "misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause." The proposal would give the special counsel 10 days to challenge a dismissal in court. If a court determines the firing was not for "good cause," the special counsel would be reinstated. The measure would also require the Justice Department to notify Congress when a special counsel is appointed and to report the findings of an investigation. While marking a strong show of support for Special Counsel Robert Mueller who is under frequent attack by President Donald Trump and some Republicans, the bill is unlikely to become law in the face of Republican opposition. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week that Trump will not fire Mueller and that there was no need to bring the measure to the Senate floor for a vote. House Speaker Paul Ryan has also opposed the idea. The legislation was introduced by four Senators earlier this month after Trump's sharp criticism of an FBI raid on his personal lawyer's home and office rekindled fears that Trump may fire Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who supervises Mueller. Mueller is heading the federal investigation into Russia's electoral interference and possible collusion with the Trump presidential campaign. Trump has said there was no collusion and repeatedly denounced the probe as a "witch hunt." Despite his harsh criticism of the Special Counsel and the Justice Department, Trump has dismissed reports that he's privately talked about firing Mueller. He told the cable show Fox and Friends on Thursday that he'll "try and stay away" from the Justice Department, but "at some point, I won't." Supporters of the Special Counsel bill hailed it as a victory for the rule of law and said it would send a message that the president doesn't have unfettered authority.

Who is Mueller?

special counsel

['attorney general', 'deputy attorney general', 'not enough information']

The first chocolate was eaten by people in Central and South America hundreds of years ago. In those days, people did not really eat chocolate; the cocoa bean was used to make a chocolate drink that the people enjoyed very much. Much later the cocoa bean was brought to Europe and people there also came to love the taste of it. In 1824, John Cadbury opened a small shop in Birmingham. One of the items he sold was cocoa powder to be made into drinks. In 1831, he opened a small factory to make cocoa powder from cocoa beans. John Cadbury believed that alcohol was an important cause of people's being poor, and he wanted to encourage people to drink chocolate instead. A few years later a man called Joseph Fry invented a way to make chocolate bars, and so for the first time people had the chance to eat chocolate instead of only drinking it. At first, chocolate was luxury and only the rich people could buy it. Later, as more and more chocolate bars were produced and sold, they became cheaper. However, at first, only plain chocolate was produced. Milk chocolate came later and this was made by adding milk or milk powder to the chocolate. Cadbury introduced their first milk chocolate bars in 1897. Their most famous chocolate, Cadbury's Milk Bar, was introduced in 1905. It has been a best-seller in Britain and around the world for nearly 100 years. The Cadbury factory is still in Birmingham and the chocolate produced there is eaten all over the world. Every year, thousands of visitors visit the factory to see how chocolate is made.

John Cadbury wanted people to _ .

drink chocolate instead of alcohol

['drink more alcohol and chocolate', 'drink less chocolate and more alcohol', 'drink more chocolate and less alcohol']

Edmonton's Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage for five days where artists are able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate and enjoy themselves. Since its beginning in 1980, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating the true feeling of what folk music is all about and that's the traditional togetherness that is felt when people gather to share stories and feelings through song. This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival. "People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation," Riedel said. "It's really easy to relax, and it's great seeing family and friends have fun together." These families and friends come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone's musical interests. With so many years of experience, the festival has become a well-oiled machine, and does whatever it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the venue for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back. The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time. But with big names such as Van Morrison and Jakob Dylan, it's easy to see how that was going to happen. There is no parking area during the festival, so using the Park & Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended. A bike lock-up area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates open until 45 minutes after the gates close. The Edmonton Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug.4 with Van Morrison playing the special donation fund concert, and will finish up on Sunday, Aug.8.

We can learn from the passenger that _

the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is well organized

['people can get tickets easily for the festival', "driving one's own car to the festival is highly recommended", 'bikes are available at the festival from Wednesday to Sunday']

"The world has never been a better place to live in," says science writer Matt Ridley, "and it will keep on getting better." Ridley's critics have accused him of his views on climate change and the free market. Yet Ridley, 54, sticks to his guns. "It is not mad to believe in a happy future for people and the planet," he says. Ridley, who's been a foreign correspondent, a zoologist, an economist, and a financier, brings a broad view to his sunny outlook. "People say I'm crazy to claim the world will go on getting better, yet I can't stop myself," he says. Read on to see how Ridley makes his case. Compared with 50 years ago, when I was just four years old, the average human now earns nearly three times as much money, eats one third more calories, and can expect to live one third longer. In fact, it's hard to find any region of the world that's worse off now than it was then, even though the global population has more than doubled over that period. City citizens take up less space, use less energy, and have less impact on natural ecosystems than country livers. The world's cities now contain over half its people, but they occupy less than 3 percent of its land area. Urban growth may worry environmentalists, but living in the country is not the best way to care for the earth. The best thing we can do for the planet is build more skyscrapers. The rich get richer, but the poor do even better. Between 1980 and 2000, the poor doubled their consumption. Nigerians are twice as rich and live nine more years. The percentage of the world's people living in poverty has dropped by over half. The United Nations estimates that poverty was reduced more in the past 50 years than in the previous 500.

Ridley's attitude toweards the human future is _ .

optimistic

['worried', 'proud', 'concerned']

If you look up the word "create" in the dictionary , you will find it means "to bring into being, to cause something each of us does daily to exist". We are creative whenever we look at or think about something in a new way. First, this includes an awareness of our surroundings.It means using all of our senses to become aware of our world.This may be as simple as being aware of color and texture , as well as taste, when we plan a meal.Above all, it is the ability to notice things that others might miss. A second part of creativity is an ability to see relationships among things.There is nothing new under the sun. The creativity is remaking or recombining the old in new ways. For example, we might do this by finding a more effective way to study or a better way to arrange our furniture, or we might make a new combination of camera lenses and filters to create an unusual photograph. A third part of creativity is the courage and drive to make use of our new ideas, to ask for them to achieve some new results.To think up a new idea is one thing; to put the idea to work is another. These three parts of creativity are included in all the great works of geniuses, but they are also included in many of our day-to-day activities.(257 words)

The best title for this passage is _ .

What Is Creativity

["How to Develop One's Creativity", 'The Importance of Creativity', 'Creativity, a Not Faraway Thing']

The Royal Mint has chosen Beatrix Potter's thieving Peter Rabbit as the first character from children's literature ever to appear on a UK coin. Peter, pictured in the blue jacket that he is forced to abandon in the garden of Mr McGregor when he is caught stealing vegetables, is captured on a special, coloured edition of a 50p coin available from now. The Royal Mint, which described Peter as "the most recognizable of Potter's creations, and one of the most cherished from children's literature", will release uncoloured versions of the coin in change later this year. Three more of Potter's characters will also be committed to currency later this year, as part of celebrations marking 150 years since the children's author's birth. The images have been created by coin designer Emma Noble, who said it was "amazing to be given the opportunity to work with such famous and treasured literary characters". Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, featuring Peter and his better-behaved siblings Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, was the first of her stories to be published, released in 1902 by Frederick Warne & Co. Potter would go on to follow it with a series of much-loved stories which remain popular today, from The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin to The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck.

Which of the following statement is true?

Peter Rabbit is one of the most recognized literary characters in UK.

['The Tale of Peter Rabbit mainly features his better-behaved siblings.', 'It was Emma Noble who created Peter Rabbit, the famous literary character.', 'Uncoloured versions of the Peter Rabbit coin are available now.']

In late March,Southwest University became the first school in China to open a 24-hour hotline providing suicide-prevention counseling. College suicide is a heart-breaking and argumentative topic.Chinese college students have long been the focus of public attention:their youth,education and,most importantly, bright futures make them the envy of society. However, in recent years,we've read more reports of student suicides.Perhaps that's simply because of society's attention with youth.But it could also signify the increasing troubled mental state of college students. Many studies have sought to find out the causes of student suicides.Not surprisingly, the top factors usually include psychological and physical sickness,emotional trouble and peer pressure. Despair about their futures is also quickly becoming a leading factor:Many students say they feel hopeless and confused about the direction of their careers in a crowded job market. Thankfully, more and more universities and colleges are providing counseling services to address students'mental and psychological problems.These at least offer some comfort to students facing tough job prospects and personal difficulties. From appointing in-house student counselors to setting up hotlines and recruiting students to help their troubled peers.many universities are making efforts to fight student depression.There is no denying that much remains to be done,but such efforts are already working,helping students and saving lives. However, the most important front in this battle lies with the students themselves.Whatever efforts school officials make,it is up to students to realize their problems and ask help.Unfortunately, many students considering suicide refuse to seek help.By shutting themselves away, they can easily fall into vicious cycles ,becoming ever more vulnerable to.personal difficulties and the pressures of the outside world. While establishing better on-campus psychological education and outreach programs are a step forward,students themselves must actively reach out for help.These dangers are a reality for every student not only those who feel confused and depressed.

Which of the following is WRONG according to the article?

The problems of student suicides indicate the increasing troubled mental state of young people..

['No university had a whole day hotline providing suicide-prevention counseling before March.', 'Many people envy the college students their bright futures.', 'The students who feel confused and depressed may have psychological problems and need psychological education.']

Luna is a freaking escape artist . We woke up this morning to shuffling noises under our bed ... and a bunny thumping at us when we peered under there to see what it was . I have no idea what she got into while we were asleep . Freddie was out , too , but he was just lounging next to the condo when we checked on him . It had to be her , though , because she 's the one that 's always fucking with the door to the cage when it 's closed .

What may have Luna done before this night ?

She had figured out how to unlock her cage and then she entered the bedroom .

['She had figured out how to unlock her cage after lounging next to the condo .', 'None of the above choices .', 'She had taught Freddie how to unlock the cage and then entered the bedroom .']

One third of the schools are done and the new system is awesome . Most of the schools I cover still have the old equipment so I do alot of service calls . I am currently in a Cisco CCNA class at college .

Why is the narrator constantly traveling to schools ?

He is being called to fix equipment .

['None of the above choices .', 'He is being called to substitute teach .', 'He is being called to pick up his kid .']

Encouraging pupils to keep noise to a minimum should be a valuable component of all children's education, according to new research. Dr. Helen Lees, from Stirling University's school of education, says that "enforced silence" is seen as a punishment and often acts to _ children's natural ability. But she says that teaching children about the benefits of "enforced silence",--- deliberate stillness that gives them the opportunity to focus and reflect in a stress-free environment--- can have a significant effect on pupils' concentration and behavior. It is the latest in a string of researches to establish a link between the classroom environment and pupils' academic ability. A study almost a decade ago in London found that children's exam results were cut by as much as a third if they were taught in noisy classrooms. Teaching unions have also called for a limit of 26degC to be put on classroom temperatures because teachers and pupils struggle to work in hot conditions, and some educationalists claim that too much clutter on classroom walls can prevent children from concentrating. Dr. Lees said, "When we take some research on school settings and put it all together, what we see is that education without silence does not make much sense. In areas of better learning outcomes, better self- confidence and well-being measures, enforced silence in a person's life and an individual's education is shown throughout the relevant research to be a benefit." Dozens of schools across Britain have already introduced periods of "reflective silence" into the timetable. Kevin Hogston, head of Sheringdale Primary, south London, has just introduced a minute's silence at the start of twice-weekly meetings in which children are taught breathing techniques and encouraged to reflect. The school plans to introduce it into classrooms every day.

According to Dr. Helen Lees, "enforced silence" _

can improve pupils' confidence

['is an effective way of punishment', 'does not make much sense in class', 'makes pupils more creative']

Perhaps the most extraordinary building put up in the nineteenth century was the Crystal Palace which was built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace was different from all the other buildings in the world, for it was made of iron and glass. It was one of the biggest buildings of all the time and a lot of people from many countries came to see it. Plenty of goods were sent to the exhibition from all parts of the world. There was also a great deal of machinery on show. Though in those days, traveling was not as easy as it is today, steamboats carried thousands of visitors across the Channel from Europe. On arriving in England, they were taken to the Crystal Palace by train. There were six million visitors in all, and the money from the exhibition was used to build museums and colleges. Later the Crystal Palace was moved to the South London. It remained one of the most famous buildings in the world until it was burnt down in 1936.

The writer _ .

sang high praise for the Crystal Palace

['thought the Crystal Palace very useful', 'wanted the Crystal Palace to be rebuilt', 'was one of the visitors to the Crystal Palace']

As has been all too apparent in recent days at Balcombe, few issues cause greater concern than energy policy. Many village communities feel their countryside is being ruined by the power-producing machines of wind farms; yet they never take "direct action", even though the planning laws put them at a severe disadvantage. And the generous subsidies , which encourage the expansion of wind power, are not favorable to the village communities and set landowners in conflict with other residents . Those who disagree with the rapid expansion of wind farms state that the damage they cause is out of proportion to the benefits they bring, because their energy output cannot match that of the carbon-based power stations they are supposed to replace. Supporters insist that wind must be part of a mix of renewables, nuclear and carbon, and that the country is committed to meeting EU ( European Union) targets for non-carbon energy generation. ZXXK Against this background, the fact that there is an argument within the Government over whether to publish an official report on wind farms' impact on the countryside becomes even more extraordinary. The two parties in the coalition government are in disagreement over what it should say. We have some advice for the two parties: publish the report, and let the country be the judge. Even if it contains evidence that wind farms are harmful, it will hardly be a pleasant surprise to people who do not like them. Equally, supporters must argue their case by acknowledging the concerns and explaining why they are either misplaced or worthy of much attention. The suggestion that further negotiations are to take place to produce an "acceptable" report suggests that the politics of coalition government are doing the country harm in a certain way. Given the sensitivities involved, all the information should be available so that people can reach their own conclusions, rather than being left with the suspicion that facts are being replaced by political beliefs.

Which of the following reflects the author's opinion?

Let the nation judge the facts about wind power.

['Increase political impact on energy policy.', 'Release a statement of supporters on wind farms.', 'Leave the two parties to reach their own conclusions.']

They never stopped arguing though , and Lilac never chose the vampire over her duty to her Lady , and Murky Water never considered looking into those drugs that could " suppress " his bloody urges . Because they were stil themselves . But in the end , they also became each other .

Why does Murky Water want to suppress their desires ?

It hurts people otherwise .

['It is essentially using drugs .', 'It is a bit drug - inducing .', "It is against Lilac 's wishes ."]

) , and then asked me when I was coming back to the Palais . I said in January , as there was a Committee open for me- she said " Bien . Tres tres bien . " , and that it was good I was coming back .

What country may I be located ?

France

['Mexico', 'China', 'Russua']

In colleges around the country, most students are also workers. The reality of college can be pretty different from the images presented in movies and television. Instead of the students who wake up late, party all the time, and study only before exams, many colleges are full of students with pressing schedules of not just classes and activities, but real jobs, too. This isn't a temporary phenomenon.The share of working students has been on the rise since the 1970s, and one-fifth of students work yearround. About one-quarter of those who work while attending school have both a full-courseload and a full-time job. The arrangement can help pay for tuition and living costs, obviously. And there's value in it beyond the direct cause: such jobs can also be critical for developing important professional and social skills that make it easier to land a job after graduation. With many employers looking for students with already-developed skill sets, on-the-job training while in college can be the best way to ensure a job later on. But it's not all upside. Even full-time work may not completely cover the cost of tuition and living expenses. The study notes that if a student worked a full-time job at the federal minimum wage, they would earn just over $15,000 each year, certainly not enough to pay for tuition, room, and board at many colleges without some serious financial aid. That means that though they're sacrificing time away from the classroom, many working students will still graduate with at least some debt. And working fulltime can reduce the chance that students will graduate at all, by cutting into the time available for studying and attending classes. There is little reward for attending but not finishing college. Students who wind up leaving school because of difficulty in managing work and class are likely to find themselves stuck in some of the same jobs they might have gotten if they hadn't gone at all. The difficulty of working too much while in school can create a cycle that pushes students further into debt without receiving any of the financial or career benefits.

According to the passage, the reality of college students is that _ .

they work besides attending classes

['they throw parties a lot', 'they stay up late every night', 'they pay no attention to exams']

The odd thing was I was now the same age I had been when we lived there . About ten or eleven . ( i ' m seventeen now ) and after running through the house I went outside and it was the same street same yard everything was pretty normal ... until a younger like 1985 Jeff Goldblum , in the same outfit he wore in Jurassic Park , waves at me and in my dream for some reason I knew him and was pretty friendly with him .

What is the person dreaming about ?

visiting his old neighborhood .

['casing the joint', 'taking care of his gardening business', 'None of the above choices .']

No air - conditioned was needed and the air was refreshing compared to what you get living in the city Sounds of the bigs waves ( being the Andaman Sea side of the beach ) kept me hearing a constant bomb - like sound throughout the night as the waves continued to hit the shores of our hotel . Of course I slept to that tune la . As the rain continued into the morning and we headed to the Kids Club .

What may be the reason for not needing an air conditioner ?

It was n't too hot .

['To punish themselves .', 'There was too much humidity for it to work .', 'To try to cut down on electricity .']

DEARAUNTYf My husband's niece is 13 and what I would call "a handful". She wants to stay with us for while, and her mother and grandmother have told me what a great influence I would be on her. Her visit ,no doubt, would bring about a long list of demands' and she'd want to bring a friend too. I don t feel comfortable hosting her, but I don 3r know how to tell my husband's family members without hurting their feelings. -Reluctant Aunt Dear Reluctant, Let's get you out of this mess. Your husband's family is making a request that borders on a demand and sugarcoating it with self-serving flattery * Put your foot down, and tell the truth. Say you don't feel equipped or comfortable hosting the little darling, and regretfully decline .Under no circumstances should you take part in any discussion that attempts to change your mind through flattery. DEAR AUNTY have two stepdaughters, 21 and 24. On holidays, the older one always buys me gift but adds her sister's name on the card. I feel insincere thanking the younger daughter -Vd rather get no gift than be a part of this pretence. Is it tacky to ask the 24-year-old to stop giving her sister credit while it isn t deserved? Will the younger one ever learn to be thoughtful? -Mindful Mum Dear Mindful, Lighten up! Your older stepdaughter is a considerate and generous sister who covers for and protects her younger sister. Good for her! The girls' relationship is between them. As for your role, you can't punish anyone into being thoughtful. You can, however, model thoughtful behavior. Spend some time with her, and get to know her better.

AUNTY suggested that Reluctant Aunt _

politely turn down the request

['kindly host the guest', 'discuss with her husband', 'try to meet all the demands']

It seems that all your friends' names on MSN have added a little green "I'm" symbol overnight. If you ask what is going on, someone will tell you it's a charity activity. Though this charity program has not yet officially begun for Chinese users, this little green symbol has proven popular among Chinese Windows Live Messenger users. Windows Live Messenger's official blog announced on March 1 that Microsoft was beginning an "I'm" program in the United States. Every time someone starts a conversation using "I'm", Microsoft shares a part of the program's advertising income with nine organizations devoted to social causes. With every instant message a user sends, it helps deal with things one feels most interested in, including poverty, child protection, disease and worsening environment. One only has to add a certain code next to one's name for the organization one would like to support. "*red'u" is for the American Red Cross, "*bgca" is for Boys & Girls Clubs of America and "*unicef" stands for the American branch of UNICEF. After a Chinese blogger named "hung" introduced this program on his blog on March 2, "I'm" entered the Internet in China with no actual support from Microsoft. Beijing-based Youth Weekend reported that famous IT blogger Keso regarded this program's rapid spread as a successful virus marketing case. He thinks that the success of the "I'm" program is because it's spread by users without being a bother to others. This answers why "I'm" has spread so rapidly across the Internet like a virus with almost no advertisement. However, Feng Jinhu from the press center for Microsoft China toldYouth Weekendthat the "I'm" project is only for Messenger users in the United States. Instant messages sent by Chinese users would not count. This has not affected Chinese Messenger users' interest in the little green symbol. These users hope their instant messages will actually contribute to charitable organizations someday.

What should you do to take part in the "I'm" program?

Add the code of the organization you support next to your MSN name.

['Send an email to Microsoft.', 'Add a little green "I\'m" symbol before your MSN name.', 'Fill in an application form in advance.']

On this vivid planet, it appears color1ful with many world famous buildings. Among these largest artificial articles in the world, many were designed by the same architect--Ieoh Ming Pei. Pei, the 1983 Laureate of the Pritzker, Architecture Prize, is a founding partner of I. M. Pei & Partners based in New York City. He was born in China in 1917, the son of a banker. He came to the United States in 1935 to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Harvard Graduate School of Design (M. Arch. 1946). From 1945 to 1948, Pei taught at Harvard. In 1948 he accepted the newly created post of director of Architecture at Webb & Knapp, Inc., and this association resulted in major architectural and planning projects in big cities. In 1958, he formed the partnership of I. M. Pei & Associates, which became I. M. Pei & Partners in 1966. The partnership received the 1968 Architectural Firm Award of The American Institute of Architects. Pei has designed over forty projects in the world, twenty of which have been award winners. His outstanding projects have included the East Building of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library near Boston; the Fragrant Hill Hotel near Beijing, China. Pei is now a member of the National Council on the Arts, and before served on the National Council on the Humanities. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a member of the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a student, he was awarded the MIT Traveling Fellowship, at Harvard. He later won a lot of honors. In 1982, the deans of the architectural schools of America chose I. M. Pei as the best designer of significant non-residential structures.

When was I. M. Pei chosen as the best designer of significant non-residential structures?

In 1982.

['In 1983.', 'In 1968.', 'In 1948.']