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Dear Alice You really have two different questions here, so we'll discuss them one at a time. Your problems at school may be a result of a number of things. You don't say much about how these classmates get along with each other. It's possible that all the students are feeling a little cautious in the first term. It's also possible that the others are unkind. If this is not so, you have to find out why you are the class "outsider".In your letter you say you often offer to help others with their work. Is it possible that your classmates don't understand your offers? Could it seem that you were trying to "buy" friends with these offers, Is it possible that you took no notice of your classmates when you had your good friend near you? They may have felt hurt at that time. It may take a time for them to believe in you if so. Try to ask one classmate directly what the problem is. If you hear a negative answer, at least you'll know what to do Yours truly Shelia From the letter we know that Alice was very _ .

3D

"Let the world know China and let China know the world." I can't remember exactly where I have seen this slogan in Beijing. Considering the simple fact of the wish people have for learning foreign languages and the number of people going abroad each year, everyone can tell how hard China and Chinese people are trying to know the world. But I didn't know how equally important and urgent it is for the world to know China until I came to the UK. In the self-introduction during our first class in a PhD course, when I told them I wanted to finish the degree as soon as I could and then go back to China, the British students looked at me in both surprise and disbelief. Their idea is that everybody who comes to the UK, including the Chinese, will stay here to look for a better life and that this is the only place where one can find a better life. When I asked my friend for advice about buying a new car, she looked at me, asking in surprise, "A new car?" Later I found out that her surprise was because of the popular image of Chinese students: either too poor or too economical. When we Chinese students for the first time joined the monthly performance hour of the department and sang some traditional songs and gave a short humorous introduction, all the teachers and students were surprised. To them, Chinese students are so serious and shy. These ideas have been because of the fact that Chinese students are sometimes not seen among the students. So "let the world know China" should no longer remain an empty slogan. It is something we all should do, home and abroad, and something we should do with confidence and openness. The general image of Chinese students in British students' mind is _ .

3D

In a chatting room on the Internet, some children are talking about what they like to do at school. Flying Fish: I think music is my favourite. I like listening to many beautiful English songs. I need to feel _ after a day's work. So I often listen to my favourite music after supper. Singing Bird: I like music, too. But I only listen to Chinese songs. I also like drawing. Maybe I can be a great painter when I grow up. I also like reading. Reading makes me clever. Jumping Tiger: I don't like music or drawing. They are a waste of time, I think. I am a good basketball player. I can help our school team win. Don't you think it's cool? Running football: I am not a good basketball player. But I play football well. Playing football makes me strong. I feel great when I am on the football field. I spend half an hour a day playing football. Swimming Cat: I am not like many other boys. I don't like sports very much. I just think reading is my favourite. I can learn a lot from books. I spend an hour reading books every day. What does Jumping Tiger think is cool?

1B

Around six weeks ago, Kaileen came running into the house, just getting off the bus from school. She was all excited about a story about homeless pets because of Hurricane Katrina and all that was going on to help them. She said that this information came from her animal newspaper (your KIND News). Kaileen has a great love and compassion for animals, so her excitement did not surprise me. Her next ideas, however, did. She said that we should go around right then to our neighbors and collect all their change to send to the animal shelters . I thought this was a school project, but in fact, it was not. This was what Kaileen wanted to do on her own! Well, it warmed me all over. To see your child so willing to help others just lets you feel that maybe you had done something right in raising her. Anyway, I told her to make a card and send it out to our neighbors first. With the help of her older brother, Kaileen soon made a lovely card that asked our neighbors to help these pets by giving their spare change. She gave them a few days and a date she would come by to pick up any donations . Well, I had to go out and buy a donation box. Kaileen collected $279.50!!! I just thought you would like to know how KIND News had touched a little one's heart and given her the idea to show her compassion for animals. Thank you -- we really enjoy your paper. What was the author's feeling about Kaileen's idea?

1B

Ellen Parker was worried about her health. She could not walk very quickly and it was difficult for her to climb stairs. She was soon out of breath. "I suppose I had better go to the doctor," she thought. She went to the doctor and told him her problem. "I'm not at all surprised, "he said. "It's clear what your problem is." He examined her and then gave her some advice. "If you don't do what I say, Mrs. Parker," he said, "you will have a heart attack. It could kill you." Ellen was very worried as she left the doctor's. She knew that she had to take his advice but that it would not be easy and it would take time. The next day she went shopping. The first shop she went into was a butcher's shop . "I'd like ten pounds of steak , please," she said. "Certainly, madam," the butcher replied and went into the cold room and found a large piece of steak. He brought the huge piece of meat back into the shop and placed it on the scale . "That's just under ten pounds," he said. "That's big enough," Mrs. Parker said. The butcher worked out the price. "At $4. 99 a pound that will$49. 50, please. Would you like me to cut it up into smaller pieces for you?" "Oh, I don't want to buy the meat," Mrs. Parker said. "If you don't want to buy it," the butcher replied angrily, "why did you ask me to get it for you?" "My doctor told me that I am overweight and have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what ten pounds of flesh looked like." What was Ellen Parker's real problem?

1B

Thousands of cities around the globe turned off their lights for an hour to mark Earth Hour 2014, a symbolic show of support for the environment organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Since the movement began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, it has spread to more than 7,000 cities across more than 160 countries. Singapore continues to hold one of the world's largest lights-off events, drawing around 9,000 people this year to Marina Bay Sands, a commercial center typically awash in electricity. To mark the event actors Andrew Garfield, Jamie Foxx, Emma Stone and a group of other famous stars from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie were in town. Other iconic landmarks that fell dark included the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok's Wat Arun temple, the Empire State Building in New York, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sydney Opera House, Red Square in Moscow, the Bird's Nest in Beijing and Hong Kong Harbor. As the movement has grown, more organizations and business have committed to switching off their lights in support of efforts to reduce their environmental footprint. In Singapore, at least 600 organizations and companies agreed to either switch off their lights or participate in movements to use fewer plastic bags, take shorter showers, turn up their air-conditioning units or switch to LED lighting. This year the World Wide Fund for Nature, which first launched worldwide Earth Hour, also launched Earth Hour Blue, a crowdfunding platform aimed at raising money for environmental projects around the globe. On Mar. 26 a project to stop the illegal wildlife trade in Asia by providing assistance to wildlife rangers became the first one to reach its target of $20,000 by relying completely on crowdfunding. The hour-long event has little if any impact on electricity consumption, but as an awareness raising event it has registered success. In a statement to mark Saturday's event, Andy Ridley, CEO and Co-Founder of Earth Hour, said Asia's rapidly growing digital presence is an added bonus that has helped power our movement. How many different specific places are mentioned in the text to have participated in Earth Hour 2014 across the world?

2C

Just a Quick Nap Do you feel a little sleepy after lunch? Well, that's normal. Your body naturally slows down then. What should you do about it? Don't reach for a coffee! Instead, take a nap. It's good to have a daily nap. First of all , you are more efficient after napping. You remember things better and make fewer mistakes. Also, you can learn things more easily after taking a nap. A nap may increase your self-confidence and make you more active. It may even cheer you up. But, there are some simple rules you should follow about taking a nap. First, take a nap in the middle of day, about eight hours after you wake up. Next, a 20-minute nap is best. If you sleep longer, you may fall into a deep sleep. After waking from a deep sleep, you will feel worse. Also, you should set an alarm clock. That way, you can fully relax during your nap. You won't have to keep looking at the clock, so you don't oversleep. Now, the next time you feel sleepy after lunch, don't get stressed. Put your head down, close your eyes, and catch forty winks. The proper period of time for taking a nap is _ .

3D

This is a reading room in Kate's school. It is big and very nice. There is a lot of furniture in it. There are twenty desks, eighty chairs and twenty computers. There're some pictures on the wall. They are all of famous people. Some students are in the reading room. They like reading books here. Kate is here too. Her mother is an English teacher at the school and her father is a doctor in the school hospital. They like reading books in the reading room too. Kate's father is _ .

2C

One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the "cashless society" is not on the horizon----it's already here. While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply _ . They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customer for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself. Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers. It can be inferred that _ .

2C

Rome wasn't built in a day, and the Internet didn't come out of a golden egg. Many of today's creations were not born of people who had creative ideas, but who did not stop at simply having an idea. They took one brick of capital , another brick of knowledge, perhaps a brick or two of family and friends, and built their empires brick by brick. If you want to build an online empire, you cannot settle for simply having a website full of articles, or a website full of pictures--there are already thousands of sites like that, so you need to come up with something new and creative. So if you are starting to build something up, ask yourself: what do you really want to do, and what are you really good at? Believe it or not, you can make money at something that you are an expert in, and you need to know what that is. Remember, having an online empire does not mean that you have to do it alone. You can take _ along with you. Having a friend advertise your services online is a good way to attract more visitors to your empire. Building an online empire, you will have to be prepared to not only come up with creative ideas, but to carry your ideas through. Talk to people who have already succeeded in building their own empires. Talk to people who are struggling. Join a mailing list that will help you get through your struggle to achieve your goal. As you move forward, you will find that you can help other people, and you will have a good many stories to tell--not to mention a lot of money in the bank. If you learn the real secrets of creating a long term stable online business then you will have enough money to retire on. The proverb "Rome wasn't built in a day" applies to a situation where _ .

2C

Rooster Morris is an author, entertainer, storyteller, musician, and composer. He has performed for over 4.5 million students in elementary schools, public libraries and museums. Rooster shares with the audience some of the stories in children's books. Kids walk away from his performances, believing they can write, draw, perform, sing, or play a musical instrument. Most importantly, students walk away, believing reading will open the doors to every opportunity in life. Everyone knows authors write books, but how many students actually have the opportunity to watch a published author read from their books? When a student has the advantage of meeting an author and has the opportunity to ask questions, they realize authors are people from far-away places. Rooster points out these misunderstandings and explains how he started writing. Rooster talks of habits being one of the most important things in a person's life. If people develop good habits, they will achieve their goals and be ready for anything. Rooster talks about how he wanted to play the fiddle when he was a young boy. He learns to make a habit of practicing the fundamentals. Rooster shows the kids the pay-off -- he plays a song in front of the audience and brings the excitement to a new level. Rooster will educate and entertain the audience. Many students begin writing after having seen Rooster's program. When children hear someone they admire say, "You can do anything if you want to do it," it motivates them into action. Laid-Back West, Inc. has been booking authors for schools for over 13 years. We know the value of a successful author visit and can invite Rooster and other authors to visit your school. Rooster talks about how he learnt to play the fiddle in order to prove that _ .

1B

Scandinavian eye color testifies to

2C

The television news feature about Ben Heckmann, an eighth grader from Farmington, Minn, was breathless in its praise. "At 14, he has accomplished something many adults can't achieve," the reporter said, "Ben is a twice-published author." But Ben's two "Velvet Black" books, describing a fictional rock band, were not picked from a pile of manuscripts by an eagle eyed publisher. They were self-published, at the cost of $400 by Ben's parents. Over the past five years, print-on-demand technology and a growing number of self publishing companies whose books can be sold online have inspired writers of all ages to avoid the traditional gatekeeping system for determining who could call himself a "published author." The mothers and fathers who foot the bill say they are simply trying to encourage their children, in the same way that other parents buy equipment for a promising baseball player. But others see self-publishing as a lost opportunity to teach children about hardship and perseverance. Mr. Robbins, a critic, thinks it is wonderful to start writing at a young age, but worries self-publishing sends the wrong message. "There are no prodigies in literature," he said. "Literature requires experience, in a way that mathematics and music do not." Alan Rinzler, a publishing industry veteran, suggested parents hire a professional editor like him to work with their child to tear a manuscript apart and help make a better. Ben's father, Ken, said Ben's ambitions "weren't to knockHarry Potteroff the list," but "to get that good feeling inside that you've done something." Ajla Dizdarevic, 12, who has self-published two books of poetry, has been on television and in local newspapers. "Being a published author," she said, "was always a dream of mine." Her new dream: three books by age 15. Why do some children self-publish works according to the last part?

0A

Many places in the world need more fresh water. Every country is trying to find ways to turn salt water into fresh. Why aren't there many factories like the Symi factory? In some places the sun is not hot enough. Or it does not shine every day. In such places other ways of heating sea water can be used. These ways cost more money, but they work faster than the sun. By boiling sea water with high heat a lot of fresh water can be made quickly. But heating is not the only way to get fresh water from salt water. Other ways are tried. One way is freezing. The fresh part of salt water freezes first. To get fresh water, the bits of ice are taken out. Which way is the best? The one that gives the most water for the least money. It may be a different way for each place. Symi's way seems very good for small, hot places. It does not make much water at a time. But the factory is easy to build and costs little. That is why people in many dry places talk about Symi. Which is the best way for small and hot places to get fresh water?

2C

There are many unusual hotels around the world. In Greenland , there is a hotel made of ice, open between December and April every year. In Turkey , there is a cave hotel with a television, furniture, and a bathroom in each room. And in Bolivia , there is a hotel named the Salt Palace Hotel. Thousands of years ago, the area around the Salt Palace Hotel was a large lake. But today, the area has only two small lakes and two salt deserts . The larger of the two deserts is called Uyuni salt desert. During the day, the desert is bright white because of the salt. There are no roads across the Uyuni desert, so local people must show guests the way to the hotel. In the early 1990s, a man named Juan Quesada built the hotel. He cut big blocks of salt from the desert and used the blocks to build it. Everything in the hotel is made of salt: the walls, the roof , the tables, the chairs, the beds, and the hotel's bar. The sun makes the walls and roof warm during the day. At night the desert is very cold, but the rooms are warm. The hotel has twelve rooms. A single room costs$40 a night, and a double room costs$60. A sign on the hotel's wall tells guests, " Please don't lick the walls." [:Zxxk.Com] Which of the following is true?

1B

The writer Margaret Mitchell is best known for writingGone with the Wind, first published in 1936. Her book and the movie based on it, tell a story of love and survival during the American Civil War. Visitors to the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, Georgia, can go where she lived when she started composing the story and learn more about her life. Our first stop at the Margaret Mitchell House is an exhibit area telling about the writer's life. She was born in Atlanta in 1900. She started writing stories when she was a child. She started working as a reporter for theAtlanta Journalnewspaper in 1922. One photograph of Ms. Mitchell, called Peggy, shows her talking to a group of young college boys. She was only about one and a half meters tall. The young men _ her, but she seems very happy and sure of herself. The tour guide explains: "Now in this picture Peggy is interviewing some boys from Georgia Tech, asking them such questions as 'Would you really marry a woman who works?' And today it'd be 'Would you marry one who doesn't?' " The Margaret Mitchell House is a building that once contained several apartments. Now we enter the first floor apartment where Ms. Mitchell lived with her husband, John Marsh. They made fun of the small apartment by calling it "The Dump " . Around 1926, Margaret Mitchell had stopped working as a reporter and was at home healing after an injury. Her husband brought her books to read from the library. She read so many books that he bought her a typewriter and said it was time for her to write her own book. Our guide saysGone with the Windbecame a huge success. Margaret Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for the book. In 1939 the film version was released. It won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Which is the best title for the passage?

0A

Five years ago ,David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict ," he joked . "I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes--khaki pants and a sports shirt--to the office. He hardly even wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel fortable." More and more panies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many panies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as "dress-down Friday" or "casual Friday" . "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really bee an everyday thing." Said business consultant Maisly Jones. Why have so many panies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a pany to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code . "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software pany, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing fortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and pany ,85% of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4% of employers said that casual dress code has a negative impact on productivity .Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money . "Suits are expensive ,if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money ,you can buy a lot more casual clothes." David wears casual clothes now ,because_.

3D

Long long ago, a donkey fell into a well . The animal cried for hours as the farmer tried to think out what to do. Finally, the farmer thought the animal was too old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, so he decided not to save the donkey. The farmer invited his neighbours to help him. They began to shovel dirt into the well. The donkey cried harder. But a few minutes later, he became quiet. The farmer looked into the well, and was surprised by what he saw. While every shovelful of dirt hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step on the new layer of dirt. As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, the donkey would shake it off and take another step up. Soon the donkey stepped up out of the well and ran away, to the surprise of all the neighbours. The lesson we get from this story is that if life shovels some dirt on us, we must get out the well and not let it cover us. We must learn to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping-stone . We can get out of the deepest well by never giving up! When we are in trouble, we have to learn from _ in the story.

2C

Joe was a young boy who was excited for his first day of school. He jumped out of bed with a big smile on his face, ready for school. He looked in the mirror as he put on his white shirt and blue jeans, and ran down the stairs to get breakfast. His breakfast was waffles with syrup and eggs. His favorite breakfasts are pancakes and cereal, but the waffles were good. After eating all his food, he grabbed his lunch and ran out the door towards the yellow school bus. He arrived at the bus stop and waited for the bus. The bus was running late, but then he finally saw the bus pull up to the bus stop. He did not want to wait one more second so he talked to the bus driver and then took his seat on the bus. He then took a good look out the window and watched as the bus began driving him to the first day of school he had been waiting for. Finally, the bus came to a stop. The children all ran off the bus towards the elementary school. Joe did not see many other second grade students so he walked to the doors alone. Once he entered the school, he saw many of his friends from third grade and began talking to them. Then the bell rang and Joe's first day of school began. What color was the shirt Joe wore?

1B

A great way for teens to cool off during the summer is at water parks. If you live near a water park, you might think about getting a season pass. This way you can go as often as you like. Check to see if there are any water parks around you. Many are indoor facilities. So even if it isn't warm enough where you live to swim outdoors, you can enjoy swimming in a temperature controlled area. The prices are usually good. For example, one ticket to Water World, a water park, is only $5. Some teens like to get a part time job over the summer to make some pocket money. Older teens shouldn't have much trouble finding jobs. An idea is to get some teens together to form your own summer job business. You can walk dogs, bring in the newspapers, feed the cats, collect rubbish, water flowers, etc. Being that it's summer, many people go on vacation and could use someone to look after their houses while they're away. You can also think about other jobs you can do for them. Teens love freedom. Sure you would like to get to such places as the small, movie theaters, the zoo, the beach, picnic, bowling and local amusement park instead of staying home all summer. Then a summer bus pass will be helpful. Check to see if your area has one for you teens. Such a pass costs only $10 for the whole summer. The price is reasonable and also your parents don't have to always drive. If Sally goes to Water World with two friends, they should pay _ .

2C

A tiny daffodil is next to a large carnation. Bees looking for nectar will swarm

3D

Dear Gregory, Merry Christmas! You are now the proud owner of an iPhone. Hot Damn! You are a good & responsible 13 year old boy and you deserve this gift. But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations. Please read through the following contract. I hope that you understand it is my job to raise you into a well rounded, healthy young man that can function in the world and coexist with technology, not be ruled by it. Failure to comply with the following list will result in termination of your iPhone ownership. 1. It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren't I the greatest? 2. If it rings, answer it. It is a phone. Say hello, use your manners. Do not ever ignore a phone call if the screen reads "Mom" or "Dad". Not ever. 3. It does not go to school with you. Have a conversation with the people you text in person. It's a life skill. *Half days, field trips and after school activities will require special consideration. 4. If it falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground, or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs. Mow a lawn, babysit, stash some birthday money. It will happen, you should be prepared. 5. Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public. Especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow the iPhone to change that. 7. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO - fear of missing out. Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. It is not alive or an extension of you. 8. Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without googling. 9. If you will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You and I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together. It is my hope that you can agree to these terms. I hope you enjoy your awesome new iPhone. Merry Christmas! xoxoxo Mom George has to follow the rules below EXCEPT that _

2C

Sam really felt very happy. When he arrived at his seat in the classroom that morning, he found an invitation on his desk. It was from several of his classmates asking him to join them on a camping trip. This was the first time he was asked to join in an out-of-school activity. Why were they asking him now? Nobody seemed to like him. In fact, he had been so lonely that he ate a lot of food. As a result, he put on a lot of weight, and this gave the kids something more to make fun of him. Cindy, who was standing near Sam when Sam read the invitation, went out quickly to tell the others that _ . Everyone was pleased that Sam thought that was true, but there was no camping trip. The whole thing was made up . At first, Cindy thought it was fun. But later, when Sam told her that he was going to buy a sleeping bag with his savings, Cindy had second thoughts. She knew that Sam's family had little money, and she hated to see him spend his savings on something he would never use, Cindy also hated to tell Sam the truth. Her close friends would be angry with her. What can she do now? What do the words "the trick had worked" probably mean?

0A

2011 is a special year to all the people in Shenzhen. The 26 World Universiade will be held in the city from August 12 to 23 . As we all know, "Start Here" is the slogan of this great event. Does anyone know that a new life of two giant pandas will start here as well? Shenzhen is expecting the pair of pandas for the Summer Univcrsiade. The pandas, a male and a female from Wolong Panda Research Center in Sichuan Province, will be "universiade Pandas", just like "Asian Games Pandas" and "Olympic Pandas". Shenzhen Safari Park will rebuild its panda house to welcome the pandas. The panda house has been empty since another panda, Yongba, 25, was returned to Sichuan in 2009 because it was too old. How old are the Universiade Pandas? What are their names? What are they like? What are their living habits? We will find out the answers in June when they arrive. Yongba is a(n) _

3D

For many years people in Estonia have been leaving their rubbish in the forests. Rainer Nolvak, a businessman and his friends wanted to clean up all the rubbish in Estonia. The rubbish was not just an environmental problem. It was a problem of people's attitudes. Rainer Nolvak got together with a team of 20 friends and they began to make a plan about how to clean up the rubbish. Soon, over 600 people joined in the group. They named the project Let's Do It! Estonia. The Ministry of the environment gave them some support. Many other companies joined in the group. Famous actors and singers also took part. Even the President of Estonia joined in. They sent information about Let's Do It! Estonia throughout the country. Technology experts developed a special computer program. Team members went into the forests to find where the rubbish was. They used their mobile phones to mark every place where they found rubbish and send the information to the computer program. Then, the marked rubbish places appeared on the map. Anyone could go on the Internet and see the map. The team found a surprising result. There were over 10,000 tons of waste in the forests of Estonia. When people saw how much waste was around their own homes, they were shocked. Thousands of people began to help. The team chose May 3, 2008 as the day to clean up the rubbish. On May 3, more than 50,000 people helped to get rid of the rubbish. They moved over 10,000 tons of rubbish in only one day! This was amazing for the environment in Estonia. But it was also an important step for Estonian society. Rainer Nolvak gave a speech at a conference in the Balkans. He said: "The most important thing we did was build a team. It changed every one of us. We had to connect to people. We had to see that the rubbish was our problem. At times we are afraid of sharing. When we are together and there are many of us, we are not afraid.' What do we know about the project Let's Do It! Estonia?

1B

It is a very nice Sunday morning. Ann and her mother are on a big bus. There are many people on it. Some are from America. Some are from England and Japan. They are all friends. They are going to the Great Wall. There are two Chinese on the bus, too. They are a young man and a young woman. They can speak English. The young man is the driver of the bus. The woman is talking about the Great Wall. The others are all listening to her. They all like the Great Wall. _ of the people on the bus are Chinese.

0A

A "blogger" is a person who writes on an Internet website called a "blog". The word "blog" is a short way of saying "web log", or "personal website". Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they like. There are millions of blogs on the Internet today. They provide news, information and ideas to the people who read them.They contain links to other websites.And they provide a place for people to write their ideas and react to the ideas of others. A research company called Perseus has studied more than 3,000 web logs. It says that blogs are most popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year. However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products. At thesame time, some long-standing blogs have ended. Last week, blogging leader Dave Winer closed his free blog service "weblogs.com". He said the site became too costly to continue. He started the blog four years ago, and thousands of people had written on it. They are now upset because they did not know that the site was closed. One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca's Pocket.Rebecca Blood created the website in 1999. She wrote about the history of blogs on the site.That article led to a book called The Weblog Handbook.It has been translated into four languages so far. Miss Blood says Rebecca's Pocket gets about thirty thousand visitors a month.She writes about anything and everything ---- politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice. And she wrote about how to prevent people from being stolen from online bank accounts. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?

0A

It is the summer of 1776. Thomas Jefferson is not happy. He'd rather be home in Virginia than attending Philadelphia's Continental Congress Thomas Jefferson knew he had a job to do. Important men throughout the American colonies were meeting in Philadelphis to discuss and debate the war with Great Briain. The colony of Virginia sent Thomas Jefferson to Philadelphia. But Jefferson wasn't happy. Jefferson wanted to be home that hot summer of 1776. he missed his wife, Martha. She hadn't been feeling well when he left, and he worried about her. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee from Virginia stood up at the Congress and announced that "these American colonies ought to be free and independent states." Jefferson probably knew what was coming next. Here was another resolution to debate. And whenever there was a resolution, there was a declaration. The American colonies had been at war with Great Britain for more than a year, but surprisingly. The colonies had not formally announced their independence. So the Congress appointed a five-man committee to crate a document declaring America's independence. And the committee chose Thomas Jefferson to write it. Jefferson knew he was to list the unfair things Great Britain had done to the colonies. For days and days,, Jefferson wrote and rewrote about the king and his unfair laws. About independence. About freedom. He borrowed ideas from other political writers, but he wrote these thoughts in words that all people could understand. He wanted his ideas to be shared with everyone. And _ were. The Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. on July 8, it was read out loud to a cheering crowd. No one knew who the author was, but they knew what the Declaration stood for-independence and freedom for all. Still, Thomas Jefferson dreamed of home. In late July he begged Richard Henry Lee to replace him in the Congress. In September, Jefferson's dream finally came true, and he traveled home. Since then, the words Thomas Jefferson wrote during that hot Philadelphia summer have inspired people throughout the world. Thank goodness Jefferson didn't go home. The Continental Congress set up a committee to write a document to _ .

1B

Father's day Sunset Live Music Dinner Cruise Sunday, June 16th, 2013 6:30pm-8:30pm Join us abroad the 95' Dana Pride for our special Father's Day Dinner Cruise. Enjoy a unique evening of fun on the water, complete with live music by Mike O' Brien and a delicious barbecue dinner. Adult--$ 59 Kids (3-12)--$29 Two and under are Free LOCATION: Dana Point Harbor BOOK ONLINE OR CALL: 949-496-5794 Rancho Days Fiesta July 13, 2013 Celebration the history of Saddleback Valley, there will be children's activities including free crafts projects. Help make and taste homemade ice cream and butter, warm bread from the oven. Dip water and grind corn while learning about the early days of Orange County. Admission is $ 3 for children 3 to 12 years old and $4 for adults. LOCATION: Heritage Hill Historical Park INFORMATION: 949-923-2230 Annual Silverado Counter Fair and Art Festival October 5-6, 2013 The 42thAnnual Silverado Country Fair explores the wonders of the area's Old West rustic culture, great live music tasty food, handmade arts, crafts and family games under the oak-trees below Orange Country's famous Saddleback Mountain. Daytime adult admission: $4/ Kids under 12: only $2 Saturday Night Music Fest : $ 5 for everyone LOCATION: Silverado Community Center INFORMATION: 714-997-3968 Starr Ranch Sanctuary October 20-21, 2013 Audubon California's Starr Ranch Sanctuary invites you to our fall classes for adults. Join our wildlife biologist for two peaceful days at beautiful 4,000 acre Starr Ranch in southeast Orange County and experience nature hands-on as a wildlife researcher. Cost: $ 95 for those not camping (including dinner) $100 for those camping (dinner and breakfast provided) LOCATION: Starr Ranch Sanctuary RESERVATIONS OR INFORMATION: 949-858-0309 How much will a couple have to pay if they go to Saturday Night Music Fest with their 10-year -old son?

1B

Which is likeliest to be torn by human hands?

2C

"Teenager" is the new term being used in the UK to describe kids at either 8--12 or 10--13 years old. More and more companies are beginning to create products and services for teenagers. The Disney Company sells music and film to teenagers and their parents. You can get everything from lunchboxes and mobile phone covers, to monthly fan magazines and clothing. It's all about sales, which suggests that teenagers must have more money, freedom and influence upon their parents than they've ever had before. Most kids in the UK today get more pocket money than kids did ten years ago. Parents have more money to give their kids than before, since parents are having fewer children. In addition, the divorce rate in the UK is continually rising and parents spend less time with their children than they used to, so many parents try to please their children by buying them presents. It's a bad habit for both parents and kids to get into, but parents are under pressure from commercial marketing and the pleas of their children. UK kids today are very media and computer-literate. A lot of kids have a TV, if not a computer, in their bedrooms. They have easy access to much more information about life and the world. They may have experienced a lot in life as well, since 24% of UK kids live in single-parent families, so people now say that "kids are getting older younger". With such maturity at such a young age, it's no wonder teenagers are able to influence their parents and have more freedom than previous generations. UK teenagers never used to be worried about spending money on clothes. That's changed. Now, they are much more fashion conscious and concerned about their image . Many of them outgrow the bright colors and fashions of kids years ago and go for something darker and more rebellious . Surely none of the above is a good thing. The UK government is certainly concerned, and for that reason has strict laws preventing companies from marketing their products and services at children. Which is true about kids in the past?

2C

One day, a train was approaching the small town of Cheekyville. On the train was a young man with a big suitcase. He was called William Warbler, and he looked very common indeed. What made him most unusual, though, was the fact that whenever he needed to communicate he did it by singing opera . It didn't matter to William whether it was simply a matter of answering a brief greeting, like "good day". He would clear his voice and respond, "Gooood dayyy to youuuuuuuu... toooooo!" No one could get a normal spoken word out of him and no one knew how he made his living. As he lived quite simply, always wearing his same old second-hand suit, people often looked down on him. William had been in Cheekyville for some years, when, one day, word spread round town like wildfire: William had played a role in a very important opera in the nation's capital. Everyone in the capital went to see it, and it was a great success. Everyone in Cheekyville felt it was a surprise. But something more surprising was, when William was being interviewed by reporters, he answered their questions by speaking rather than singing. And he did it with great manners, and with a clear and pleasant voice. From that day, William gave up singing at all hours. Now he did it only during his stage appearances and world tours. Some people suspected why he had changed, but others continued believing him to be somewhat mad. They wouldn't have thought so if they had seen what William kept in his big suitcase. It was a large stone, with a hand-carved message on it. The message said: "Practice, my boy. Practice every second, for you never know when your chance will come." Little did people realize that he only got the role in the opera because the director had heard William singing while out buying a newspaper. Hearing the news about William, people in Cheekyville felt it was _ .

0A

Tree House The Tree House program is for students with an English or bilingual preschool background. Foreign teachers further develop students' natural English speaking skills from 1st through 6th grades in a total immersion environment. The program is theme-based with different units or themes per semester. Each unit includes a theme-related storybook, song, dialogue, writing and phonic exercises, grammar component, poem, and integrated activities. Step Ahead Step Ahead is a standalone course that takes children in 3rd grade with no prior English knowledge and by 6th grade, transforms them into confident, near-fluent English communicators. Our program has a strategic balance of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Regular lessons are broken into phonics, reading, grammar patterns, conversation, songs, and homework preview Jump Into English, Kids World, Kids Club Our Jump Into English, Kids World, and Kids Club courses are a great way to develop good English habits at younger ages. Jump Into English is for 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds and is a cost-effective alternative to English preschool. Kids Club and Kids World are for students in 1st and 2nd grades and are full of singing, dancing, games, and fun activities to help young children learn English more easily. Theme-based and Honors Courses We have theme-based courses to help learners prepare for specific areas of the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) and to develop the performance skills they will need in some of our exciting activities. When learners graduate from our Tree House and Step Ahead programs, they can continue to excel in English through our Honors programs. A child who hasn't learned English before can choose _ to develop confidence and fluency in English communication.

2C

When you discuss about eating out with your friend, first of all, you must make it clear who will pay for the meal.If somebody suggests having lunch with his friend, he might simply say something like this "I'm afraid it'll have to be some place nearby ,as I have little money." The other person may say. "OK. I'll meet you at Mcdonald's." This means he has agreed that the two will go Dutch, that is, each person pays for himself. He may say "Oh, no. I want to take you for lunch at Johnson's " This means the person is to pay the bill for both of them. Although the other person is pleased with the invitation, there is one reason why he shouldn't accept it by simply saying "Thank you." American customs are much the same as those in other parts of the world. American women used to expect men to pay for all the meals. But today, some of them like to. However, if a woman is asked to attend a dinner or a dance outside, the invitaton itself means "Come as my guest". So, as you see, it is a polite thing to make the situation clear at the very beginning. _ is first of all when you discuss about eating out with your friend.

2C

When Josephine Cooper was growing up, she learned the importance of charity from her parents. Although they made a modest living for their family of 10, they insisted on sharing with those less fortunate. Half a century later, Mrs. Cooper became a beloved volunteer at the San Diego Food Bank, where she devoted herself to helping others. She organized and ran a distribution center from a church, helping it become the organization's largest emergency food distribution center in San Diego. She was one of 25 outstanding senior volunteers in the nation selected and invited to Washington D.C. to receive the award. "She was the main person who helped us make that program grow," said Mike Doody, former director of the Food Bank. "She had a way of getting people to work together and to work hard. She was determined and stubborn, but in a good way. She had a good heart." People knew her as "Grandma" because of her selflessness and her devotion to helping hungry children and families. "She reminded people of their Grandma." Doody said. As a widow with a young child in 1979, Mrs. Cooper was helped through a difficult financial time when the Food Bank provided her with groceries. "She dedicated her life to giving back," said her daughter, Monica Cooper. "She loved life, and she loved people. She was very outgoing, caring and very concerned about our community." Cooper said it wasn't unusual for a local church to call Mrs. Cooper to ask her to aid a needy family. "She would give people food out of her cupboard. Sometimes we would cook a meal for a family living out of their car," Cooper said. Although Mrs. Cooper was honored to receive the national award for her volunteer work, she said being able to help others was her reward. Mrs. Cooper was confined to a wheelchair in recent years. She died of liver disease and kidney failure this year, aged 93. The San Diego Food Bank is meant to_.

1B

Henry's family has a picnic on the weekend.They ask their friends,Nancy and her husband ,to go with them.On Sunday morning,Henry's wife ,Kate,gets up early to get ready for(...)some food for the picnic.At nine o'clock in the morning,Nancy calls and tells Henry she would like to bring something to the picnic.Kate calls her back and asks her to bring a big bottle of orange juice.The two families go to a park near Nancy's house.There are tables and chairs under the trees near the river .They can see the blue sky and green water there.Everyone likes the picnic and they have a nice Sunday afternoon in the park. _ brings a big bottle of orange juice to the picnic.

0A

The industrial age has been the only period of human history in which most people's work has taken the form of jobs. The industrial age may now be coming to an end, and some of changes in work patterns which it brought may have to be reversed. This seems a discouraging thought. But, in fact, it could offer the prospect of a better future for work. Universal employment, as its history show, hasn't meant economic freedom. Employment became widespread when the enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries made many people dependent on paid work by taking them away from the use of the land, and thus from the means to provide a living for themselves. Then the factory system destroyed the cottage industries and removed work from people's homes. Later, as transport improved, first by rail and then by road, people traveled longer distances to their place of employment until, eventually, many people's work lost all connection with their home lives and the places in which they lived. Meanwhile, employment put women at a disadvantage. In pre-industrial times, men and women had shared the productive work of the household and village community. Now it became customary for the husband to go out to paid employment, leaving the unpaid work of the home and family to his wife. Tax and benefit regulations still assume this norm today, and restrict more flexible sharing of work roles between sexes. It was not only women whose work status suffered. As employment became the dominant form of work, young people and old people were kept out -- a problem now, as more teenagers disappointed and annoyed at school and more retired people want to live active lives. All this may now have to change. The time has certainly come to switch some efforts and resources away from the utopian goal of creating jobs for all, to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full-time jobs. From the passage we can learn that _ .

2C

Nobody knows for certainty all the details of the life of Aesop. However, scholars have been working to established some facts and this is the brief story of Aesop as it is accepted today. Aesop was born a slave around the year 620 B.C. InAncient Greece, it was a privilege and tradition of freedmen to be interested in public affairs, so Aesop worked hard to raise himself from a servile slave's position to a high position of renown. He was a thinker and philosopher and eventually became widely admired. Aesop was a smart man and a good speaker. He liked to learn and to also teach people, so he traveled through many countries. He came to Sardis, the capital of the famous king Croesus of Lydia who was a patron of learning and learned men. Croesus was so impressed by Aesop that he invited Aesop to permanently reside at Sardis. The king hired Aesop to do diplomatic government work such as trying to establish peace between the various republics of Greece. Aesop reconciled the inhabitants of these cities by telling his wise fables. It was on one of these ambassadorial missions that Aesop was killed. Croesus had sent him to Delphi with lots of gold which was to be distributed among the citizens. After talking with the people of Delphi, Aesop got so mad at the citizens because of their covetousness. He refused to divide the money and instead sent it back to his master. The Delphians were so mad they executed Aesop as a public criminal. As it often happens in Greek history, the Delphians were visited by a series of calamities as a sort of retribution for Aesop's death. This is where the phrase "the blood of Aesop" originated. The saying means "wrongful deeds will not go unpunished". In memory of Aesop, a statue was erected in Athens. The statue was created by the famous Greek sculptor, Lysippus. Why did Aesop work so hard?

1B

An Australian man who has been donating his extremely rare kind of blood for 56 years has saved the lives of more than two million babies. James Harrison has an antibody in his plasma that stops babies dying from Rhesus disease, a form of severe anaemia . He has enabled countless mothers to give birth to healthy babies, including his own daughter, Tracey, who had a healthy son thanks to her father's blood. Mr. Harrison has been giving blood every few weeks since he was 18 years old and has now racked up a total of 984 donations. When he started donating, his blood was deemed so special that his life was insured for one million Australian dollars. He was also nicknamed the "man with the golden arm" or the "man in _ ". He said, "I've never thought about stopping. Never!" He made a pledge to be a donor aged 14 after undergoing major chest surgery in which he needed 13 liters of blood. "I was in hospital for three months," he said. "The blood I received saved my life so I made a pledge to give blood when I was 18." Just after he started donating he was found to have the rare and life-saving antibody in his blood. At the time, thousands of babies in Australia were dying each year of Rhesus disease. Other newborns suffered permanent brain damage because of the condition. _ . It stems from one having Rh-positive blood and the other Rh-negative . His blood has since led to the development of a vaccine called Anti-D. After his blood type was discovered, Mr. Harrison volunteered to undergo a series of tests to help develop the Anti-D vaccine. "They insured me for a million dollars so I knew my wife Barbara would be taken care of," he said. "I wasn't scared. I was glad to help. I had to sign every form going and basically sign my life away." Mr. Harrison is Rh-negative and was given injections of Rh-positive blood. It was found his plasma could treat the condition and since then it has been given to hundreds of thousands of women. It has also been given to babies after they are born to stop them developing the disease. It is estimated he has helped save 2.2 million babies so far. Mr. Harrison is still donating every few weeks now. How old is James Harrison?

0A

"Haibao,the mascot of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo,is very cute,"said Gu Hui,a school kid."I want a big toy like the mascot." Haibao looks like the Chinese wordren,which means people or a person.The name,a typical lucky one in Chinese tradition comes from the Chinese phrase "Si Hai Zhi Bao" --the treasure of the four seas.It also means the treasure of Shanghai,which lies beside the sea. Haibao's blue curly hair looks like the waves of the sea.Its smile is a sign of the healthy spirit of China.Those thumbs-up will welcome millions of people to Shanghai from around the world.Its big feet show China has the ability to host a successful Expo. Haibao was created by two artists,one from the mainland and the other from Taiwan.The design is about people living together in the city.The designers want it to fit the theme of the Shanghai Expo,that is,a good life should be created by all the people and people should have harmonious relationships with nature and society,so that life in cities would be better. Surely the mascot will become the lucky symbol and cultural remark of Shanghai Expo. What is the theme of the Shanghai World Expo?

2C

A source of pollution might be

2C

Large wall posters for kids. Your kids will love these cool posters by artist Darla Daly--zebras boarding in the skateboard park, a group of jungle animals playing in the playground and two giraffes taking a drive in the city. Your kids will enjoy decorating their bedroom walls with these posters and their friends will think they are the coolest! Displaying 1 to 4 (of 4 products) Which of the following is true according to the passage?

2C

July 20th, 1969 was an important day.Two American landed on the moon.Their names were Armstrong and Aldrin.They went there in a spaceship.Its name was Apollo 11. Apollo 11 left Cape Kennedy on July 16th and went three hundred and eighty-five thousand kilometres.It took the two American three days to get there.On July 20th the spaceship landed in the Sea of Tranquility .Armstrong first stepped onto the moon.They picked up some rocks and put them in the spaceship.They jumped up and down.They were tired after their moonwalk,so they rested. On July 21st, Apollo 11 left the moon and returned to the Earth.Three days later, it came down in the Pacific Ocean.A ship took the men to America. The two Americans stayed on the moon for about _ .

2C

Mammals must eliminate waste products that their bodies produce. Which organ helps mammals eliminate bodily waste?

1B

My Family Is Very Poor A little boy comes to a new city. His name is Peter. Of course ,he lives with his mother and father. His family is very rich . They have a driver and a lot of servants . Peter is going to a new school. On the first day his parents say to him," peter,be modest at your new school. Don't say we are rich. "And Peter says," Yes,Dad,mom. " So Peter goes to school. He sees his new teacher. And he sits down with the other children. The teacher says. "Good morning,children. The first exercise today is a composition . The topic of the composition is 'My Family'."So every child writes a composition. This is Peter's composition: "My name is Peter. My family is very poor . Both my father and my mother are very poor. Our driver is very poor and all the servants are poor..." ,. The teacher asks the children to write _ .

1B

Which is an example of organic weathering of rocks?

1B

Hello! My name is Bob Smith. I am an English boy. Here are some school things . This is my school ID card. Its number is 201289767. This yellow bag is mine. A yellow eraser, a purple pencil, a red pen and a book are in it. Oh, that dictionary is mine, too. Is the green pencil box mine, too? No, it isn't. It is my good friend Lin Hui's. His school ID card number is 201287967. Green is his favorite color. He is in a green jacket, and that green bag is his, too. There are _ things in Bob's schoolbag.

1B

Once upon a time there was a cowgirl named Callie. Callie was the most beautiful cowgirl in all the land. She rode a beautiful horse. Her horse was brown. There are plenty of other horses. There are black horses, white horses, and red horses, but Callie's brown horse was the only horse in the world. Callie lived in a beautiful house with her husband. Her husband's name was Henry. Henry was a very good farmer. He grew tomatoes. His neighbor grew corn, potatoes, and bananas. His neighbor's name was David. David had a son named James who played in Henry's field. One day James fell and Henry almost ran him over with his horse. It was very scary. James was very careful when playing in the field. His dad told him never to play in the field again and he listened. Henry was very sorry for scaring him and sent him a basket of tomatoes. What was Henry's neighbors name?

2C

The producers of instant coffee found their product strongly resisted in the market places despite their product's obvious advantages. Furthermore,the advertising expense for instant coffee was far greater than that for regular coffee. Efforts were made to find the cause of the users' seemingly unreasonable resistance to the product. The reason given by most people was dislike for the taste. The producers doubt that there might be deeper reasons,however. This was supported by one of motivation research's classic studies,one often cited in the trade. Mason Haire of the University of California constructed two shopping lists that were the same except for one item. There were six items common to both lists: hamburger,carrots,bread,baking powder,canned peaches,and potatoes,with the brands or amounts specified. The seventh item,in fifth place on both lists,read"lib. Maxwell House coffee"on one list and"Nescafe instant coffee"on the other. One list was given to each one in a group of fifty women,and the other list to those in another group of the same size. The women were asked to study their lists and then to describe,as far as they could,the kind of woman(personality and character)who would draw up that shopping list. Nearly half of those who had received the list including instant coffee described a housewife who was lazy and a poor planner. On the other hand,only one woman in the other group described the housewife,who had included regular coffee on,her list was lazy; only six of that group suggested that she was a poor planner. Eight women felt that the instant-coffee user was probably not a good wife!No one in the other group drew such a conclusion about the housewife who intended to buy regular coffee. In the study,the women were supposed to give the opinions about _ .

3D

Computers have beaten human world champions at chess and, earlier this year, the board game Go. So far, though, they have struggled at the card table. So we challenged one AI to a game. Why is poker so difficult? Chess and Go are "information complete" games where all players can see all the relevant information. In poker, other players' cards are hidden, making it an "information incomplete" game. Players have to guess opponents' hands from their actions--tricky for computers. Poker has become a new benchmark for AI research. Solving poker could lead to many breakthroughs, from cyber security to driverless cars. Scientists believe it is only a matter of time before AI once again _ humans, hence our human-machine match comes up in a game of Texas Hold's Em Limit Poker. The AI was developed by Johannes Heinrich, researcher studying machine learning at UCL. It combines two techniques: neural networks and reinforcement learning . Neural networks, to some degree, copy the structure of human brains: their processors are highly interconnected and work at the same time to solve problems. They are good at spotting patterns in huge amounts of data. Reinforcement learning is when a machine, given a task, carries it out, learning from mistakes it makes. In this case, it means playing poker against itself billions of times to get better. Mr Heinrich told Sky News: "Today we are presenting a new procedure that has learned in a different way, more similar to how humans learn. In particular, it is able to learn abstract patterns, represented by its neural network, which allow it to deal with new and unseen situations." After two hours of quite defensive play, from the computer at least, we called it a draw. What do we know about the reinforcement learning of AI?

2C

Dear Santa, Thank you for all of the great gifts you give me this Christmas. My parents can't seem to decide whether you gave the presents directly, or if you just helped them and my grandma pick out the right presents. So, if you are advising her, please tell her next year that I do not own a Wii. I don't remember asking you for so many pairs of pants, but thank you for giving me the chance to try them on in the front of my whole family. I enjoyed them so much that I continued to wear them, with the tags still on. My mom and the holiday movies are always quick to remind me that Christmas isn't about the presents. It's about togetherness. But without the presents, there's nothing to do to fill up this long, long day. So I think Christmas is about the presents, and I'm sure you agree. If you do, I have some suggestions about ways that you could make the present part of the day last longer: using packing tape to wrap presents instead of Scotch tape . It took, like, ten minutes to open just one present. My final suggestion is pretty simple: more presents! If it took the whole day to open all of the presents, then I wouldn't have that terrible time, because my mom says it's wrong to go play video games in my room, but there's nothing else to do outside of my room. Anyway, thank you again and I look forward to seeing you next Thanksgiving. It's an iTunes gift card for you and hope you like it. Merry Christmas! In the opinion of the writer, Christmas is a festival about _ .

2C

Getting ready for a big test? Want to get some extra energy for your next sports event? Or do you just need to relax? Match the mood you're in( or the mood you'd like to be in) to the descriptions below and find out what color may help. Feeling tired: Red can help you meet the demands of a busy day. If you've got a tough day ahead, try wearing a red sweater or painting your fingernails a rich red to boost your energy. Feeling tense or depressed: Green may give you a sense of peace. Take a long walk through a tree-filled park or read a book in a grassy area. Wanting to use your creativity: Violet helps increase creativity. Think of a creative project you'd like to start and use the color violet as your main theme. Experiencing lack of interest: Yellow helps to improve thought process and mental sharpness. Start keeping a diary on yellow notepaper, and get some sunlight on your face. Needing to boost your imagination: Indigo strengthens dream activity. Put on your favorite pair of jeans and a pair of indigo sunglasses. Feeling sad, self-conscious, nervous: Orange may help start your emotions and make you more social. Buy yourself an orange book bag or purse and carry it with you on the days when you're feeling low. Having trouble sleeping: Blue helps calm your nerves and brings relaxation. Buy some blue sheets for your bed and curl up with your favorite magazines for a relaxing night. Which of the following is most helpful in producing unique artwork?

2C

Of these, a wolf will make its home very nearest to

0A

School Counseling In our grandparents' time, it was unthinkable.In our parents' time, it was unusual and nobody spoke openly about counseling.These days, more and more schools are asking for this service and it is considered a necessity for most.Why is it? What has changed in the last fifty years to have made counseling at schools so important? "One reason is that we expect schools to do more to protect their pupils than we did in the past," says school counselor, Mike Hudson." Also, our society doesn't work as well as it should.Many parents are either under pressure of work or face the economic problems of unemployment, while children are under more and more pressure to do well at school.Many pupils feel they are pushed to their limits by their parents and teachers." Most school children face some kind of relationship problem at some stage with family members, teachers or other pupils, so.it helps to have somebody to talk to. From the pupil' s point of view, it is easier to talk to a counselor in confidence rather than a family member or teacher.This solution is less embarrassing to pupils, who are not forced to face the person that they had problems with in the first place.They can calmly talk things through without arguments. School counselors advise not only students but also their teachers and parents, and offer other services as well, such as deciding learning disabilities or assisting parents and guardians to make the correct decisions about their children' s education. Counselors can help students with problems ranging from the most serious, like a death in the family, to what an adult would consider really trivial, like an argument with a friend. In a society that is becoming more and more stressful, this service is providing children with a supportive way to express their fear and worries. Why is school counseling becoming important?

2C

Lady Bird Johnson was born Claudia Alta Taylor in nineteen twelve. The Taylor family lived in the small town of Karnack, Texas. Claudia's father, Thomas Jefferson Taylor, owned two stores as well as thousands of hectares for cotton production. Her mother, Minnie Taylor, died when Claudia was only five years old. A woman who worked for the Taylor family gave Claudia her nickname. Alice Tittle said the small child was "as purty as a lady bird." As first lady, Missus Johnson became an energetic activist for educational and environmental issues. She helped support Head Start, a public program aimed at giving educational and health services to young children from poor families. She started the Society for a More Beautiful National Capitol. Its aim was to improve the beauty of Washington by planting trees and flowers in public areas and parks. Missus Johnson understood that these improvements were also linked to important issues such as pollution, public transportation, mental health, and crime rates. Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson had a difficult four-year term. The president faced strong opposition about the United States involvement in the war in Vietnam. In nineteen sixty-eight, President Johnson surprised the nation by announcing that he would not seek reelection as president. The Johnsons left politics and returned home to Texas. Mister Johnson died of a heart attack in nineteen seventy-three. Lady Bird Johnson continued her tireless work to improve the country's natural environment. She created the National Wildflower Research Center in nineteen eighty-two. The center helps to educate people about the environmental importance and value of native plants. Missus Johnson died in two thousand seven at the age of ninety-four. Her memory lives in the many fields of wildflowers that color the roads of America. The passage inicates that Mrs. Johnson was the best know for _

1B

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0A

Tears filled my eyes when I stood in our room. I was washing new jeans and a shirt of my 16-year- old stepson , Brett. He drank a lot last night. The clothing was already dirty. I was very tired. The clothes were just one thing. He had already kicked a large hole in his bedroom wall. Many windows were broken because of his breaking in to steal money. Brett came to live with us when he was 12 years old. During those four years I had dealt with Brett as patiently as possible, but inside I was feeling sad. Later, I cheered up again and continued parenting Brett. Still, Brett did not change his behavior. When Brett was nearly 18, my husband and I decided to send Brett to a boarding school that had very good result with troubled teenagers. At the graduation ceremony the graduates stood one by one to thank those who had helped them. Each graduate held a rose to give to the person who had meant the most to him or her. Brett spoke lovingly to me, "You did so much. You were always there, no matter what happened.You always showed me such love. And I want you to know that I love you for "it". Surprised, I stood as Brett placed the white rose in my hand and hugged me hard. At that moment I realized the truth-although I had been angry in my heart toward my stepson, Brett had seen only my actions. How did the writer treat her stepson?

1B

British Women Writers in different periods of time The English Renaissance The English Renaissance began in the later part of the fifteenth century and lasted until the 1660s. Among the most famous women writers of this period is Aphra Behn, who is seen as the first professional woman writer in English. She wrote a number of plays that dealt with topics such as racism and slavery. A good example isOroonokopublished in 1688. Aphra Behn's works include also the playsThe Amourous Prince,The Town Fop, The Dutch Loverand her only tragedy,Abdelazer. The neoclassical period Among the well-known women in Bristish literature during the neoclassical period, from 1660 to the end of the eighteenth century, is Anne Finch. She wrote poetry and tried to express all that she saw and experienced. Two other women are recognized for their contribution to neoclassical British literature: Mary Astell and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Mary Astell was a philosopher and a feminist writer. She is best known now for her theories on the education of women. The Romantic period Jane Austen is one of the most famous women writers that worked during the Romantic period (1798-1832). Her works include several novels, most of which focus on marriage as a way for young women to secure social standing and economic security. Her most famous novels arePride and Prejudice,Sense and SensibilityandEmma. Another famous woman writer from the English Romanticism is Mary Shelley. She is the author ofFrankenstein,History of Six Weeks TourandThe Last Man. The Victorian period The Victorian period, between the 1830s and 1900, was the time when the Bronte sisters, George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell lived and wrote. Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte and Anne Bronte produced many British literary classics. Charlotte's novels includeJane Eyre,Shirley,Villette and The Professor. Mary Anne Evans adopted the male pen name George as she wanted to set herself apart from the feminine genre of cookbooks and domestic moral tales. Her most famous novel isThe Mill on the Flosspublished in 1860. If a reader is interested in women's education, whose works can be the best choice?

1B

In northern China winter is long and cold, lasting from December through March. You can often see snow. Summer lasts from May through the end of August. The best time to visit northern China is spring and autumn. The days are warm but the nights are cool. Winters in central China feel colder than they look. You will seldom see snow. Winters are short, lasting from January to the end of March. Summers are long hot and humid, lasting from April through September/October. In spring flowers are blooming and the tree's leaves turn green so there is an air of freshness. However, autumn usually sees clearer skies, and it rains a little. It is very wet in the south and high temperatures last for a long time. Winter from January to March, is short but can feel very cold. But it doesn't snow. Summer through September is the rainy season where temperatures and humidity reach highs. In autumn the heat and humidity weather stops. There is always a chance of rain. Which part of winter lasts nearly four months?

0A

Many of us don't pay much attention to the importance of eye care. It is said that if you take care of your body, then you can surely be healthy. That is why our eyes should be given a lot of care. Natural eye care should be put in a number one place. There are several causes leading to poor eyesight like not enough food, genes and aging . Televisions, computers and reading are also the causes of having poor eyesight. If you happen to work in front of the computer, it is best to take a break every once in a while. Something dirty can cause redness and they will make you feel uncomfortable. It is bad for your eyes, too. If this happens, the best way is to clean your eyes by using cold water. You must also try your best to protect your eyes from harmful things. For example, sunglasses are not just for fashion but they can also serve as a great way to protect your eyesight form UV rays. Eating healthy foods will do good to your eyesight. Remember that vitamins A, C and E are good for eyes. Try to eat food groups that have these vitamins. And you should do eye exercises because exercise protects your eyesight, too. If a person exercises regularly and eats the right kind of food, his eyes will stay in good condition for a long time. All above are natural ways of eye care that help us keep healthy eyes. Being happy all the time can be helpful to a person's eyesight, too. In a word, eye care is very important, no matter how old a person is. What should you do if you have to work in front of the computer?

1B

Three armed robbers stole two Pablo Picasso prints from an art museum in downtown Sao Paulo on Thursday, which was the city's second high-profile art theft in less than a year. The bandits also took two oil paintings by well-know Brazilian artists Emiliano Di Cavalcanti and Lasar Segall, said Carla Regina, a spokeswoman for the Pinacoteca do Estado museum. The Picasso prints stolen were "The Painter and the Model" from 1963 and "Minotaur, Drinker and Women" from 1933, according to a statement from the Sao Paulo Secretary of State for Culture, which oversees the museum. The prints and paintings have a combined value of $612,000, the statement and a museum official said. About noon, three armed men paid the $2.45 entrance fee and immediately went to the second-floor gallery where the works were being exhibited, bypassing more valuable pieces, authorities said. "This indicates to us that they probably received an order" to take those specific works, Youssef Abou Chain, head of Sao Paulo's organized crime unit, told reporters at a news conference. The assailants overpowered three unarmed museum guards and grabbed the works, officials said. The robbery took about 10 minutes and the museum was nearly empty at the time. The assailants took the pieces -- frames and all -- out of the museum in two bags. The institution has no metal detectors. In December, Picasso's "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch" and "O Lavrador de Cafe" by Candido Portinari, an influential Brazilian artist, were stolen from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art by three men who used a crowbar and car jack to force open one of the museum's steel doors. The framed paintings were found Jan. 8, covered in plastic and leaning against a wall in a house on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, South America's largest city. One of the suspects in that robbery -- a former TV chef -- turned himself over to police in January, who already had two suspects in custody . According to the passage, which of the followings is TRUE?

3D

Russian President Putin named Time magazine's person of the year Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" on December 19th,2007for strengthening stability that made Russia a world power again. The magazine recognized Putin's "extraordinary feat of leadership in taking a country that was in a mess and bringing it stability," said Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor. The magazine noted that "Person of the Year" is not an honor or an endorsement but a recognition of leadership that shapes the world. Putin, who is 56 years old, is very popular in Russia, making a great effort to cause economy to come to life on revenue from oil and natural gas. Putin recently supported vice-PM Dmitry Medvedev's presidential bid, and said he would accept Medvedev's offer to serve as prime minister if Medvedev is elected March2. The Kremlin said Wednesday the Time reconnition was seen there as an _ of Putin's role in helpingprefix = st1 /Russiapull out of its social and economic troubles in the 1990s. Others considered for Person of the Year included Nobel Prize-winner Al Gore and author J.K. Rowling. This year's choice was a return to the magazine's tradition of picking an individual rather than last year's choice of "You", which refers to anyone creating or using content on the World Wide Web. Putin is the fifth Russian(or Soviet) leader to be named Person of the Year: Gorbachev, Andropov, Khrushchev and Stalin, who was named twice. How did Putin try to make Russiaa world power again?

2C

Valencia is in the east part of Spain . It has a port on the sea, two miles away on the coast. It is the capital of a province that is also named Valencia. The city is a market centre for what is produced by the land around the city. Most of the city's money is made from farming. It is also a busy business city, with ships, railways, clothes and machine factories. Valencia has an old part with white buildings, colored roofs, and narrow streets. The modern part has long, wide streets and new buildings. Valencia is well known for its parks and gardens. It has many old churches and museums. The University in the centre of the city was built in the 13th century. The city of Valencia has been known since the 2nd century. In the 8th century it was the capital of Spain. There is also an important city in Venezuela named Valencia. What is the main difference between the two parts of the city?

2C

Sports are important in English life. The people of England are sports lovers. Some of the world's famous sports began here such as football and cricket. Football is a game played in winter and early spring. Lots of people play football in parks or playgrounds just for fun. With hundreds of year's history, it is one of the most important sports in England. The English love football very much and they turned most of their main players into famous persons. David Beckham and Bobby Charlton became heroes for many children. The most interesting part of the English football year is the FA(Football Association) Cup Final each May. A lot of people in England play football in _ .

2C

Mr. And Mrs. Bell are very forgetful . For example , Mr. Bell sometimes goes to his office for work on Sunday morning, for he thinks it is Monday. And Mrs. Bell sometimes forget to cook supper for the family. One summer they planned to fly to New York for their holidays. They got to the airport only ten minutes before the plane took off. So time was short. But suddenly Mrs. Bell said she must tell Alice, their daughter, not to forget to lock the front door when she went to school. As Alice was then at school, they couldn't tell her about it by telephone. So they hurried to the post office. Mrs. Bell wrote a short note to Alice while Mr. Bell bought a stamp and an envelope . Soon the note was ready. They put the stamp on the envelope in a hurry and dropped it in the letter box, but suddenly Mrs. Bell began to cry. The short note was still in her hand. She had put the plane ticket in the envelope. When their daughter received the letter she would _

0A

Do you like children? Do you have free time in the afternoon? We need a babysitter for our son. He's five years old. The working time is Monday to Friday, 3:00 pm to 6:pm. ( $ 5 an hour) We need help with: Looking after our son; Reading to him; Playing with him. You must work at our house. We live in Changchun, near the Culture Square . Please call Mr. Green at 5638--2949. . Which is NOT the work that the babysitter needs to do?

0A

Film cameras and digital cameras work in a similar way. Film cameras After all, a film camera is basically a light - proof box. It has a lens system to focus light onto the film at the back of the camera. Let's suppose that we are outside on a beautiful summer day trying to take a picture of the family dog. We are using a film camera. We finally get the dog to lie still. You point the camera at him. What happens? Light goes into the camera lens and hits the shutter. In other words, nothing happens yet. Now let's say that the dog looks really cute and you decide to snap a picture. What happens? When you press the button, the shutter opens for a very short period of time. A small amount of light passes through and hits the film at the back of the camera. This creates an upside-down and reversed image on the film. When you finish the roll of the film, you can take it to the photo shop to develop it and you will have a great picture of your dog! Cameras come with different lens lengths. Why does it matter? Many small cameras have shorter focal lengths, which means that there is a small distance between the lens and the place where the light focuses at the back of the camera. This gives you a large view of the area you are taking a picture of. Lenses with a long focal length show a smaller area but allow you to focus on distant objects and make them bigger. They are often called telephoto lenses. A good example of a long focus lens is one that is used by sports photographers to get photos of football players as if they were standing right beside them. Digital cameras In digital cameras, the light falls not on film but onto a sensor called a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). This digitally converts light and color into a digital information or pixels . The CCD is the heart of any digital camera and usually the most expensive part ---- depending on how good it is. Generally speaking, a digital camera's price is _ .

0A

Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, reportedly blocked streets with their vehicles on Sunday in protest against unlicensed vehicles using taxi-hiring apps and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies. On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal "taxi business" of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.[:Z#xx#k.Com] It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December. Such regulations will cause a setback to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Besides, the market is uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from global investors. Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China's big cities. To be fair, these companies' business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for businesspeople through the Internet and mobile phone apps. Every link in this business model chain has legal companies and services. Hence, it is hard to define it as illegal and ban it. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

0A

In a laboratory activity, four different types of rock were placed in identical acid solutions for one week. Each sample was then measured to see if any of the rock mass was dissolved by the acid solution. Which is the dependent (responding) variable in this activity?

3D

After suffering through many months of unemployment . my wife and I moved this week from Colorado to Ohio. where she was starting a new job. Not knowing anybody there. we were pretty concerned about how we'd get our entire home unloaded without killing ourselves. We made a phone call to hire a couple of college students to help with all the heavy lifting once we got there. But one neighbor after another stopped by to help us. _ Unloading actually became fun and joy because there were so many wonderful new friends to help when we worked. The more people helped. the easier the work became. We were afraid the job might take days for the two of us alone. but it was finished in a few hours. Many total strangers would either walk by the sidewalk or drive by to ask us if we were moving in. Many were happy that this old house that had sat empty for so long was coming to life again. We were invited to an outdoor meal yesterday by neighbors on the same street. All the time. my brain was resting on this new sense of hope that people can be so friendly to strangers. Among all the conversation were lots of offers to help each other in all kinds of ways. It's wonderful to live in such a kind little town. I feel so grateful to be here. and wish the rest of the world could see how an entire community can model what it's like to help each other. We can learn from the passage that the author's neighbors _ .

2C

Shopping online is easier than actually going to a store and saves your time. However, it's not always that easy. Sometimes, you may have a few problems. Xu Zijiao, 21, a student at Sichuan University, often buys clothes on Taobao. "The colors might be different. And since you can't feel the clothes, the quality might be bad," Xu said. Many people had similar experiences to Xu - buying something that isn't as good as the advertisements suggest, or going into a store for a special offer but still paying a lot. What would you do if your consumer rights were broken? Guangzhou Daily reported that according to a research, 60 percent consumers would give up without fighting for their rights. March 15 is World Consumer Rights Day. According to consumer protection laws in China, consumers have nine rights, including the right to guaranteed safety, truthful information, free choice and respect. How can we fight for our consumer rights? Here are some tips: 1. Learn some of the differences between real and false goods. 2. Check the label and read the information carefully before you buy something. 3. Get a receipt for all your goods and services. 4. If you find there's any problem with your goods, talk to the seller first, and try to get your money back or get an exchange. If you can't reach an agreement, call 12315 or go to your local consumers association for help. According to the law, consumers have the following rights EXCEPT _ .

2C

While assisted living centers have been available in the United States for many years, the growth and availability of assisted living has had a dramatic increase since the early 1990s. An assisted living center is a residential alternative that promotes maximum independence for each resident through a combination of supportive services and assistance. The definition of assisted living from one state to another may vary and so will the cost and types of services. Assisted living centers vary in size, style and the optional services they may offer. Small family style living or the larger complex of units can be found in the United States. Some facilities are operated by nonprofit organizations, while others are _ . In addition, some facilities may be co-located or affiliated with a hospital or nursing facility. An assisted living center is any institution, rest home, boarding home, place, building or agency that is maintained and operated to provide personal care and services which meet some need beyond basic provision of food, shelter and laundry in a free standing, physically separate facility which is not otherwise required to be licensed. In general terms, an assisted living center is required to provide assistance with daily living activities, including eating, bathing, dressing and personal hygiene; three meals a day; supervision (,) of self-administration of medications; laundry service including personal laundry, housekeeping, and 24-hour staffing. Which of the following is TRUE?

2C

We like to keep our distance from others and there are very specific social rules about how close we can go to others in particular situations. The social distances here are approximate, of course and will vary with people. But they are still a good general rule. Hall identified four zones that are common for Americans: Public Zone: >12 feet. The public zone is generally over 12 feet. That is, when we're walking around town, we'll try to keep at least 12 feet between us and other people. Of course there're many times when we cannot do this. We'll start to notice other people who are with in this distance. The closer they get, the more we become aware. Social Zone:4-12 feet. Within the social zone, we start to feel a connection with other people. When they're closer, then we can talk with them without having to shout, but still keep them at a safe distance. This is a comfortable distance for people who are standing in a group but maybe not talking directly with one another. Personal Zone: 1.5-4feet. In the personal zone, the conversation gets more direct, and this is a good distance for two people who are talking seriously about something. Intimate Zone: <1.5 feet. When a person is within arm's reach or closer, then we can touch them in intimate ways. Romance of all kinds happens in this space. Entering intimate zone of somebody else can be very threatening. The rules about social distances vary with different groups of people. People who live in towns spend more time close to one another. In a large and crowded city, the distances will be less than in a small town. Different countries also have different rules about social distances. Watch a Japanese person talking at a party with a person from a Western country. The Japanese will step in and the Westerner will step back. Speeded up, it's like a dance around the room. In a less crowded place, an American usually keeps a stranger at a distance of _ .

3D

There are four people in Simon's family. They have different habits. * Simon's father is a doctor. He works in a hospital. He likes reading books very much. There are many books in his bedroom. He doesn't like going to the cinema. * Simon's mother is a music teacher. She likes listening to music, but she has no time to go to concerts. * Simon's brother is seven years old. He likes watching cartoons. He usually watches cartoons when his parents aren't at home. * Simon is a middle school student. He likes playing football. He often plays football with his friends after school. He likes playing computer games at home. But he doesn't like watching TV. Simon's mother doesn't have time to _ .

1B

When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores on certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school subjects. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or upsetting situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do. For instance, when in a new situation, an intelligent person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it. He probably isn't sure how it will all work out, but at least he tries. And if he cannot make things work out right, he doesn't feel ashamed that he failed; he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook on life, a special feeling about life, and how he fits into it. If you look at children, you'll see a great difference in what we call "bright" children and "not bright" children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amounts of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out about life, and he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream world; he seems to have a walk between him and life in general. If an intelligent person failed, he would _ .

1B

As the price of a college degree continues to rise, there's growing evidence that the monetary payoff isn't quite as big as often advertised. The best estimate now is that a college degree is worth about $300,000 in today's dollars--nowhere near the million figure that is often quoted. "That million number has driven me crazy!" says Sandy Baum, a Skidmore economist who studied the value of a college degree for the College Board last year. Baum's research showed that college graduates earn, on average, about $20,000 a year more than those who finished their educations at high school. Add that up over a 40-year working life and the total differential is about $800,000, she figures. But since much of that bonus is earned many years from now, taking away the impact of inflation means that$800,000 in future dollars is worth only about $450,000 in today's dollars. Then, if you remove the cost of a college degree--about ,$30,000 in tuition and books for students who get no aid and attend public in-state universities--and the money a student could have earned at a job instead of attending school, the real net value in today's dollars is somewhere in the $300,000 range, a number confirmed by other studies. But, especially these days, that still makes a college degree one of the most _ investments a person can make, Baum notes. Better yet, college graduates can go on to earn advanced degrees, which return even bigger payoffs. The average holder of a bachelor's degree earns about$51,000 a year, Baum calculates. But those who've gone on to earn MBAs, law degrees, or other professional degrees earn about $100,000 a year. In addition, Baum found that there are plenty of other rewards for a degree. The quality of the jobs college graduates get is far better, for example. College graduates are more likely to get jobs with health insurance. And it is easier for them to find and hold jobs. The unemployment rate for college graduates was just 2.2 percent last year, half the unemployment level of those with only high school diplomas. There are lots of other nonmonetary benefits as well. College graduates are healthier, contribute more to their communities, and raise kids who are better prepared academically, studies show. Other researchers have found that the payoff of a degree is especially lucrative for students from low-income families, since the education and degrees give them a chance to break out of low-paying careers. Which of the following statements can be learned from the text ?

3D

There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world. But only a few of them are very important. English is one of them. Many, many people use it, not only in England and the USA, but also in other parts of the world. About 200,000,000 people speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a foreign language. Many millions of people are trying to do so. Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different answers. Have you ever noticed ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines? "Learn English in six weeks, or give your money back..." "Easy and funny..." "Our records and tapes help you master English in a month". Of course, it never happened quite like that. The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should remember that we all learned our own language well when we were children. If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. Think of what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears. So it is hard to say that learning English is easy. We must do a lot of practice. And practice needs great efforts and takes much time. Good teachers, record, tapes, books, and dictionaries will be helpful, but they cannot do the student's work for him. Which countries use English as the mother tongue?

2C

Venice is a city of the sea. It is built on islands which are in the middle of lagoon . Today, the city covers 118 islands. These islands are connected by bridges. There are about 400 bridges which cross 150 canals . It is difficult to forget the sea when you are in the city. Many people of Venice have always been fishermen, because the lagoon is full of fish. They also build ships, and travel to Dalmatia and Greece. Venice is the "Queen " of the Adriatic Sea. Every month thousands of people visit the city, which is very beautiful. But Venice is going down. It is going down and the water is going up. In 2040 Venice will be under water. The Adriatic will cover the city. The Venetians love their city and they want to stay there. They want to save Venice. They do not want to leave. How can they succeed ? They can put some big gates in the sea, which will close, so Venice will not go down. People call Venice the "Queen" of the Adriatic Sea because _ .

2C

People without homes have always been present in America. In the past,they were called hobos,bums,or drifters. It was not until the early 1980s that these people received a new name,when activists named them the homeless. The types of people who were homeless also changed in the 1980s. No longer were they primarily older men. They were younger,with an average age of 35. Their numbers consisted of women,children,adolescents and entire families. They were of many races and cultures. No longer were they only in the inner city. They lived in rural areas and in large and small cities. No longer were they invisible to the people with homes and jobs. The homeless of the 1980s lived in packing crates and doorways. They slept on sidewalks and in public parks. They begged money from passersby. Counting the numbers of homeless people is difficult. However,in 1984 the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated the homeless population at between 250,000 and 350,000. In 1990 the Census Bureau counted about 459,000 people in shelters,in cheap hotels,and on the streets. In 1995 the National Alliance to End Homelessness estimated that there were 750,000 homeless Americans. The homeless of the 1980s also began to speak out for themselves. Some spoke to Congress and to government committees controlling funding for social programs. Street newspapers,such as Chicago's Streetwise and Boston's Spare Change,had stories,poems,and essays that expressed the homeless viewpoint. The visible and vocal presence of the homeless prompted help from volunteers and government agencies. But what is still needed is a solution to the _ of America's homeless population. This passage is mainly about _ .

2C

Protagoras was among the great teachers of ancient Athens. He taught many subjects, including the laws of argument and the right use of language. It is said that he was the first teacher to accept money for his services. A student, Evalthus, heard of this famous teacher and asked him to give him lessons. However, Evalthus didn't want to pay for his lessons at once, and after some discussion it was finally agreed between them that Evalthus should pay only if he won his first case in the court. For if he won, it would prove that he had been taught well. The lessons began and Evalthus proved himself to be a good student. But he refused to pay Protagoras anything at the end of his studies. Protagoras therefore took Evalthus to the court and told the judges that he wanted his money. He explained that he must be paid whether he won or lost the case. "Whatever you decide," he declared to the judges, " I must be paid. For if you decide in my fovor , then I win the case, and so I must be paid . But If you decide against me, then Evalthus has won his first case in the court; according to our agreement, he must pay his lessons. Therefore I shall get my money whatever happens." The Athenian judges found no fault in it, so they asked Evalthus to reply. "No, it's quite clear," said Evalthus, " that I need not pay. If the judged decide in my favor, then I have won the case, and I need not to pay. But if Protagoras wins, then I have lost my first case. Therefore, according to our agreement, I do not have to pay. So I need not pay in any event." As both arguments appeared to be faultless, the judges were unable to come to a decision. They therefore ordered the two men to appear before them again one hundred years later. Why did the judged ask Protagoras and Evalthus to come to the court one hundred years later?

0A

Cold weather can be hard on pets,just like it can be hard on people.Sometimes owners forget that their pets are just as used to the warm shelter as they are.Some owners will leave their animals outside for a long period of time,thinking that all animals are used to living outdoors.This can put their pets in danger of serious illness.There are things you can do to keep your animal warm and safe. Keep your pets inside as much as you can when the weather is bad.If you have to take them out,stay outside with them.When you're cold enough to go inside,they probably are too.If you must leave them outside for a long time,make sure they have a warm,solid shelter against the wind,thick bedding,and plenty of non-frozen water. If left alone outside,dogs and cats can be very smart in their search for warm shelter.They can dig into snow banks or hide somewhere.Watch them closely when they are left outdoors,and provide them with shelter of good quality.Keep an eye on your pet's water.Sometimes owners don't realise that a water bowl has frozen and their pet can't get anything to drink.Animals that don't have clean and unfrozen water may drink dirty water outside,which may contain something unhealthy for them. If pets are left on their own outdoors in cold weather,they may _ .

0A

Have you ever dreamed about a trip to the space? Seeds of some vegetables and crops are a lot luckier than you, as they have travelled to space and back. China is among the three countries in the world that carry out agricultural research in space. The others are Russia and the US. Since 1987, China has sent about 1,000 species of seeds into space. These include green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers , carrots, lettuce and wheat. Even on China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou-V, there were some seeds from Taiwan. "Conditions in outer space such as radiation and low gravity can cause big changes in the seeds," said Chinese researcher Jin Xing. But not all seeds are better after going to space. After returning to Earth, the best seeds are selected.These seeds produce much more and also grow faster than normal seeds. As the safety of genetically modified food is still being debated, some people doubt the safety of these "space vegetables" because some of their genes are changed during the trip to space. But Jin holds a more positive view. He said, "unlike genetically modified crops, no new genes are introduced to the space vegetables, so they are definitely safe." China has also been co-operating with NASA to grow some super size potatoes on the International Space Station. Special growth rooms use computers to control the light, temperature and humidity . Using this technology a new, virus-free potato can be produced every 40 to 50 days instead of the previous yearly crop. Once seeds of some vegetables and crops are sent into space and back, _ .

0A

It has been more than 50 years since Harvard Business School started admitting women, yet the institution is still trying hard to find out how to best attract and support them. Its latest effort: a program targeting women's colleges--place that are not traditional feeding grounds for the male-majority business school. The program is called Peek. It offers juniors, seniors and recent graduates from women's colleges the opportunity to read and discuss four HBS case studies in class specially taught by top HBS members. About 50 to 70 promising students will pay $500 for their stay there. Women make up 41 percent of Harvard Business School class of 2016--the most the school has had. In 1985, women made up only one-quarter of the graduating class. Harvard is not alone when it comes to struggling with a gender gap . At Wharton, the class of 2016 is 40 percent women; at Standford Business School, it's 42 percent. No top business school had gotten to 50 percent yet. Despite the Peek program's good intention, the $500 fee bothered someone, said John A. Byrne, the editor of business school new site. "The fact that HBS would charge women for the chance of coming to campus rubbed a lot of people the wrong way," said Byrne. HBS said the $500 fee was a "fair price" for room and daily meals at the business school for a weekend, and didn't actually cover the full costs of the program. For years, women students at Harvard Business School failed to keep pace with men. In 2010, Harvard business School got a new manager, Nitin Nohrin, who promised a turnaround. Nohrin designed a program to encourage women students and professors. He promised to change the school's case studies so that at least 20 percent of the people in the business texts would be women. What is the text mainly about?

0A

The Tropical Paradise Holiday Welcome to St Anna, our tropical paradise just off the coast of Latin America. You can spend two weeks in our luxury four-star hotel. The cost of your flight is included in the holiday, and you can be picked up from your home by our special airport bus. On your arriving, our coach will be waiting to take you to the hotel. All flights leave from Heathrow on a Monday morning. The Cowrie Hotel is built right on the beachfront, and many rooms have wonderful ocean views. If swimming and surfing are not enough for you, the hotel also offers horse rides on the island, and a discount membership of the golf club. The Rain Forest Adventure Holiday Every year Broughton holidays offer twelve days of unforgettable adventure in a tropical rain forest. You may have a choice of Borneo, Malaysia, Indonesia, or even to the greatest rain forest of them all, the mighty Amazonian forest. You will fly to our special base camps at the edge of the forest, where you will be given five days of survival training, and talks on the local wildlife. Then you take a bus into the forest. You will have to walk the final five miles to the camp sites to avoid disturbing the local ecology. All of the camp sites have been carefully built to cause the minimal amount of disturbance to the local wildlife. Remember that these adventure holidays take you deep into the wilderness,and they are not suitable for families with young children. Also remember that no more than two dozen guests can stay at any camp at one time, so if you want to go on one of these very special holidays, you will need to book early ![: _ Which of the following is mentioned in both holidays?

1B

Visitors were still paying 20 yuan to hug Lele and have their photos taken yesterday despite a ban that forbids any such sontact with a wild animal. The ban was introduced more than a week ago. "The city zoo broke the law and should be prohibited," said an official at the State Forestry Administration. The administration notice last Monday clearly bans contact with wild or captive animals, the abuse of wild or captive animals for performance purposes and any improper business related to wild animal products. "Close contact with the chimp is the only bit that breaks the ban and we will end that soon," said Beijing Zoo spokeswoman Ye Minxia yesterday. "The chimpanzee performance can't stopped overnight as we have a contract with a company scheduled to terminate at the end of this year," she said. "The zoo is negotiating with the company in the hope of terminating it sooner," Ye said. She refused to answer directly whether the chimp photo sessions were still ongoing yesterday, instead, saying. "It's very likely we will cancel it tomorrow." Zoo staff confirmed photos were taken yesterday, one employee saying 2-year-old Lele "works" form 10am to 3pm daily, according to the Leagl Mirror. Such activities not only damage the mental and physical health of the animals, but also risk the safety of visitors, according to the official website of the State Forestry Administration where the notice was released. "A pet male chimpanzee bit and attacked 55-year-old Chala Nash, causing serious injuries to her face, neck and hands at her friend's home in Stamfor, Connecticut on February 16th last year," CNN reported. The friend, Sandra Herold, called the police, who shot 14-year-old Travis many times after he also attacked an officer." "Putting a blue T-shirt on a wild animal and training it to bare its teeth and parade for visitors might not enhance that already-troubled image of Chinese animal protection," the State Forestry official warned. "Some zoos even hit animals and promote themselves with commercials involving animal abuse, " he said. "Too much focus on the profits too often results in improper treatment of animals, contributing to their early and unnatural deaths," the notice stated. What do we learn about Lele?

0A

Last week, while visiting my dad with my daughter, we went to a restaurant for dinner. When we were seated, my dad asked the waitress if there were any soldiers eating at the restaurant. Then waitress said there was a soldier having dinner with his friend. My dad told the waitress to tell the soldier and his friend that their dinner was paid for! He also said that he did not want to be known as the benefactor . Then waitress later commented on my dad's thoughtful behavior saying that she had never seen anything like this before. At a local college, she had studied opera and so she used this to thank my dad by performing a piece from The Pearl Fisherman. Her voice brought me to tears because it sounded perfect! After a while, the soldier appeared at our table (I don't know how he knew my dad paid the bill for him.) and said that he would be sent to the front the next morning and that he could not leave this country without saying "thanks" to my dad. My dad replied that it was he who wanted to say "thanks". They shook hands as the soldier left. Before we left, the waitress came by again. She did a magic show as another way to show her "thanks" to my dad. Her show was really great. My dad left her a note with email address asking for her next performance time in addition to a $ 50 tip. Everyone witnessed something exemplary in the human spirit that night. I can only hope to see more of this in the future. What did the soldier do in response to the author's father's kindness?

2C

Once I invited a group of friends round to my house, telling them that I was going to record their speech. I said I was interested in their regional accents, and that it would take only a few minutes. Thus, on one evening, three people turned up at my house and were shown into my front room. When they saw the room they were a bit alarmed, for it was laid out as a studio. In front of each easy chair there was a microphone at head height, with wires leading to a tape-recorder in the middle of the floor. I explained that all I wanted was for them to count from one to twenty. Then we could relax and have a drink. I turned on the tape-recorder and each in turn seriously counted from one to twenty in their best accent. When it was over, I turned the tape-recorder off and brought round the drinks, and for the rest of the evening there was general cheerful conversation--interrupted only by the fact that I had to take a telephone call in another room, which unfortunately lasted some time. Or at least that was how it would appear. For, of course, the microphones were not connected to the tape-recorder in the middle of the room at all but to another one, which was turning happily away in the kitchen. The participants, having seen the visible tape-recorder turned off, paid no more attention to the microphones which stayed in front of their chairs, only a few inches from their mouths, thus giving excellent sound quality. And my lengthy absence meant that I was able to obtain as natural a piece of conversation as it would be possible to find. I should add, perhaps, that I did tell my friends what had happened to them, after the event was over, and gave them the choice of destroying the tape. None of them wanted to--though for some years afterwards it always seemed to be my round when it came to the buying of drinks. Linguistic research can be a very expensive business. Which one is true according to the passage?

2C

My 13-year-old daughter Lisa remembers birthdays, makes people cards when they are sick, and sends encouraging notes written in colored pens in her neat, artistic hand. One day I got a call from her principal, "I called to tell you that in 20 years of teaching I have seen nothing like what Lisa did today", he said I held my breath again as I thought, my Lisa? My sweet daughter? She must be the wrong kid. What could she have done? My silence made him go on. "I've never seen a student do anything so nice for anyone who needed it more." "What did she do?" I asked. He explained to me about the cupcakes . When Lisa came home from school that afternoon, I told her the principal from her school had phoned me. "Yeah", she answered, "I got called out of math class to go to his office. Everyone thought I was in trouble, but he just wanted to know what was going on at lunch." Lisa and Ashley had sat with Jordan, a boy who is in special classes. They talked about birthdays, and Lisa asked Jordan when his birthday was. He told her it was coming up but that he lives in a group home and they don't celebrate birthdays there. "I remembered his birthday was today, so I made the cupcakes yesterday," Lisa explained. "Ashley bought a two-liter bottle of soda and some birthday cups, plates, and napkins left over from her little brother's party, and we got some other kids together at lunch today to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Jordan." "The principal wanted to know why they were having a birthday party for Jordan at school. When they told him, he just shook his head, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes," Lisa told me. "Finally, he said he was going to tell my parents that I wasn't in trouble, he was proud of what I did, and I could go back to math class." How different my daughter was from me. Better, in fact! I wouldn't have ever known how to help out disadvantaged kids like that. But my wise daughter knew how-- all it took was cupcakes and adventurous , independent , kind spirit. What can we know from the school principal's phone call?

0A

Mr. Rock has some apple trees in his garden . He looks after them carefully . Now there are very good apples on the trees and Mr. Rock is happy. This afternoon when he looks out of the window, he sees a boy in one of his apple trees. He is eating the nice apples! Mr. Rock opens the window and shouts. "Hey! What are you doing there? Come down and go away, or I'll go to see your father!" "Dad!" the boy looks up and cries , " Mr. Rock wants to see you!" Mr. Rock has some _ in his garden.

2C

Part-time Front Desk Position Fuse Fitness is looking for a part-time front desk receptionist at our new Carlsbad location. Job duties include: l Welcoming and greeting members; l Answering phone calls; l Signing up new members; l Cleaning and performing other various duties. You should have great communication skills and be dependable. More importantly, you should have a positive spirit in stressful situations. You are expected to work five days a week (including weekends). Tel: (760) 434-7704 E-mail: info@fusefitness.com Apply in person at: 2502 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, CA 92008 _ The first impression you make in a job interview is very important. The first judgment an interviewer makes is based on how you look and what you are wearing. That's why it's always important to dress professionally for a job interview, even if the work environment is casual. l Before you even think about going to an interview, make sure you have suitable interview clothes and that everything fits correctly. l Get you clothes ready the night before, so you don't have to spend time getting them ready on the day of the interview. l Polish your shoes. l Bring a breath mint and use it before you enter the building. For more information: Visit: Or Tel: (800) 421-7250 or (760) 603-4000 Carlsbad, California How should you contact Fuse Fitness about the front desk position in the morning if you can't go in person?

3D

A group of swimmers has described how a group of dolphins protected them from a group of white sharks off the coast of New Zealand. The lifeguards were on a training swim when they came across a group of great white sharks before the dolphins raced in to help. The swimmers were surrounded by the dolphins for forty minutes before they were able to make them safety back to the beach. It was an uncomfortable experience as they were circled by a group of white sharks, which came within a couple of meters of them. Lifeguard Rob Howes was in the water with a colleague and his teenage daughter. He said around half a dozen dolphins suddenly appeared and forced them to gather together. The mammals swam in tight circles to create a protective wall between the white sharks and the lifeguards as the great white sharks were under the surface. The swimmers said the dolphins were extremely upset and repeatedly slapped the water with their tails as if to try to prevent the white sharks from attacking them. It's a day they'll never forget, especially for one who was on her first day as _ They have no doubt that the dolphins acted on purpose to protect them. Researchers have said that they're not surprised. A marine biologist insisted that dolphins, which are considered to be one of the most intelligent mammals, "like to help the helpless." How many swimmers are attacked by the white sharks?

1B

Who "entertained us, challenged us and changed our world"? Absolutely, Jeremy Lin, an Asian-American NBA rising star, is one of those people. TIME Magazine named him one of 2012's Most Influential People in the World. Lin, 23, is not just a good basketball player, but also a graduate of Harvard University, one of the best universities in the world. "Lin has broken the idea that one can't be a world-class player on the court and an excellent student off the court at the same time." US Education Secretary Arne Duncan wrote in the TIME article about Lin. At 191cm, Lin isn't especially strong, compared with other point guards in the league. What makes Lin special from other players is his hard work and never-give-up spirit. "I know how the league works. I may not get an opportunity , but I'm just going to put it all into this and see what happens." Lin once said. He kept arriving early, leaving late, practicing hard and learning from other experienced players. Finally, when his opportunity came, he started to shine. "He earned it." Duncan said. "He lives the right way, and he plays the right way. He works hard and stays modest. He sets a good example for young people today. " Which is the best title of the passage?

0A

A visit to a museum contributes to our education. The British Museum is a great building in our London, not far from London University. Thousands of visitors go to it every year to see the rare, strange and beautiful things it contains. What interests many people more than anything else is the large library, in which there are millions of books. You can find any English book you want there, and many books in foreign languages or translated into English. The library is also a reading room, with tables and chairs for students who wish to study; but if you want to borrow books to read there you must first get a reader's ticket from the office. One can't borrow books to take away. In other parts of the museum there are rooms and halls containing things which have been brought from countries all over the world. They help us to understand the history of foreign lands, and the people who live in them. Some of the things which have been dug up in places where old cities once stood were being worn out or used by men and women thousands of years ago. These cities now lie buried, covered with many feet of earth. On the way out you can buy pictures of the most interesting things that are shown in the museum. As a foreigner, if you have a chance to go to the museum, you would think EXCEPT _ .

1B

Jimmy was 2 years old. One day his mom was out and his dad took care of him. Someone gave Jimmy a little tea set as a gift and it was one of his favorite toys. Dad was in the living room watching the evening news. Then Jimmy brought his dad a little cup of "tea". In fact, it was just water. After some cups of tea, his dad said to him, "Jimmy, you are a nice good boy. I love you." Later, Jimmy's mom came home. His dad made her wait in the living room to watch Jimmy bring him a cup of tea. "It's the cutest thing," he said to his wife. Mom waited. Jimmy came down the hall with a cup of tea for his dad. She watched him drink it up and laughed. Then she said: "Did you know that the only place he is tall enough to get water from is the toilet ?" _ looked after Jimmy when his mom went out on that day.

1B

Sound waves travel the fastest through

0A

The Norwegian Government is doing its best to keep the oil industry under control. A new law limits exploration to an area south of the southern end of the long coastline; production limits have been laid down (though these have already been raised); and oil companies have not been allowed to employ more than a limited number of foreign workers. But the oil industry has a way of getting over such problems, and few people believe that the Government will be able to hold things back for long. As one Norwegian politician said last week: " We will soon be changed beyond all recognition." Ever since the war, the Government has been carrying out a program of development in the area north of the Arctic Circle. During the past few years this program has had a great deal of success. Tromso has been built up into a local capital with a university, a large hospital and a healthy industry. But the oil industry has already started to draw people south, and within a few years the whole northern policy could be in ruins. The effects of the oil industry would not be limited to the north, however. With nearly 100 percent employment, everyone can see a situation developing in which the service industries and the tourist industry will lose more of their workers to the oil industry. Some smaller industries might even disappear altogether when it becomes cheaper to buy goods from abroad. The real argument over oil is its threat to the Norwegian way of life. Farmers and fishermen do not make up most of the population, but they are an important part of it, because Norwegians see in them many of the qualities that they regard with pride as essentially Norwegian. And it is the farmers and the fishermen who are most critical of the oil industry because of the damage that it might cause to the countryside and to the sea. The Norwegian Government would prefer the oil industry to _ .

1B

Inprefix = st1 /Kansas City,Missouri, a computer helps fire fighters. The computer, which works very fast, has information about all the 350,000 street addresses in the city. Within two or three seconds after a call is received, the computer provides necessary information for the fire fighters. The information is then sent to them by radio from the computer centre in the City Hall. The exact place of the burning building and its size, type and any other details are clear to them. TheKansas Citycomputer system also has a medical record of each of the city's 900 fire fighters. This kind of information is especially useful when a fire fighter is injured. With the information, doctors at hospital can treat the injured fire fighters more quickly and easily. The fire fighters themselves greatly appreciate the computer's help. They know about possible danger ahead of them and can prepare for it. Many times the computer information helps to save lives and property . Sometimes the lives are those of fire fighters themselves. Mike Horan, a fire fighter captain, says, "I feel as if the computer is watching over me to help me if I get hurt." The fire fighters can get information about a burning place which is sent by

0A

Many expensive nutrition additives advertised on TV say they can improve your memory. But only ordinary food and healthy habits have been shown to work. A research team from UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) has designed a four-step plan to improve your memory in just 14 days. "It sounds like another advertisement, but it really works," says UCLA psychiatry professor Gary Small. The team found the four-step plan improved memory function in teenagers under stress and older people. After a two-week study that included brain-teasers , exercise and diet changes, test subjects' memories worked more efficiently. Here's the programme: Memory training: Train yourself with brain-teasers, crossword puzzles and memory exercises that train verbal skills throughout the day. Healthy diet: Eat five rather than three meals a day. The food should be rich in omega-3 fats (omega-3), such as whole grains and vegetables that contain antioxidants . Having frequent meals helps increase blood glucose , the primary energy source for the brain. Physical fitness: Have regular physical exercise such as walking, basketball or running, every day. Stress reduction : Perform stretching and relaxation exercises. Stress causes the body to release a chemical that can shrink the memory centres in the brain. Before-and-after brain scans showed that test subjects experienced on average a 5 per cent increase in working memory. This suggests they were using their brains more efficiently. They also performed better on a cognitive test. A control group that didn't follow the plan showed no big changes. "We've known for years that diet and exercise can help people keep their physical health, which is a key part of healthy aging," said Small. "But keeping mental health is just as important. Now we have evidence that people can improve their memories through a programme of memory exercises and stress reduction." Which of the following is NOT helpful to the memory?

1B

Have you ever heard of Jinjiang Hotel? It is on our busiest street. It's the best place to live in if you travel here. The hotel is only 0.5 kilometer from the biggest supermarket and the subway. It has three kinds of rooms for different people to use. The first kind is standard room, that is two beds with a bathroom. It offers you the air conditioner, the television and the telephone. Second is the single room, that has only one bed. Though it has only one bed, you can enjoy yourself, for the bed is really comfortable and the environment is really good. The last one we call commercial room. That is served for businessmen. The commercial room has the best quality. It also provides 24-hour hot water. You can have free tea in the afternoon. Imagine how nice as you drink tea as talking about your business with your partners. If you want to eat something, please just call 123, the food will arrive in ten minutes. One great thing is that it is very safe here because we have a few strong guards working day and night, so I'm sure you will have a great time living here. Another reason why travelers like to live in the hotel is that _ .

0A

Traffic jam and cities, it seems, go hand in hand. Everyone complains about being stuck in traffic; but, like the weather, no one seems to do anything about it. In particular, traffic engineers, transportation planners, and public officials responsible for transportation systems in large cities are frequently criticized for failing to solve traffic jam. But is traffic jam a sign of failure? Long queues at restaurants or theater box offices are seen as signs of success. Should transportation systems be viewed any differently? I think we should recognize that traffic jam is an unpreventable by-product of successful cities, and view the "traffic problem" in a different light. Cities exist because they promote social interactions and economic transactions.Traffic jam occurs where there are lots of people but limited spaces. Culturally and economically successful cities have the worst traffic problems, while _ cities don't have much traffic. New York and Los Angeles are America's most crowded cities. But if you want access to major brokerage houses , you will find them easier to reach in crowded New York than in any other large cities. And if your firm needs access to post-production film editors or satellite-guidance engineers, you will reach them more quickly through the crowded freeways of LA than through less crowded roads elsewhere. Despite traffic jam, a larger number and wider variety of social interactions and economic transactions can be made perfect in large, crowded cities than elsewhere. Seen in this sight, traffic jam is an unfortunate consequence of prosperity, not a cause of economic decline and urban decay. So while we can consider traffic jam as increasing costs on the areas of big cities, the costs of inaccessibility in uncrowded places are almost certainly greater. There is no doubt that traffic jam brings the terrible economic and environmental damage in places like Bangkok, Jakarta, and Lagos. But mobility is far higher and traffic jam levels are far lower here in the US, even in our most crowded cities. That's why, for now, we don't see people and capital streaming out of San Francisco and Chicago, heading for cities like California, and Illinois. By saying "decaying" (in Para. 4), the writer probably means _ .

0A