user: Being busy can become a way of life. Our lives are always filled with emails and text messages. They make us feel wanted and important, but in a tiring and empty way. Being busy has a dangerous allure . If you are busy all the time, it's hard to sit quietly with your thoughts or to really feel what you're feeling. Whynot let everything become a choice -- how we spend time, who we reply to and how much or little we write? Many of us are busy becauseour self-worth goes up when people make demands on our time. Whydon't we free ourselves from needing, or even wanting? Why don't we make the best use of the time and space to be productive in a way that it best serves us? That may be consciously keeping ourselves not busy. In fact many great discoverieswere made by people who built white space into their day. Imagine asking "How are you?" to one of the most successful people you know like Warren Buffet. I've never heard anyone at that level answer "busy" though most people believe they are. What are they doing differently? First, they aim to project an image that things are under control. Second, they actually have things under control. They've had excellent staff, implemented thoughtful processes and they spend time only on critical tasks that require their attention. They make high-level strategic decisions with a large effect. It's time to end the glory of being busy and spend time setting up processes that make sense, rather than simply working more hours. To do this, you need to change yourway of thinking. It's cool to say you're busy, but it's better to be busy helping someone carry a stroller up the subway stairs or busy finishing a book. How to free us from the trendof being busy? Start with small steps. For one day, be mindful of every daily activity. Consider each thing a choice and decide proactively if it's necessary or simply a habit you can get rid of or do in half the time. Next, stop saying how busy you are. Then, figure out what you want to achieve with your day and begin doing it. Put your time and... What are many of us busy doing every day? A) Sitting quietly and think actively. B) Meeting people's demands on our time. C) Making great discoveries. D) Takinghigh-level decisions.
B
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Dinner customs are different around the world. If you are a guest in Ghana, thisinformation will help you a lot. In Ghana, dinner is usually from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. But there are nostrict rules about time. Whenever a guest arrives, a family offers food. When you go to ahome, the host takes you to the living room first. At this time everyonewelcomes you. Then you go to the dining room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water.All the food is on the table. In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat from the same dish as everyone else.But you eat from one side of the dish only. It is not polite to get food from the other side of thedish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water. Most meals in Ghana have a dish called fufu. People in Ghana make fufu from the powder of some plants. Sometimes they cut the fufu with a saw because it is very hard.You must chew fufu well, or you may get sick. You eat fufu with the fingers of your righthand only. In Ghana,   _  . A) dinner is always at six B) rules for dinner are not strict C) a family offers food only at four D) you don't have to wash your hands again after dinner
B
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What is the sky? Where is it? How bright is it? What lies above it? These questions are difficult to answer, aren't they? Is the sky blue? The sky has no color. We know that there is air around the world. When planes fly, they need air to lift their wings. Planes can't fly very high because the air gets thinner when they go up higher. If we go up about 1,200 kilometers from the earth, we'll find no air there. When we talk about the sky, we usually mean the atmosphere around the earth. It is like a very thick "cover" over the earth and keeps it warm. Without the "cover", the earth would be a very cold place and nothing could live on it. Looking up above us, you will see the blue sky with white clouds. It is usually light blue, but the sky would be dark blue if you go to the top of the highest mountains. And you will see fewer clouds between you and the sun. And if you sit in a spaceship high above the earth, there is no air at all. The sky would be so dark that its color would be black. Sometimes the sky doesn't look blue. When the sun rises and falls, you will see red, orange, and other colors in the sky. These are the most beautiful moments of the day. Now you may understand that we see colors because the air scatters   the sunlight. Light travels through the air. Without air, there would be no light and no colors. Planes can't fly very high because   _  . A) there is air around the world B) the air gets thinner when they go up higher C) it's warmer in the sky D) the air gets thicker when they go up higher
B
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Experts know that a disaster is coming but they do not know when it will happen. They do know that it could cause a lot of damage. They think it will be worse than a hurricane. The disaster they are worried about is an earthquake. There is a break in the earth's crust  . It is called the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is in California. Many earthquakes happen along the San Andreas Fault. In 1989 there was a big earthquake on the fault. The earthquake was called the "Loma Prieta Earthquake". Many people were hurt or died. Many buildings were ruined. Lots of people lost their homes. Roads and bridges were also damaged. A large earthquake could happen in Southern California. Many small earthquakes have happened in the last year. Earthquake experts think that a large earthquake will happen there soon. They think a big earthquake will happen in the next few years. The San Andreas Fault has many power lines stretched across it. There are water channels close to the earthquake fault. A large earthquake in Southern California would destroy energy and water supplies  . Lots of people would be without power or water for weeks. Buildings that have not been built strong enough would be destroyed. Not all hospitals would be able to help people who were injured. Many people would die or be homeless. People need to be prepared. They need to know what to do if an earthquake happens. Everyone in California should have a survival kit at home. The emergency kit   would include food and water. There should be medication and first aid supplies in the kit. A good survival kit will also have a portable radio, flashlights and spare batteries. All of the supplies in the kit should last at least 3 days. The purpose of this passage is to tell people that  _  . A) there will be a terrible earthquake in weeks B) the earthquake may cause such serious results C) the coming earthquake will destroy a lot of supplies D) the earthquake is so terrible that we need to be prepared


assistant: D
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