user: Ques: Although April did not bring us the rains we all hoped for, and although the Central Valley doesn't generally experience the sound and lightning that can go with those rains, it's still important for parents to be able to answer the youthful questions about thunder and lightning. The reason these two wonders of nature are so difficult for many adults to explain to children is that they are not very well understood by adults themselves. For example, did you know that the lightning we see flashing down to the earth from a cloud is actually flashing up to a cloud from the earth? Our eyes trick us into thinking we see a downward motion when it's actually the other way around. But then, if we believed only what we think and we see, we'd still insist that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night. Most lightning flashes take place inside a cloud, and only a   few can be seen jumping between two clouds or between earth and a cloud. But, with about 2,000 thunderstorms taking place above the earth every minute of the day and night, there's enough  _ to produce about 100 lightning strikes on earth every second. Parents can use thunder and lightning to help their children learn more about the world around them. When children understand that the light of the lightning flashing reaches their eyes almost at the same moment, but the sound of the thunder takes about 5 seconds to travel just one mile, they can begin to time the interval   between the flash and the crash to learn how close they were to the actual spark  . It can be concluded from the passage that   _  . A) we should not believe what we see or hear. B) things moving downward are more noticeable. C) people sometimes may have wrong ideas about ordinary phenomena. D) adults are not as good as children in observing certain natural phenomena.
Ans: C

Ques: When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores in certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or anxious 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 example, 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 can't make things work out right, he doesn't feel ashamed that he fails; he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook  on life, special feeling about life, and knows how he fits into it. If you look at children, you'll see great difference between 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 more about life --- 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 wall between him and life in general. In the author's opinion the biggest difference between "bright" children and "not bright" children lies in   _  . A) the amount of intelligence B) the different situations they face C) the different attitudes to life D) the background of life
Ans: C

Ques: MAY 14 marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel . Many Israelis, however, are not in the mood to celebrate. Looking at the damage to her neighbor's home from a Palestinian  rocket, Batia Katar, a 17-year-old Israeli girl, was in tears. "We can't celebrate (Israel's) independence when things like this are happening," she said. What is clear is that Israel is not a normal country. The country has a dramatic   history and ancient culture but has only officially existed for 60 years. Within hours after it was _ in 1948, Israel was at war with its Arab neighbors for land. It won that time, and in 1956, 1967 and 1973, acquiring the West Bank, the Golan Heights, Gaza and east Jerusalem. For good or ill, Israelis can take pride in victories with so many countries. However, it occupied much more land than the United Nations agreed, which left local Palestinians homeless. Different from all its neighbors in religion, Israel is also far more successful economically than its neighbors. Though, it gets a great amount of support from America and other Western countries. The country is now a world leader in many industries, such as IT and modern agriculture. However, conflict exists, just like 60 years ago. And the signal of peace is as weak as ever. Palestinian militants   have fired more than 7,000 missiles  from Gaza, mainly at Sedro, killing 13 people. In the same period hundreds of Palestinian civilians  in Gaza have died in Israeli military action. In order to create peace, the world community hopes both sides accept and follow the Middle East peace plan. Optimists believe through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations there will finally be peace. Both Israelis and Palestinians want to live in peace without explosions that remind them that they are living in a special but dangerous place. Israel is not a normal country because  _  . A) the country has a dramatic history and ancient culture but has only officially existed for 60 years B) within hours after its establishment, Israel was at war with its Arab neighbors for land C) it occupied much more land than the UN agreed, which left local Palestinians homeless D) all of the above
Ans: D

Ques: Dear Mrs.Denner, Over the past five months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion  in our store. Our complaints  against Mr.Denner are listed below: July 2:Set all the alarm clocks in house-wares to go off at 5-minute intervals . July 7: Made a trail  of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom. August 4: Took a bag of _ from the candy shelf and handed out to the passing children to eat. September 14:Moved a "CAUTION--WET FLOOR" sign to a carpeted area. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department. September 23:When a clerk asked if they could help him ,he began crying and screamed,"Why can't you people just leave me alone?" October 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose. November 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were. December 3:Darted around the store while loudly humming the "Mission Impossible" theme. December 6:In the auto department, he practiced his "Madonna look" by using different sizes of funnels. December 18:Hid in a clothing rack  and when people looked through, yelled "PICK ME!PICK ME!" December 21:When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fatal position and screamed "OH NO!IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!" December 23:Went into a fitting room , shut the door, waited a while, and then yelled very loudly,"Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!" Our video surveillance cameras recorded all these. Never once did our reminding and warning work and therefore we are forced to ban him from the store. Regards, Wal-Mart From the passage, we can learn that Mr.Denner  _  . A) once poured some water on the carpet of the market B) managed to get some shoppers to camp together with him C) did all of these strange things due to his mental disease D) was once warned not to do such strange things in the market
Ans:

assistant: D