user: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In Germany, English expressions are used in conversations and increasingly in written form. Advertisements are often expressed completely in English. When I go to the gym, there are "aerobic-classes  ". We "warm up". We go "jogging." In business, we attend a "meeting" and we have "good connections." Other nations, like France, have taken action to protect their language from the influence of "Americanization". In Germany, however, there is concern that those rules could be connected with Hitler's Third Reich  , when the language had to be pure. If the government curbed the use of English words now, this could be considered by some as a return to that terrible past. Some German citizens are now trying to stop the use of English vocabulary in German. However, I think generally it is not a big deal to use some common English expressions as they often describe things more directly. But we should know that it is important to use English correctly. All too often, bad English is spoken or even written instead of good German. The proper use of the German language would be the better choice. However, there are some fields that require the use of English words, for example, in the high-tech communication and the Internet fields, there is no alternative to English. Also, I think sometimes I have to speak English when I introduce some scenic places to tourists. I think you have to find a balance and decide when it is better to use good German in place of bad English or when the use of correct English words is more suitable. Languages have always changed naturally, and I disagree with a restriction by law. Some nice expressions borrowed from other languages can make a conversation more vivid. Question: What is the writer's attitude towards the use of English in Germany? Options: A: There should be a law to protect the dominance of German. B: It is foolish for Germans to worry about their native language. C: Germans should be encouraged to speak more English. D: Proper use of English can make conversations more colorful.
D

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: It's not just great minds that think alike. Dozens of the genes involved in the vocal learning that _ human speech are also active in some songbirds . And knowing this suggests that birds could become a standard model for investigating the genetics of speech production and speech disorders. Complex language is a uniquely human trait, but vocal learning -- the ability to pick up new sounds by imitating others -- is not. Some mammals, including whales, dolphins and elephants, share our ability to learn new vocalizations . So do three groups of birds: the songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds. The similarities between vocal learning in humans and birds are not just superficial. We know, for instance, that songbirds have specialised vocal learning brain circuits that are similar to those that mediate  human speech. What's more, a decade ago we learned that FOXP2, a gene known to be involved in human language, is also active in "area X" of the songbird brain -- one of the brain regions involved in those specialised vocal learning circuits. Andreas Pfenning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his colleagues have now built on these discoveries. They compared maps of genetic activity in brain tissue taken from the zebra finch, budgerigar and Anna's hummingbird, representing the three groups of vocal-learning birds. They then compared these genetic maps with others taken from birds and primates that can't learn new vocalisations, and with maps taken from the brains of six people who donated tissue to the Allen Brain Institute in Seattle. Their results showed that FOXP2 is just one of 55 genes that show a similar pattern of activity in the brains of humans and the vocal-learning birds. Those same genes show different patterns of activity in the brains of animals incapable of vocal learning. "The similarities are beyond one or a handful of genes," says Pfenning. "There are just systematic molecular similarities between song-learning birds and humans." "There's potential for songbirds to be used to study... Question: What can we infer from the passage? Options: A: FOXP2 was involved in human language about 12 years ago. B: Six people donated brain tissue to the Allen Brain Institute in Seattle. C: Experiments with songbirds are likely to help cure Huntington's disease. D: Constance Scharff discovered at the Free University of Berlin.
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Welcome to the world of multitasking -- a place where the measure of a person is how many jobs they can perform at the same time. In fact, if experts are to be believed, multitasking is a disastrous idea. One of the opponents of multitasking is Dr. Clifford Nass, a professor at Stanford University. "People who multitask frequently are less able to pay attention; they're worse at managing their memory." he said. In his opinion, the loss that we get with multitasking is harmless in some situations, for example, part of doing business in the digital world: but you can't do serious work like writing, thinking or solving an important problem this way. You do worse even as you think you're doing better. All the time the research points to a simple fact: the brain cannot cope. When you stop midway through composing a report to check an email, you force your brain to stop and regroup. It is like pressing the pause button during a movie, meaning the film takes longer to watch. And as for Dr. Nass, the problems extend beyond the brain. Young people who frequently multitask are not as socially and emotionally healthy as those who don't. They just feel more emotionally satisfied and the feeling is so good and they are bound to desire it again. Todd Oppenheimer, a writer said "We've become a very short-term society and don't reward people for taking a lot of time on something." He fears we may end up losing the next generation of great thinkers. "It's really unfortunate because the long-term challenges of our world -- environmental issues, financial issues -- require people to think wisely about the long-term consequences of what they do. And it's no coincidence that the kind of people who do think long-term don't multitask." Question: According to Dr. Nass, multitasking   _  . Options: A: makes the performance emotionally affected only B: contributes to memorizing various things C: may result in losing the next generation of great thinkers D: can be performed using digital tools


assistant: D