user: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: I left home to support my sister in her efforts to present a music festival. She lives on the other side of the world, and I went to visit her, not wanting to leave and feeling like I was leaving home against my will. However, I wanted to show her my support because she is my only sister. So I boarded the plane in mid-August, and hated the long flight. I arrived, tired and hungry. I had left my husband of 2 years, alone, in our old New Orleans house. I was all set and ready to perform for my sister for the music festival on Sunday morning when I received a call from Chicago. The hurricane was predicted to hit our city, and many people had already _ , but my husband chose to stay behind. He could not get a call to me on the other side of the world, but he could call his cousin in Chicago. He gave his cousin a message for me, that he would be just fine, and not to worry. As the day wore on, I finally took the stage in front of hundreds of Europeans, and I realized, thanks to CNN, that New Orleans was under water. I performed, hoping that my husband would survive. And I performed perfectly. The audience stood and applauded. I left the stage and went straight to the TV. I saw the street sign near my home, of Humanity Street, but nothing below it, except water. In the days that followed, I found out that my house, my car, my clothes, my furniture, everything that I'd left behind was gone...but not my husband. He survived by riding on the rear bumper  of a VW bus, holding on to the overhead luggage rack, in the pouring rain, down the highway from New Orleans, half-way to Baton Rouge. The rest of the journey was a long walk, but he survived. By the first week of September, I flew back to the Baton Rouge airport, and hugged my husband. Since then, our relationship has grown deeper; we have completely rebuilt our house, bought a new car, bought new furniture and new clothes and joined an inspirational, spirit-filled community. Question: How did the author feel when she left home? - Disappointed. - Worried. - Tired. - Unwilling.
Unwilling.


Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The Friday after the American holiday of Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. It's said that it's the day that store ledgers move into the black and companies become profitable. On that day, retailers slash  prices to get consumers to buy.  It is also a time when many Americans start their Christmas shopping. VOA's Elizabeth Lee tells us how the economy may affect consumers on that bargain day. This day should be a shopper's dream. "It's just the deals, the sales and everything you can get for a lesser price," said Sandy Thomas, a shopper. But it's a nightmare for others. "I think it's crazy. I've done all of my shopping throughout the week so I don't have to go out on Friday," she said. It's called Black Friday, the start of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States. Every year it's the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Stores open before sunrise and there are deep discounts everywhere you look. Last year a crowd of bargain-hunters killed a Wal-mart worker in a New York suburb. This year, many stores are increasing security while they slash prices. "This is a huge time for the retail stores," said Fred Joutz from George Washington University. "This is when they begin making their profits for the year." Economics professor Fred Joutz says how Americans spend the weekend after Thanksgiving is a good indication of how consumers feel about the future. With the unemployment rate above 10 percent, Joutz says Americans are saving more and spending less. Some retailers are attracting consumers by opening on Thanksgiving Day, when shops are traditionally closed.  Other stores open their doors anywhere from midnight to four in the morning. And shoppers will be lining up in front of the doors in order to be one of the first ones to walk through and get a big discount. Electronics like flat screen TVs are usually the first items to go. Sandy Thomas says it's an annual family tradition and well worth it. "I just save maybe half of what I would have spent on a regular, you know, shopping trip," she... Question: From the passage we know that  _  . - Christmas shopping is traditional time and this year it is no exception. - Electronics like flat screen TVs are usually least discounted. - The economy only affects consumers on that bargain day. - Thanksgiving is a good indication of how consumers feel about the future.
Christmas shopping is traditional time and this year it is no exception.


Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The Arctic Fox  Characteristics The arctic fox is dark gray to bluish brown in the summer. In the winter its fur is white or creamy white. It has a long bushy tail, a short nose and small, curled back ears. It has short legs and thick fur. Its short legs and nose, thick fur and small ears are adaptions that help it survive in cold climates. Because its legs are so short and its ears and nose are small, they are less exposed to the cold. The arctic fox also has thick fur and hair on its paw pads that help keep it warm. When the arctic fox is sleeping, it protects its nose from the cold by curling its bushy tail around its body. The arctic fox is about three feet long and weighs between five and fifteen pounds. Males are larger than females. Diet The arctic fox is an opportunities eater. It will eat just about whatever it comes across. It eats small mammals like lemmings   and it also eats birds, insects and eggs. In fact, in the winter it often follows polar bears and wolves and eats their leftover kill. In the summer the arctic fox will carry extra food to its den and store it under rocks to eat later. The arctic fox sometimes even makes its own freezer by digging a hole in the permafrost   and storing its food there. A major source of food for the arctic fox is the lemming. In fact, the arctic fox population often peaks every four years in a cycle that follows lemming population changes. Life Cycle The arctic fox mates between February and June. The female builds a new den and gives birth to between six and twelve dark--furred kits. Both the female and the male will take care of the young kits. The male will guard the den and bring food to the den for the mother and the kits. The kits are weaned   when they are between two and four weeks old and then they will start to leave the den. Question: What can we learn about the arctic fox's diet? - It eats only one kind of food - It will carry extra food to its den in the winter - It eats the leftovers of other animals in winter - It is difficult to hunt lemmings as food.


assistant: It eats the leftovers of other animals in winter