user: Question: Sharks are among the oldest animals on Earth. There are hundreds of kinds of sharks. Most are about two meters long. The dogfish shark, however, is less than twenty centimeters in length. A shark has an extremely good sense of smell. It can find small amounts of matters in water, such as blood, body liquids and chemicals produced by animals. These powerful senses help sharks find their food. Sharks eat fish, other sharks, and plants that live in the ocean. Sharks grow slowly. About forty percent of all sharks lay eggs. The others give birth to live young. Some sharks carry their young inside their bodies as humans do. Some sharks are not able to reproduce until they are twenty years old. Most reproduce only every two years. And they give birth to fewer than ten young sharks. For this reason, over-fishing of sharks is of special danger to the future of the animal. Sharks are important for the world's oceans. They eat injured and diseased fish. Their hunting activities mean that the numbers of other fish in ocean waters do not become too large. This protects the plants and other forms of life that exist in the oceans. People hunt sharks for sport, food, medicine and their skin. Experts say the international market for some kinds of sharks has increased because many parts of a shark are valuable.Collectors pay thousands of dollars for the jaws of a shark. Shark liver oil is a popular source of Vitamin A. The skin of a shark can be used like leather. In Asia, people enjoy a kind of soup made from shark fins. Experts say a fisherman can earn a lot of money for even one kilogram of shark fins. Sharks are among the oldest animals on Earth, but some sharks are in danger of disappearing from Earth. If too many sharks in one area are killed, that group of sharks may never return to normal population levels. The author thinks that  _  . A) sharks are valuable to us and we can make full use of them B) oceans will become safer with fewer sharks swimming around C) measures should be taken to protect sharks D) the shark population is increasing slowly
Answer: C

Question: When Debbie Parkhurst choked on a piece of apple at her Maryland home, her dog jumped in, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece of apple to pop out of her throat. Debbie Parkhurst's husband, Kevin, was at his job at a Wilmington, Del., chemical firm when she took a midday break from jewelry and bit into an apple. When the Keesling family of Indiana were about to be overcome by carbon monoxide(CO), their cat clawed  at wife Cathy's hair until she woke up and called for help. For their timely acts, Toby, a golden 2 1/2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a gray-eyed American shorthair, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Neither Parkhurst nor Keesling could explain their pets' timely heroics,though Parkhurst suggested it might have been guided by God intervention . "That's what our veterinarian  said,"she said. "He wasn't making a joke; he's very spiritual, and now I have to agree with him." But both pets were themselves rescued in baby, Toby as a 4-week-old baby thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Keesling's husband, Eric, had to feed her milk. As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump spread carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie moved into rescue spot, the couple's 14-year-old son, Michael, was already unconscious. "Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry noise," Cathy Keesling said. "When I woke up I felt like a T-bar had hit me across the head." State police and officers responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house. Why did Winnie try to wake Cathy Keesling up? A) Because a T-bar was going to hit him. B) Because he was hungry and wanted milk. C) Because Debbie choked something in her throat. D) Because there was danger in her house.
Answer: D

Question: For the most part, schools are designed to produce people who fit into society, not people who set out to change it. However, schools, particularly universities, may not only spread culture; they may add to the cultural heritage. Today American society places a good deal of emphasis on the development of new knowledge, especially in the physical and biological sciences, medicine, and engineering. In recent years, the nation's leading universities have increasingly become research centres. An emphasis on research has led universities to judge professors not by abilities as teachers, but as researchers. Promotions, salary increases, and other benefits have long been dependent on research and publication. However, the most important is no longer publishing. To be successful these days, professors have to bring in money provided by government and private industry. Critics claim that academic success is most likely to come to those who have learned to "ignore" their teaching duties to pursue research activities. Defenders say that even when students themselves are not involved in research projects they benefit from such an emphasis on research.  Major research universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have also cooperated with industrial companies to develop technology and products with commercial potential. With university-industry ties continuing to grow, debate has increased about the consequences for basic science, academic openness, the control of information, the direction of research, and the influence on students. Supporters of the present emphasis on research argue that   _  . A) it involves more students in it B) it does good to students anyway C) it has a direct good effect on teaching D) it earns a lot of money for a university
Answer:

assistant: B