user: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The Erie Canal was the first important national waterway built in the US. It crossed New York from Buffalo on Lake Erie Troy to Albany on the Hudson River. It joined the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. The canal served as a route over which industrial goods could flow into the west, and materials could pour into the east. The Erie Canal helped New York develop into the nation's largest city. The building of the canal was paid for entirely by the state of New York. It cost $ 7 143 789, but it soon gained its price many times over. Between 1825, when the canal was opened, and 1882, when toll charges  were stopped, the state collected $121 461 891. For a hundred years before the Erie was built, people had been talking about a canal which could join the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. The man who planned the Erie Canal and carried the plan through was De Witt Clinton. Those who were against the canal laughingly called it "Clinton's Ditch ". Clinton talked and wrote about the canal and drew up plans for it. He and Governor Morris went to Washington in 1812 to ask for help for the canal, but they were unsuccessful. Clinton became governor of New York in 1817, and shortly afterwards, on July 4, 1817, broke ground for the canal in Rome, N.Y. The first part of the canal was completed in 1820. As the canal grew, towns along its course developed fast. The length of the canal is 363 miles. Question: We can see that the Erie Canal   _  . Options: A: joined the Great Lakes together B: crossed New York from north to south C: played an important part in developing New York City D: was the first waterway built in the US
C
(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Stubbornness(,) can push a business to hold on but can also kill your business if it keeps stopping you. Because I'm stubborn. I chased my dream of creating a pet-food company that sells what it claims to sell and not some unidentifiable substance in a dressed-up bag. Originally we packed our foods in transparent bags, which became our guiding philosophy. To start the company in 2003, I visited every pet-food store in Manhattan and some outside the city. By 2006 Stella&Chewy's was sold in 250 stores, mostly in New York City. In 2007 I moved the company to Wisconsin, with our earnings reaching almost $500,000 that year.But getting my product into stores was just the beginning. We were competing against much bigger pet-food companies whose monthly marketing budgets were more than our yearly sales. So we invested in advertisements and a website and even stood on sidewalks giving our samples. With more customers came more feedback  , much of which I ignored, I was also receiving complaints about ice crystals   on the food, which form when the air temperature changes during transport. For this reason, most frozen foods are packaged in opaque   bags or boxes. Studies have proved that ice crystals have little effect on either the quality or the taste of the food. So I ignored the complaints. After all, we were better than our competitors that wouldn't even show their products. We didn't hide anything. In 2007 our sales kept growing, but not as fast as those of our competitors. We were told that new consumers were choosing products packaged in opaque bags. When I visited the stores and forced myself to consider my products objectively, I had to degree: The ice crystals reduced the look I wanted. The food looked as if a snowstorm had hit the inside of the bag. We switched to opaque bags and tried to make ice crystals smaller. Customers responded: In 2009 Stella$Chewy's was sold in 2,500 stores across the country. Question: At the beginning, the author's company packaged their foods in transparent bags to   _  . Options: A: make their foods seen clearly B: make their foods look attractive C: let customers know their guiding philosophy D: show their foods are environmentally friendly
(Answer)
A
Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Paris Passengers carried per day: 4.4m Cost of ticket: 80p flat fare Length: 131 miles    Lines: 14   Stations: 297 In Paris there are pleasures for those who use the Metro  -- many of them artistic. The graceful Art Nouveau dragon-fly entrances are just the most noticeable on a Metro system which celebrated its 100thanniversary by spending 30 million francs (PS2.9million) on making its stations works of art. On my way home I pass Bonne Nouvelle station in the heart of Paris's cinema district. There, during the cinema festival this summer, special lighting effects dot the platforms and films are projected onto the large advertising boards. More than anything the metro is efficient. "When I worked on line 4", says a retired driver, "we had exactly 30 minutes and 15 seconds to complete the journey. If it took any longer, they cut our pay." But there are problems. Many Metro stations have too many stairs, and changing lines at big interchanges  can be tiresome. Moscow Passengers carried per day: 9m Cost of ticket: 12p Length: 164 miles    Lines: 11   Stations: 162 The first underground passage for the Moscow Metropolitan started in 1932. Three years later the trains started running. They haven't stopped since-- every 90 seconds or two minutes during rush hour, every five minutes the rest of the time, from 6 a.m. till 1 a. m. There may be a crowd of people but there is seldom a wait. The trains take you through spacious and spotless stations. For tourists it's a major sightseeing attraction: from Russian Art Deco to neo-classical, the Metro stations are not to be missed. Tokyo Passengers carried per day: 7m Cost of ticket: 90p ~ PS1.68 Length: 177 miles    Lines: 12   Stations: 209 Trains do not just arrive on time in Tokyo. They stop right on the platform mark so that passengers can line up knowing exactly where the doors will open. Train driving is a respectful job for life, for which the applicants must pass a strict screening of health checks, interviews and written exams before they can put on the enviable... Question: In which two cities can travelling by underground be a sightseeing experience? Options: A: Moscow and Tokyo B: Paris and Moscow C: Paris and Mexico City D: Tokyo and Mexico City
Ans:

assistant: B