*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: As is known to us, Washington University in St. Louis became the first college in the United States to ban selling bottled water in 2009. Since then, more than a dozen small colleges and schools have done the same. The ban isn't because the schools don't want students to have easy access to water. Instead, the goal is to encourage students to bring reusable bottles to save money and, more importantly, to save the environment. Many people believe that producing and using bottled water not only wastes money but also harms the environment. They say that bottled water is unnecessary because public water supplies in the U.S. are among the best in the world. These people believe that water fountains and reusable bottles with easy access to filling stations are a better choice. But the makers of bottled water argue that plastic bottles make up a small part of the nation's total waste. They say it's unfair to single out their product when so many other items are packaged in plastic containers, and what's more, water is a healthy choice compared to some sodas and juices that are also sold at school. What do you think: Should sales of bottled water be banned from schools? We want to hear your opinion. Write a 200-word response. Send it to tfkasks4you@timeforkids.com . Your response may be published in a future issue of Time For Kids. Please include your grade level and contact information for your parent or teacher if you want your response to be published. The deadline for responding is August 31, 2012. Question: Some colleges and schools ban selling bottled water in order to _ . Options: A: save water B: encourage students to bring water from home C: reduce pollution D: keep students away from bottled water
**Answer**
C

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Few of us make money by losing sleep.But three graduate students at Brown University in Providence built a company around sleep deprivation . Jason Donahue, Ben Rubin and Eric Shashoua were working late nights in Brown's business and engineering schools.They began thinking about ways to sleep better.They discovered they weren't alone in burning the midnight oil.Around 20% of Americans get less than six hours of rest a night. The friends imagined a smart alarm clock that could track how much time people spend in the most restorative stages of the sleep cycle: REM (rapid eye movement) and deep sleep.What would it cost to design such a thing? Five years of research, 20 employees, $14 million and a whole lot of doubting from investors and scientists. Their company, Zeo, based in Newton, Mass, launched its product in June, 2009.The Zeo device uses a headband with tiny sensors that scan your brain for signs of four sleep states- REM, light, deep and waking sleep.The smart alarm clock displays a graph of your sleep pattern and wakes you as you're not in REM sleep (which is when you're least groggy).In the morning you can upload the data to the company's Web site, and so track your sleep over time.Most of the feedback comes in the form of Zeo's ZQ score showing how well you've slept. "Zeo allows people to unlock this black box of sleep," says Dave Dickinson, a health-care CEO. Whether any of this actually improves sleep is up to the consumer, who will also need to make lifestyle changes like cutting out alcohol before bedtime or caffeine after 3 pm. For now the company is selling Zeo online only.Dickinson also plans to spread it to countries such as Australia, where sleep deprivation approaches US levels. Question: To design the Zeo device, the three graduate students _ . Options: A: spent much time and money B: were widely supported by scientists C: worked by themselves all the time D: attracted many investors
**Answer**
A

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: When I was a kid, I always used to wonder how in the world my father work outside in the winter without a coat. It could be minus 20 degrees centigrade and there'd be Dad, removing snow, or perhaps chopping some wood --- his coat thrown aside--- wearing a shirt , a cap, and a pair of gloves. "Aren't you cold, Dad?" I'd ask. "No," Dad would reply. "I'm not cold--- working too hard to be cold." Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish. One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day--and bitterly cold. After we'd been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold. "Daddy, my feet are cold." I said. "Yeah, it's cold out here today," he replied. "Tell you what," he said. "Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm." Now, I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, "How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind. But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold. Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. "Aren't you cold?" my husband asked one winter day. "No," I replied. "I'm not cold--working too hard to be cold." I hope my husband has decided I'm both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I'm foolish. Wherever Dad is in that great big farm in the sky--I'm sure he can't help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I'm working outside in the winter. Question: When the author's feet felt cold, her father advised her to _ . Options: A: go home alone first B: keep walking in the snow C: draw pictures in the snow D: light a fire on the ice
**Answer**
B