Fumbling with the buttons to find a good song while driving has been linked to increased risk of crashes, but is listening to music risky? "It depends on the music," says a report published in the October issue of Accident Analysis & Prevention. The study found teenage drivers who played their own music had significantly more traffic violations compared with background music designed by the researchers to minimize driving distractions, or no music. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Israel recruited 85 drivers about 18 years old; just over half were male. The _ were each assigned to drive six challenging road trips that were about 40 minutes long, accompanied by an experienced driving instructor. Music was played on four trips, two with selections from the drivers' playlists, mostly fast-paced vocals, and two with background music, which was a mixture of easy listening, soft rock and light jazz designed to increase driver safety. No music was played on two trips. Subjects rated their mood after each trip and in-car data recorders analyzed driver behavior and errors. All 85 subjects committed at least three errors in one or more of the six trips; 27 received a warning and 17 required steering or braking by an instructor to prevent an accident. When the music was their own, 98% made errors; without the music, 92% made errors; and while listening to the safe-driving music, 77% made errors. Speeding, following too close, inappropriate lane use, one-handed driving and were the common violations. The male subjects were more aggressive drivers and made more serious errors than female subjects. The teens played their own music at a very loud volume but significantly decreased the sound level when listening to the safe-driving music, researchers said. Mood ratings were highest on trips with driver-preferred music. It can be inferred from the passage that in the research _ . A) the teens committed the most errors B) the male were more skillful in driving C) traveling with no music made the least errors D) driver-preferred music increased the mood ratings
D
(Question)
Pingyao, in the center of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage site . It's 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan on the Fen River. People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as a country government seat has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of _ are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Ancient City. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organized commercial groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their center. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang(Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank checks rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branch banks were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its Lacquer ware became well known. In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi's history and culture, but this large number is valuable for studying its history, customs, and ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people. In 1997, Ancient Pingyao City was listed in World Heritage List as " World Culture Heritage Site". If you want to know about the history of banking in China, you'll visit _ . A) Sunrise Prosperity B) Zhengguo Temple C) A lacquer ware store D) A commercial house
(Answer)
A
Ques: Paul couldn't sleep last night. He woke up early and sat up, and then he lay down again. He felt terrible. "I must be sick," he thought. "but I must study for that test." He got up and looked for his history notebook. He finally found it under a pile of clothes on a chair. He went over his history notes, but he couldn't remember any of the facts in the notes. "What shall I do?" he thought. He felt terrible. Just then Paul's telephone rang. He put down his notebook and picked up the telephone. "Good morning," Jack's voice said, "You must be wrong about that test." "What do you mean?" Paul asked weakly. "We're not going to have the test today." Jack said. "I wrote down the date in my notebook. The test will be next Wednesday; it isn't today. How do you feel this morning?" "Fine," said Paul. "Just fine!" Suddenly he really felt fine. Paul felt uneasy because he A) was seriously ill. B) was too tired. C) was worried about the coming test. D) couldn't find his history notebook.
Ans: C
Ques:A young woman went to her mother and told her how hard life was. She was tired of struggling and fighting and wanted to give up. So, her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out, pulled the eggs out and then poured the coffee into three different bowls. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see." "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the daughter was asked to drink the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its rich fragrance. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same disaster but reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, and hard. However, after being subject to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The coffee beans were unique, however; after they had been in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When misfortune or change knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?" "Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with change and difficulty will you wilt and become soft and lose your strength? Are you the egg that starts with a malleable , heart, but changes with the heat? When faced with a death, a break-up, a financial hardship or other trial, do you become hardened and stiff? The coffee bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the... We can learn from the passage that _ . A) the carrot became hardened and stiff after its being exposed to the boiling water B) the egg could equip itself with the wisdom and quality to overcome any difficulty C) the young woman was sharp-minded so she could read her mother's mind well D) the coffee bean taught us to convert the bad circumstances and improve ourselves

Ans:
D