*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: You either have it, or you don't -- a sense of direction, that is.But why is it that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map, while others can lose themselves in the next street? Scientists say we're all born with a sense of direction, but it is not properly understood how it works.One theory is that people with a good sense of direction have simply worked harder at developing it.Research being carried out at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don't use it, we 1ose it. "Children as young as seven have the ability to find their way around, '' says Jim Martland, research director of the project."However, if they are not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere by car, they never develop the skills.'' Jim Martland also emphasizes that young people should be taught certain skills to improve their sense of direction.He makes the following suggestions: 1.If you are using a map, turn it so it relates to the way you are facing. 2.If you leave your bike in a strange place, put it near something like a big stone or a tree--something easy to recognize.Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike.When you return, go back along the same route. 3.Simplify the way for finding your direction by using lines such as streets in a town, streams, or walls in the countryside to guide you.Count your steps so that you know how far you have gone and note any landmarks such as tower blocks or hills which can help to find out where yon are. Now you will never get lost again! Question: What is true about 7-year-old children according to the passage? Options: A: Their sense of direction does not work without maps. B: They should be allowed indoors if they lack a sense of direction. C: They have the ability to find their way around D: They can develop a good sense of direction if they are driven around in a car.
**Answer**
C

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Everyone seems to be in favor of progress. But "progress" is a funny word. It doesn't necessarily mean that something has become stronger, wiser or better. It simply means changing it from being one thing to another and sometimes it turns out to be worse than before. Consider medicine, for instance. No one can deny that medical progress has enriched our lives greatly. Because of medical advancements, we eat better, live easier and are able to take care of ourselves more efficiently. We can cure disease with no more than one injection or a pill. If we have a serious accident, doctors can put us back together again. If we are born with something defective , they can repair it. They can ease our pain, replace worn parts and give us children. They can even bring us back from death. These are wonderful achievements, but there is a price we have to pay. Because medicine has reduced death, the population has been rising steadily, in spite of serious efforts to reduce the rate of population growth. A child born in the United States today has better than a 90% chance of survival . Furthermore, medical advances have ensured that most of those new-born children will live to be seventy years of age or more. The result of this progress is a great population increase that threatens the quality of life, brought about by progress in the medical profession . Question: According to the passage, "progress" means _ . Options: A: something has become better B: something has become worse C: something has become funny D: something has changed
**Answer**
D

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: This is the age of being busy. Many of us live in busy places and have busy lives. Even the roads are busy as we try to get from here to there. Adults are busy going to jobs and taking care of their families. Kids are busy, too, going to school and doing a lot of homework after school and on weekends. Busy isn't bad, necessarily. If you are not busy enough you might be bored. But if you are too busy, you might break down. For example, if you have a soccer game that runs late on a school night and you haven't eaten dinner or done your homework, that's a not-so-fun kind of busy. We wanted to know what kids thought, so we did a kidsPoll about being busy with 882girls and boys aged 9 to 13. Almost all of them said they felt stressed because they were too busy. About half said they felt this way once in a while or some of the time. But 17% said they felt this way most of the time and 24% said they felt this all the time! Oh dear, that's no fun. Only 4% of kids said they wanted less free time and 18% said they already had just the right amount. But, no big surprise, 61% of kids wish they had a lot more free time. If they had more time, most would spend it hanging out or playing with friends. Often, adults plan large parts of a kid 's day, especially during the school year. kids can't tell their parents they'll be skipping school today to get more free time! But they can tell their parents they'd like to play a game or read a book during their free time instead of watching TV. Question: From the passage, we can infer that the writer agrees kids can _ . Options: A: Spend their free time hanging or playing out B: Get a lot more free time from their parents C: Have a right amount of free time with permission D: Get more free time from school work sometimes
**Answer**
C

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Careercast.com is out with its list of best and worst jobs of 2012. It's bad news for the writer of this story, but much brighter for the folks who program the code that keeps this website busy. Using a method that looked at physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook, career Website Careercast.com, ranked the top 200 jobs. They also ranked the jobs with the most stress. Not surprisingly, none of the most stressful jobs show up on the best jobs list. At the top is software engineer and at the bottom is the lumberjack. Cutting trees failed to skate above the bottom 10 percent in all ranking categories, except income. "Unemployment for lumberjacks is very high, and the demand for their services is expected to continue to fall through 2016. And while working outside all day may seem like a great job perk , being a lumberjack not only is considered the worst job, but also one of the world's most dangerous," according to Careercast.com. And, for that most dangerous job, a lumberjack earns a little more than $32,000 a year. That's about $56,000 less than the easy job of a software engineer, which has the average salary at $88,000 a year, according to Careercast. Here's a complete look at the best and worst jobs. And, take a look at the most stressful jobs. You may be surprised. Best Jobs Worst Jobs Most Stressful Jobs Software Engineer Lumberjack Enlisted Soldier Actuary Dairy Farmer Firefighter Human Resources Manager Enlisted Military Soldier Airline Pilot Dental Hygienist Oil Rig Worker Military General Financial Planner Reporter (Newspaper) Police Officer Audiologist Waiter/Waitress Event Coordinator Occupational Therapist Meter Reader Public Relations Executive Online Advertising Manager Dishwasher Corporate Executive Computer Systems Analyst ... Question: What do we know about the lumberjack? Options: A: Although the lumberjack has high unemployment, it isn't considered the worst job. B: On the best jobs list, the lumberjack isn't at the bottom. C: More lumberjacks' services will be needed after 2016. D: A lumberjack earns less than half of a software engineer's salary a year.
**Answer**
D