Question: As I write this, I have half an eye on an old James Bond film that is showing on my computer. But this is a story about how I stopped watching TV and began reading again for pleasure, after ten years in which I hardly turned a page. I suppose I was an enthusiastic reader of "literature" between the ages of nine and fourteen. I had enough time to be White Fang, Robinson Crusoe, and Bilbo Baggins and Jeeves. Of course there was room in the schoolboy's imagination for some real historical figures: Scott of the Antarctic, all of the Vikings, and Benjamin Franklin were good friends of mine. Then, in adolescence, I began a long search for strange and radical ideas. I wanted to challenge my elders and betters, and shock my fellow students with amazing points of view. Of course, the only place to look was in books. I hunted out the longest titles and the authors with the funniest names; I searched the library for completely unread books. Then I found one which became my bible for the whole of 1982, it had a title composed of eleven long words and an author whose name I didn't know how to pronounce. It was really thick and looked dead serious. Even better, it put forward a whole world-view that would take days to explain. Perfect. I took it out of the library three times, proud to see the date-stamps lined up on the empty library insert. Later, I went to university. Expecting to spend long evenings in learned discussion with clever people, I started reading philosophy. For some reason I never found the deep-thinking intellectuals I hoped to meet. Anyway, I was ready to impress with my profound knowledge of post-structuralism, _ and situationism. These things are usually explained in rather short books, but they take a long time to get through. They were the end of my youthful reading. Working life was hard to get used to after so much theory. It was the end of books for me. There didn't seem to be much in books that would actually get things done. To do things you had to answer the telephone and work a computer.... The writer enjoyed reading "literature" between the ages of nine and fourteen because _ . A) he thought it was important for a schoolboy to do so B) he was still too young to understand other books C) he believed all the real historical figures were his friends D) he could imagine himself being the characters in the books
Answer: D

Question: I looked at my beautiful Christmas tree and sighed. It was time. The New Year was a week old and my tree still stood in the corner of our room with its collection of memories proudly displayed in a shower of colorful lights. I'd procrastinated(,)long enough. I got up, went to the garage and dragged all the boxes into the room. The garland was the first to come down. The tree looked naked already. I took the large ornament off next. They made a large pile on our bed. An hour later, our bed was covered with Christmas memories. Each pile contained an ornament along with its matching brothers and sisters from sets purchased many years ago. I prepared the boxes and carefully placed ornaments in their protective packaging, pausing every few minutes to admire a favorite. "Hey, little Santa!" I held the Santa from my childhood. "Thanks for being my friend for almost fifty years." He was a little ragged but still gives me a flood of wonderful memories. "Until next year, my dear friend." There was a collection of handmade ones. My children made in the their first years of school, more than twenty years ago. Made by tiny hands, they are far from perfect in design, but every year they go on my memory tree-memories of young giggles on Christmas morning and a smiling face when they handed them to me when I came home from work. "Look what we made, Daddy!" "Oh! It is beautiful. Let's find a special spot on the tree for it." Every year since, they are displayed. A few hours after I started, the filled boxes were back in the garage, the room was vacuumed and I sat staring at a barren corner. The room seemed so empty. It took me two days of work to assemble and decorate my tree, but only a few hours to take it apart. My tree is like a good marriage or a great friendship. Like the tree, they take a long time to assemble and decorate with memories, but can be torn down quickly. Every year I have to put my tree away, but not my marriage or friendships. I take great care of those. They get to glow in the corner of my life for as... What is the main theme of the article? A) We'd better put away Christmas decorations and recycle them each year. B) Friendships and marriages should be valued and managed carefully. C) Memories with friends and family should be cherished and relived. D) We should decorate Christmas trees with personal stuff and recycle.
Answer: B

Question: We've all heard about the power of positive thinking, but a recent study found that people who think they're getting fit actually get more positive benefits from activity, according to a Reuters Health article. The study examined hotel housekeepers over a period of four weeks. Some of the housekeepers were told that their work duties gave them enough activity to meet the Surgeon General's health guidelines . Another group of housekeepers were told nothing. After four weeks, the housekeepers who believed their work activity counted as exercise lost weight and body fat, and their blood pressure went down. The results of this study suggest that it's important to understand and believe in the positive benefits of your activity. So here are a few things to think about the next time you exercise: Just thirty minutes of quick walking each day can greatly reduce your risk of a heart attack. Even your housework -- like yard work and house cleaning -- can help you burn calories and increase your fitness levels. Weight bearing activity just a few times a week can build bone density and reduce your chances of developing osteoporosis . Three 10-minute workouts throughout the day are just as good to your health as one long workout. Moderate amounts of exercise have been linked to lower rates of heart disease, stroke and even cancer. Strength training can help make daily activities like carrying bags or laundry feel easier. Regular exercise will reduce stress, keep you in a good mood and improve the quality of your sleep. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . A) thought is more important than activity B) housekeepers lead a happier life than workers C) positive thinking does good to our health D) if one wants to get fit, think more
Answer:
C