*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Watercolour is the oldest paints known. It dates back to the early cave men who discovered they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the walls of caves by mixing the natural colours found in the earth with water. Fresco , one of the greatest of all art forms, is done with watercolour. It is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster . Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelo's heroic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, very few know that they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolour painting in the world. The invention of oil painting by the Flemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go down-hill, and for the next several centuries watercolour was used mainly for doing sketches or as a tool for study. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolour as a serious art form. The English have a widely-known love for outdoors and also small private pictures. The softness of watercolour had a remarkably strong attraction for them. The popularity of watercolour continued to grow until the twentieth century. The United States passed England as the center for watercolour, producing such well-known watercolour artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth. Question: In the 16th and 17th centuries the artists thought _ . Options: A: watercolour was softer, and thus better B: oil painting lasted longer, and was better C: watercolour wasn't fit for finished works D: watercolour was too hard to use in any works
**Answer**
C

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Walking along a lake in the cold winter, Birbal and the king made a bet that a man would do anything for money. The king said, "I don't think a man would spend an entire night in the cold water of this lake for money." Birbal replied, " I'm sure I can find such a person." The king asked Birbal to find such a person and said that he would reward the person with a thousand gold coins. Birbal searched far and wide and finally found a poor man. When he entered the lake, the king had guards around him to make sure that he really did as promised. The poor man made it. He told the king that there had been a street lamp nearby and that he had kept his attention on the lamp and managed to avoid the cold. The king then said that there would be no reward as he relied on the warmth of the street lamp. The poor man went to Birbal for help. The next day, Birbal did not go to court . The king went to Birbal's house and see what he was up to. He found Birbal sitting on the floor near some burning branches and a bowl filled with rice hanging five feet above the fire. The king and his followers couldn't help but laugh. The king then said to Birbal, "How can the rice be cooked if it is so far away from the fire?" Birbal answered, "The same way the poor man received heat from a street lamp that was more than two thousand meters away." Finally, the king gave the poor man his reward. Question: What can we infer from the passage? Options: A: The poor man did not get his reward in the end. B: Birbal was wise and kind. C: The story happened during a warm spring. D: Birbal was not liked by the king.
**Answer**
B

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language--the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. _ . And I use them all--all the Englishes I grew up with. Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as "broken" English. But I feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than"broken", as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I've heard other terms used, "limited English," for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people's perceptions of the limited English speaker. I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother's "limited" English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her. I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won't get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as "broken" ; and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure. I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show: her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts. Question: The author gradually realizes her mother's English is _ . Options: A: well structured B: in the old style C: easy to translate D: rich in meaning
**Answer**
D

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: As A/H1N1 continues to spread, experts from the Centers for Disease Control to the World Health Organization to neighborhood doctors are calling on the people to practice smart flu prevention techniques. Here are some tips to keep body improved and immune system ready to fight infection. Wash Your Hands And wash them often, in hot soapy water, and for the amount of time it takes you to sing "Happy Birthday" twice. Get Enough Sleep This means slightly different things to different people, but try to get 8 hours of good rest each night to keep your immune system in top flu-fighting shape. Keep Hydrated Drink enough water each day to clear poisonous matter from your system and keep up good moisture production in your body. Eat Immune-Improving Foods Keeping you body strong and ready to fight infection is important in flu prevention. Fatty foods can slow your metabolism , make you feel inactive, and weaken your immune system. So stick with whole grains, colorful vegetables, and vitamin-rich fruits. Avoid Alcohol Alcohol is likely to decrease your resistance to infections and further damages the immune system. So avoid alcoholic drinks to keep your immune system strong. --------------------------? Proper exercise-for example walking for 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week-supports the immune system by increasing circulation, oxygenating the body, removing poisonous material through sweat, and reducing tension and stress. So get moving! Avoid Contact with Sick People If you're coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth(and then wash your hands),and if you have to be around someone who is sick, try to stay a few feet away from them and avoid physical contact. Know When to Get Help A/H1N1 can look like regular flu, so don't feel like you necessarily are infected if you're exhibiting flu-like symptoms . But do go to your doctor if you live in an area where there are recorded cases, or if your symptoms are very serious. Question: What can help clear poisonous matter from the body? Options: A: Washing your hands. B: Eating fatty foods. C: Getting enough sleep. D: Drinking enough water.
**Answer**
D