Read the article and select the best answer. Article: For many years, I had a belief that my suffering was due to my size. I believed that when the weight disappeared, it would take old wounds, hurts, and rejections with it. Many weight-conscious people also mistakenly believe that changing our bodies will fix _ . Perhaps our worst mistake is believing that being thin equals being loved,being special, and being cherished. We fantasize about what it will be like when we reach the long-awaited goal. We work very hard to realize this dream. Then, at last, we find ourselves there. But we often gain back what we have lost. Even so, we continue to believe that next time it will be different. Next time, we will keep it off. Next time, being thin will finally fulfill its promise of everlasting happiness, self-worth, and, of course, love. It took me a long while to realize that there was something more for me to learn about beauty. Beauty standards vary with culture. In Samoa a woman is not considered attractive unless she weighs more than 200 pounds. More importantly, if it's happiness that we want, why not put our energy there rather than on the size of our body? Why not look inside? Many of us strive hard to change our body, but in vain. We have to find a way to live comfortably inside our body and make friends with and cherish ourselves. When we change our attitudes toward ourselves, the whole world changes. Question: The passage tries to highlight the importance of _ . Options: A: body size B: attitudes toward life C: culture difference D: different beauty standards
B

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: On the first day of the 11th grade, our new math teacher Mr Washington asked me to go to the blackboard to do a math problem. I told him that I couldn't do it. He asked, "Why not?" I paused, and then I said, "Because I'm educable mentally retarded ." He came from behind his desk and looked at me. "Don't ever say that again. Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality," he said. It was a very special moment for me. Doctors said that I was educable mentally retarded in the fifth grade, and I was put back into the fourth grade. When I was in the eighth grade, I failed again. But Mr Washington changed my life. This person always gave students the feeling that he had high expectations of them, and then all of the students did their best to live up to what those expectations were. He often said, "You have greatness within you." One day, I caught up with him in the parking place and said, "Mr Washington, is there greatness within me, sir?" He said, "Yes, Mr Brown." "But what about the fact that I failed in English, math and history? What about that, sir? I'm slower than most kids." "It doesn't matter. It just means that you have to work harder. Your grades don't determine who you are or what you can produce in your life." "I want to buy my mother a house." "It is possible, Mr Brown. You can do that." And he turned to walk away. "Mr Washington?" "What do you want now?" "Uh, I'm the one, sir. One day you're going to hear my name. I'm the one, sir." School was a real struggle for me. Mr Washington put many demands on me. He made me believe that I could do it. At the end of that year, I was on the honor roll for the first time in my life. Years later, I produced five programs on public television. When one of my programs was shown on the educational television channel, I had some friends call him. I was sitting by the phone waiting when he called me. He said, "May I speak to Mr Brown, please?" "Oh, Mr Washington, is that you?" "Yes, it's me. You... Question: In the passage, the author implies that _ . Options: A: people shouldn't believe what doctors say B: no one can be successful with hard work and confidence C: no one is really educable mentally retarded D: a good teacher can change a student's life
D

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The following are selected contributors' notes for an essay collection. KATY BUTLER, a 2004 finalist for a National Magazine Award, has written for The New Yorker, the New York Times, Mother Jones, Salon, Tricycle, and other magazines. She was born in South Africa and raised in England, and came to the United States with her family at the age of eight. "Everything Is Holy," her essay about nature worship, Buddhism , and ecology, was selected for Best Buddhist Writing 2006. In 2009 she won a literary award from the Elizabeth George Foundation. "What Broke My Father's Heart" was named a "notable narrative" by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, won a first-place award from the Association of Health Care Journalists, and was named one of the 100 Best Magazine Articles of All Time. Butler has taught narrative nonfiction at Nieman Foundation conferences and memoir writing at Esalen Institute. Her current book project is Knocking on Heaven's Door: A Journey Through Old Age and New Medicine to be published in 2013. VICTOR LAVALLE is the author of a collection of stories, Slapboxing with Jesus, and two novels, The Ecstatic and Big Machine, for which he won the Shirley Jackson Award, the American Book Award, and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. He is a 2010 Guggenheim Award winner and an assistant professor at Columbia University's School of the Arts. About "Long Distance" he says: "This essay actually came about when I was asked to write about my life after having lost a great deal of weight. And yet, when I sat down to work, all I could do was return to that time when I was much heavier and deeply unhappy. Why? I sure didn't miss those days. And yet, I felt I couldn't write about my present without touching on that past. But, of course, I never reach the true present in the essay. Maybe I still don't know how to talk about a life with greater happiness. " BRIDGET POTTER was born in Brompton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, and came to the United States as a teenager in 1958. She spent the first... Question: Who is the most successful poet in the competition's history? Options: A: BRIDGET POTTER. B: KATY BUTLER. C: PATRICIA SMITH. D: VICTOR LAVALLE.
C