*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it's not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash , had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day. Icouldn't help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn't allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job. Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. "Charge it to me," was all he said. What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion. Question: The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits _ . Options: A: promised to obey the store rules B: forgot to take any money with him C: hoped to have the food first and pay later D: could not afford anything more expensive
**Answer**
C

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: My life began similarly to most children but I grew up without knowing what a father or mother was. No one was there to teach me how to tell right from wrong. Because of this, I got into some bad habits and spent seven years as a boy on the street. When I was 20, I was taken in a rehab clinic . Inside I met Bill, my counselor . He taught me a lot of things. The main thing was the gift of giving. It was the night before an important test and I was very nervous. Bill invited me to go out for a walk to relax me. As we walked and talked, Bill suggested we should go for a coffee. I told him I had no money when I got paid, and I offered to pay him back. He stopped then and looked at me in a serious, but loving way and said he was doing this because he wanted to. Then he said, "One day when you'll be around someone who will need a coffee, you'll be able to buy it for them. That's how you can pay me back." I'm a primary school teacher now. My job is simple and I can buy young people coffee now. Bill taught me how to offer help to others. Question: One night, Bill invited the author to go out for a walk to _ . Options: A: have a cup of coffee B: teach the author a lesson C: make the author less nervous D: make friends with the author
**Answer**
C

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Robinson Crusoe is a famous novel written by Daniel Defoe. The book tells the story of a man who is shipwrecked . He spends 28 years on an island near Venezuela. The book tells the story of everything that happens to Robinson Crusoe. He hopes someone will rescue him, but he has been there for so long on his own that he also begins to fear being rescued. Robinson Crusoe was published in 1719. Most experts believe the story is based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, who was a Scottish sailor. On an expedition in 1704, Selkirk had an argument with his ship's captain. Selkirk thought the ship was not safe and was about to fall apart. When the ship stopped at a remote island to get fresh water, Selkirk got off. He tried to get the other crew members to leave with him, but nobody would. The shop then sailed away without him. Selkirk spent four years and four months on his own on the island, known as Aguas Buenas. Selkirk was finally rescued by a ship that visited the island in 1709. The ship's captain was grateful to Selkirk because he provided food for the crew when they arrived. Now archaeologists think they have found the remains of Selkirk's camp on Aguas Buenas. They found two deep holes that would have held wooden posts. The archaeologists say this is evidence that Selkirk built a shelter there. The post holes are near a fresh water stream. They are located quite high up, which would have meant that Selkirk was able to watch out for the ships coming close to the island. The most interesting evidence, the archaeologists say, is part of a piece of equipment used by sailors to navigate . Historians believe Selkirk was a navigator, so the instrument could have belonged to him. Robinson Crusoe was published ten years after Selkirk was rescued. Most experts think Daniel Defoe heard and read stories about Selkirk, which inspired him to write the book. Question: How could Selkirk see ships that might rescue him, according to archaeologists? Options: A: By asking the crew members on the ships. B: By sending messages to the ships' captains. C: By watching from his shelter high on the island. D: By using a piece of equipment used to navigate.
**Answer**
C

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Most parents and teachers would get angry when they hear that teenagers listen to their iPods while preparing for exams. But pupils who listen to music when doing their homework may be, in fact, working hard. Thirty three schools have downloaded specially written pop and rock songs for their 10,000 pupils who are studying for GCSE . The professionally recorded music, based on texts in English literature, teaches teenagers about themes in the GCSE curriculum . Two young men set up "Revise", the company that produced the songs, and worked with teachers to make sure the lyrics reflected the curriculum. Some of the songs were written by Geraint Brown, a director, and they are performed by professional singers and musicians. Songs for the GCSE science and maths lessons are also being developed in 36 schools. They have also started using the program, called, "LearnThruMusic". Dave Matthews, the head of Hawthorn High School in the South Wales valleys, said the program aimed at helping teenagers who are unwilling to study. He said, "There are lots of pupils who don't have a high level of home support. It's almost cool to say you have no need to find a support and we have got to change that. With this, they don't have to be sitting at their desk at home. They can be outside, walking around or even listening to it on the bus, which is very convenient for them." Everyone has a phone, MP3 or CD player, and they're more likely to listen to these than pick up a book. "I think everyone would agree that music had an important influence on us when growing up. Both boys and girls are very good at remembering the words and dancing to the music in the charts. There's no one thing that will successfully engage (...) every child, and some of them will make little or no use of this. But the fact that they don't have to do any extra work makes this a very good deal for a kid," Dave Matthews added. Question: Which benefit of the program is NOT mentioned in the passage? Options: A: It saves students much extra work. B: It offers different ways of learning. C: It makes remembering easier. D: It improves family support to kids.
**Answer**
D