Hummingbirds have got their name from the distinct "hum" sound made by their rapidlyflapping wings. The size of the bird decides the number of flaps it can do. The average lifetime of a hummingbird is 3 or 4 years, but some of them have lived beyond 12 years also. They are unique in many ways. Besides the number of rapid flaps they can do per second, they can also fly backwards. Hummingbirds have an amazing sense of assessing the amount of sugar in thenectar they eat. They feed on the nectar of flowers. Hummingbirds do not feed on flowers whose nectar contains less than 10% sugar. Talk about a sweet tooth! As they cannot sustain themselves on nectar alone because of its poor nutritional value, they also feed on insects and spiders, and hummingbird food mixture that one can make at home. Attracting hummingbirds to your garden will require a little planning. Plant butterfly bush, mimosa, coral bells, foxglove, morning glory, etc. These flowers attract the hummingbirds due to their highvisibility and nectar production. Avoid usingpesticides , as it will not only kill the insects around the flowers, but hurt the hummingbirds as well. A common food for these birds is the sweettastingsugar syrup . Hummingbird food ingredients are just two: sugar and water. Take a large clean bowl, pour in it four cups of hot water, and dissolve one cup of table sugar in it. Stir slowly until all sugar has dissolved. Hummingbirds, tiny as they are, collect a lot of nutrition. Providing them with hummingbird food mixture made of sugar water is a sure way to get all these beauties humming in your garden. In order to attract hummingbirds, you should _ . A) plan high trees B) grow plants with small flowers C) grow plants whose flowers are bright in color D) grow plants coming into flower in the morning
C
(Question)
In some countries in which there is very little rain at any time, the farmers have to irrigate their fields. Irrigation is easy enough if there is a great river near the crops, and if there is plenty of water in it. Canals carry the river water to the fields when necessary. In some seasons there may be too much water in the river, and the water may flood all the land near it. At other times the river water may not be enough for all the farmers, and then it will be difficult to irrigate the fields. To prevent these difficulties, a dam may be built across the river. This will store water for dry seasons, and in wet seasons it will prevent the flooding of the land. A great lake will, no doubt, be formed behind the dam, and this may mean that houses and fields will be covered with water. Most people will accept _ and will be ready to move to other places. Then the country can have the right amount of water at all times; more crops will be grown, there will be more food for everyone, and there will be no more floods. Dams have been built for centuries in different parts of the world. Modern dame are usually built of concrete but earth dams were used in India and Sri Lanka about 2500 years ago. There was another across the River Tigris very long ago, and large numbers of irrigation canals were made in Iraq to irrigate the land. The Romans were great dam-builders and there was also a famous dam at Ma' rubin Arabia. We cannot use sea water for irrigation; the salt will not allow the crops to grow. Fresh water is always needed, and it is very difficult and costly to make fresh water from sea water. This is done in a few countries, but the fresh water is for drinking. There is not enough at present for irrigation. Perhaps a scientist will one day invent a cheaper way of producing fresh water from the sea. A dam is usually built _ . A) to cover the houses and fields B) for people to have the right amount of water at all times C) to grow crops better D) to form a large lake
(Answer)
B
Ques: Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October as a day to make someone happy. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, the aged, and children who have lost their parents, but also friends, workmates, s and neighbors whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed. Over 60 years ago, when a Cleveland man noticed that some people, such as children who lost their parents and patients who lay in bed, too often felt forgotten and _ , he developed in his mind the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this by giving them small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he gave those people small gifts on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration, which came to be called "Sweetest Day". Over time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the poor, the sick and children who had lost their parents was broadened to include everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small gift. Soon the idea spread to other cities all over the USA. Sweetest Day is not based on any single group's religious beliefs or on a family relationship. It is a reminder that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning. Because for many people remembering takes the form of gift giving, Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care, in a positive way. Which of the following has little relationship to Sweetest Day? A) Visiting sick people of the hospital. B) Visiting children who have lost their parents. C) Giving friends small gifts. D) Giving flowers to sweethearts.
Ans: D
Question: If you lose your wallet, how often do you think someone will be kind enough to return it to you, with cash and credit cards? Some people may be greedy, and others are simply too lazy to bother with the trip to the post office to send back a wallet to a stranger. But according to a psychology study by Dr. Richard Wiseman, there's one thing that'll greatly increase your odds of being reunited with a lost wallet: a photograph of a cute baby. In the study, hundreds of wallets were scattered around the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland. The psychologists wanted to see how many strangers would take the trouble to return them to the addresses listed on the drivers' licenses inside--but more than that, they wanted to find out what would make a person more likely to help out a stranger. To finish this, they included personal things in most of the wallets: some included a photo of a happy elderly couple, some contained a cute puppy, some contained a family portrait, and some held a photo of a lovely baby. Others had receipts showing that the wallet's owner had recently donated to a charity . Some contained no personal details. As the psychologists soon discovered, the sight of a smiling baby is enough to warm nearly any heart: only one in ten of the strangers who _ such wallets did not return them. In contrast, the second most successful image, the puppy, had a 53% return rate. When the wallet included no photograph, it stood only a one in seven chance of being returned to the owner. The success of the baby photograph shows a human compassion for the young that's been passed down through the ages, according to Dr. Wiseman. "The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary perspective ," he told theTimes. To ensure our species' survival, scientists think that we must feel empathy and compassion for our young. Scientists say that this study supports the argument that we won't feel compassion only for our own babies, but for any that we see--hence, the strong desire a stranger... If there are 30 lost wallets with a photograph of a cute baby, how many of them will probably be returned? A) Only 3. B) About 15. C) 20 or so. D) About 27.
Answer:
D