Googlefight is a simple service available on the Internet which offers you the chance to compare two different items and see how many hits they get on the Google search engine. The seemingly simple device has proved invaluable to users, especially to help win arguments. For example, imagine that you and your friends are arguing about who are the most popular music or movie stars, you can decide the argument by writing the names in the Googlefight boxes. Let's say that you are arguing about Jackie Chan and Jet Li. You will quickly discover that Jet Li is mentioned 16 million times on Google pages, whereas Jackie Chan is mentioned a mere 12 million times! In this unscientific way, you can claim victory for one Star over another. But teachers have come up with ways of using Googlefight which are much more useful from an academic point of view, particularly when it comes to studying languages. You can, for example, find out the frequency of two words with the same meaning, and deduce from the answers which one is more common. For example, let's take the words "buy" and "purchase", which mean the same thing (although "buy" is only a verb and "purchase" is both a verb and a noun). It is immediately clear from Googlefight that "buy" is much more commonly used, with a massive three and a half billion hits, compared to only one billion occurrences for the more formal word. But the real value of Googlefight to the language learner is in determining which is the more common of two phrases. For example, "raining cats and dogs" is an old-fashioned English expression about the weather. Do English speakers still use it? Or are they more likely to say "pouring down"? Googlefight suggests the latter. "Pouring down" has 898,000 Google hits, whereas "raining cats and dogs" only has 326,000. With phrases, it's important to remember that you need to use quote marks to make the search more accurate. For example, if you type in the similar phrases "look after" and "take care of " without quote marks, the second phrase seems to be... Which statement is NOT true according to the passage? A) Googlefight is effective to determine the more common of two phrases. B) Googlefight is a scientific way to decide an argument. C) Quote marks can make the search more accurate. D) Googlefight is invaluable to help win arguments.
B
The research tracked the health of 101,000 US nurses over three decades. Light-to-moderate smokers were twice as likely to die of sudden heart problems as those who had never smoked. But those who quit smoking saw their risk begin to go back down within years, a journal of the American Heart Association reports. _ During the study, there were 315 sudden cardiac deaths ----where the heart unexpectedly stops working. In people aged 35 or younger, this usually because of a heart condition that runs in the family. But in people who are older than this--as most of the nurses in the study were --it can be the first sign of coronary heart disease, where the heart's arteries become blocked by fatty deposits. Of the 315 sudden deaths in the study, 75 were among current smokers, 148 were among recent or past smokers and 128 occurred in people who had never smoked. Reason to quit After taking into account other heart risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and family history of heart disease, Dr Roopinder Sandhu and his colleagues found the women who smoked were twice as likely as likely to die suddenly even if they smoked "light-to-moderate" amounts --between one and 14 cigarettes a day. For every five years of continued smoking, the risk went up by 8%. But women who quit saw their risk fall to that of someone who had never smoked, after 20 years of cessation. Dr Sandhu, of the University of Alberta, Canad, said: "What this study really tells women is how important it is to stop smoking. The benefits in terms of sudden cardiac death reduction are there for all women, not just those with established heart disease." "It can be difficult to quit. It needs to be a long-term goal. It's not always easily achievable and it may take more than one attempt." Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study shows that smoking just a couple of cigarettes a day could still seriously affect your future health." "As we approach the new year, many of us will be making... Which of the following statements is TRUE? A) Nonsmokers wouldn't die of sudden cardiac death B) Most of the nurses concerned in the research were middle aged. C) All age groups of people were involved in the research. D) If the smokers had quit smoking, they wouldn't have died of heart disease.
B
(Question)
Mail lay scattered across the kitchen table. I couldn't put off sorting through it any longer. I checked the envelopes, putting aside the ones addressed to my husband. It had been over three years since Bob had died. To friends and family it looked like I had moved past the worst of my sorrow. I took care of my house, socialized and kept up with community. On the outside everything appeared to be normal. But inside I was anything but I worried I would never get better, never be myself again. They say sorrow has no set time limit, but I was so tired of feeling empty and hopeless. My sorrow was sharp and fresh as ever. It was like a wall of pressure in my chest, pressing my heart. I picked up a piece of Bob's mail and held it out to tear in half, but stopped myself from cutting up the envelope. The letter was from an organization that funded a Haitian orphanage called _ . Its founder, Carol Hawthorne, had given a presentation at our church. Bob and I had donated, and Bob ended up on the mailing list to receive the newsletter with updates on the children. I hadn't read one since Bob died. But just three months before, in January 2012, the country had been hit by a terrible earthquake. In my depressed state, it hadn't even occurred to me to wonder whether the orphanage had survived. I opened the newsletter and was surprised to find out that My Father's House was still standing. Of course now it was more crowded than ever. At the bottom of the page was an announcement about an upcoming trip to visit the orphanage in person. "I should go." The thought wouldn't leave me. I contacted Carol Hawthorne."What would I do if I go?" I asked."Build houses?" "The Haitian people there are eager to work and they know what they're doing," said Carol. "What they need are raw materials, and we provide them. We also visit with the children. We go to clinics and schools, pass out supplies. You'll be very busy, I promise!" I reserved a seat but didn't mention it to any of my friends. Just a few weeks later, I was at the airport... What can we conclude from the passage? A) The writer decided to settle down in Haiti at last. B) The writer overcame her loss by helping others. C) The writer taught the children to sing in English. D) The writer picked up Creole during her stay there.
(Answer)
B