Renee had been married for a long, long time. Her favorite part of being married was the weekend, when she was with her two horses. On the weekend, Renee was at the stables from morning until dark. She fed, groomed, and rode her horses. She was an excellent rider. She would ride the horses bareback on Saturday, and then she would saddle them up on Sunday. Renee loved parades. She used to say, "A parade isn't a parade without a horse." Renee loved parades almost as much as she loved her horses. She belonged to an email list of volunteers for parades. She regularly visited the state website list of parades to see if there were any new parades that she didn't know about. All the state parades were organized in her computer. In the parades file, she listed the date, drive time and distance, parade time, contact people, and other details she felt were important. She knew the parade director of every town within a four-hour drive. She never stayed overnight. She always left the parade in time to get her horses back to the stables before "bedtime". She had to feed them before they turned in. Her horses seemed to like parades, too. They knew a few tricks that always impressed the children. Renee was very generous with her time and her horses. But owning horses wasn't cheap. You had to rent the stables, and there were always vet and feed bills. Renee knew how to cope with expenses, though. Her vet always gave her a 10-percent discount for paying cash. She always bought the no-name, generic food for the horses. Her vet had told her it was just as healthful and tasty as the brand name material. She always bought economy gasoline. And on parade days, Renee always packed her own lunch and ate with her horses. How did Renee cope with expenses of owning horses? The following ways were used except that _ . A) she always bought the brand name food for the horses B) she had a 10-percent discount for paying cash offered by her vet C) she always packed her own lunch and ate with her horses on parade days D) she always bought the no-name, generic food for the horses
A
(Question)
As you are students of English, it's very possible that you'll be interested in England. That's where the language was first spoken. But England is often called by other names. This often confuses people and I wonder if you know what these names mean. So, now I would like to tell you about this matter of names. I believe that you have heard people use the names--England, Britain or Great Britain. Let's see what each of these names means. If you look at a map of Europe, you'll see a group of islands--one larger island off the northwest coast, one smaller and many tiny ones. These make up what is called the British Isles. The largest island of the British Isles is Britain. It is also called Great Britain. The smaller island is Ireland. Britain is divided into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England. But sometimes the word "England" is used instead of "Britain". Why so? In ancient times, what is Britain now used to be three different countries. People in these different countries spoke different languages. Over many years the three countries became one. England is the largest and richest of the three and it has the most people. So the English people take it for granted that their own name stands for the whole island. There's another thing that confuses people: sometimes you may hear people say "the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". That is the official name of the country. Northern Ireland is only one sixth of the island of Ireland. The rest of the island is an independent state, called the Republic of Ireland. So we have the names of "England", "Britain", "Great Britain", and "the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Now do you know what each of them means? Which of the following is the best title? A) Students of English B) Different Names of England C) Different Languages Spoken in England D) The Republic of Ireland
(Answer)
B
Ques: I first visited hutong as part of a tourist group several years ago. We rode on a trishaw with a guide explaining the history, architecture and lifestyle of the local inhabitants. Having visited the "must-sees" of Beijing, like the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Drum Tower and the Summer Palace, going into the hutong home of some famous ancient families gave the "Beijing experience" a human element. My curiosity has sharpened over the years from reading about them at every opportunity. During the preparation for the Olympics, I was eager to learn that some siheyuan courtyards in hutong were turned into accommodations for visitors. I wished to stay in one someday. Preparing for a recent trip to the capital, I eagerly sought one out. On my limited teacher's salary, I settled on an affordable option, though I looked longingly at the more courtyard accommodations. As usual, by not being able to go upmarket, I ended up having something closer to a true experience. A real family still lives in the courtyard, which is closer to the original. The rooms all opened into the central courtyard. Flowers were blooming, beans and peas were climbing up the bamboo fence, and the cat was napping in the sun. Every day after exploring the city, I'd hurry back to the hutong, take a quick shower and join the cat - snoozing in a bamboo-made chair with a book ready nearby. As the other guests came back we'd greet one another. There was a mother and young daughter from France, a guy from Canada, a mother and teenage daughter from the Netherlands, a teacher from England and several guests from various parts of China. Coming and going through the narrow alleys of the hutong, the residents would smile and give cheery "ni hao" (hello). Laughing children were playing under the watchful eyes of the neighbors. I felt right at home in this friendly neighborhood. When did the author have the idea to visit Beijing hutong? A) As early as he was a little child B) when he was reading the text books at school C) during the preparation for the Olympics D) the author doesn't mention it specifically
Ans: D
Question: Earlier this year I traveled to Turkana in Kenya. I was there to take pictures of the "broken food system". As a special visitor, I was greeted with songs and dances. The locals used to sing and dance all the time but now Turkana is silent and has been for some years. No one is singing or dancing any more because they have no food, nothing to celebrate. Many of them are surviving on a little corn a day and water, which they can get just every two days. I met Tede Lokapelo, a local farmer who described the experience of a six-year drought . Tede used to have 200 goats, but now he has only seven left. He told me that this drought has taught him a hard lesson: It is too difficult to keep animals. He lives on animals. His traditional way of life has been completely destroyed now. Without the food aid they got, Tede is certain that they would starve because there are no other ways to feed themselves left. Sadly, the same can be heard in almost any developing country around the world. Almost one billion people go to bed hungry each night. The food system is broken. In Turkana, not enough rain has fallen since 2005. They measure rainfall not in days or weeks but in minutes. More and more people are being forced to rely on food aid, but people like Tede don't want food aid. They want to work and develop their country. It's our responsibility to change the situation so that they can support themselves. Drought is impossible to avoid but famine is manmade, and unless enough money is provided to develop a basic infrastructure for people in the area, thousands more lives are sure to be lost. During the drought Tede had experienced, _ of his goats were killed. A) 200 B) 193 C) 7 D) 6
Answer:
B