Rush hour traffic is a problem in many big cities around the world. Commuters rush to and from their jobs in cars, buses, subways, trains, and even on bicycles. Large cities in the United States have two rush hours--one in the morning and one in the evening. But in cities in other parts of the world, there are four rush hours. In Athens and Rome, for example, many workers go home for lunch and a nap. After this midday break, they rush back to their jobs and work for a few more hours. In Tokyo, there's a big rush hour underground. Most of the people in Tokyo take the subways. The trains are very crowded. Subway employees called packers wear white gloves and help pack the commuters into the trains when the doors close. They make sure that all purses, briefcases, clothes, and hands are inside the trains. In Seoul, many commuters prefer to take taxis to get to work.. To hail a cab,many people stand at crossroads and raise two fingers. This means they'll pay the cab driver double the usual fare. Some people even raise three fingers! They'll pay three times the normal rate. Streets in Rome are very crowded with automobiles and mopeds during rush hours. The city can't make its streets wider, and it can't build new highways, because it doesn't want to disturb the many historic sites in the city, such as the Forum and the Coliseum. It took the city fifteen years to construct a new subway system. Construction had to stop every time workers found old artifacts and discovered places of interest to archaeologists . In many big cities, there are special lanes on highways for carpools. These are groups of three or more people who drive to and from work together. They share the costs of gas and parking and take turns driving into the city. Getting to work and getting home can be difficult in many places around the world. Rush hour traffic seems to be a universal problem. Commuters in carpools probably _ A) live in the city B) take the subway to work C) save money on gas and parking fees D) have special license plates
C
(Question)
History is rich with 'eureka' moments: scientists from Archimedes to Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are said to have had flashes of inspiration while thinking about other things. But the mechanisms behind this psychological phenomenon have remained unclear. A study now suggests that simply taking a break does not bring on inspiration -- rather, creativity is fostered by tasks that allow the mind to wander. The discovery was made by a team led by Benjamin Baird and Jonathan Schooler, psychologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The researchers presented 145 undergraduate students with two 'unusual uses' tasks that gave them two minutes to list as many uses as possible for everyday objects such as toothpicks, clothes hangers and bricks. After the two minutes were over, participants were given a 12-minute break, during which they rested, undertook a demanding memory activity that required their full attention or engaged in an undemanding reaction-time activity known to elicit mind-wandering. A fourth group of students had no break. All participants were then given four unusual-uses tasks, including the two that they had completed earlier. Those students who had done the undemanding activity performed an average of 41% better at the repeated tasks the second time they tried them. By contrast, students in the other three groups showed no improvement. "We've traditionally found that rapid-eye-movement sleep grants creative insight. That allowing the mind to wander does the same is absolutely fascinating. I think they are on to something really interesting here, " says Sara Mednick, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside. Participants who engaged in the undemanding task did not do any better than others on unusual-uses tasks that they encountered for the first time in the second round. "The implication is that mind-wandering was only helpful for problems that were already being mentally chewed on. It didn't seem to lead to a general increase in creative problem-solving... The "eureka" moments in history actually refer to some _ . A) sudden inspirations B) necessary discoveries C) great achievements D) unexpected results
(Answer)
A
Ques: Many cities around the world today are heavily polluted. Careless methods of production and lack of consumer demand for environment friendly products have contributed to the pollution problem. One result is that millions of tons of glass, paper, plastic and metal container are produced, and these are difficult to get rid of. However, today, more and more consumers are choosing "green" and demanding that the products they buy should be safe for the environment. Before they buy a product, they ask questions like these, "Will this shampoo damage the environment?" "Can this metal container be reused or can it only be used once?" A recent study showed that two out of five adults now consider the environment safety of a product before they buy it. This means that companies must now change the way they make and sell their products to make sure that they are "green", that is, friendly to the environment. Only a few years ago, it was impossible to find green products in supermarkets, but now there are hundreds. Some supermarkets' products carry labels to show that the product is green. Some companies have made producing of clean and safe products their main selling points and emphasize it in their advertising. The concern for a safer and cleaner environment is making companies rethink how they do business. No longer will the public accept the old attitude of "Buy it, use it, throw it away, and forget it." The public pressure is on, and gradually business is cleaning up its act. It becomes clear from the passage that the driving force behind the green products is _ . A) public caring for the environment B) companies' desire for bigger sales C) new ways of doing business D) rapid growth of supermarkets
Ans: A
Question: In the West, advertisements are the fuel that makes mass media work. Many TV stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations are privately owned. The government does not give them money. So where does the money come from? From advertisements. Without advertisements, there would not be these private businesses. Have you ever asked yourself what advertising is? Through the years, people have given different answers to the question. For some time it was felt that advertising was a means of "keeping your name before the public". And some people thought that advertising was "truth well told". Now more and more people consider it in this way: Advertising is the paid, non-personal, and usually persuasive presentation of goods, services and ideas by some certain sponsors through various media. First, advertising is usually paid for. Various sponsors pay for the advertisements we see, read, and hear over the various media. Second, advertising is non-personal. It is not face-to-face communication. Although you may feel that a message in a certain advertisement is aimed directly at you, in fact, it is directed at large groups of people. Third, advertising is usually persuasive. Directly or indirectly it asks people to do something. All advertisements try to make people believe that the product, idea, or service advertised can benefit them. Fourth, the sponsors of the advertisement must show their names. From the advertisement, we can see if the sponsor is a company, or a single person. Fifth, advertising reaches us through old and modern mass media. Included in the old media are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and films. Modern media include emails, matchbox covers, and boards on top of buildings. The passage seems to say that different ideas about what advertising is are given due to _ . A) the change of time B) the subject of the advertisements C) people's age difference D) people's different opinions
Answer:
A