Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Tracy Caulkins is known as the first American to set an American record and win an American title in each of four swimming strokes : breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke, freestyle. Tracy Caulkins was born in Minnesota and lived in Iowa until she was six. She began swimming when she was eight, after the family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee. While unwilling at first to swim in cold water or get her face wet, she began to train in earnest as her talent became clear. Though her father worked for the public schools, the family sent her to a private school when the public schools could not accommodate her training schedule. At age 13, Tracy Caulkins took part in the trials for the 1976 Olympics, but did not make the team. She continued to win national and international titles, and was disappointed in 1980 when the U.S. didn't attend the Moscow Olympics. She continued to train and compete. In 1981, Tracy Caulkins began college, graduating in 1985. In college, she continued competing and training, though she had slowed down from her peak years. Caulkins trained especially hard for the 1984 Olympics, and not only made the team, but was captain of the swim team and at Los Angeles, won three gold medals and was named Sportswoman of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee. After that she retired from swimming, and was a commentator for swimming events as well as taking advantage of her fame to do business. Tracy Caulkins married Australian swimmer, Mark Stockwell, in 1991, their romance having begun at the 1984 Olympics when he jumped into a warm-up pool to introduce himself. They married in Nashville and moved to Australia, where they had three children. Caulkins continued to be professionally involved in sports. Question: When was Tracy Caulkins born? Options: A: In 1963 B: In 1953 C: In 1960 D: Not mentioned
Answer: D

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: "Food in France is still primarily about pleasure,"says Mark Singer, technical director of cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris."Cooking and eating are both pastimes and pleasure."The French might start their day with bread, butter, jam, and perhaps something hot to drink -- it's a time of the day when the whole family can be united. Singer, born in Philadelphia, has lived in France for more than 40 years. "Although things have changed greatly in the past 20 years when it comes to food in the country,"he says,"and what was a big affair with eating has been slowly softened up, there are still events in the year, like birthdays and New Year's Eve and Christmas Eve that are still really anchored in traditional food and cooking. But it's not every day." Some people think French food life may be a performance, adds Jennifer Berg, director of graduate food studies at New York University."They want to believe that France is this nation where people are spending five hours a day going to 12 different markets to get their food. The reality is most croissants are factory-made, and most people are buying convenience food, except for the very small group of people in high society. But part of our identity relies on believing that myth." In Italy, as in France, takeout is still ly rare."Eating fast is not at all part of our culture,"says Marco Bolasco, editorial director of Slow Food and an Italian food expert. Our meals are relaxed, even during a lunch break. Food in Italy is love, and nutrition, and pleasure, he says. An Italian child's first experience with food is not small round cakes or rice or eggs, but probably ice cream, notes Bolasco. Status and wealth play less of a role in food. Question: What's the main idea of the passage? Options: A: Food as identity. B: Food as pleasure. C: Food as survival. D: Food as status.
Answer: D

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: When someone says, "Well, I guess I'll have to go to face the music", it does not mean he is planning to go to a concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this or that, and why you did not do this or that. Sour(; )music, indeed, but it has to be faced. The phrase "to face the music" is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. Where did the expression come from? The first information comes from the American writer James Fennimore Cooper. He said in 1851 that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on stage. After they got their cue(,) to go on, they often said, "It's time to go to face the music." And that is exactly what they did--- face the orchestra which was just below the stage. An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps unfriendly especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. So, "to face the music" came to mean having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice. The other explanation comes from the army. Men had to face inspection by their leader. The soldiers worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean--shiny enough to pass inspection? Still, the men had to go out, and face the music of the band, as well as the inspection. What else could they do? Question: The passage is mainly about _ . Options: A: the meaning of the phrase 'to face the music" B: how to deal with something unpleasant C: how to learn English phrase D: how to go through difficulty
Answer:
A