"In my country, men usually go to restaurants on their own. They always take their shoes off before they go in. Then they usually sit on the floor around a small, low table. In the evening they often sing songs." "You usually take chocolates or flowers. But you always take an odd number of flowers, and you remove the paper before you give them to the hostess. You can also send flowers before you arrive. you don't usually take wine except when you visit very close friends." "We always offer our guests something to drink when they arrive, tea, coffee or perhaps water or soft drinks. We think it is polite to accept a drink even if you're not thirsty. If you visit someone you always stay for a few drinks. When you have had enough to drink, you tap your cup or put your hand over it. If you say no, your host will insist that you have more to drink." "People's private lives are very important so they never ask you personal questions about your family or where you live or your job. They never talk about religion or matters of finance, education or politics, but usually stay with safe subjects like the weather, films, plays, books and restaurants." "It's difficult to know when to leave, but an evening meal usually lasts about three or four hours. When the host serves coffee, this is sometimes a sign that the evening is nearly over, but you can have as much coffee as you want." "If the invitation says eight o'clock then we arrive exactly at eight. With friends we know well, we sometimes arrive about fifteen minutes before." "Obviously it depends on the occasion, but most dinner parties are informal. The men don't usually wear a suit, but they may wear a jacket and tie. Women are usually smart but casual." Which of the following subjects are never talked about among the people? A) Politics, education, religion, or matters of finance. B) Family, books or plays. C) Weather, restaurant, or film. D) Job, money, weather or film and play.
A
(Question)
Food,football and fashion--Milan has it a11.The city is perhaps most famous for its annual Milan Fashion Week and its world-class soccer teams AC Milan and Inter Milan.And May will see it host the six-month Milan Expo,the theme of which is food and nutrition. Milan may not the first place tourists think of when they think of Italy.Rome is the most famous city in Italian history,Venice draws visitors who want to travel along its canals and Florence is popular with art lovers.Yet Milan can often be left off tourists'lists.But although some see Milan as the"ugly sister"of these cities,according to Lonely Planet,in 2015 the city is"suddenly back in fashion in a big way". The Milan Expo will look at the future of food,trying to answer the question of how Earth's fast-growing population can be fed in the future.According to Lonely Planet website."144 countries will set up shop northwest of central Milan,forming a mini city-within-a-city". Milan's famous opera house,La Scala,normally closed in the summer,will also host daily performances during the expo,reported Fox News. Not interested in opera?Don't worry.Visitors who prefer sports may want to visit the San Siro stadium,home of the soccer teams AC Milan and Inter Milan.Tile stadium is one of the most famous in Europe and has seen many important games over the years,both in Serie A and the European Champions League. So even if all of its fashion and beautiful people can make Milan seem"soulless",as Lonely Planet said.it still has"a serious sense of history and place".Many people will be discovering it this year,and eating great food from all over the world to help solve world problems.Will you? What's the attitudes of the editors from Lonely Planet towards the city of Milan? A) uninterested. B) modest. C) favorable. D) dissatisfied.
(Answer)
C
Ques: Playing with toy blocks may lead to improved language development in young children, a new study reported. Early childhood is an important period in the development of young minds. The newborn brain grows three times in size between birth and age 2. Scientists have said that certain activities during this important period may promote healthy development while others may hold it back, and development of memory and language may especially be helped by imaginative play. After six months, language scores among half of the 175 children aged 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 who were sent plastic blocks were 15 percent higher than a matched group that did not receive the free blocks, according to the study by researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle. Parents were given ideas about how to help their children play with the blocks, then were told to keep diaries of their children's activities over four days. Finally, all the parents filled out questionnaires that judged their children's vocabulary, grammar, and other language abilities. Study author Dimitri Christakis said unstructured play with blocks motivated children's thinking, memory and physical skills at a time when a child's brain is growing rapidly. "They are the foundation of thought and language," he wrote of the skills learned from building blocks. "Older children begin to make up stories for these objects ." Such play may also take the place of less helpful activities such as watching TV, he said, adding parents ought to have doubts about some toy-makers' words. "An increasing number of media-based products are making ungrounded claims that they can make children smarter, more literate, and more musical," Christakis said. The aim of the passage is probably to _ . A) raise the present level of children's language ability B) encourage parents to let their babies play with blocks C) improve parents' knowledge of raising children D) encourage makers of blocks to develop more toys
Ans: B
I had a terrible accident and was transferred via a helicopter to the Pittsburgh Hospital. I was conscious of my accident and friends, and family passing out at the sight of me. It was no picnic! Late one evening ,I could hear the nurses in the next room repeatedly talking to a new patient. "Sandy, your mom is here. Open your eyes. " This had gone on throughout the night. "Sandy ,your dad has some flowers for you. Open your eyes and look at them. " I asked the nurse as she checked in on me what had happened to Sandy. The nurse said that Sandy was about 17 and had been involved in a car wreck. She was in a deep coma , not in good shape. Over the next few nights ,I started talking to Sandy. Although, it was said silently, I started to urge her to open her eyes or say something. Her parents visited with me one evening, and they seemed to be from an important family but in much grief, much like the faces of those that had visited me. And there I was speechless, immobile and had no real way of easing their pain. It became very important to me to pray for her recovery, not my own. In some strange way, I believed that if Sandy would just open her eyes ,my own situation would get better. Sandy never came out of the coma as far as I know. During my stay in hospital, there were many times I felt like I was in an emotional coma. But I still could hear "just open your eyes. " Even now I think of her quite often. I remember the long nights in the hospital, the smell of the hospital environment and the helplessness we all felt. Even though Sandy's situation was bad, I am thankful for understanding what it means to let go of your own problems and concentrate on others. According to the author, we should _ when we all have problems. A) show our care to the unlucky with problems B) try to learn something from these problems C) focus on others' than on our own D) always feel lucky for ourselves
C