The Venice Carnival is the largest and the most important Venetian festival. It is a festival that celebrates the passage from winter to spring, a time when seemingly anything is possible, including the illusion that the people at the bottom become the most powerful by wearing masks on their faces. The Venice Carnival could date back to 1296. It was confirmed on the day before Lent, a public holiday, but it had no direct religious connection at that time. However, the participants were not allowed to wear masks around the city at night; men could not enter convents if they pretended to be women, and celebrations within the convents were strictly forbidden. People who broke the rules could be put into prison. The laws were not relaxed until the late 17thcentury, when the carnival-goers were allowed to wear masks throughout the carnival. Participants would wear a white mask in old days, while costumes have become even wilder today. St. Mark's Square is the center for the carnival, while Campo San Polo and Sestiere are two other popular places where events take place. Most of the events are free, along with several unusual masked balls for which visitors will have to buy tickets in advance. The 2012 Venetian Carnival was celebrated from February 11 to 21. There were the liveliest celebrations of parties, performances, show, music, dances, dinner sets along streets, and hotels. It attracted a great number of visitors around the world. Many travelers booked Venice hotels and prepared costumes and masks well ahead of time so that they couldn't be made fun of by local people. From this passage we learn that in today's carnival _ . A) not all events are free B) visitors can watch all events freely C) participants only wear white masks D) local people usually look down upon visitors
A
Even a child knows that nodding the head means "Yes". But some people will probably be puzzled when they first come to India. When they talk to an Indian, he often shakes his head. They might think that the Indian does not like what he said, but _ he is expressing agreement. The Indians have a habit of shaking their heads slightly when they talk to somebody. It doesn't mean "No", but "Yes". If a person doesn't know this, it might cause misunderstanding. At one time a foreigner in Indian told his driver who was an Indian to take him to his office. The driver shook his head. The foreigner repeated his request and the driver shook his head again. At last, the foreigner shouted angrily, "Drive me to my office at once!" The driver said in a low voice, "Yes, sir," smiling and shaking his head again at the same time. Generally speaking, nodding the head means _ , and shaking the head means _ . A) Yes; No B) No; Yes C) Yes; Yes D) No; No
A
Q: Henry Ford, the famous U.S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, "The business of America is business." By this he meant that the U.S. way of life is based on the values of the business world. Few would argue with Ford's statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as"the entertainment industry"or"show business." The positive side of Henry Ford's statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U.S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system creates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life. The negative side of Henry Ford's statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business--referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the fight to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing--the laying off of thousands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high--creates feelings of insecurity for many. The influence of business in the U.S. is evidenced by the fact that _ . A) most newspapers are run by big businesses B) even public organizations concentrate on working for profits C) Americans of all professions know how to do business D) even arts and entertainment are regarded as business
A: D
Question: Life on land probably began about 430 million years ago, though it has existed in the water for perhaps as much as 3,000 million years. When we think of the first thing on land, we probably think of strange animals coming out of the oceans, but in fact no animals could have been living if plants had not been on land first. Plants had to be on land before animals arrived. They supplied the first land animals with the surrounding and food necessity, since they, the plants, are the only form of life that is able to get and store energy. The first plants to exist out of the water were probably certain kinds of algae which were followed by other plants that grew close to the ground and needed water in which to reproduce. Once the move to land had been made, however, evolution took place quickly. By the end of 100 million years, plants had developed their roots ,and some had got tree -like forms since height was very important in gaining sunlight. About 300 million years ago, much of the world was covered with forests of huge trees. In most ways they were like modern trees. They had roots, leaves, wood, but mostly they had not developed seeds. Plants with roots appeared about _ million years ago. A) 430 B) 300 C) 330 D) 100
Answer: C
Q: You've probably heard of a lot about the Internet,but what is it? The Internet is a computer network that uses the telephone system to connect together millions of computers around the world. Maybe that isn't very exciting but once you're connected to the Internet,there are lots of different things you can do.You can send electronic messages or emails to your friends (as long as they're on the Internet,too),or you can sort through all kinds of information on something called the World Wide Web. You don't need to know how the Internet works in order to use it,but if you understand the basics,it may help you work out many technical problems you have--and of course you can help your friends with your Net knowledge! You may think that your telephone is just for talking. But as long as you have the equipment, you can use a telephone line to send computer data as well as sounds. If you connect your computer with the telephone system it can receive information from, and send information to other computers (as long as they are connected with the telephone system,too). Because there is not an organization which operates the Internet,no one exactly knows how many people are connected to it. It's thought that there could be 60 million people on the Net,connected up to over 15 million computers! With both your computer and telephone,you can _ . A) see the others face while calling up B) receive information from other computers C) send information to other computers D) both B and C
A: D