It was the day after Halloween when my grandmother was admitted to the hospital with the worst headache she'd ever had. While posing in our costumes the night before, we knew something was wrong, just not how wrong. Grandma's house was the central gathering place of my family. Sunday lunches, birthday dinners, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas -- all were our traditions, with her as hostess. While my parents were busy running their small business, there were many nights when Grandma fed me and put me to bed in her spare room, until they came to get me. I spent my summers at Grandma's and I went everywhere with her. I couldn't imagine a time when she wouldn't be around me. Then November 1, 1991 began her month-long stay in the hospital--she suffered from a rare infection called nocardia asteroides. After being born in the year of the Great Depression, living through World War II, raising three kids, and being widowed at the age of 48, Grandma never expected to live into her seventies. The infection in her brain seemed to confirm that she wasn't long for this world. But that's not the end of her story. A team of doctors successfully removed the abscess , and Grandma even made it into a local medical journal. Her doctor called her "the brain lady". Grandma celebrated her 85thbirthday in March this year. In the almost 23 years since her recovery, she's seen two of her four grandchildren get married and welcomed three great-grandsons. Although they damage something in her house, she loves it when my two boys come over. And while I know they make her day, seeing her love blossom for another generation makes my day too. Happy Grandparents' Day to my amazing grandmother! The author wrote this text _ . A) in honor of Grandma B) to promote Grandparents' Day C) to stress the importance of health D) in celebration of Grandma's recovery
A
Today, home-ownership has reached extremely high levels. Modern generations tend to believe there is something wrong with them if they rent. However, is high home-ownership really as rosy as people imagine? Staring at data first, we realize that the most successful, stable, attractive country in the Western world is Switzerland. It has tiny unemployment; wealth; high happiness and mental-health scores. Does it have high home-ownership rates? Absolutely not. In Switzerland, about seven in ten of the population are renters. Yet, with Europe's lowest home-ownership rate, the nation thrives. Now go to the other end of the misery distribution. Spain has approximately the highest home-ownership rate in Europe (at more than 80%). But one-quarter of its population are unemployed. A likely reason is that high levels of home-ownership mess up the labour market. In a sensibly functioning economy it is easy for people to move around to drop into the vibrant job slots thrown up by technological change. With a high degree of owner-occupation, everything slows. Folk get stuck. Renters can go to new jobs. In that way they do the economy a favour. As Friedman said, the rate of unemployment depends on the flexibility of the housing market. Next we come to economic breakdown. Most analysts accept that at heart it was the housing market--obsessive pursuit of homes, the engendered mortgage lending and an unavoidable house-price crash--that sank the Western world. Germany, say, with its more efficient rental market, had a far smoother ride through trouble. As for the monetary system, in the past few decades, in the hope of getting untaxed capital gains way above their true labour earnings, many people threw their spare cash into buying larger houses or building extra bedrooms. TV programmes about how to make easy money, beautiful rising house prices, and most importantly, our falulty tax system encouraged that. When at some point market broke down, everyone suffered. Our countries ought, instead, to design tax systems that... Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? A) Switzerland suffers the worse unemployment in Europe. B) Renting allows more money into more creative economic activities. C) Germany's effective mortgage system saw it through the western economic crisis. D) Our children have the right to enjoy the housing property we have paid off.
B
Q: Scotland is a well-developed tourist destination, with tourism generally being responsible for sustaining 200, 000 jobs mainly in the service sector, with tourist spending averaging at PS4 bn per year. Tourists from the United Kingdom make up the bulk of visitors to Scotland. In 2002, for example, UK visitors made 18.5 million visits to Scotland, staying 64.5 million nights and spending PS3.7 bn. In contrast, overseas residents made 1.58 million visits to Scotland, staying 15 million nights and spending PS806 m. In terms of overseas visitors, those from the United States made up 24% of visits to Scotland, with the United States being the largest source of overseas visitors, and Germany (9%), France (8%), Canada (7%) and Australia (6%), following behind. Scotland is generally seen as clean, unspoilt destination with beautiful scenery which has a long and complex history, combined with thousands of historic sites and attractions. These include prehistoric stone circles, standing stones and burial chambers, and various Bronze Age, Iron Age and Stone Age remains. There are also many historic castles, houses, and battlegrounds, ruins and museums. Many people are drawn by the culture of Scotland. The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are increasingly being seen as a cosmopolitan alternative to Scotland's countryside, with visitors year round, but the main tourist season is generally from April to October inclusive. In addition to these factors, the national tourist agency, VisitScotland, have deployed a strategy of niche marketing, aimed at exploiting, amongst other things, Scotland's strengths in golf, fishing and food and drink tourism. Another significant, and increasingly popular reason for tourism to Scotland -- especially by those from North America-- is genealogy, with many visitors coming to Scotland to explore their family and ancestral roots. Which of the following is true according to the text? A) In history, many Scotlanders moved to North America. B) Overseas visitors do not like to stay in Scotland for the night. C) VisitScotland is trying to change people's impression on Scotland. D) Overseas visitors come to Scotland mainly to explore their family roots.
A: A
(Question)
The ecosystem is 1ike a chain.If any of the links are broken,the whole system is in danger.This is why wetland protection has been put high on the agenda in recent years.Zhao,vice--director of the State Forestry Administration,says nearly 60 percent of the country's natural wetlands are still not under effective protection.Most Chinese people are ignorant about the importance of protecting the wetlands. Ocean,forestry and wetlands are the three global ecological systems.Wetlands can conserve and purify water resources, prevent flooding and help protect the ecosystem. As well as ecological values, they can also offer economical returns. In recent years,many wetlands have become farmland.Drawing too much underground water,hunting and fishing also ruin their ecological system. Every year,the wetlands in the Sanjiang Plain of Northeast China provide habitat for birds.Local residents search the area for the birds' eggs. They consider the eggs to be a natural gift. rather than wildlife that should be protected. If they were educated,perhaps this is one activity that could be brought to an end. China is now ready to make a plan to save some of these areas.Some have been restored to raise awareness among the public.But these moves are not enough.There should be laws in place to provide legal support to the fight. Environment protection is a campaign which needs support from everyone in society.Education may be the first step. What is the best title of this passage? A) Ocean, forestry and wetlands are the three global ecological systems. B) Environment protection is a campaign. C) Wetland protection keeps ecological harmony. D) The ecosystem is a chain.
(Answer)
C