Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Is it time to kick Russia out of the BRICs ?If so, it may end up sounding like a famous ball-point pen maker--BIC. An argument is being made that Goldman Sach's famous marketing device , the BRICs, should really be the BICs. "Is Russia really worth the name BRICs?" asks Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in an article for Foreign Policy. Aslund, who is also co-author with Andrew Kuchins of "The Russian Balance Sheet", thinks the Russia of Putin and Medvedev is just not worthy of inclusion alongside Brazil, India and China in the list of future economic powerhouses. He writes: "The country's economic performance has fallen to such a weak level that one must ask whether it has any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other members of its group. I have just returned from Moscow, which is always dull around this season. For the last seven years, Russia has taken very few measures to improve its economy. Instead, the state has been living on oil and gas." Economically, Aslund has the numbers on his side. The International Monetary Fund figures that the Russian economy will fall by 6.7 percent in 2009, while China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a fall of 0.7 percent, but it is still doing far better than Russia. But the BRICs are not just about economy. As is mentioned above, it is a marketing device to encourage investors to focus on the big promising players. From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock market is up 128 percent this year while around 80 percent is for the other three. At very least, despite Russia's economic underperformance, its stock market outperformance does suggest it is indeed one of the group. Question: From the passage we know that _ . - Anders Aslund is working for the Russian government - Russia outperformed the other three countries in stock market - most people disagree Russia is included in the BRICs - the BRICs would end up being the BICs sooner or later
Russia outperformed the other three countries in stock market

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: New Zealand will create one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, spanning an area of 620,000 sq km. The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will be one of the world's most significant fully protected ecosystems, the prime minister of New Zealand, John Key, told the UN General Assembly in New York. The sanctuary is in the South Pacific Ocean, about 1,000 km north-east of New Zealand, and expands a marine reserve that surrounds some small islands. The area is considered important in terms of biodiversity, featuring nearly 35 species of whales and dolphins, 150 types of fish and three of the world's seven sea turtle species. It is also geologically significant, including the world's longest chain of underwater volcanoes and the second deepest ocean trench, into 10 km underwater -- deeper than Mount Everest's height. The scale of the sanctuary will dwarf any previous New Zealand's protected area, spanning twice the size of the country's mainland. It will cover 15% of New Zealand's economic zone. Commercial and recreational fishing will be completely banned, as will oil, gas and mineral prospecting , exploration and mining. Key's government aims to pass legislation establishing the sanctuary next year. "The sanctuary is a world-class, unspoiled marine environment and New Zealand is proud to protect it for future generations,"Key said."New Zealanders value our coasts and oceans, which are an important part of our culture, economy and environment and we are committed to managing them sustainably. Creating protected areas will support not only our own fisheries, but those of our Pacific neighbors, adding to New Zealand's efforts to help grow Pacific economies through the responsible management of their ocean resources." Nick Smith, New Zealand's environment minister, said the sanctuary might impose a cost upon the mining industry but that it is important to protect the ocean before exploration takes place."New Zealand needs to use its vast ocean resources for jobs and exports in industries like fishing,... Question: Which of the following will Key probably agree on? - People are allowed to fish for fun in the sanctuary. - All Pacific countries should be responsible for ocean resources. - New Zealanders attach great importance to protecting the sanctuary. - New Zealand has made great achievement in creating protected areas.
New Zealanders attach great importance to protecting the sanctuary.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: SAN FRANCISCO--The "Reading Wizard", an 11 - year - old - boy, whose offer to read to children without being paid at a local library was refused by libraries, will get to read to younger kids after all. Mayor Willie Brown last Wednesday ordered San Francisco Public Library officials to allow John O'Connor to read to preschool children to get them interested in books and stop them from watching television and video games. "I didn't expect this kind of attention. " John said, "It's just shocking." John has chosen his first book, "The King's Giraffe", and made up fliers inviting neighborhood children, aged from three to six, to the Presidio Branch every Wednesday afternoon. He planned to call himself the "Reading Wizard" and wear a special hat, fake glasses and a black coat. But his idea was refused - on the phone, in person and finally with a letter from Toni Bernardi, the chief of the library's children and youth services. Using terms like "age appropriate material" ,she wrote that only library workers are allowed to read to children. John then went to a member of the city board of supervisors , who advised him to write letters to the library officials. "Our libraries are supposed to turn kids on, not to turn them off." Brown said he enjoyed "the creative idea, the sense of civic duty and the caring for others that John clearly showed us." Question: The 11 - year - old boy asked librarians at the local library for permission to_. - play video games - wear something strange - design fliers for new books - read stories to young children
read stories to young children