Cities with high levels of homeownership--in the range of 75%, like Detroit and St. Lous -had on average considerably lower levels of economic activity and much lower wages and incomes. Far too many people in financial problems are trapped in homes they can't sell, unable to move on to new centers of opportunity. The cities and regions with the lowest levels of homeownership--in the range of 55% to 60% like Los Angeles and New York--had healthier economies and higher incomes. They also had higher levels of happiness and well-being. I was shocked to read these interesting points that Richard Florida made in his recent article. Let me try to understand. The people in Detroit and St. Louis are less happy than the people in New York, and Los Angeles. And, the reason is because of home ownership rates? First, to compare them to New York City (the economic capital of the world), Los Angeles (the entertainment capital of the world) seems unfair. Most people in almost any other city in the world might be less happy! Next, let's try a different way of determining whether renters are happier than homeowners. Why don't we ask them? Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey 2010 reported: 75% of current renters believe owning a home makes more sense. 67% plan to buy a home at some point in the future. When they asked current renters for the major reason to buy a house, these were their answers (they could pick several answers): 78% said it was a good place to raise children. 75% said because they would feel safe. 70% said because you have control your own space. If you believe renters are happier, you would also have to believe the majority enjoy living in a less safe environment, which wouldn't be a good place to raise children and would be a place where they have less control of their space. ks5u According to the passage, current renters' reasons to buy a house are the follows except _ . A) to have a good place to raise children B) to live in a safer environment C) to make money D) to have control of their own space
C
(Question)
Air pollution, such as haze, has become a serious problem around the world. Besides wearing a mask, what else can we do to protect ourselves from the dirty air? Scientists have developed a new inhaler that can reduce the effect air pollution has on people. It could help millions of people who are suffering from air pollution,the Guardianreports. This inhaler is developed by German company Bitop and contains a molecule named Ectoine. The molecule creates a layer that protects lungs from polluted air. It's reported that the inhaler will be affordable to most people when it comes to the market. Air pollution kills more than three million people a year worldwide and leads to health problems like lung and heart disease and strokes, according to a 2016 research project in the journalNature. It is also linked to brain disease, mental illness and diabetes . Andreas Bilstein at Bitop believed that the inhaler could be useful around the world, because air pollution is not just a European problem: "Especially in Asia - China in particular - the demand for such a product is even higher." Many Chinese cities have been suffering from haze. According to World Health Organization, two of the 10 most polluted cities in the world in 2015 were in China. About 800,000 deaths that are linked to air pollution take place in the country every year. However, such inhalers should never be an excuse for not trying to stop air pollution, said Professor Jean Krutmann at the Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine. "The best thing is that we have clean air and we don't need any prophylactic treatment," he said. What is the new inhaler? A) It can help protect the environment. B) It can help us reduce the harm of air pollution. C) It can solve the air pollution problem. D) It can make the dirty air clean.
(Answer)
B
Ques: The United States Capitol Dome in Washington, DC, is recognized around the world as a symbol of the U.S. Government. Since last November, the dome has been surrounded by metal poles and heavy cloth as part of a repair project. The last major repair work on the U.S. Capitol took place in 1960. Since then, the dome has become weathered and worn. The Architect of the Capitol group reports that the dome has more than 1,000 narrow breaks on its surface and other damage. The dome was completed around 1863. U. S. Senate Historian Don Ritchie says the dome's cast iron frame is at special risk of weathering. "The capitol dome, being cast iron, has been hit by lightning countless times. And so the current construction is to repair the leaks, to fill the cracks, to take off extra layers of paint." Some recent visitors to the Capitol were unhappy about its current appearance. They had hoped to get a picture of the usually shining dome. Joyce said, "It was impressive, and very fantastic, and all white, but when I come here today, it is under construction so my family cannot see it clearly, it is kind of a disappointment." Others were more understanding of the repairs. Rick Jones, another visitor, said, "It's a little inconvenient for us not to see the dome but you have to think about the future and the people will be coming to this place for centuries...and you know ,there just needs to be preventive maintenance . I am not upset with that at all." The project is expected to take more than two years to complete. The dome should be ready for a new president in January 2017. Which of the following is NOT included in the current construction? A) To replace the cast iron frame. B) To stop the leaks . C) To remove the old paint. D) To fill up the narrow breaks.
Ans: A
Ques:In opposing President Barack Obama's opening to Cuba, Florida's Republican senator, Marco Rubio, explained, "This entire policy shift announced today is based on an illusion, on a lie, the lie and the illusion that more commerce and access to money and goods will _ political freedom for the Cuban people." Rubio has correctly touched on the hottest issue. But theory, logic and history suggest that he's wrong in his conclusions. I would recommend to Rubio one of the classics of conservative thought, Milton Friedman's "Capitalism and Freedom." He doesn't have to spend too much time on it. The first chapter outlines the "relation between economic freedom and political freedom." The point Friedman makes in the book is one that America's founding fathers well understood. Drawing on the political philosopher John Locke, they believed that the freedom to buy, sell, own and trade were primary elements of human freedom and individual autonomy . As they expand, liberty expands. This is not just theory, of course. Over the last two centuries, the countries that embraced "more commerce and access to money and goods" in Rubio's phrase -- Britain, America, then Western Europe and East Asia -- have moved toward greater prosperity, but also political freedom. If you exclude oil-rich countries, where money is not earned but dug from the ground, on the whole there has been a strong connection between economic freedom and political freedom. In Latin America today, democracy and markets have acted to strengthen each other, transforming the continent, which 30 years ago was almost entirely ruled by dictatorships to one that is today almost entirely ruled by democracies. After opening up its economy in the 1970s, Chile began to grow, but that growth then produced a stronger civil society that over time contributed to the end of the dictatorship within the country. Yet Cuba is an outlier, one of the last regimes in Latin America that has embraced neither markets nor ballots. The Obama administration is acting on the theory that... Who doesn't believe that democracy and markets strengthen each other? A) the writer B) President Obama C) Milton Friedman D) Marco Rubio

Ans:
D