China's economy grows,salaries rise;and more city residents feel the need to hit the road in what has become a symbol of individuality and freedom--a car.China has a growing love affair with the car.This is clear at the Beijing Asian Games Village Automobile Exchange,where more and more people come to look and,increasingly,to buy. The Asian Games Village Automobile Exchange is the biggest car dealership inBeijing.General manager Guo Yong says the business sells more than 2,000 cars each week.Guo says it is much easier for Chinese consumers to buy a car now.Also,the emergence of less expensive domestic brands like Chery and BYD means more Chinese can afford cars. For decades,most Chinese city residents have got about by bicycle or public buses and trains.Now,in many areas,the number of new cars is growing faster than the road system,leaving city streets jammed with traffic. Guo Liang has wanted to buy a car for a decade,and he will be the first in his family to own one.He is not prevented by Beijing's traffic jams.Guo says if the traffic is too bad,he will use the ear for leisure or holidays with his family. World Bank transportation specialist Shomik Mendhiratta says a car is something people in any society would be eager to own."Getting a car makes people feel like they have arrived in the middle class."Mendhiratta said."It has got a huge status associated with it.It's a fantastic thing to have,if you have never had a car.A car gives you a mobility that's unbelievable." What contributes to the affordability of cars,according to the passage? A) Factories produce more cars. B) The prices of imported cars are lower. C) There are more foreign car factories. D) Some domestic cars are not so expensive.
D
(Question)
Many famous painters worked in Antwerp during the city's period of greatest power but Peter Paul Rubens is undoubtedly the most famous one of them. Known as Rubens House, the palace-like residence and studio where Rubens worked and lived from 1616 until his death in 1640 is now one of Antwerp's most visited museums. Almost all of the works Rubens and his students created in the Rubens House have been dispersed over major museums across the whole world, but there is still an impressive collection well worth the visit. Besides paintings form the master himself you will find other works of art and furniture of the 17th century as well as paintings from his students, including works by Jacob Jordaens and Anthony Van Dyck. The Rubens House was not only a studio but also a meeting place for the rich and famous. His clients included wealthy merchants, diplomats, and there were also many noblemen who often visited his studio to see how work progressed. The Rubens House even had a special viewing area which allowed visitors to see the artists at work. Ruben bought the house at the beginning of the 17th century after his eight-year-long stay in Italy. Influenced by Italian architecture, he rebuilt the building into an Italian-styled palace with a beautiful garden and moved in the house in1616. After his death the building was sold. New owners modified the building greatly and by 1937, when the building was purchased by the city of Antwerp, it hardly resembled the original structure. The impressive entrance hall, which connected the studio and the residence, is one of the few parts that survived. Other parts have been carefully restored and reconstructed after original plans and paintings of the house. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the text? A) Rubens created his works by working with his students. B) A beautiful garden was added to the Rubens House by new owners. C) The Rubens House is decorated with furniture of the 17th century. D) Today's Rubens House looks like its original structure.
(Answer)
D
Ques: Good manners play an important part in maintaining peace in society. A man with good manners doesn't hurt others' feelings, and therefore he's on good terms with everyone. In this way he helps to keep the peace in society. But a man with bad manners has no respect for others. He uses words carelessly and behaves rudely towards others and causes a lot of unpleasantness. In the end, he himself will suffer the most. Everyone avoids him and he is forced to live alone. To live well in society, money alone is not enough. Even the richest man cannot afford to have bad manners. He may have enough money to buy all things he wants; but if his manners are bad, he will have no friends, and no one can live happily without friends. We should have good manners, for it's human nature to try to get friendship; and friendship has to be earned through our own attitude towards others. If we are kind to others, they will be kind to us, and kindness is the most basic quality of good manners. Bad manners drive away friends as well as our own family members. On the other hand, a man with good manners has many friends. He commands the respect of all those who come into contact with him. He doesn't talk ill about others. Even when he's _ , he tries his best not to upset others. He also feels sorry about the weak and the disabled. There are, however, many people who behave so well outside their homes that they are respected by everyone outside. But in their own homes they are worse than the devil . Such people cannot be said to have good manners. Their behavior will soon be discovered by others. If one's manners are good, one behaves well everywhere, even when one is away from the critical eyes of others. Only such a person can live well in society. What's the main idea of the passage ? A) Kindness is important. B) Friendship is important. C) Good manners are important. D) People with bad manners can't live well.
Ans: C
Like distance runners on a measured course,all of us will move through time in a roughly predictable pattern. In the first stage of our lives,we develop and grow, reaching toward the top of physical vitality . After we grow up,however, the body begins a process of gradually wearing out. A new awareness of physical fitness may help lengthen our years of health and vitality,yet nothing we do will work to stop the unavoidable force of aging. Most of the changes of aging take place deep inside the body.The lungs become less able to take in oxygen.Powerful muscles gradually lose their strength.The heart loses power and pumps less blood.Bones grow easier to break. Finally, we meet a stress,a stress that is greater than our physical resistance.Often,it is only a minor accident or chance infection(a disease caused by virus),but this time, _ brings life to an end. In 1932,a classic experiment nearly doubled the lifetime of rats,simply by cutting back the calories in their diet The reason for the effect was then unknown. Today, at the University of California at Berkley, Dr.Paul Seagle has also greatly lengthened the normal lifetime of rats.The result was achieved through a special protein limited diet,which had a great effect on the chemistry of the brain.Seagle showed that within the brain,specific chemicals control many of the signals that influence aging.By changing that chemical balance,the clock of aging can be reset. For the first time, the mystery of why we age is being seriously challenged.Scientists in many fields are now making striking and far-reaching discoveries. An average lifetime lasts 75 years,yet in each of us lies a potential for a longer life.If we could keep the vitality and resistance to disease that we have at age twenty, we would live for 800 years. The author believes the following except that _ . A) human's life pattern is predictable B) physical fitness can't stop the force of aging C) human's lifetime will last longer than 75 years D) all of the changes of aging take place deep inside the body
D