Any mistake made in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors.A mistake on a two-penny stamp has made it worth a million and a half times its face value. Do you think it impossible? Well,it is true.And this is how it happened. The mistake was made more than a hundred years ago in the former British colony of Mauritius,a small island in the Indian Ocean. In l847 all order for stamps was sent to London Mauritius was about to become the fourth country in the world to put out stamps. Before the order was filled and the stamps arrived from England,a big dance was planned by the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces on the island.The dance would be held in his house and letters of invitation would be sent to all the important people in Mauritius.Stamps were badly needed to post the letters.Therefore,an islander,who was a good printer,was told to copy the pattern of the stamps.He carelessly put the words "Post Office" instead of "Post Paid", two words seen on stamps at that time,on the several hundred that he printed. Today, there are only twenty-six of these misprinted stamps left-fourteen One-penny Reds and twelve Two-penny Blues, Because there are so few Two-penny Blues and because of their age, collectors have paid as much as$16,800 for one of them. The mistake on the island printed stamps was in the _ A) price B) colour C) spelling of words D) use of words
D
"Your son is one of the sickest kids we've ever had in intensive care," was what the nurse said to me after we had arrived in an ambulance, 20 minutes from Kingston Hospital to the Evelina in Westminster. The journey was the longest of my life. I had been told that my six-month-old son, my friend, my whole heart, was going to die. And I spent the whole time in the blue-lit vehicle wondering how on earth I would lift my wife from the black hole she was about to be plunged into. The nurse who gave me that bad news was to become a great friend. She told me that the noise my son was making in the back of the ambulance was the sound that babies made before they died. There were many more horrible words and terms. But my son survived. It wasn't just George who endured. In the three weeks of his hospital stay, I slept 20 hours in total. My wife hardly slept. I lost over two stone in weight in the five days he was in intensive care. And we've been treating him for three years now. I have collapsed 20 times--the fear, the anxiety and exhaustion. Even now, we wake at least five times a night, often staying awake to treat him for as long as an hour. My son has Type 1 diabetes . It's a little known condition. George had a simple, everyday virus. It caused his immune system to attack his pancreas. Now he needs constant insulin to stay alive. I wanted to raise awareness for George's condition. I wondered how I could do it. I've run a couple of marathons. But a marathon was never really going to get people's attention the way I hoped. Two marathons, back to back? Maybe three? Could I do it? How much could I endure? I started running at the age of 19 when I thought my heart was broken. I couldn't cope with the pain and I went for a run. I kept on going for a run. Each time I came back, it would hurt a bit less. It wasn't so long before I had completely forgotten about my broken heart. But I couldn't stop running. I found that any stress, frustration, anxiety would reduce when I went out on the road. When we finally... The writer says he has collapsed 20 times because . A) long distances of marathon made him worn out B) he has to stay awake every night to care for his son C) treating a sick son needs great efforts physically and mentally D) his son's condition is becoming more and more serious than expected
C
Q: I remember the first time that I was extremely happy. I was about 8 years old when for the first time, there was a computer in the classroom. I remember that my teacher allowed each student to take turns playing various educational games on the computer. One day, I found the source code for one of these games. Without knowing or being taught any programming language, I was able to figure out some _ of the BASIC code. Anyone who knows a bit of programming can tell you that I just give myself an infinite number of lives in the game, so I can continue playing forever. This was also my first introduction to algebra , and I didn't even know it at the time. This was a decisive moment in my life. For the first time that I can remember, I was quite happy because of what I was learning and what I was able to do. As a result, I became enthusiastic for the rest of my life about self-learning and computers, and I was quite happy doing them, too. I've noticed that people who are truly content with life are enthusiastic in what they do. This enthusiasm, along with good health, is the key to being happy. It also leads to self-confidence and fulfillment in life, too. It may also lead to success, wealth, and achievements. Yes, success, wealth, or achievements seem to bring some people happiness, too. Yet, I don't think they can indeed make people happy. I know plenty of people who are successful and wealthy. However, I also know several of the people with successful businesses are not happy with what they are doing. I know people who continuously buy themselves new toys, cars, computers, and televisions, yet they never seem content for too long. Please remember that happiness comes from enthusiasm, and happiness is the journey of life, not the destination. According to the author, what can lead a person to be happy? A) Success and wealth B) Education and self-confidence. C) Knowledge and achievements D) Enthusiasm and good health.
A: D
"Sleep-disordered breathing" is a term for a group of conditions that can interfere with nornlal breathing while people sleep.These include snoring,mouth-breathing and sleep apnea .Sleep-disordered breathing can do more than just leave people feeling tired the next day.It can also affect people's health.In children the effects can include behavioral and emotional problems. In a new study.1ed by Karen Bonuck at the Einstein College of Medicine.researchers asked parents about their children's breathing from when they were babies up to about age seven.The study finds sleep-disordered breathing is associated with a fifty percent increase in outcomes including hyperactivity ,aggressiveness and problems relating to other children. Ms.Bonuck says the more serious the breathing problems,the more serious the behavioral issues were likely to be.Other studies have:linked sleep with children's behavior,but this study was extensive enough to:reject other possible causes. How well do you sleep?A popular belief is that sleep gets worse with age.But. in another new study,those who reported the fewest problems with the quality of their sleep were people in their eighties. Researchers did a telephone survey of American aduhs.Michael Grandner at the University of Pennsylvania medical school says the original goal was to confirm that aging is connected with increased sleep problems.The survey did find an increase during middle age,worse in women than men.But except for that,people reported that their sleep quality improved as they got older.At least they felt it did. Mr.Grandner says."Even if sleep among older Americans is actually worse than in younger adults,feelings about it still improve with age." In the study,health problems and depression were linked with poor sleep.But,based on the study.Mr.Grandner says older people who are not sick or depressed should be reporting better sleep."If they're not.they need to talk to their doctor."he says.He says heahtlh care providers generally dismiss sleep complaints from older adults... The text is mainly about _ . A) new findings on sleep in children,older adults B) people's health problems C) children's breathing problems D) older adults' sleep complaints
A