Ques: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: George Gershwin, born in 1998, was one of America's greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs. Many of Gershwin's songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way -- from jazz to country. In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The audience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world-famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular. In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works. George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty-nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written. Question: What did Gershwin do during his stay in Paris? Options: A: He created one of his best works B: He studied with Nadia Boulanger C: He argued with French critics D: He changed his music style
Ans: A

Ques: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Happiness is _ , researchers reported on Thursday. The more happy people you know, the more likely you are yourself to be happy. And getting connected to happy people improves a person's own happiness. Researchers have been analyzing a collection of facts from tracking sheets dating back to 1971, following births, marriages, deaths, and divorces. Volunteers also listed the information of their closest friends, co-workers, and neighbors. They assessed happiness with a simple, four-question test. "People are asked how often during the past week, one, I enjoyed life, two, I was happy, three, I felt hopeful about the future, and four, I felt that I was just as good as other people," Fowler said. The 60 percent of people who scored highly on all four questions were regarded as happy, while the rest were considered unhappy. People with the most social connections -- friends, spouses , neighbors, s -- were also the happiest, the data showed. "Each additional happy person makes you happier," Christakis said. And happiness is more infectious than unhappiness, they discovered. If a social contact is happy, it increases the possibility that you are happy by 15 percent. A friend of a friend, or the friend of a spouse or a sibling , if they are happy, increases your chances by 10 percent. A happy third-degree friend -- the friend of a friend of a friend -- increases a person's chances of being happy by 6 percent. But every extra unhappy friend increases the possibility that you'll be unhappy by only 7 percent. The finding is interesting and useful. Among other benefits, happiness has been shown to have an important effect on reduced death rate, pain reduction, and improved heart function. So better understanding of how happiness spreads can help us learn how to promote a healthier society. Other data suggested having extra $5,000 increases a person's chances of becoming happier by about 2 percent. A happy friend is worth about $40,000. Question: The finding of the research mainly shows _ . Options: A: happiness can always be bought with money. B: a happy friend is worth more than a happy spouse C: the spread of happiness can lead to a healthier society D: happiness can cure most of the terrible diseases
Ans: C

Ques: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: I have a neighbor we call "Happy". I have never seen her angry at anything and never heard her say a harsh word to anyone or about anyone. Happy and her husband Ben, 70, have a huge garden. They spent many happy hours together working on it. Most of the neighbors watched interestingly as Ben doubled the size of their garden. As the cost of food climbed faster than Ben's beans, we all wished we also had such a large garden. As the rest of us spent our dollars at the market, Happy could be seen picking beans in her back yard. Last month, Happy and Ben invited most of the neighborhood over for an "all-day food feast". We were told to bring gloves and arrive very early in the morning. We didn't know what was about to take place. By 9:00 am, there were nine of us in the garden picking tomatoes, beans, okra, and squash. By 10:00 am, there was lots of laughter. We shared a lot of stories. By five o'clock, everyone was a little drunk from the wine and beer. After dinner, we played games. As we were leaving, Happy and Ben handed each of us a shopping bag filled with the bounty of the day, already packaged and frozen. What a delightful gift! Well, the point wasn't so much about the food. The true gift was a day of friends enjoying one another's company . None of it would have happened if it had been for Happy and Ben's garden. Now they have a blog about gardening in case we decided to plant a garden. And I am so proud of my tomato plants! Question: We can infer that Happy and her husband Ben _ . Options: A: don't like spending time with others B: sometimes quarrel with each other C: live on the food they grow in their garden D: are a generous and warm-hearted couple
Ans:
D