More than one in four children alive in Britain today will celebrate their 100thbirthday, official figures showed. The special figure shows a huge social change, with today's children likely to survive far longer than their parents or grandparents. Of the 12.4 million children aged 16 and under, 3.3 million(27%)will become someone who is a hundred years old or more. In a class of 30 children, eight can live to be 100. And the rest of the children are likely to get to an old age, even though they will not make it to three figures. Experts warned that children may live to 100, but that they will not get their State pension until they are 70 or beyond. The State pension age is rising to 66 for both men and women by 2020, and the Government has warned it will continue to rise. Laith Khalaf, a pension expert, said, "Living to an old age is lucky if you can afford it, but a _ if you can't. Those without enough savings will be depending on the State pension which will be changed." It also increases the possibility of millions of people surviving until their 100thbirthday with a poor quality of life because of poor health and little money. Millions of older people have no pensions, no savings and no plans about how they are going to pay for their retirement other than to carry on working. If the older population demands more resources ,then it has to come from their own wealth or the government. Laith said, "Millions of people will be spending over a third of their lives in retirement. It is high time that we reformed the State pension system. We want to make it fair for future generation." What kind of life will people living to 100 probably face? A) A high quality of life because of the development of technology. B) A low quality of life because of bad health and limited money. C) A high quality of life because of the increase in food price. D) A low quality of life because of the present government.
B
It was in the Victorian Era that the novel became the leading form of literature in English. Most writers were more concerned to meet the tastes of the middle class. The best known works of the period included the works of Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters and others. Charles Dickens came on the literary scene in the 1830s. Dickens wrote vividly about London life and the struggles of the poor. Most of his works were written in a very humorous style, which was popular with readers of all classes. The Bronte sisters were English writers of the 1840s and 1850s. They began to write from early childhood. In 1846 they published the first book at their own expense as poets; however, their book attracted little attention, selling only two copies. Then the sisters turned to writing novels, each producing a novel in the following year. An interest in rural matters and the changing social and economic situation of the countryside may be seen in the novels of Thomas Hardy and a number of others. Literature for children developed as a single style. Some works became well-known, such as those of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. Adventure novels were written for adults but are now generally grouped in the list for children. Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author at the end of the Victorian Era, best known for her children's books, which featured (......) animal characters. In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children's book The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902. This text is mainly about _ . A) literature in the Victorian Era B) writing styles in the Victorian Era C) famous works in the Victorian Era D) the importance of literature in the Victorian Era
A
Q: Have you ever heard the story of the four-minute miles? Many years ago, people believed that it was impossible for a human Being to run a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it wrong in 1954. What happens if you put an animal in a pond? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through. What happens when someone, who doesn't know how to swim, falls in deep waters? They drown. If an animal who has not learnt swimming could escape by swimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while the animal doesn't. Have you ever wondered why the letters are organized in a particular order on your keyboard? You might have thought it is to increase the typing speed. Most people never question it. But the fact is that this system was developed to reduce the typing speed at a time when typewriter parts would jam if the operator typed too fast. These three cases show the power of our beliefs. There is no other more powerful directing force in human behavior than belief. Your beliefs have the power to create and to destroy. A belief delivers command to your nervous system. I used a snake in my workshops for children to show them how unrealistic some of their beliefs are. Students of a school in India, said snakes are slippery and slimy and poisonous. After doing an exercise for changing beliefs, they handled my snake and found it to be dry and clean. They also remembered that only three types of poisonous snakes exist in India. Did this story end the way you thought? Review your beliefs now and find out which ones you need to change? The main idea of this passage should be that _ . A) Beliefs are very powerful. B) Beliefs make us seem stupid. C) Changing your beliefs now is necessary. D) People should always believe in themselves.
A: A
(Question)
Chinese writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature, announced the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday.The win makes Mo Yan the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel in its III-year history.Informed of his win today, the author, who was having dinner at home, was "overjoyed and scared". Born in 1955 to parents who were farmers, Mo Yan-a pen name for Guan Moye,grew up in Gaomi in Shandong province in eastern China. At the age of 12, he left school to work, first in agriculture, later in a factory. In 1976 he joined the army and during this time began to study literature and writing. He published his first book in 1981, but found literary success in 1987 with Hong Gaoliang Jiazu, which was successfully filmed in the same year, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. In his writing, Mo Yan draws on his youthful experiences and on settings in the province of his birth and his works show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs. Mo Yan is known as a prolific writer. In addition to his novels, he has published many short stories and essays on various topics. Despite his social criticism, he is seen in his homeland as one of the most famous contemporary authors. Dozens of his works have been translated into English, French, Japanese and many other languages. The awarding ceremony will be held on December 10.The winner will win a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of about $l million. One of Mo Yan's characteristics of writing is that he A) writes about topics he is familiar with B) focuses on social problems in the country C) describes his characters in a unique way D) explains difficult matters in simple words
(Answer)
A