Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The king was to pass by a beggar's small poor house and the man was excited, not because he was about to see the king but because the king was known to part with expensive jewels and huge sums of money when moved by sympathy. He saw the king's carriage just when a kind man was filling his begging bowl with uncooked rice. Pushing the man aside, he ran into the street, shouting praises of the king and the royal family. The carriage stopped and the king beckoned to the beggar. "Who are you?" he asked. "One of the most unfortunate of your people," said the beggar. "Poverty sits on my doorstep and follows me about like a dog. I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon!" "Have you nothing for your king except great sorrow?" said the ruler, putting out his hand. "Give me something." The beggar, astonished, carefully picked up 5 grains of rice from his bowl and laid them on the king's outstretched palm. The king drove away. The beggar's disappointment was great. He complained and cursed the king again and again for his miserliness. When he returned home in the evening he found a bag of rice on the floor. "Some generous soul has been here," he thought and took out a handful of rice from the bag. To his astonishment, there was a small piece of gold in it. He realized then that the bag had been sent by the king. He emptied the rice on the floor, feeling sure there would be more gold pieces in it, and he was right. He found 5, one for each grain of rice he had given the king. "It is not the king who has been miserly," thought the man, sadly. "If I had been generous and given him the whole bowl of rice, I would have been a rich man today." Question: The real reason why the beggar got only five gold pieces is that _ . Options: A: he complained and cursed the king again and again B: the king was only generous to rich people C: the king wanted to punish him severely D: he himself was miserly
Answer: D

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: My father' s family is not a musical family. They are a family of words. My brother has my father's dark hair, his love of a good argument. I take after my mother. From her I inherited a curious nature, a sense of adventure, bright red hair. I did not, contrary to her hopes, inherit a talent for the piano. That fact was established beyond doubt after unsuccessful attempts to draw music from me. The piano lessons began when I was four. My mother was convinced that I would be a child Mozart. She found the ideal teacher--Madame Oblenka, a strict Russian woman, whose pursed lips were enough to frighten a wild horse into submission. Madame Oblenka, who expected a little Mozart, was not very delighted to find a little girl banging her fists on the keys. I tried to please her. "Feel the music," she urged. I "felt" it and winced my ear--for what is more unpleasant than a series of wrong notes played continuously? She "felt" my music, too, which is why she always left with an angrier expression than when she came. Once, when I was ten, I managed to record one of my own rehearsals . In order to escape my practice sessions, I would close myself behind the door of the piano room, put on the tape recording, and read until the tape had finished. That method worked for a week, until my mother began to wonder why I always missed the same B-sharp. She knocked on the door, and, receiving no answer, came in to check on me and found that I had fallen asleep while the tape of my performance played on and on. I was twelve when my parents finally acknowledged that my hidden talent was not about to _ any time soon. My mother, refusing to admit defeat, told me to pick another instrument. "Choose anything you want, Honey," she said, assuming that freedom of choice would inspire devotion. I thought long and hard and chose the drums. My parents, sensitive to noise, would be less than overjoyed by a daily bombardment of playing. I imagined my father in his study, cotton wads in his ears. I worked my way through several other... Question: We can learn from the passage _ . Options: A: art should be treated as a joy rather than a burden B: the ordinary backstage work can help one succeed C: you can only get better at something if you practice D: parents should encourage their children to create art
Answer: A

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk. It's now a "global village" where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communications equipment is greatly increased by foreign language skills. Deeply involved with this new technology is a kind of modern businesspeople who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, success overseas often helps support domestic business efforts. Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being "out of sight and out of mind." He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company's plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to manage back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more common. Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets. English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn't generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal. The employee posted abroad who speaks the country's language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign customers over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm. Question: According to the passage, what is an important consideration of international corporations in employing people today? Options: A: Ability to speak the customer's language. B: Connections with businesses overseas. C: Technical know-how. D: Business experience.
Answer:
A