The majority of Indian women wear a red dot between their eyebrows. While it is generally taken as an indicator of their marital status, the practice is primarily related to the Hindu religion. The dot goes by different names in different Hindi dialects, and "bindi" is the one that is most commonly known. Traditionally, the dot carries no gender restriction: Men as well as women wear it. However, the tradition of men wearing it has faded in recent times, so nowadays we see a lot more women than men wearing one. The position of the bindi is standard: center of the forehead, close to the eyebrows. It represents a third, or inner eye. Hindu tradition holds that all people have three eyes: The two outer ones are used for seeing the outside world, and the third one is there to focus inward toward God. As such, the dot serves as a constant reminder to keep God in the front of a believer's thoughts. Red is the traditional color of the dot. It is said that in ancient times a man would place a drop of blood between his wife's eyes to seal their marriage. According to Hindu beliefs, the color red is believed to bring good fortune to the married couple. Today, people go with different colors depending upon their preferences. Women often wear dots that match the color of their clothes. Decorative or sticker bindis come in all sizes, colors and variations, and can be worn by young and old, married and unmarried people alike. Wearing a bindi has become more of a fashion statement than a religious custom. Which of the following statements is true about the practice of wearing a bindi today? A) Bindis are now used as a decorative item. B) Bindis are worn anywhere on the face now. C) Most Indian women do not like to wear bindis anymore. D) Wearing a bindi has become more popular among Indian men.
A
Saturday, June 16th In the morning, we went camping along a path in Green Natural Park. We were happy because it was a sunny day. We were expecting an enjoyable two-day holiday. On the way, we kept singing and making jokes. However, in the afternoon, when we finished our picnic at one o'clock, it was dark and windy. Soon, there was a shower. Unluckily, none of us brought an umbrella. We ran about but we could find no place to hide. Twenty minutes passed and it was still raining, There were hours to go before we reached the campsite . It was even worse that our small compass showed that we went to the wrong way. We had lost our way! We had to make a quick decision as it was raining heavily. Chris said we could set up a tent to hide in, so Mary and Tom helped to set up the tent. Chris and I tried to make a fire to keep us warm. But we were unable to light the fire, as everything was wet. We dried ourselves, chatted and waited inside the tent. At about five o'clock, it stopped raining. We decided to give up the camping trip because all of us had been very tired. This camping trip may not be very successful but we know each other better. And the most important thing I've learned from this trip is the importance of team spirit. Which of the following is NOT true? A) It was sunny in the morning. B) None of them had an umbrella. C) They gave up the camping at last. D) They ran about to dry themselves.
D
Q: A classical guitarist was excited to hear from New York City police that his valuable guitar had been found. It disappeared almost a year ago when he got out of a cab and forgot to take the guitar with him. Laurence Lennon, 44, said he was running late that day. He was talking to his manager on his cell phone when he dashed out of the taxi. He said that he gave the driver $ 60 and told him to keep the change. He walked through the front doors of the concert hall still talking on the phone to his manager. Upon discovering his loss, Lennon used his cell phone to call the police. The policewoman asked him for the name of the cab company, the number of the cab, and the name of the driver. He said that she had to be kidding. She told Lennon that he could file a missing items report at the police station or online. Lennon asked for the online address. She told him that finding the guitar might take a couple of years--finding guitars was not as important as finding murderers and marijuana smokers. Then she told him to have a nice day. "This year has been _ ," said Lennon. "I had to put off the recording of two new CDs. I've been using borrowed guitars. And I was losing hope of ever recovering my guitar." Lennon was reunited with his $ 100,000 musical instrument yesterday. The case and the guitar had been discovered in the corner of a coffee house only two blocks from where Lennon had lost it in the first place. Lennon had offered a $ 10,000 reward for its return. He said he would give the reward to the coffee house owner, who had informed the police. It can be inferred from this reading passage that _ . A) Lennon couldn't give any useful information about the driver and his cab B) Lennon gave the driver much more money than what was actually needed C) Lennon was too busy talking to his friend to remember to pay the cab driver D) Lennon used to work at the concert hall in New York City
A: A
(Question)
"I find myself glancing at my watch to see how long I've been standing in line," she said. "Everywhere I go, I notice if the dumpster gates are open or if there's trash in the parking lot." Ms. Clark is a "mystery shopper", one of thousands of contract workers that companies hire to pretend as regular customers in order to judge customer service, cleanliness and whether a store is selling a product that meets company specifications . Mystery shoppers can be found or, rather, not found, everywhere from restaurants and automotive shops to convenience stores and department stores. They play a constant cat-and-mouse game with store and restaurant employees and managers. However it's not all fun and games. Once in the field, a mystery shopper will typically visit several stores or restaurants per hour, taking mental notes while inside, then jotting down physical notes after they leave. It's important for mystery shoppers to be as exact as possible, because the client companies are looking for data they can use to improve their service. The questionnaire won't say, "Does the trash can need to be emptied?" What an educated shopper will say is, "The trash can to the left of the front door was overflowing with 10 pieces of trash on the ground." Companies don't need opinion but facts. Nowadays mystery shoppers are armed with a number of high-tech devices, such as a digital scale and a digital thermometer, as well as a handheld PC for recording the entire experience. It's a challenging job but a rewarding one. Mystery shoppers can be full time or part time, but the full-time workers tend to stick to standard mystery shopping while part-timers often choose the less complex reward-based programs. In _ , the shoppers stay disguised only until the "shop" is finished, and then reveal themselves to the store management and award prizes to employees who provided excellent service. To be a mystery shopper, it's important to be a good observer, but sometimes it's important to have the right profile , too. Companies often... We learn from the text that Ms. Clark_. A) visits some shops regularly and sometimes does something special B) pretends to be a shopper and evaluates the services C) is a government official looking into the services D) is a manager of a company offering good services
(Answer)
B