Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Howard Dill is a giant among giant pumpkin growers. He grew world champion pumpkins for four years running,from 1979 to 1982, and missed winning the fifth year by only 5 pounds. Today, his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds are sold worldwide to more than 50 seed companies. The pumpkins grown from his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds commonly weigh in at over 1,000 pounds. "I don't have any training in genetics ; it was all trial and error," Dill says. He got his love of pumpkins from his father and has enjoyed growing them for years. Dill still grows giant pumpkins, but not for competition. In the fall, visitors come to enjoy the pumpkins on his 90-acre farm in Nova Scotia, Canada. He plants ten acres of pumpkins for Halloween and two acres of giant pumpkins. One of giant pumpkins was recently baked into 442 pumpkin pies and sold at $5 each for charity. It you want to try growing a giant pumpkin, Dill recommends starting with a soil test and then adding fertilizer as needed. Plant the giant pumpkin seed. A giant pumpkin can gain 15 to 20 pounds a day, so careful watering--every day or two--is necessary. You should wait about 130 days until the pumpkin matures and then you can harvest it. Dill's favorite pumpkin set the Guinness Book record in 1981. It weighted 493.5 pounds. "I've grown them larger since, but that one meant a lot," he remembers. "I never would have imagined ten years ago that there would be a 1,000-pounder, but there are many of them now," says Dill. The 2006 world record holder is Larry Checkon of Pennsylvania. He grew a 1,469 pounder. Dill says, "These world champions are grown from my seeds, so I feel like a winner right along with them." Question: What can we learn about the world champion pumpkin of 1983? - It weighed over 1,000 pounds. - It was missing after the competition. - It was 5 pounds heavier than that of 1982. - It was 5 pounds heavier than Dill's biggest one that year.
It was 5 pounds heavier than Dill's biggest one that year.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: It took me several years to realize that my black skin is beautiful and I have accepted the fact that indeed black is beautiful now. This skin I have been in for so many years determined my self worth. I had so many factors "against" me in my mind when I was a little girl. I was a tall, thin, dark skinned girl with a gap tooth smile. Growing up, the only role model that I had was my mother, who has beautiful deep brown complexion . It's amazing how I could find beauty in my mother's complexion but not my own. One of the most outstanding memories of my childhood is the words "Oh, she is so cute for a dark skinned little girl." People spoke as if I wasn't in the room, as if I couldn't hear. From a young age, I felt ashamed that my black color wasn't good enough, so I buried myself in books to stay away from the mirror. I knew that my education would and could take me further than my looks. I stopped watching TV, absorbed in my studies and I was happy with my decision. Now I have been admitted to my ideal Coppin State University, which is for black students and has a long history. It wasn't until I was at age 16 that I officially decided to fix my deep rooted issue about my dark complexion. I had been brainwashed to subscribe to the European standard of beauty for so many years. I no longer accept this standard, because I set my own. My black is beautiful including my full lips, the wideness of my nose, and the intensity of my eyes. I believe that there are plenty of beautiful dark skinned women in the world. Question: When the author was young, she _ . - realized the importance of good memory - didn't mind others saying she was black - accepted the European standard of beauty - didn't think her mother was very beautiful
accepted the European standard of beauty

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: A child's birthday party doesn't have to be a _ ; it can be a basket of fun, according to Beth Anaclerio, an Evaston mother of two, ages 4 and 18 months. "Having a party at home usually requires a lot of running around on the part of the parents, and often the birthday boy or girl gets lost in wild excitement. But it really doesn't have to be that way," said Anaclerio. Last summer, Anaclerio and her friend Jill Carlisle, a Northbrook mother of a 2-year -old, founded a home party-planning business called "A Party in a Basket." Their goal is to help parents and children share in the fun part of party planning, like choosing the subject or making a cake, while they take care of everything. Drawing on their experiences as mothers, they have created 10 ready-to-use, home party packages. Everything a family needs to plan a party, except the cake and ice cream, is delivered to the home in a large basket. "Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10, " Anaclerio said, "and they're very interactive and creative in that they build a sense of drama based on a subject. For example, at the Soda Shoppe party the guests become waiters and waitresses and build wonderful ice cream creations." The standard $ 200 package for eight children includes a basket filled with invitations, gifts, games and prizes, paper goods, a party planner and the like. For more information, call Anaclerio at 708-864-6584 or Carlisle at 708-205-9141. Question: The main purpose of writing this text is _ . - to share information about party planning - to introduce the joys of a birthday party - to announce a business plan - to sell a service
A: to sell a service

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: "Earthquake!"The word flashed in my brain.A roaring sound filled my ears.I tried to slide beneath my desk.The desk did a wild tap dance,slipping and sliding towards the centre of the room.I twisted my body and grabbed at the windowsill behind me,somehow kicking free of my dancing chair.I tried to stand.My legs skated away as if on a bucking escalator. My fingers shook,grasped and held the windowsill tightly.Somewhere through the roar sounded the terrified scream of some wounded animal.I looked behind me and tried to steady my gaze on the other kids but the scene was a dizzy nightmare.Some of the class were sitting in the middle of the room,surrounded by chairs and desks.One girl was screaming.A boy was trying to claw his way across the floor to the door in a crazy overarm crawl. My grip froze me to the windowsill. I cried aloud,"I'm going to die.I'm going to die.Save me,I'm not ready to die,I'm not ready!" I hunched forward on my knees and pressed my face against my clenched fingers.I looked at the backs of my fingers and stupidly noticed the fragile pale hairs growing out of the pores.The fingers would soon cease to exist.Somehow the impending horror of my death was too terrible to even cry about. Suddenly,I became aware that the rocking had ceased.Perhaps I wasn't going to die. Question: At the end of the passage there is a feeling of _ . - panic - hope - sorrow - excitement
hope