Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The work of railroad pioneers in America became the basis for a great surge of railroad building halfway though the nineteenth century that linked the nation together as never before. Railroads eventually became the nation's number one transportation system, and remained so until the construction of the interstate highway system halfway through the twentieth century. They were of great importance stimulating economic expansion,but their influence reached beyond the economy and was strong in American society at large. By 1804, English as American inventors had experimented with steam engines for moving land vehicles. In 1820,John Stevens ran a locomotive and cars around in a circular track on his New Jersey estate,which the public saw as amusing toy. And in 1825, after opening a short length of track, the Stockton to Darlington Railroad in England became the first line to carry general traffic. American businesspeople, especially those in the Atlanic coastal region who looked for better communication with the West, quickly became interested in the English experiment. The first company in America to begin actual operations was the Baltimore and Ohio,wich opened a thirteen-mile length of track in 1830. It used a team of horses to pull a trainof passenger carriages and freight wagons along the track. Steam locomotive power didn't come into regular service until two years later. However, for the first decade or more, there was not yet a true railroad system. Even the longest of the lines was ly short in the 1830's, and most of them served simply to connect water routes to each other, not to link one railroad to another. Even when two lines did connect, the tracks often differed in width, so cars from one line couldn't fit onto tracks of the next line. Schedules were unreliable and wrecks were frequent. Significantly, however, some important developments during the 1830's and 1840's included the introduction of heavier iron rails, more flexible and powerful locomotives, and passenger cars were redesigned to... Question: Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? Options: A: The United States regarded Great Britain as a competitor in developing the most efficient railroad system B: Steam locomotive power was first used in 1832 C: American businessmen saw railroads as a threat to established businesses D: Steam locomotives replaced horses because of the distances across the country
B

(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: At 20 year of age F.W. Woolworth found work in exchange for room and board at a local dry goods store , and after his employers held a successful clearance sale he saw the possibilities of a discount store. His key improvements were having the goods on open display instead of behind the counter , and having prices plainly marked instead of bargaining. With borrowed funds he opened his first F.W. Woolworth store in the suburb of Utica, New York in 1879, but the store closed the following year . Deciding that his problem had been a poor location. He opened a new store in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylyania in 1881. Within months he was opening multiple stores in business partnerships with local retailers,and within a few years Woolworth was a millionaire. In 1909 he opened his first store in England, and in 1913 the company opened its new headquarters in New York's Woolworth Building--then the tallest building in the world. Woolworth had a deep fear of dentists , allowing his teeth to rot ,and died of a dental lunch counters in many stores , Woolworth was America's largest restaurant chain through the 1940s. The company peaked as the world's largest department store chain in the late 1970s, with more than 4 . 000 stores. By the late 1990s business was sputtering , and the company closed all of its American department stores,renamed itself Venator, and sold the Woolworth Building . In 2003 Venator renamed itself after the company's most successful division, Foot Locker, Inc . Under separate ownership , Woolworth stores are still operated in Austria , Germany , Mexico, South Africa , and the United Kingdom. Question: The first F. W. Woolworth store failed mainly because _ . Options: A: it was located too far away from the city center B: it was a new brand for customers C: its goods are much too expensive D: it was inconvenient for customers to choose goods
(Answer)
A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Since the 1990s, education has been required for all South Africans from age seven to fifteen. Last December, the government announced that 70% of students passed their final examination to finish high school. In 2008, the pass rate was about 63%. There have been increases each year since then. Professor Shireen Motala says basic education is no longer a problem in South Africa. Most children stay in school until they are about sixteen. The problem is that large numbers of them leave without completing high school. Students take an examination known as the "matric" in Grade Twelve. Professor Motala says, "Less than half of the children who started school in 2000 sat for the matric last year. Many dropped out of school, so only around 45% took the matric. And the worry is where those students actually go." Those who drop out have to compete with better educated people for jobs. Educational researchers also point to another problem. South African schools do not produce enough students with the skills for higher education in maths and science. Many schools are not well-equipped. Children do not see laboratories, and, as a result, their science marks are not very good. They do not have libraries at school. Also, many teachers do not have the skills or training to do their jobs. In South Africa, a number of teachers were poorly trained before. Secondly, teachers have been confused by the many educational reform efforts in the last fifteen years. Finally, language differences in the classroom have not got as much attention as they should, which is a huge problem. Subjects such as maths and science are taught in English starting at about the age of ten. But South Africa has eleven official languages. South Africa's minister of basic education promises a number of improvements. Angie Motshega says teacher development efforts will focus on subject and content knowledge, making sure that the correct teachers are in the correct jobs. Question: With which of the following would Shireen Motala most probably agree? Options: A: Schools should focus more on maths and science than any other subject. B: More educational reforms should be carried out in South African schools. C: The more teachers teach maths and science, the better marks students may get. D: More attention should be paid to language differences in maths and science classes.
D