*Question*
Last April, on a visit to the new Mall of America near Minneapolis, I carried with me a small book provided for the reporters by the public relations office.It included a variety of " _ " about the mall, for example, 140,000 hot dogs are sold each week, there are 10,000 full time' jobs, 44 sets of moving stairs and 17 lifts, 12,750 parking places, 13,000 tons of steel and $ 1 million is drawn weekly from 8 ATMs. Opened in the summer of 1992, the mall was built where the former Minneapolis Stadium had been.It was only a five - minute drive from the Minneapolis St.Paul International Airport.With 4.2 million square feet of floor space - twenty - two times the size of the average American shopping center - the Mail of America was the largest shopping and family recreation center under one roof in the United States. I know already that the Mall of America had been imagined by its designers, not only as a marketplace , but as a national tourist attraction.Eleven thousand articles, the small book informed me, had been written about the mall.Four hundred trees had been planted in its gardens, $ 625 million had been spent building it, and 350 stores were already in business.Three thousand bus tours were expected each year along with a half - million Canadian visitors and 200,000 Japanese tourists. Sales was at $ 650 million for 2008 and at $ 1 billion for 2009.Pop singers and film stars such as Janet Jackson and Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the mall.It was five times larger than Red Square and it included 2.3 miles of hallways and used almost twice as Knott' s Camp Snoopy. Why does the author mention popular stars who have been to the mall? A) To show its power of attraction. B) To show that few rich people like to shop there. C) To tell the public about a new movie being made about it. D) To tell people that they have chances of meeting famous stars there.
**Answer**
A

*Question*
Enough "meaningless drivel". That's the message from a group of members of the UK government who have been examining how social media firms like LinkedIn gather and use social media data. The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee's report, released last week, has blamed firms for making people sign up to long incomprehensible legal contracts and calls for an international standard or kitemark to identify sites that have clear terms and conditions. "The term and conditions statement that we all carelessly agree to is meaningless drivel to anyone," says Andrew Miller, the chair of the committee. Instead, he says, firms should provide a plain-English version of their terms. The simplified version would be checked by a third party and awarded a kitemark if it is an accurate reflection of the original. It is not yet clear who would administer the scheme, but the UK government is looking at introducing it on a voluntary basis. "we need to think through how we make that work in practice," says Miller. Would we pay any more attention to a kitemark? "I think if you went and did the survey, people would like to think they would," says Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton, UK, who studies open data. "We do know people worry a lot about the inappropriate use of their information." But what would happen in practice is another matter, he says. Other organisations such as banks ask customers to sign long contracts they may not read or understand, but Miller believes social media requires special attention because it is so new. "We still don't know how significant the long-term impact is going to be of unwise things that kids put on social media that come back and bite them in 20 years' time," he says. Shadbolt, who gave evidence to the committee, says the problem is that we don't know how companies will use our data because their business models and uses of data are still evolving. Large collections of personal information have become valuable only recently, he says. The shock and anger when a... Andrew Miller thinks social media needs more attention than banks mainly because _ . A) their users consist largely of kids under 20 years old B) the language in their contracts is usually harder to understand C) the information they collected could become more valuable in future D) it remains unknown how users' data will be taken advantage of
**Answer**
D

*Question*
Archaeologists believe they are on the turning point of throwing light on the life of William Shakespeare -- by excavating what may have been the playwright's dust hole. Experts have begun excavating the ruins of New Place, Shakespeare's former home in Stratford-upon-Avon, which was destroyed 250 years ago. Although little remains of the property, the team, led by Birmingham Archaeology, believes it has identified a dust hole used by the 16th century poet. Small pieces of pottery and broken clay pipe have already been found from a muddy hole on the site, which they claim could yield some of the most significant discoveries about Shakespeare in decades. The dig focuses on three areas of the property, which Shakespeare bought in 1597 when he returned to his home town from London having achieved fame -- including the so-called knot garden at the back of the building. Dr Diana Owen, Director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which owns the site, said, "We do not know if the knot garden was an area used by Shakespeare -- it may have been a yard simply used by his servants. But this could actually yield some fantastic results, especially if it was an area where rubbish was thrown or the dust hole was located." Kevin Colls, from Birmingham Archaeology,added, "Through documentary evidence we know Shakespeare lived at New Place but we have very little information regarding the layout of the house and gardens at this time. Through archaeological fieldwork, in particular the dig of structural remains and the recovery of artifacts, we hope to fill in the blanks." Until October, visitors will be able to watch archaeologists and volunteers at work as they excavate the remains of the house, which was knocked down in 1759. Experts hope to unearth evidence to support theories that Shakespeare wrote many of his most famous works at the property. What can we learn from the text? A) Shakespeare used to live at New Place. B) Shakespeare became famous after 1597. C) Only his servants used the knot garden. D) Dr Diana Owen owns Shakespeare's property.
**Answer**
A

*Question*
The last exams finished on Thursday, June 3, although I completed my final one on Monday morning. This allowed several days of rest* after which the seniors had their yearbook signing party, signing yearbooks. Every year US high schools put together yearbooks made up of pictures and words that record the lives of the students. On Friday the seniors had dinner with invited teachers. The dinner was formal, which meant we couldn't wear T-shirts or jeans. Both the food and the conversation were very good. At the end, everyone received a blue Andover Class of 2004 cup as a souvenir. Most of the graduation activities were packed into Commencement Weekend--June 5 and 6. Friends and families of students arrived to see the Senior Talent Show and the Baccalaureate Service in the school hall. Several students, parents and teachers of several religious faiths spoke during the service. Then the lights were turned off and students lit candles held by audience members. I held my candle high, and watched the soft light reach every corner of the hall; it was an almost sacred scene. On Sunday, we had our Commencement, held outside on the lawn . All the girls were required to wear white dresses and the guys black suits. It was only 9 degrees Centigrade and I was freezing cold. There were speeches from the head of school, the president of the board and by a student representative. Then the seniors lined up in a circle, while the head of school handed out the diplomas . Each one was passed around the circle, until it reached its rightful owner. When all the diplomas had been awarded, the circle broke up -- our graduation was complete, Why did friends and families of students attend the Commencement Week? A) They would perform at the Senior Talent Show. B) They came to watch the ceremony, C) They could serve the students. D) They helped to light the candles.
**Answer**
B