(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: She almost did not run. Christine Williams admits that now. She could barely put one foot after another following the wake for her sister, who had died in an automobile accident. But she did run. With the cheers of friends and strangers reaching her heart, Williams set a C.W. Post record in Boston. Now she will run again, in the national Division II cross-country championships in Evansville, Ind. She wanted to be sure she was doing the right thing by running. She was the middle of three sisters, between Kerry, who is 25, and Jennifer, who was 18. Just going through any motions was hard enough, but Christine Williams wanted to know if she should put on her uniform and her shoes and run through the woods on an autumn afternoon, in the awful gaping time between her sister's wake and her funeral. "I kind of got upset beforehand." Williams admitted. Not a chatterbox under normal conditions, she now holds herself the best way she can, the fewer words the better. She almost walked away from the start line. But her friend Angela Toscano, who had flown up to Boston with her, directly from the wake, was standing near the line and talked her through it. "She said my sister would have wanted me to run." Christine said. And that was enough to get her started. The accident happened just after midnight on Nov, 4. Four young women were driving in an unfamiliar area of Long Island in Eastport, N.Y., when one of them apparently ran a yield sign, and the car was hit by another vehicle. Heather Brownrigg and Jennifer Williams died, and their friends April Brown and Kaci Moran were treated at a hospital and released. The crash made the papers. April Brown was charged with drunken driving and driving without a license. The wake began on Nov. 6. The next day Christine was to run with the Post cross-country team at the regional meet. Rich Degnan, the Post coach,"and Post officials offered a car service and tickets on the last flight-to Boston for Christine and Toscano. When they arrived at the hotel, the entire team was waiting up... Question: What is the crucial factor contributing to Christine's success in the race? Options: A: Diligent practice. B: Excellent coaching. C: Good relationships. D: Firm determination.
(Answer)
D

(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The Celerifere, an early version of the bicycle, was built around 1791 by a French man, Comte Mede de Sivrac. It was basically a scooter with a high seat. There were no pedals---you had to push with your feet like you do with a skateboard or a scooter. Around 1816 Baron Karl Drais de Sauerbrun in Germany added a moveable steering handle. These early machines were often known as dandy horses or hobby horses, but weren't very popular. The improvement that made them popular was added by a Scottish blacksmith around 1839. Kirkpatrick Macmillan added pedals to enable it to get up hills. It was this improvement that made the bicycle a serious form of transportation. Bike were called velocipedes or bone-shakers, because of the lack of the proper tires made for a rough ride! It wasn't until around 1869 that they began to be called bicycles ("two-wheels"). Carriage makers in Paris (either Pierre and Ernest Michaux, or their employee Pierre Lallement) switched the pedal to the front wheel. That's why it is usually either Lallement or the Michauxs, not Macmillan, who are considered as the inventor of the bicycle. In 1869 the penny-farthing or high-wheeler was invented. With the large wheel the rider could go much farther with each push of the pedal, but caused many accidents because the seat was so far off the ground. In the mid-1880s Englishman James Starley manufactured what he called the "safety bicycle" , which had two similarly-sized wheels and a major improvement--- a chain and sprocket driven rear wheel, with the pedals between the two wheels like modern bicycles. One more historical note---it's possible that the idea of the bicycle was thought of almost 400 years before it was actually invented. There is a drawing of a bicycle-like machine in one of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, which dates back to about 1493. Question: Who is recognized as the inventor of the bicycle? Options: A: The Michauxs. B: Macmillan. C: Comte Mede de Sivac. D: Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun.
(Answer)
A

(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Julio loves to visit his grandmother.He doesn't get to visit her very often because his family lives in a city that is six hours away.His grandmother lives in a big wooden house on a farm .It is old and looks as if it has secret hiding places . On the third Sunday of June ,Julio's parents took him to his grandmother's .Since it was summer vacation ,he was going to stay at grandmother's for a whole mother ! His cousins Mario and Linda would soon be arriving .They would also be staying at their grandmother's this summer. A big porch wraps around two sides of the house .Julio sat in the porch swing .He could see the trees that circle the house.They had been planted as a windbreak .They protect the house from the wind and blowing dirt .The house is in the middle of a large ,flat field. Julio watched the dirt road that leads to the house .He couldn't wait for his cousins to get there !Mario was his age ,and Linda was a year younger .They had fun together .Last summer they spent one whole morning making a fort out of sacks of seed .Then Uncle Henry had taken them on a tractor ride. Julio remembered another time with his cousins .They had gone out to explode the fields.Julio touched an electric fence and got a shock .Then they found an old snakeskin .Nothing like that ever happened at his own home! Julio could smell the dinner that his grandmother was cooking .It made him hungry. Finally he saw a cloud of dust coming up the road."They 're here! There're here!" He shouted. Question: The story tells about Julio and his cousins doing all of the following except _ . Options: A: watching old movies B: taking a tractor ride C: finding a snakeskin D: making a fort from seed sacks
(Answer)
A