Volleyball has become a worldwide sport that is popular with all age groups, but when did this fun sport start? The history of volleyball dates back to 1895 when William G.Morgan met a Canadian James Naismith, inventor of basketball and was influenced by him and basketball.Then he wanted to invent a new game that was fit for middle-aged men. Morgan enjoyed the game of basketball, but soon he realized that it was too fast paced for some of the older men.So, he decided to invent a game that was still played on a court , but the players were not required to run up and down--he created the game of "mintonette." Volleyball history shows that the original game of mintonette was played on a full court with a net in the middle.Two teams tossed the ball back and forth over the net, similar to the game of badminton.In order to cut down the equipment costs, the players played the ball with their hands. The game quickly became popular, and everyone wanted to learn how to play volleyball.It quickly spread to other areas, across the United States, and even to other countries.Several changes were made to the game. Then specific volleyball rules were set into place.Some of the rules of volleyball included the court size, number of players, and number of hits per team.The rules also stated that players must rotate around the court so that everyone had a turn to serve the ball.Also, a standard volleyball size and shape were decided within a few years.The rules continued to change and adjust throughout the history of volleyball, until the game became what we have today. Even though volleyball history says that the game was originally created for middle-aged men, the game has become so popular among all kinds of people.Today there are many different kinds of competitive volleyball teams: high school volleyball, college volleyball, women volleyball, men, children, mixed teams, etc.There is an endless amount of possibilities with this game because it is easy to learn, many people can play together, and it can by played indoors or outside. Morgan invented volleyball to _ . A) make people more interested in sports B) find a game that is very easy to play C) give everyone a chance to exercise D) create a game for middle-aged men
D
Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be. Places of business that used to keep daytime "business hours" are now open late into the night. And on the Internet, the hour of the day and the day of the week have become irrelevant . A half century ago in the United States, most people experienced strong and precise dividing lines between days of rest and days of work, school time and summer time. Today the boundaries still exist, but they seem not clear. The law in almost all states used to require stores to close on Sunday; in most, it no longer does. It used to keep the schools open in all seasons except summer; in most, it still does. And whether the work week should strengthen its legal limits, or whether it should become more "flexible," is often debated. How should we, as a society, organize our time? Should we go even further in relaxing the boundaries of time until we live in a world in which every minute is much like every other? These are not easy questions even to ask. Part of the difficulty is that we rarely recognize the "law of time" even when we meet it face to face. We know as children that we have to attend school a certain number of hours, a certain number of days, a certain number of years--but unless we meet the truant officer , we may well think that we should go to school due to social custom and parents' demand rather than to the law. As adults we are familiar with "extra pay for overtime working," but less familiar with the fact that what constitutes "overtime" is a matter of legal definition. When we turn the clock forward to start daylight-saving time, have we ever thought to ourselves: "Here is the law in action"? As we shall see, there is a lot of law that has great influence on how we organize and use time: compulsory education law, overtime law, and daylight-saving law -- as well as law about Sunday closing, holidays, being late to work, time zones, and so on. Once we begin to look for it, we will have no trouble finding a law of time to examine and assess. By saying "Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be", the writer means that _ . A) work time is equal to rest time B) many people have a day off on Monday C) it is hard for people to decide when to rest D) the line between work time and rest time is unclear
D
Q: High-quality customer service is preached by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done. Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of a retail store , but instead will warn their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers and anyone who will listen. Store managers are often the last to hear complaints. "Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers," said Paula Courtney, President of the Verde group. "The store loses the customer, but _ ." The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude sales people. During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting local police to work as parking attendants to direct customers to empty parking spaces. Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store display, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions. Most importantly, sales people should be skillful and polite with angry customers. "Retailers who're enthusiastic and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren't so friendly." said Professor Stephen Hoch. "Maybe something as a greeter at the store entrance would help." Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filling complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong. What contributes most to smoothing over issues with customers? A) Hiring of efficient employees. B) Manners of the salespeople. C) Huge supply of goods for sale. D) Design of the store display.
A: B
*Question*
By now, we are all aware that social media has had a tremendous influence on our culture, in business, on the world-at-large. Social media websites revolutionized the way people communicate and socialize on the Web. However, aside from seeing your friends' new baby on Facebook, or reading about Justin Bieber's latest conflict with the law on Twitter, what are some of the real influences? Social networks offer the opportunity for people to re-connect with their old friends and acquaintances, make new friends, share ideas and pictures, and many other activities. Users can keep pace with the latest global and local developments, and participate in campaigns and activities of their choice. Professionals use social media sites like LinkedIn to enhance their career and business development. Students can work together with their peers to improve their academic and communication skills. Unfortunately, there are a few downsides too to social networking. If you are not careful, immoral people can target you for cyber bullying and disturbance on social sites. School children, young girls, and women can fall victim to online attacks which can create tension and suffering. If you are a victim of cyber bullying, do not take it lying down, but try to take appropriate legal action against the attacker. Many companies have blocked social networks as addicted employees can distract themselves on such sites, instead of focusing on work. In fact, studies show that British companies have lost billions of dollars per year in productivity because of social media addiction among employees. Also, what you carelessly post on the Net can come back to trouble you. Revealing( ) personal information on social sites can make users vulnerable to crimes like identity theft, stalking, etc. Many companies perform a background check on the Web before hiring an employee. If a potential employee has posted something embarrassing on social media, it can greatly affect their chances of getting the job. The same holds true for our relationships too,... The main purpose of this passage is to _ . A) remind people to wisely use social media B) share experiences in using social media C) provide some advice on social problems D) raise public awareness of social problems
**Answer**
A