Question: When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person. When Dr. Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest. The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on. He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important. So he never watered his trees. He'd planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention. Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They're very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot. Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There's always cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won't be beaten down. The passage tells us that the writer _ . A) should beat his trees with a rolled-up newspaper B) didn't often water his trees C) didn't have a large field D) took too much care of his trees
Answer: D

Question: Today, we'll visit a place of strange and silent beauty. As beautiful as this place is, its name provides evidence of very real danger. We are exploring Death Valley National Park . Death Valley is a huge place. It extends more than 225 kilometers across the southern part of California into the neighboring state of Nevada. Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous desert and mountains. There are mountains that reach more than 3,000 meters into the sky. Much of Death Valley is flat and dry. In some areas the ground is nothing but salt. Nothing is able to grow in this salty ground. However, it would be wrong to think that nothing lives in Death Valley. The valley is full of life. Wildflowers grow very quickly after even a small amount of rain. Several kinds of birds live in Death Valley, as do mammals and reptiles. Many different snakes live there too. The area got its name in 1849. That was the year after gold was discovered in California. Thousands of people from around the country traveled to the gold mining areas of the state. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did. One group trying to reach California decided to take a path called the Old Spanish Trail. By December they had reached Death Valley. But there was a lack of water and there were too few plants for their work animals to eat. The people could not find a pass through the tall mountains to the west of the valley. Slowly, they began to suffer from a lack of food. To survive, they killed their work animals for food and began to walk out of the valley. As they left, a woman in the group looked back and said, "Goodbye, death valley." The name has never been changed. Death Valley became a national park in 1994. More than one million people visit the park each year. Why did the woman call the area death valley? A) Because the group of people didn't know how to walk out of the valley. B) Because lots of people died here. C) Because the woman was left behind and would die here. D) Because the group of people lived a hard life here and their work animals were killed.
Answer: D

Question: How to Be a Better Student Maybe you are a common student. You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessary so, however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here's how: Plan your time carefully. When you plan your week, you should make a list of things that you have to do. After making this list, you should make a schedule of your time. First set your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. Then decide a good, regular time for studying. Don't forget to set aside enough time for entertainment. A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you to realize what is happening to your time. Find a good place to study. Look around the house for a good study area. Keep this space, which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room, free of everything but study materials. No games, radios, or television! When you sit down to study, concentrate on the subject. Make good use of your time in class. Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teachers say. Really listening in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says. Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes, review the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read that material. This will help you understand the next class. If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you will remember it longer. Develop a good attitude about tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. They help you remember your new knowledge. The world won't end if you don't pass a test, so don't be over worried. There are other methods that might help you with your studying. You will probably discover them after you have tried these. What should you do if you want to plan your time? A) Make a schedule of your time. B) Find a good study area. C) Take advantage of class time. D) Review the important points.
Answer:
A