Accidents and illness are unhappy things to talk about, but no one can expect to live a lifetime without having some kind of accident or becoming ill. Some accidents and illnesses are serious and may result in long periods of invalidism. The newspapers contain spectacular accounts of accidents in the street and highways and public places, but nearly as many accidents occur around the home. Somebody trips on a rug. Somebody falls off a stepladder. Somebody is careless in cooking dinner, and is burned. Accidents incurred in the playing of sports and swimming also accounts for a large number of injuries, big and little. Despite constant campaigns to reduce the number of accidents, there are still approximately 100,000 accidental deaths and nearly 9,000,000 nonfatal injuries in the United States each year. It has been estimated that around 3,000,000 people are constantly ill in the United States throughout the year and that over half the illness is caused by respiratory diseases, chiefly colds and influenza. The pain and suffering caused by accidents and illness tell only half the story. Loss of time from school and work and medical and hospital expenses often make the pain seem worse. Money spent in this country for doctors, services, hospitalization, nursing care, drugs, medicines, Xrays, and special treatments, amounts to a huge annual sum. Added to this expense is another much larger amount that is lost to wage earners throughout the nation by reason of their loss of wages or income while sick or otherwise disabled. Accident and health insurance is a form of insurance devised to protect against these economic losses. It protects the earning of wage earners and finishes financial aid to the family of the breadwinner by the payment of his doctor and hospital bills. Today, business and professional men, farmers, industrial workers, clerks and those engaged in various occupations, whose earning power is shut off for a week, a month, or sometimes years, because of accidents or illness can insure themselves against... What is the passage mainly concerned about? A) Everyone will have some sort of illness or accident. B) Accident and health insurance is available to everyone. C) Cancelable insurance policies are better than noncancelable one. D) Insurance is a good protection against accidents and illness.
D
Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand.And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges. Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese.Writing in the online edition of Nature Nenroscieme, researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch . One of the study's authors, Nina Kraus, said the findings suggested that studying music "actually tunes our sensory system".This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs.Dr.Kraus said.She said music training might also help children with language problems. Mandarin speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do.This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages, pitch plays a central role.A single syllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is _ . For this study, the researchers looked at 20 non Chinese speaking volunteers, half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years. As they were shown a movie, the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word "mi" in three of its meanings: squint, bewilder and rice.The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds.Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds. The lead author of the study, Patrick C.M.Wong, said it might work both ways.It appear? That native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments. When learning Chinese, a foreigner will find _ . A) he has a difficult time learning music at the same time B) he has an easier time learning music at the same time ? C) it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand D) it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch
C
Q: In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast. After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet. The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting. He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor and said, "Son, you must have dropped _ ," the owner said. The young man couldn't believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed West. On the way out of town, he began to understand what that fellow did. Maybe nobody dropped the money at all. "Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn't embarrass me. So I just made a promise to help other people if I can." Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man. Now he lives near Kansas City. Each year he gives away thousands of dollars. He is known as the "Secret Santa" because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants. Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City. On the way out of town, the young man got to know that _ . A) it was very honest of the owner to return his money B) another man who had breakfast in the restaurant lost the money C) he could probably find himself a job in the restaurant D) the owner helped him in a way that didn't hurt his feelings.
A: D
*Question*
Researchers may tell us that spending money on experiences produces more happiness than spending money on things. Going to a bar with friends is always pleasurable in slightly different ways. However, on the other hand, a table may also give us lots of positive experiences sometimes. I just moved from New York City to suburban Pennsylvania, It's been quite a change of pace, with some positives and negatives, One of the best parts is that I'm spending more time outside. I quite enjoy staying outside, especially eating outside. I had a goal to eat outside as often as possible this summer, so one of my first purchases for the new house was a table and a set of chairs for the yard. Is my yard table a thing or an experience? It's clearly a thing and yet it enables the experience of eating outside. I love eating outside, and so my yard table is one of my favorite purchases, ever. Therefore I find the dividing line between things and experiences is more nuanced than at first glance. However, to be happy, the most important thing is what kind of purchases you have made. Sometimes we may all have purchases that seem like a waste of money like probably half the clothes in our closets, but how does this happen?' There are many reasons for why this happens. The biggest is that we spend a lot of our time working to earn money to buy things. The problem is that we buy a lot of stuff that we don't actually need. There's nothing worse than looking in your closet and realizing how many hours you spent laboring to buy things you never wear. But how about a table that lets you enjoy being outside in the summer? That's worth every minute and penny and from it you will also get more happiness. What does the text mainly talk about? A) How you can spend your summer outside. B) How you can make moving enjoyable. C) What the best purchase is. D) Why people spend a lot of money on things.
**Answer**
C