Do you have bright ideas? Ideas or inventions that change society or, at least, make life easier for somebody? Perhaps we all do sometimes, but we don't often make the idea a reality. Recently, in Britain, there was a competition called British Designers for Tomorrow. The competition encourages young people to carry out their bright ideas. There were two groups in the contest: Group One was for schoolchildren under 16; Group Two was for schoolchildren over 16, and there were eleven prize-winners altogether. Neil Hunt, one of the prize-winners, was called "Sunshine Superman". It's important when people study the weather to be able to record sunshine accurately. We need to know how many hours of sunshine we have and how strong it is. Most sunshine recorders only record direct sunlight. Neil's is more accurate and this is very important for research into the way of using solar power. You can do so much with animated cartoon. Look at Simon West's idea for animated road signs. He uses pictures which appear to move as you go nearer to or farther from them. This isn't a new idea. But it is new to use these pictures on road signs. "We found that people were more likely to see moving signs," said Simon. So now, you can really see rocks falling, trains moving, horses running or a car falling over the edge of a cliff. Quite a warning! The ideas in the competition were so inventive that we are surprised that British industry doesn't ask more schoolchildren for suggestions. Perhaps this will be the start of "pupil power!" What's the use of Simon West's animated road signs? A) To add to the beauty of a city. B) To warn people on the roads of the danger ahead. C) To help make a car trip more exciting. D) To warn people to be careful while working.
D
Japanese professor Yoji Kimura believes laughter is a weapon that in healthy doses can end the world's wars. To measure it, the expert on communications has invented a machine to chart out laughter--and a new unit of "aH" to calculate it. "We have found that children laugh more freely, releasing 10 aH per second, which is about twice as much as an adult," Kimura, a professor at Kansai University in the western city of Osaka, told reporters. "Adults tend to calculate whether it's appropriate to laugh and under those restraints they eventually forget how," he said. "Laughing is like a restart function on a computer. Laughing freely is very important in the course of human development," he said. Kimura, who believes in "a change from a century of wars to a century of humor and tolerance," has studied the science of laughter for decades in Osaka. In his theory, human laughter is produced in four emotional stages. "I believe there is a circuit in the human brain that creates laughter," Kimura said confidently. To measure laughter, he attaches sensors on the skin of a tested people's stomach, particularly the diaphragm , and detects muscle movements. "I have a theory that humor detected in the brain gets directly released through the movement of diaphragm," he said. By checking the movement of the diaphragm and other parts of the body, it will be possible to see if a person is only pretending to laugh while also telling different types of laughter, Kimura said. Kimura wants to make the measuring device as small as a mobile phone and possibly market it as a health and amusement device. Kimura said he planned to present his findings this summer to the US-based International Society for Humor Studies, adding that he looked forward to looking at differences in laughter internationally. The measuring device of Yoji Kimura _ . A) has functions of a mobile phone B) can make people laugh more C) can recognize different kinds of laughter D) will be popular in the international market soon
C
Q: Volunteer Day schedule: 7:30 a.m.: Meet at the Community Center for breakfast. 8-8:30 a.m.: Visit with people from the many participating organizations. Choose which activity you'd like to help with for the day. 8:30-9 a.m.: Board the bus for your chosen activity, and ride with other volunteers to your activity site. 9-12:00 a.m.: Work as a volunteer. 12:00 a.m.-1 p.m.: Share lunch with your volunteer group. Don't forget to bring food for lunch from home! 1-3:30 p.m.: Continue your volunteer work. 3:30 p.m.: Board the bus that will take you back to the Community Center, where you will be able to talk with other volunteers and share your experiences. See below for a list of volunteer opportunities for Volunteer Day so you can begin thinking about which activity you might want to join. Happy Homes: it provides home repairs for needy people in the form of painting. It also provides painters to create beautiful paintings inside schools of community centers. Elder Care: Elder Care sends volunteers into nursing homes to spend time with them, play board games with them, and talk with them. City Parks Association: you can help plant flowers and bushes in city parks or pick up trash around the river banks. These activities are very active, so remember to be prepared with plenty of drinking water! Love and Learning: it provides volunteers to help children with learning disabilities. Read books out loud to groups of children aged four to six, or read one-on-one with struggling readers aged seven to eight. For volunteers who enjoy being outside in nature, they can join _ . A) Elder Care B) Happy Homes C) Love and Learning D) City parks Association
A: D
(Question)
Many people influenced various aspects of my life, based on their personal characteristics, accomplishments, and values. I have been fortunate to have had numerous teachers and professors who I respect for their patience and intelligence. There are artists that have inspired me by their natural talents and original creativity. I value many political leaders, who have inspired me by their contributions to society, and their ability to change our futures. But of all the people I have known in my life, the person I admire most is my father. As the youngest girl in my family, I always considered myself to be"Daddy's little girl". While I grew up, it always made me sad to see so many of my friends and neighbors without a father or father-like figure around. This helped me appreciate how my father always takes an interest in his children's lives. In every aspect of my life my father continuously pushes me to _ , so I could accomplish my work outstandingly among my people. Whenever I feel like giving up, or have a question or a concern, I know I can always call on him for advice. _ His strength seems to be unbreakable during hard times, and he is extremely determined to accomplish anything he sets his mind on, no matter how tiny it is. I highly respect him for how he stands up for what he believes in, and will never back down. I have always admired his open mind, compassion for people, and sense of understanding. He is a very reserved man, but to everybody's surprise, he has a great sense of humor, and always knows how to put a smile on the faces of his wife, his children and his friends. Living in his affection and instruction, I am very proud of my father. He also professes how proud he is of his children, and is still there to support us in whatever we are involved in. What can we infer about the author? A) She appreciated her father because he solved all the problems for her. B) She considered her father humorous and was often made to laugh by him. C) She had pity on the fatherless. D) She was outstanding in work because her father pushed her hard.
(Answer)
C