It was a week before Christmas, but things were far from cheery. Our task was to deliver as many boxes of food as possible to those in need in Camden, New Jersey. There were no Christmas carolers walking these streets that were lined with boarded-up houses and broken windows. Mothers kept their children close as they hurried down the streets. It was mid-afternoon, but even the bright sun couldn't warm this place. Red tickets in the windows marked which houses we were to visit. Our white truck stopped in front of one townhouse and our group knocked on the door. In our arms were boxes filled with ham, bread and other essentials to make the perfect Christmas dinner. Four small faces glanced through the curtains and one exhausted mom answered the door. She seemed embarrassed to be caught in her nightgown with undone hair. She was in her mid-20s, but her rough skin and tired eyes added years. "Sacred Heart food delivery service," I smiled. "Where can we put this for you?" She pointed and as we entered the house, I noticed the conditions they lived in. The children climbed around, wearing only diapers . There were no carpets, only cold concrete beneath our feet. There was no Christmas tree or decorations. My heart sank. It was so cold, and I found it hard to believe that this was reality for this family. We set the boxes down and the mother grabbed my hand. "You don't know how much of a blessing this is to me and my family," she said, crying. _ I opened my arms and gave her a hug. "Happy holidays!" I replied before I headed out the door. I realized how warm I felt inside. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced. We cannot help what family we are born into, but we can help each other. The passage mainly tells us that _ . A) the poor can also help others B) assisting the poor needs actions C) people should help each other D) having more children causes poverty
C
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop giant Michael Jackson, who took to the stage as a child star, died on Thursday, TMZ website reported. He was 50. There was no official confirmation of the reported death and spokespersons for Jackson could not be reached for comment. "We've just learned Michael Jackson has died," TMZ said. "Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and _ were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back," the entertainment site said. It added, "A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived." Earlier, the Los Angeles Times said _ had been rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital by fire department paramedics who found him not breathing when they arrived at the singer's home.The newspaper said paramedics performed perfectly at the scene before taking him to the UCLA Medical Center hospital. Jackson had been due to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer, whose hits included "Thriller" and "Billie Jean," had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months. The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March. His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time. There were concerns about Jackson's health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors. If Jackson had not died, he _ . A) would be taken care of by the doctors. B) would not practise singing any more. C) would give some concerts in London soon. D) would retire as a result of his bad health.
C
Q: Mothers can still offer comfort, even from a distance, a new study has found. The results show that simply hearing their mothers' voice over the phone works just as well at calming the nerves of stressed children as a real-life pat on the shoulder. The soothing effect is most likely due to the release of the hormone , oxytocin , in the brain, the researchers say. This "love hormone" is known to _ stress and is likely to be involved in social connections, including those between a mother and a child. Previous work has revealed that this hormone is released during physical contact with a mother. "But it's clear from these results that a mother's voice can have the same effect as a hug, even if she isn't actually standing there," said the researcher, Leslie Seltzer, a biological scientist. Seltzer tested a group of 61 girls, aged 7 to 12, by having them make an unprepared speech and solve a series of maths problems in front of a group of strangers, sending their hearts racing and levels of cortisol--a hormone associated with stress--soaring. Facing a challenge like that raises stress levels of a lot of people. Once stressed, a third of the girls were comforted in person by their mothers with hugs. A third of the girls watched an emotionally neutral 75-minute video. The rest were handed a telephone with their mothers on the line. For the girls who interacted in person or over the phone with their mothers, the levels of the "love hormone" rose significantly, and the stress-marking hormone was washed away. This effect didn't show up for participants who watched the video. Seltzer is now testing the amount of oxytocin released with other communication methods--like text messaging--and hopes to see the research spread out from human subjects. "It's not just us, of course. Lots of very social species have voices," she said. "on the one hand, we are curious to see if this effect is unique to humans. On the other, we're hoping researchers who study vocal communication will consider looking at oxytocin release in other... From the study, we know that _ . A) the level of cortisol determines how stressed a person is B) the 61 girls were divided into two groups in the research C) the recent study had the same results as the previous one D) watching a video is the best way to reduce one's stress
A: A
Q: When Elizabeth Kenny was a little girl, she fell off a horse and hurt her arm. Mrs. Kenny took her to a doctor in Toowoomba, Queensland. In the doctor's, Elizabeth saw many bottles of medicine standing in a row. Since then, she wanted to be a nurse. As soon as she was old enough, Elizabeth was trained in a hospital. After working for some time, she made a surprising discovery. Among her patients were some children who had lost the use of their legs because of polio ( ) . Kenny tried putting hot cloth on their legs and washing them in a special way. The results were great. The children were able to use their legs again. Most doctors would not believe that children could get well in such a simple way. Gradually, however, she became famous. From 1993 on people from many parts of the world brought their children to Australia to receive treatment by this wonderful nurse. She was invited to America where her methods were used in many hospitals. Money was collected to build Kenny foundations which were for polio patients. Kenny died in 1952, but she will long be remembered for her fight against polio. The best title of the text is most likely to be _ . A) Methods of Treating Polio B) Kenny Foundations for Children C) Elizabeth Kenny, the Wonderful Nurse D) Hospitals for Polio Patients
A: C