Stubbornness(,) can push a business to hold on but can also kill your business if it keeps stopping you. Because I'm stubborn. I chased my dream of creating a pet-food company that sells what it claims to sell and not some unidentifiable substance in a dressed-up bag. Originally we packed our foods in transparent bags, which became our guiding philosophy. To start the company in 2003, I visited every pet-food store in Manhattan and some outside the city. By 2006 Stella&Chewy's was sold in 250 stores, mostly in New York City. In 2007 I moved the company to Wisconsin, with our earnings reaching almost $500,000 that year.But getting my product into stores was just the beginning. We were competing against much bigger pet-food companies whose monthly marketing budgets were more than our yearly sales. So we invested in advertisements and a website and even stood on sidewalks giving our samples. With more customers came more feedback , much of which I ignored, I was also receiving complaints about ice crystals on the food, which form when the air temperature changes during transport. For this reason, most frozen foods are packaged in opaque bags or boxes. Studies have proved that ice crystals have little effect on either the quality or the taste of the food. So I ignored the complaints. After all, we were better than our competitors that wouldn't even show their products. We didn't hide anything. In 2007 our sales kept growing, but not as fast as those of our competitors. We were told that new consumers were choosing products packaged in opaque bags. When I visited the stores and forced myself to consider my products objectively, I had to degree: The ice crystals reduced the look I wanted. The food looked as if a snowstorm had hit the inside of the bag. We switched to opaque bags and tried to make ice crystals smaller. Customers responded: In 2009 Stella$Chewy's was sold in 2,500 stores across the country. Why did the author have people stand on sidewalks giving out samples? A) Because advertising and marketing on the website didn't work. B) Because no one knew his company's products in Wisconsin. C) Because he should use this way to save money due to the limited budget. D) Because he attempted to use all means to compete with other companies.
D
Men have always believed that they are smarter than women. Now, a study has found that while this is certainly true, men also have to deal with the fact that they are also more stupid than the fairer sex. In the study, scientists measured the IQ of 2500 brothers and sisters and they found an uneven number of men not only in the top two percent, but also in the bottom two percent. The study's participants were tested on science, maths, English and mechanical abilities. Though there were twice as many men as women in the smartest group, there were also twice as many men among the foolish. The total scores of men and women were similar. One of the study's authors, psychology professor Timothy Bates, said that the phenomenon may be because men have always been expected to be high achievers and women have been restricted to spend more time taking care of their home. "The female developmental program may be tilted more towards ensuring survival and the safety of the middle ground."the Daily Mail quoted Professor Bates, of Edinburgh University, as saying. The research agrees with past results that men were more likely than women to receive first class University degrees or thirds and women secured the seconds. It has been said that men are more ready to take a risk when it comes to academics. While women have always been found to be steadier in their learning. A past study has shown that women are securing more firsts and seconds, while men are continuing to receive more thirds. The argument for the change is that the increase of coursework at the cost of exams favors women's steady approach. The purpose of the passage is to tell us that _ . A) men are smarter than women B) .men are more stupid than the women C) men are more likely to receive first class university degree D) new fact about the IQ of men and women has been found
D
(Q).
President Xi Jinping announced Thursday that China will cut its military by 300,000 troops, a significant reduction in one of the largest militaries in the world and a move that the Chinese leader called a gesture of peace. "The great renewal of the Chinese nation requires efforts of one generation after another," Xi said in a speech at Tiananmen Square remembering the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific. "Having created an impressive civilization of over 5,000 years, the Chinese civilization will lead to an even brighter future," he said. Xi's announcement came as China staged a massive military parade in central Beijing, sending a stream of troops, tanks, and ballistic missiles down a major east-west street as fighter jets flew overhead with multicolored smoke. Xi's speech kicked off the parade. An estimated 12,000 troops--about 1,000 of whom hailed from Belarus, Cuba, Tajikistan, and other countries-marched along the 10-lane Chang'an Avenue from the commercial center wangfujing to Tiannmen Square, about 1.5 miles away. They were joined by 200 fighter jets and 500 pieces of military hardware, including tanks and ballistic missiles. Representatives from 49 countries were in attendance, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and U. N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Rory Medcalf, head of the national security college at Australian National University, said the Beijing may have decided to cut 300,000 troops "in the name of efficiency and cost saving." Xi conducted a "troop inspection" after his speech, riding down Chan'gan Avenue in a Chinese-made Hongqi parade car. On Thursday morning, China's popular microblogging site Sina Weibo filled up with 350 million comments related to the parade. While many users expressed their love of their country and pride, few posts were filled with criticism. "The soldiers are too serious," wrote one user. Others complained about the cloud of gray exhaust that followed a column of tanks. What can we infer from the passage? A) The majority of web users think highly of the parade. B) Many web users thought that the soldiers were lovely. C) The parade might bring air pollution to the capital city. D) The parade led to a heated discussion on the line.
(A).
A