Aggressive pedestrians are in fact as dangerous as careless drivers. They cause traffic accidents, injury and death. These dangerous walkers can be seen in any big city over the world. About 69% of last year's pedestrian deaths in the US occurred in urban areas. They cross streets ignoring "DON'T WALK" signals, suddenly appear without warning from behind parked vehicles, walk slowly at crossroads with cell phones attached to heads, blocking traffic. These pedestrians and drivers share a common disregard for the rules of the road, both for selfish reasons. The drivers believe in the power of their machines. If their machines can go faster, they believe they have the right to go faster. If their machines are bigger, they believe they have the right to push smaller vehicles aside. Aggressive pedestrians, on the other hand, believe in the primacy of the individual, the idea that they are first in any environment, under any circumstances, even when they are on foot in a roaring tide of steel and rubber. Last year, an estimated 5,220 pedestrians died in traffic accidents. Some 69,000 pedestrians were injured. On average, that worked out to one pedestrian killed in a traffic crash every 101 minutes, and one injured every eight minutes. The good news is that the accident rate is dropping. For example, the number of pedestrians killed last year was 24 percent less than the number killed in traffic accidents a decade earlier. The bad news is that the basic causes of pedestrian deaths remain pretty much the same----disregard for traffic signals, inattention and crossing roads under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol, in fact, was involved in 46 percent of the traffic accidents that resulted in pedestrian deaths. Of those, 31 percent of the pedestrians were found to be drunk. The bottom line is that the pedestrians must do more to protect their lives as well as the lives of other road users. They can start by obeying traffic signals, using marked cross-walks and calling a cab when they've had too much to drink. What is the pedestrians' selfish reason for traffic jams? A) They know all drivers are skilled and with great care. B) They believe individuals are always first. C) They think traffic rules have nothing to do with them. D) They guess all vehicles will slow down at crossroads.
B
(Question)
In 1975, George Carlin appeared on a popular TV show, Saturday Night Live, with his famous words about blue food. "Why is there no blue food? I can't find blue food--I can't find the flavor of blue! I mean yellow is lemon; orange is orange and red is cherry. Where is the blue food? " Well, Carlin pretty much has it right--there's not no blue food, but there's certainly not a lot of it. Fresh-picked blueberries are blue, though they become purple when they are turned into jam. The blue in blueberries--like the purple in grapes and the red in tomatoes--is found in nature. But it isn't a hot color for food. People don't seem to prefer blue food. Some diet programs even suggest that those determined to lose weight should make their food blue. Eating, in part, begins with our eyes. Charles Spence--an experimental psychologist from Oxford University--points out that color can change our taste experience. Commonly, we consider red-colored foods up to 20% sweeter than they actually are; and green foods as being more sour. Spence suggests: human expectations may be influenced by our long history of watching - green fruits can become sweet as they grow up and turn red. But what about blue? Except blueberries, much of the blue food we see these days _ blue artificially. Food producers argue that artificial color doesn't do much harm to health. A lot of research shows that some physical problems of kids are related to food dyes--while other studies show no effects at all. Blue birthday cake or even blue-dyed chicken can be served on the dinner table. So what? George Carlin's words are placed at the beginning of the passage to _ . A) show the author's opinion B) introduce a TV show C) tell a famous person D) lead in the topic
(Answer)
D
Ques: 1. The Wright Brothers, by David McCullough Another must-read for history fans, McCullough tells the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the brothers who taught the world how to fly. Drawing on all types of historical data -- from personal diaries and scrapbooks, to thousands of private letters of family letters -- we get a close look at the actual personalities behind one of the most influential moments in history. 2. The Wonder Garden, by Lauren Acampora This novel is really a collection of several interwoven stories of people living in the rich Connecticut suburbs. From tales of an elderly artist to a young mother to a woman whose husband just behaves carelessly, The Wonder Garden gives us an unforgettable reminder that there's often so much we don't know about what happens with our neighbors behind closed doors. 3. Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, by Mary Norris Does someone mistaking who for whom make your blood boil? Do you want to throw a dictionary at someone for mistaking sit for cite? Enter Between You & Me. Mary Norris brings her experience working in The New Yorker's copy department to eager grammar fans in this laugh-out-loud book that looks at some of the most common spelling, punctuation, and usage problems in the English language. 4. My Struggle: Book Four, by Karl Ove Knausgaard My Struggle is a six-volume autobiographical novel that follows the life of Karl Ove Knausgaard, a Norwegian father of three. In Book Four, he writes of his decision at the age of 18 to move to a fisherman's village in the far north of the Arctic circle to work as a school teacher. It's there that he struggles with love, alcoholism, and becoming loved by one of his students. Which of the following books might make you burst into laughter? A) My Struggle. B) The Wonder Garden. C) The Wright brothers. D) Between You & Me.
Ans: D
Question: Have you ever dreamed of visiting a planet in the Milk Way? While the trip sounds exciting, it would take years and years to reach your destination. So in the future, bedtime for astronauts may be more than a few hours of regular shut-eye. They would have to sleep for years. European researchers are now conducting hibernation experiments. The study may help them understand whether humans could ever sleep through the years it would take for a space flight to distant planets. "If there was an effective technology, it could make deep-space travel a reality," said Mark Ayre of the European Space Agency last month. _ Researchers have been able to use chemicals to put living cells into a sleep-like state where they don't age. They have now moved on to small, non-hibernating mammals like rats. The results will be out by the end of 2004. A major challenge is the fact that cells can be very simple systems, whereas body organs are far more complex. "It's like moving from a simple Apple computer to a supercomputer," said Marco Biggiogera, a hibernation researcher at Italy's University of Pavia. Just like bears and frogs, the hibernation of human beings would cause a person's metabolism to lower so they would need less energy. Medical research, however, is just half of a space flight hibernation system. There is the challenge of designing a suitable protective shelter. Such a shelter would provide the proper environment for hibernation, such as the proper temperature. It would also have to monitor life functions and serve the physiological needs of the hibernator. According to Ayre, the six-person Human Outer Planets Exploration Mission to Jupiter's moon Callisto, could be an opportunity to use human hibernation. The mission aims to send six humans on a five-year flight to Callisto, where they will spend 30 days, in 2045. What's the best title for the passage? A) Six humans to fly to Callisto B) Human hibernation improves health C) Space travel attracts people D) Deep sleep for deep space travel
Answer:
D