Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, the Five Friendlies will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace and blessings from China to children all over the world. Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, the Five Friendlies also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals--the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow--and the Olympic Flame. Each of the Friendlies has a rhyming two-syllable name--a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow. When you put their names together--Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni--they say "Welcome to Beijing," offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of the Five Friendlies as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games. The Five Friendlies also embody both the landscape and the dreams and aspirations of people from every part of the vast country of China. In their origins and their headpieces, you can see the five elements of nature--the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky--all stylistic rendered in ways that represent the deep traditional influences of Chinese folk art and ornamentation. Question: The Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games carry the following messages EXCEPT _ . Options: A: friendship B: peace C: love D: blessing
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: It is commonly known that Japan went from a 19th century national economy to a 20th century global economy in a time span of 30 years between 1945 and 1975. What is less known is that Japan, understanding that fast, efficient transport was the key to a global economy, was the first country in the world to introduce the "Bullet Train". Kawasaki Heavy Industries was duly appointed the manufacturer and the first high speed train went "on line" in 1964. The Shinkansen, as is known in Japan, made its first journey between her capital and Osaka, a distance of 301 miles, at a speed of 132 mph. The next country to introduce high speed trains was France. SNGF, the public rail system in France, was losing passengers to other forms of transport and introduced the "TGV" (Train a Grande Vitesse) to counteract the trend in 1981. As a result of Opec controlling the oil market in 1974, the train was designed to be powered by gas turbines. It ran on a specially built track between Lyon and Paris. Eight years later another TGV was introduced, this time between the coast and Paris. Soon, France became the most rail efficient country in the world with high speed train connections to Belgium, London, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands. There was another positive element that resulted from the introduction of high speed trains. Between 1964 and 1991, Japan's Shinkansen had transported in excess of three billion passengers without there being a single fatal accident and eleven years after France introduced the TGV, it still had a 100% safety record. This statistic has never been equaled by the traditional slow moving trains in any country. China has become the fourth country to produce such trains, after France, Germany and Japan. China's first domestically produced bullet train with a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour has rolled off the production line. Equipped with highly-efficient power system, the currently fastest train in China is also energy efficient. When the train is running, it can transfer kinetic... Question: France introduced high speed trains to _ . Options: A: increase the number of passengers B: fight against Opec C: develop the finance of France D: connect other cities
A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Marlon Brando is widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time. He was born in Omaha Nebraska in 1924. He was named after his father, a salesman. His mother, Dorothy, was an actress in the local theater. Marlon Brando moved to New York City when he was 19 years old in 1943. He took acting classes at the New School for Social Research. One of his teachers was Stella Adler, who taught the "Method" style of realistic acting. The Method teaches actors how to use their own memories and emotions to identify with the characters they are playing. Marlon Brando learned the Method style quickly and easily. Critics said he was probably the greatest Method actor ever. One famous actress commented on his natural ability for it. She said teaching Marlon Brando the Method was like sending a tiger to jungle school. Marlon Brando appeared in several plays. He got his first major part in a Broadway play in 1947, at the age of 23. He received great praise for his powerful performance at Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire. His fame grew when he acted the same part in the movie version, released in 1951. Marlon Brando won the Best Actor Oscar for The God Father, but he rejected it. He sent a woman named Sasheen Littlefeather to speak for him at the Academy Awards ceremony. She said that Brando could not accept the award because of the way the American film industry treated Native Americans. The people at the Academy Awards ceremony did not like the speech. But some experts think the action helped change the way American Indians were shown in movies. Marlon Brando acted in about forty movies. He was nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards. But he earned a "bad boy" reputation for his public outbursts and unusual behaviours. According to Los Angeles magazine, "Brando was rock and roll before anybody knew what rock and roll was". His later life was marked with family tragedies. His son Christian went to prison for killing his daughter Cheyene's boyfriend. Cheyene later committed... Question: The purpose of this passage is to _ . Options: A: inform us of Marlon Brando's attitude to civil rights movement B: introduce Marlon Brando as one of the greatest actors C: help us understand Marlon Brando's secret to success D: instruct us how to become a great actor like Marlon Brando
B