Fortunately, I've been able to avoid the traffic jam brought by presidential visits because ! don't have to commute anywhere. Barack Obama visited Los Angeles recently which paralyzed large sections of a city and you could almost hear the collective pain of unhappy commuters. I am among the l0 percent of people in the US that regularly work from home. You could include Obama among them, although I suspect his working area in the White House is better-equipped than my small space on to the back of the garage. He also probably doesn't have a problem with three little kids interrupting his phone calls or bursting into his office at inappropriate moments. Every day there they are, knocking on my window and peering inside, as if looking at an animal in a zoo. Once, a telephone interview I was doing with the former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was interrupted by my older son, then three years old, and completely naked "Ahaaar!" he shouted to my face. "What was that?" said Schwarzenegger. I stammered something about the joys of children and silently managed to shoo the boy out of the room without putting down the phone. I shouldn't complain. I no longer have to stand having someone's armpit being pressed into my face on a crowded train and home status means ! should be a more productive worker although working from home could also lead to "avoiding duties from home". I would argue that a bigger problem is going nuts: Staring at the same walls every day and not going anywhere can do strange things to a person. I realized I had to get out of the house at least once a day to avoid turning into an unshaven and unshoweredrecluse who was still in his pyjamas at dinner time. I would work for an hour or so in a local coffee shop but, like most routine, this became boring because I would constantly see the same faces: Screenwriters poring over screenplays, elderly women heading to the yoga studio next door and hordes of overweight middle-aged male cycling by. And yet here I am several years later, still... The whole passage suggests that _ A) the author has to work from home B) any routine definitely means boredom C) the author is a humorous person D) working from home contributes to avoiding duties
C
(Question)
A cancer-stricken British teenager said on Thursday she had been moved by messages of support from around the world after writing an online "Bucket List" of things she wanted to do before dying. Alice Pyne, 15, created an Internet blog in which she described her fight against a cancer of the white blood cells. "I've been fighting cancer for almost four years and now I know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesn't look like I'm going to win this one," she wrote. For her list, at the site www. alicepyne. blogspot. com, she has included making everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor , swimming with sharks, meeting boy band Take That and getting a purple iPad computer. Messages of support and offers of help quickly flooded her webpage and it became one of the most talked about subjects on Twitter. "Oh dear! And I thought that I was just doing a little blog for a few friends!" she wrote after her site attracted huge attention. "Thank you so much for all your lovely messages to me." Alice, who lives with her family in the northwest English town of Ulverston, said the manager of Take That had arranged for her to see the band after reading her blog. A group of local lawmakers have also made efforts with the Anthony blood cancer charity to encourage people to join its stem cell projects. About Alice Pyne's "Bucket List", which is NOT true? A) To ask people to donate bone marrow. B) To get a cool computer. C) To swim with sharks. D) To meet a boy.
(Answer)
D
Ques: Long live language. That's the message Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and city councilor Amarjeet Sohi voiced when they declared Feb. 21 to be International Mother Language Day (IMLD) in Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The pair were on hand for the International and Heriage Languages Association's (IHLA) 12th annual Mother Language Day celebrations in an effort to save endangered languages. "Keeping languages alive is important for me richness of our culture and the diversity that strengthens Edmonton," said Iveson. There are nearly 7,000 unique languages spoken worldwide, but according to data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) half of those languages are at risk of going extinct in just a few generations. For example, there are currently over 3,000 languages spoken throughout Africa. This sounds impressive until you realize that there were over 10,000 languages spoken on the continent before colonization during the 19th century. "People who lose their language experience suffering," said Olenka Bilash, professor of second language education at the University of Alberta. Bilash likened the loss of language to the loss of cultural identity. "As a multicultural society, it is very important to continue to preserve and pass on to future generations the language, culture, traditions and customs that we bring to Canada, " said IHLA president Olga Prokhorova. While the City of Edmonton's citizen and new arrival centre in city hall provides services in 150 languages, Bilash said research shows that "most people are still uncomfortable speaking their own language in public spaces." Bliash hopes the official announcement of International Mother Language Day in Edmonton----which _ International Mother Language Day declared by UNESCO in 1999 ---- will be a step toward encouraging more language diversity in order to preserve the cultures tied to them. "Our words define us; our expressions and vocabulary define who we are as people," said Marueen... Both Bilash and Prokhorova stress the importance of _ . A) mastering more than one foreign language. B) public policy on Canadian traditions and customs. C) protecting languages and cultures from extinction. D) the official announcement of IMLD by UNESCO.
Ans: C
Ques:BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhuanet)--- A new hotel concept has been realized in a village in Northern Sweden, which aims to make the simple treehouse become a world-class destination for travellers. The Treehotel, located in a place called Harads, will consist of four rooms when it opens on July 17th: the Cabin, the Blue Cone, the Nest, and the Mirrorcube. Two additional rooms are scheduled to open in October. The long term vision is even more _ . "Our goal in five years is to have 24 rooms from 24 different architects," says Treehotel co-founder Kent Lindvall. The first six rooms were designed by five different architects. The Mirrorcube which stands four meters high and four meters wide, and the walls of which are made with a mirrored glass, has drawn widespread attention as it will be attached to a single tree. "It's an interesting building. You can't find anything else like this in the world today. It's unique ," says Lindvall. "Everything will reflect in it---the trees, the birds, the clouds and the sun in the forest. So it could hardly be seen in the forest. This is untouched forest and we want to keep it the same way." Lindvall says the Treehotel's vision proves a powerful draw, with enquiries coming in from far and wide. "I think what's exciting here is that we're just 60 km below the Arctic Circle. It means there's a good possibility to have the northern lights in the winter and of course to have the midnight sun in the summer." The motto of the Treehotel is "Feel Free in a Tree" and expense will cost up to about $555.50 for two guests in the Cube, which is designed to hold up to four guests. Which of the following statements is TRUE? A) The Treehotel is ideally situated to enjoy the natural wonders. B) The Treehotel is a great base to explore the many local places of interest. C) Travellers can have a relaxed holiday at a reasonable price in the Treehotel. D) The six rooms of the Treehotel was separately designed by 6 different architects.

Ans:
A