The first memory I have of him---of anything, really---is his strength. It was in the late afternoon in a house under construction near ours. The unfinished wood floor had large, terrifying holes whose big and opening darkness I knew led to nowhere good. His powerful hands, then age 33, wrapped all the way around my tiny arms, then age 4, and easily swung me up to his shoulders to command all I surveyed. The relationship between a son and his father changes over time. It may grow and flourish in mutual maturity. It may sour in hated dependence or independence. With many children living in single-parent homes today, it may not even exist. But to a little boy right after World War II, a father seemed a god with strange strengths and strange powers enabling him to do and know things that no mortal could do or know. Amazing things, like putting a bicycle chain back on, just like that, or building a hamster cage, or guiding a jigsaw so it forms the letter F; I learned the alphabet that way in those pre-television days. There were, of course, rules to learn. First came the handshake, a good firm squeeze accompanied by an equally strong gaze into the other's eyes. "The first thing anyone knows about you is your handshake," he would say. And we'd practice it each night on his return from work, the serious toddler in the old Cleveland Indian's cap running up to the giant father to shake hands again and again until it was firm enough. One day, I realize now, there was a change. I wasn't trying to please him so much as I was trying to impress him. I never asked him to come to my football games. He had a high-pressure career, and it meant driving through most of Friday night. But for all the big games, when I looked over at the sideline, there was that familiar fedora . And by God, did the opposing team captain ever get a firm handshake and a gaze he would remember? Then, a school fact contradicted something he said. Impossible that he could be wrong, but there it was in the book. These accumulated over time, along with... How old was the writer's father probably when he died? A) 33 B) 58 C) 68 D) 78
C
Early in the 16th century men were trying to reach Asia by traveling west from Europe. In order to find Asia they had to find a way past South America. The man who finally found the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific was Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan sailed from Seville in August, 1519 with five ships and about 280 men. Fourteen months later, after spending the cold winter on the coast of Patagonia, he discovered the channel which is now called Magellan Strait . In November, 1520, after many months of dangers from rocks and storms, the three remaining ships entered the ocean on the other side of South America. They then continued, hoping to reach Asia. But they did not see any land until they reached the islands off the coast of Asia. Before they arrived at these islands, later known as the Philippines, men were dying of starvation. While they were staying in the Philippines, Magellan was killed in a battle. The remaining officers then had to get back to Spain. They decided to sail round Africa. After many difficulties, one ship with eighteen men sailed into Seville three years after leaving. They were all that remained of Magellan's expedition. However, their achievement was great. They were the first men to sail round the world. The best title for this passage is _ . A) The Discovery of Magellan's Strait B) The Discovery of the Philippines C) The Most Dangerous Expedition D) The First Expedition to Asia
D
Q: Baths and bathing have long been considered of medical importance to man. In Greece there are the ruins of a water system for baths built over 3,000 years ago. The Romans had warm public baths. In some baths, as many 3,000 persons could bathe at the same time. Treating disease by taking bathing has been popular for centuries. Modern medical bathing first became popular in Europe and by the late 1700's has also become popular in the United States. For many years frequent bathing was believed to be bad for one's health. Ordinary bathing just to keep clean was avoided , and _ was often used to cover up body smells! By the 1700's doctors began to say that soap and water were good for health. They believed that it was good for people to be clean. Slowly, people began to bathe more frequently. During the Victorian Age of the late 19th century, taking a bath on Saturday night became common. In the United States ordinary bathing was slow to become popular. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans were known as "The Great Unwashed!" In one American city , for example, a person was only allowed to take a bath every thirty days! That was a law! Frequency of bathing today is partly a matter of habit. People know that bathing for cleanliness is important to health, Doctors know that dirty bodies increase the chance of diseases. As a result, in the United States, people generally bathe often. Some people bathe once a day at least. They consider a daily bath essential to good health. In the 18th century doctors believed that being clean was _ . A) unimportant B) good for health C) harmful D) important
A: B
Q: The biggest hamburger restaurant chain in the world is McDonald's. It started in 1955 with just one restaurant, but now has more than 20000 worldwide. There are more than 12000 McDonald's restaurants only in the US. You can find them in 100 countries on six continents. There isn't a McDonald's in Antarctica, but I don't suppose they eat hamburgers at the South Pole. When you eat at a McDonald's restaurant you are joining the 35 million people who eat and drink at McDonald's every day, and there are more than one million people who work there. McDonald's has sold 100 billion hamburgers since it opened, and it sells more than 6.8 million pounds of French Fries every day. How do you like your hamburger restaurant? There are old McDonald's ---- part of one restaurant in England is 600 years old. There are elegant McDonald's ---- there is one on the Champs Elysees in Paris. There are cool McDonald's ---- there is one in Hollywood. There are McDonald's restaurants on ships and trains, in hospitals and zoos, in airports and in colleges. Clearly many people like the speed, hygiene and cheapness of fast food restaurants. However, not everyone likes fast food. Some people question the nutritional value of the food; some people think the fast food causes too much waste and pollution. So the fast food business gives us _ , as well as convenient, affordable meals. How many people does each McDonald's employees serve on average every day? _ A) About 35 billion B) About 100 billion C) About 35 million D) About 600 million
A: C