Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The other day I heard a few local musicians talking: "I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can't even understand a bit of music." "I'm never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us." But, one younger musician said, "There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I'm trying to find other places to play. I'm also looking to book a few summer festivals this year." I've heard that you are the average of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are. Attitudes are important. Whether they're positive or negative, they're rubbing off on you. If you're around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame others, and you play the role of victim , chances are you will start to as well. So it's time to take a look at the people you call "friends". This is an easy exercise: Make a list of the people who you hang out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don't become friends with people who fall below that standard. Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you're looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path. Question: Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? Options: A: A friend in need is a friend indeed B: How to make friendship last for ever C: You are who your friends are D: Friends are the most important in one's success
A: C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Consumers everywhere are faced with the same dilemma: given limited resources, what sorts of purchases are most likely to produce lasting happiness and satisfaction? Recent research has confirmed that experiential purchases tend to produce greater hedonic gains than material purchases. The reason why experiences improve with time may be because it is possible to think about experiences in a more abstract manner than possessions. For example, if you think back to a fantastic summer from your youth, you might easily remember an abstract sense of warm sunshine and youthful exuberant , but you're less likely to remember exactly what you did day-by-day. Material possessions are harder to think about in an abstract sense. The car you bought is still a car, that great new jacket you picked up cheap is still just a jacket. It's more likely the experience of that summer has taken on a symbolic meaning that can live longer in your memory than a possession. Purchasing may have a negative impact on happiness because consumers often buy "joyless" material possessions, resulting in comfort but not pleasure. In general, people adapt to experiences more slowly than to material purchase. This can be seen in both negative and positive purchases: hedonic adaptation would result in a positive experience causing more happiness but a negative experience causing less happiness than the comparable material purchase with the same initial happiness level. Experience, however, seems to be more resistant to these sorts of unfavourable comparisons. It is because of the unique nature of experience. It's more difficult to make an unfavourable comparison when there is nothing directly comparable. After all, each of our youthful summers is different. It's well established that social comparisons can have a huge effect on how we view what might seem like positive events. One striking example is the finding that people prefer to earn $50,000 a year while everyone else earns $25,000, instead of earning $100,000 themselves and having other... Question: If you make an experiential purchase before a material purchase, you may go to _ . Options: A: a theatre before going to a store B: an exhibition before going to a park C: a mall before going to a grocer's D: a market before going to a restaurant
A: A

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Dropout rates are rising, and what are parents and teachers doing? Though some may deeply regret these students dropping out, our schools continue to lack plans to teach motivation. Parents and teachers don't stress the fact that staying in school will help students succeed in life. A recent study by the Department of Education found that 31 percent of American students are dropping out or failing to graduate in the nation's 100 largest school districts. From what I can see, many parents are letting their children drop out, which shows that some students do not have enough support or encouragement to continue. It is reported that about 2,500 students drop out of high schools every day. Writer Ruth Wells says, "Schools expect youth and children to act as though school is important, but they never teach them to believe that. " That is why many students do not feel motivated to stay in school. Since some families are not helping their children become more involved in school, it's up to teachers, counselors , and youth professionals to provide this training. Researchers say they were surprised to find that a majority of 456 dropouts interviewed were not what most people would consider underachieving troublemakers. One third of the students said they were failing in school, but more than six out of ten were keeping C averages or better when they quit. Almost half said they were bored or that the classwork seemed unrelated. Another dropout said, "There wasn't any learning going on; they make you take classes you're never going to use in life. " Three out of four said if they could turn the clock back they would choose to stay in school, and eight out of ten said they now recognize that a high school diploma is important to succeeding in life-a lesson learned too late. Teachers need to convince students why they should stay in school. One is to have students name jobs that they can " always" do without a diploma. This will quickly highlight that jobs with the best pay and benefits require a... Question: Jobs that dropouts can "always" do without a diploma are probably _ . Options: A: technical ones B: low-paid ones C: unique ones D: high-paid ones
A: B

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: On Nov.18th, 1908, three men went up in a balloon. They started early in London. The headman was Augusta Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they were ready for a long way. Soon they heard the sea. They were carrying the usual rope, and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight. It was for use over the sea. They were also carrying some bags of sand. After the sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 meters, and the air was very cold. The water in the balloon became ice. Snow fell past the men's basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand, but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to drop some whole bags of sand. One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice. At last they pulled the box into the basket. It was still snowing; so they climbed up to get away from the snow. They rose to 5,100 meters! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land. They came down in Poland heavily but safely. They had travelled 1,797 kilometers from London! Question: Which of the following is NOT true? Options: A: The three men started their journey before the sun rose. B: The balloon began to go up when they threw bags of sand out of the basket. C: When they pulled the box into the basket, the balloon began to climb up. D: The three men had to land because they felt cold.
A: B