An emperor was almost eighty years old and knew it was time to choose his successor . Instead of choosing one of his children, he decided on something different. He called all of the young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued, "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One special seed. I want you to plant it and come back one year later with what you have grown from this seed. I will then judge the plants, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!" One boy named Ling received a seed like the others. He went home and planted the seed in a pot, watering it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. A year finally went by and all the youths brought their plants to the emperor. Ling thought he should be honest about what had happened. So he took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the plants grown by other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. Suddenly, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow." From the text we know that Ling was _ . A) clever B) honest C) famous D) energetic
B
The addictive pull of Internet shopping is dragging thousands of victims into a rise of debt, including thousands of women who have run up huge credit card bills they cannot repay. The appeal of 24-hour access and the explosion in goods and services on offer has seen a 10 percent increase in credit card debts in the UK this year. Much of it has accounted for online spending. The latest report on Internet usage shows the number of adults logging on at home has risen from 10 million in October last year to 15.5m this month. The report by Continental Research, which has monitored Internet access in the UK for the past six years, found that while online shopping used to be experimental it is now becoming habitual, especially for women. Colin Shaddick, who heads the company, said, "Women are logging on in record numbers ---online shopping has certainly played a big role in this." The study found that average annual spending online is PS700 a year for each Internet shopper. The draw of the Internet is especially strong for collectors. Business lecturer Stephen Hall, who has been buying and selling books since he was a child, now has a collection worth PS40,000. He is passionate about the opportunities offered by shopping online. "You can find a book in minutes that you could spend months hunting down at auctions or second-hand bookshops," he said. "It can easily become addictive, and all the collectors I know use the Internet. I suspect you do waste money because you are less likely to send back a book to Little Rock, Arkansas, than take it back to the high-street shop." Like Stephen Hall, most of us can shop online sensibly---but for some it provides an easy, anonymous and accessible way to feed their habit. It also provides secrecy---a central part of any addiction. Dr Samantha Haslett, a psychologist and expert in addiction at the Promos counseling centre, said, "It's compulsive in the same way as alcohol and gambling, and addicts find themselves completely unable to stop themselves, despite debt mounting... Which do you think can be the best title of the passage? A) Net Shopping Cost People Much Money B) Warm Tips on Internet Shopping C) Net Shopping Hooks Army of Addicts D) Shopping Online Is Very Popular
C
Q: One night, a little before nine o'clock, Dr Johnson was answering a telephone call. He was asked to go and give an operation to a very sick boy at once. The boy was in a small hospital in Glens Falls, sixty miles away from Dr Johnson's city - Albany. The boy had hurt himself in a traffic accident. His wife was in danger, but his family was so poor that they could not pay the doctor anything. After he heard all this, Dr Johnson was driving carefully. He thought that he could get to the hospital before 12 o'clock. A few minutes later, the doctor's car had to stop for a red light at a crossing. Suddenly a man in an old black coat opened the door of the car and got in. "Drive on", he said. "I've got a gun ." "I'm a doctor," said Johnson, "I'm on my way to a hospital to operate on a very sick..." "Don't talk," said the man in the old black coat, "Just drive." A mile out of the town he ordered the doctor to stop the car and get out. Then the man drove on down the road. The doctor stood for a moment in the snow. After half an hour, Dr Johnson found a telephone and called a taxi. At the railway station he learned that the next train to Glens Falls would not leave until 12 o'clock. It was after two o'clock in the morning when the doctor arrived at the hospital in Glens Falls. Miss Clarke, a nurse, was waiting for him. "I did my best," said Dr Johnson. Miss Clarke said, "The boy died an hour ago." They walked into the waiting room. There sat the man in the old black coat, with his head in his hands. "Mr. Shute," said Miss Clarke to the man, "this is Dr Johnson. He had come all the way from Albany to try to save your boy." The man in a black coat _ . A) hit the boy and ran away B) took the boy to the hospital C) was the boy's father D) was the real doctor
A: C
There was a Bulgarian boy who was an exchange student in the USA. He lived with an American family. One day, he went to his room in the evening, and did his homework. His host-mom came to him and asked if he would like to go along to the movies. He wanted to go, so he shook his head from side to side, said "Yes". His host-mom did a couple of steps back, and looked puzzled. She thought that he didn't want to go out because he shook his head from side to side. However, he wanted to go out to the movies. Bulgarians shake their heads from side to side when they mean "yes". People in other countries shake their heads from side to side when they mean "no". Gestures can have different meanings according to different cultures. For example, in America, putting your index finger and your thumb in a circle is commonly used as an OK sign that means everything is all right. However, in France, that sign is used to express "nothing" or "zero", which can have a negative meaning. Generally speaking, gestures are a type of communication that uses a part of our body, and when speaking with people from other cultures, gestures can be important keys or clues to understand them. However, we need to understand that those gestures vary from culture to culture, and it is necessary for us to have an open mind in understanding the different gestures. What is the main idea of this article? A) Americans dislike Bulgarians because they have different gestures. B) Understanding gestures is not important in daily conversation. C) Different types of gestures are used in different cultures. D) It's better to have same types of gestures all around the world.
C