"When an American asks me this question, it's like a wall of ice crashing down between us." my Moscow-born friend Galina said. The question is "How are you?". The answer Americans give, of course is, "Fine." But when Russians hear this they think one of two things: you are experiencing a rare moment of fineness or you are lying. Ask a Russian, "How are you?" and you will hear, for better or worse, the truth. I have experienced many painful minutes of silence after my grandmother made her stock response: "Terrible," to which she might add, "Why? Because being old is terrible and I am very old." "'Fine' makes Russians think that Americans have no soul," I explained recently to an American-born friend. "That they just want to go home, eat a frozen dinner in front of the TV, and wait out the hours before going to work to make money again." He laughed, "You know, there's something to that." The thing most Russians don't realize is that, in English, "How are you?" isn't a question at all, but a form of "hi", like the Russian "privyet!" Psychologists at the University of Michigan have shown that, while Russians are, indeed, easier to be depressed than Americans, their open acceptance of bad experiences might be healthier. Recently, when I looked through a few American guides on traveling to Russia, I was disappointed to find that they all suggested that tourists adopt the American approach to "How are you". If an American answers "fine" to the question "how are you", the Russian will think _ . A) he is not honest B) he will go home C) he likes watching TV D) he is living a bad life
A
The ocean bottom, a region nearly 2.5 times greater than the total land area of the earth, is even today largely unexplored. Until about a century ago, the deep ocean floor was completely inaccessible and hidden beneath waters averaging over 3,600 meters deep. Totally without light and in the case of intense pressures hundreds of times greater than at the earth's surface, the deep-ocean bottom is a strange environment to humans, in some way as frightening and remote as the outer space. Although researchers have taken samples of deep-ocean rocks for over a century, the first detailed global study of the ocean bottom did not actually start until 1969, with the beginning of the National Science Foundation's Deep Sea Drilling Project(DSDP). Using techniques first developed for the offshore oil and gas industry, the DSDP's drill ship, the Glomar Challenger, was able to maintain a steady position on the ocean's surface and drill very deep waters, taking samples of rocks from the ocean floor. The Glomar Challenger completed 96 voyages in a 15-year research program that ended in November 1983. During this time, it sailed 600,000 kilometers and took almost 20,000 samples of rocks around the world. Those samples have allowed geologists to reconstruct what the planet looked like hundreds of millions of years ago and to make out what it will probably look like millions of years in the future. Today, largely on the strength of evidence gathered during the Glomar Challenger's voyages, nearly all earth scientists agree on the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift that explain many of the geological processes. The sample of rocks drilled by the Glomar Challenger have also provided a climatic record stretching back hundreds of millions of years. The information of past climatic change can be used to predict the future climate. Which of the following is TRUE about the Glomar Challenger? A) It is a military submarine. B) It is used to develop tourism. C) It has gone on over 100 voyages. D) It made its first DSDP voyage in 1969.
D
Q: Animal moms are great moms. You might be surprised at some of these moms. Octopuses The octopus mother lays about 50,000 eggs. For about 300 days, she stays with the eggs, cleans them and protects them. She does not leave to feed. However, this animal mom dies as soon as the eggs are hatched . Crocodiles A crocodile mother puts a lot of time and effort into raising her babies. She starts by building a nest which she guards for over two months! When the eggs are ready to hatch, the young crocs call out to their mother, who digs them out and helps them hatch. She then carries them in her mouth down to the water, where she will guard them for several more weeks or months until thy learn to hunt on their own. Bats Bats become moms by hanging head up in a cave, giving birth. Catching the youngsters before it can fall to the ground below, she puts it in a pouch .Bat moms may carry babies with them when feeding for the first few days. As the little bats get bigger and heavier, moms help them hang on the wall of their caves and return to feed them. It continues for about three weeks, until the babies are grown up and able to fly on their own. Koalas The animal mom gives birth after pregnancy of only 35 days. The hairless baby climbs into its mother's pouch and lives there for another five months. When the little koala is between five and eight months old, it leaves the pouch for short periods of time but returns for safety. Once it is too big to return to the pouch, it will climb onto its mother's back and ride there until it is about 12 moths old. Which animal moms die when their babies are born? A) Octopuses B) Crocodiles C) Bats D) Koalas
A: A
(Q).
I promised Michael I wouldn't mention this until the season was over.Now l think it's time. Early last season, I wrote a column about an art of kindness I had seen Jordan do to a disabled child outside the stadium.After it ran,I got a call from a man in the western suburbs.He said,"I read what you wrote about Jordan.but I thought I should tell you another thing I saw." Here it comes, I thought. It always does. Write something nice about a person, and people call you up to say that the person is not so nice. A few weeks later Jordan and I were talking about something else before a game, and I brought up what the man had said. Was the man right? Had Jordan really been talking to those two boys in that poor and dirty neighborhood? "Not two boys," Jordan said. "But four." And he named them. He said four names. And what did they talk about? "Everything," Jordan said. " Anything. I've asked to see their grades so that I can check to see if they're paying attention to their study. If it turns out that one or two of them may need teaching, I make sure they get it." It's just one more part of Michael Jordan's life,one more thing that no one knows about, and one more thing Jordan does fight for. The NBA season is over now, and those boys have their memories. So do J! When the expert reviewers begin to turn against Jordan as they surely will, I'll think about those boys under the streetlight, waiting for the man they know to come. For someone they can depend on. The text implies that Jordan is _ . A) an excellent basketball player B) good at dealing with problems of life C) always ready to make friends with young people D) willing to do whatever he can for the good of society
(A).
D