Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Once upon a time, there was a family with eighteen children in a small village not far from Nuremberg. Eighteen! In spite of the hopeless condition, two of the children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art. After many long discussions, the two boys finally worked out an agreement. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother who attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy. They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was excellent. By the time he graduated, he had earned considerable fees for his works. When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming, where Albrecht drank a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, "Now you can go to Nuremberg to look for your dream, and I will take care of you." Tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side, Albert sobbed, "No... no... no...no. It is too late for me. Look...look at what four years in the mines has done to my hands! I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less draw delicate lines with a pen or a brush... For me, it is too late." To show thanks to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands", but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed it "The Praying Hands". The next time you... Question: Which of the following is NOT true about Albrecht Durer? Options: A: He did perfectly well at the academy. B: He intended to support his brother after graduation. C: He didn't begin to earn his living until his graduation. D: He created a masterpiece called "The Praying Hands".
A: C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I am not just a successful architect . I also like to play the piano. In my spare time I often turn some dry musical symbols into beautiful music. Many years ago, while I was in a university studying architecture, I worked in a workshop. During the break I found an old piano in the corner of the room. With the allowance of the boss I sat down to have a try. Following my fingers the keys danced brilliantly and at the same time beautiful music flew out and then to every part of the room. All my workmates suddenly stopped talking and made their ears ready for my music. After graduation, I began to devote myself to my profession. All my musical talent was wasted into zero. Then one evening we went to a concert at which Mr. Stevenson, one of the ordinary workers in my company, sang us some beautiful songs. His musical talents made us all surprised. We all enjoyed ourselves with his beautiful voice so much that we even thought him a professional singer. I was also reminded of my musical talent. I began to train in a training center. My teacher was strict with me. He encouraged me to train every weekend and each time he asked me to play better than the last. Now I can proudly say I am also a successful pianist because every time I played on the stage fresh flowers and warm clapping would come from my audience. So I say, my friends, don't busy yourself with your work too much. Find some time to develop your potential talent and your life will become more wonderful. Question: After graduation, why did the author waste his music talent? Options: A: He realized that his music talent was nothing at all. B: His workmates did not like him to play music. C: He went on with his further study. D: He was too busy with his work.
A: D

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Psychologists take opposing views of how external rewards, from warm praise to cold cash, affect motivation and creativity. Behaviorists, who study the relation between actions and their consequences, argue that rewards can improve performance at work and school. Cognitive researchers, who study various aspects of mental life, maintain that rewards often destroy creativity by encouraging dependence on approval and gifts from others. The latter view has gained many supporters, especially among educators. But the careful use of small monetary rewards sparks creativity in grade-school children, suggesting that properly presented inducements indeed aid inventiveness, according to a study in the June Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. "If kids know they're working for a reward and can focus on a ly challenging task, they show the most creativity," says Robert Eisenberger of the University of Delaware in Newark. "But it's easy to kill creativity by giving rewards for poor performance or creating too much anticipation for rewards." A teacher who continually draws attention to rewards or who hands out high grades for ordinary achievement ends up with uninspired students, Eisenberger holds. As an example of the latter point, he notes growing efforts at major universities to tighten grading standards and restore failing grades. In earlier grades, the use of so-called token economies, in which students handle challenging problems and receive performance-based points toward valued rewards, shows promise in raising effort and creativity, the Delaware psychologist claims. Question: What is the response of many educators to external rewards for their students? Options: A: They have no doubts about them. B: They have doubts about them. C: They approve of them. D: They avoid talking about them.
A: B

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Dr. Jack M. Gwaltney, Jr. a professor at the University Of Virginia School Of Medicine infected six student volunteers with virus, the most common cause of colds. A few days later, when they were coughing and sneezing, he gathered 37 more people and divided them into three groups. Group 1 members spent three days and nights in the same room with one of the infected students, separated by a screen so they couldn't touch one another. Group 2 sat around a table while an infected volunteer talked, coughed and sang to them. Group 3 held hands with an infected student for ten seconds, and then touched their own noses or eyes. Although most scientists at the time, the mid-70s, believed colds were spread by virus-laden droplets spread through the air when infected people coughed or sneezed, Gwaltney suspected physical contact might play an important role. Sure enough, of the 15 people who had touched a student volunteer, 11 became infected--compared with only one of those who had been sitting at the table, and none who had spent three days and nights together. "The best evidence we have is that hand-to-hand contact is the most efficient way of transmitting virus," says Gwaltney. The study was one of a series that helped establish Gwaltney's reputation as a leading authority. Dr. Robert Couch says, "It would not be inappropriate to call him Mr. Common Cold." When Gwaltney is asked how close scientists are to finding a cure, he replies: "If you mean 'get rid of', I don't think we're going to be able to do that with cold viruses any time soon. But if you look in the dictionary, you'll see that 'cure' is explained as a successful treatment. And we're not just getting more effective at treating the symptoms --we're getting at the root cause too. " Question: Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? Options: A: Dr. Gwaltney was sure that hand-to-hand touch is the cause of the common cold. B: Only one of the people who had spent three days and nights together became infected. C: Dr. Gwaltney conducted many an experiment as to the cause of colds. D: Dr. Gwaltney tested altogether 43 volunteers to see how they could develop colds.
A: C