Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Scientists have long understood the key role that oceans play in regulating the Earth's climate. Oceans cover 70 percent of the globe and store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere does. What's newer is the understanding of how this key component of our climate system responds to global warming. A brake on global warming -- for now One of oceans'most important climate functions is absorbing heat and carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the gases that cause global warming. Acting as a heat sponge , oceans have absorbed huge amounts of heat and CO2in the last forty years. Fujita explains that "oceans are saving us from faster climate change -- they are a big flywheel that delays rapid overheating of the Earth, putting a brake on the climate system." "That's the good news," he adds. "The bad news is that oceans only slow the atmospheric warming. Once oceans come to balance with a greenhouse gas warmed earth, the extreme heat will remain in the atmosphere and things will get much hotter." But where and how oceans release this accumulated heat is uncertain. And as oceans store heat, fragile underwater ecosystems are struggling. The most recent scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also notes with concern that oceans are acidifying because of increased absorption of atmospheric CO2, and thus causing a threat for shell-forming species. Sharp increases in carbon dioxide levels will cause further acidification of oceans. Currents distributing heat Another important role oceans play is that of distributor. Oceans deliver heat and life-sustaining nutrients around the globe. Just as blood vessels bring oxygen and nutrients to cells in the human body, oceans' currents carry oxygen, nutrients and heat throughout the Earth. Oceans distribute 25 percent to 50 percent of the energy the planet receives from the sun. For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat across the Atlantic. This warm current gives northwestern Europe a milder climate than it would normally have so far north. A... Question: This passage mainly talks about _ . Options: A: the roles of oceans B: global warming C: ocean currents D: carbon dioxide
A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: With the press of a button, a person with severe spinal cord injuiy is able to walk again, thanks to the Walking Assistive Exoskeleton Robot (WAER). Powered suits that could help paralyzed people walk and others lift and carry heavy loads with ease have been a dream since late 19th century. But they can realize their dreams in the 21st century. The 20-kilogram robot has four battery-powered motors that can run for up to three hours. Inventor Wu Chenghua, from Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, says it has successfully been in tests on 12 patients. "We have learned from our research process that patients whose injuries are below the fourth chest joint are able to use our robot to stand, walk and sit down," he said. Since walking contributes to muscle exercise, Wu says patients receive some additional benefits. "In the clinical process, we would check their bone mineral density ,and we found that the bone mineral densities of these patients had been improved." he said. Wu says his exoskeleton may be available for consumers by 2018. Meanwhile, baggage handlers at Tokyo's Haneda Airport will soon start testing a similar robot, developed by the Japanese firm Cyberdyne. The battery-powered robot weighs only 3 lift a heavy object, the machine monitors the movemen",says Yoshiyuki Sankai, the developer and CEO of Cyberdyne. "This robot suit monitors the signal from the human nerve system to support the waist's movement," Sankai said, "It self-adjusts the level support to reduce the load on the human waist, light and smart. We believe that it will change the life of paralyzed people in many ways and have a promising future." Question: What can we learn about the invention of Wu Chenghua from the passage? Options: A: It weighs 3 kilograms and can run for up to three hours. B: It will soon get tested at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. C: It may be put into use for consumers by the year 2028. D: It can be used by patients with injuries below the fourth chest joint.
D

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Inside the pleasingly fragrant cafe, So All May Eat(SAME) in downtown Denver ,the spirit of generosity is instantly noticeable :A donation box stands in place of a cash register. Customers here pay only what they can afford, no questions asked. A risky business plan, perhaps, but SAME Cafe has done one unchangeable thing in the Mile High City for six years: Open only at midday, the restaurant provides poor local can instead volunteer as waiters and waitresses, and dishwashers, or took after the buildings and equipment for the cafe. "It's based on trust, and it's working all right" , says co-owner Brad Birky , who started the cafe in 2006. With his wife Libby. Previously volunteering at soup kitchens, the Birkys were dissatisfied with the often unhealthy meals they served there. "We wanted to offer quality food in a restaurant where everyone felt comfortable ,regardless of their circumstances," Birky says. SAME's special lunch menu changes daily and most food materials are natural and grown by local farmers. The cafe now averages 65 to 70 customers (and eight volunteers) a day. And the spirit of generosity behind the project appears to be spreading. In early 2007,one volunteer who had cleared snow for his meals during the long winter said goodbye to the Birkys," He said he was going to New Orleans to help with the hurricane clear up," says Birky. 68.What can we learn about the soup kitchens the Birkys previously worked for? Question: What can we learn about the soup kitchens the Birkys prcviously worked for? Options: A: . They refused to have volunteers. B: They offered low quality food. C: They provided customers with a good environment. D: They closed down because of poor management.
A: B

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Mistrust _ Zhengzhou Ride-share Effort More than 300 private car owners from a central Chinese city volunteered to offer free rides to citizens to ease crowded public transportation, but many local people didn't accept the offer for fear of being cheated. The ride-share program was begun in October in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, when Ye Zhantong, a private car driver, started to gather volunteers to offer the free service. The drivers tied a green silk ribbon on the car to differentiate themselves from unlicensed taxi drivers. But the free rides haven't been popular among the public as increasing reports of dishonesty have dried up many local citizens' trust towards strangers. Ye said some of the volunteers have dropped out after they felt their kind intention was being questioned. Passersby walking in heavy rainfall or passengers who missed a bus would remain silent and walk away when the volunteers would stop and offer a ride. "It's so common that people give us the cold shoulder, and sometimes, take our kindness as ill will," said one of Ye's volunteers, identified as Binge. "Many would even say: 'Let's get out of here quickly to avoid being cheated by him.'" Some commenters on Weibo explained why they hesitated to participate in a ride-share program. "Trusting a stranger might bring huge risks. I can't take the risk," one Internet user wrote. Some said Ye's group wasn't authorized, and cheaters pretending to be kind drivers might volunteer. They suggested traffic authorities issue rules to regulate, protect and promote ride-share programs. Question: Some of the ride-share car drivers _ . Options: A: were forced to join Ye's group B: once behaved dishonestly C: offered free rides only to acquaintances D: have left Ye's group
D