Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: There was a man playing the piano in a bar. He was a good piano player and always performed in this bar. People came in just to hear him play. But one night, a customer told him that he didn't want to hear him just play the piano any more. He wanted him to sing a song. The man said, "I don't sing." But the customer was persistent . He told the bar manager, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want that man to sing!" The manager shouted across the room, "If you want to get paid, sing a song. Our customers are asking you to sing!" So he did. He sang a song. A piano player who had never sung in public did so for the first time. And everyone was surprised by his song "Mona Lisa". He got lots of applause that night. He had such a talent for singing, but _ for the past years! If without such a chance, he may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. However, now he has become one of the best-known singers in America. You, too, have skills and abilities. Maybe your "talent" is not as great as the singer above, but it may be better than you think! And with effort, most skills can be improved. So, in your life, you should be brave enough to try doing different things and find out what talents you really have! Question: Why did the man start to sing? - Because he wanted to make more money. - Because the bar manager said he liked his song. - Because the manager asked him to sing at the request of a customer. - Because he wanted to show everyone that he had a talent for singing.
Because the manager asked him to sing at the request of a customer.
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Hybrid cars are cars that run on petrol and electricity. They have a small standard petrol engine and a battery electric motor to provide electric power. There are some differences between different models of hybrid cars, but the general principle is that the car runs on petrol, and the electric motor kicks in when additional power is required, for example, when going uphill or accelerating. In some hybrid cars the petrol engine turns itself off when not needed, for example when the car has stopped at traffic light, keeping only the electric engine running. Conventional cars have large engines to deal with driving uphill and accelerating. Hybrid cars have much smaller petrol engines, improved by electric motors when needed, so they use less petrol. Another way that fuel consumption is cut is by a system of "regenerative braking". The electric motor is used to slow down the car, rather than conventional brakes. The energy produced by slowing the car is changed into electrical power, which is automatically stored in the battery. In effect, the battery recharges when you brake. In conventional cars the energy produced when braking is wasted. In 1928 Ferdinand Porsche built an experimental hybrid car. The first mass-produced hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, came out in Japan at the end of 1997. However, hybrid cars became available in the USA only in 1999. As they use less fuel, hybrid cars are cheaper to run. There are also many voices in place to encourage people to buy them. In some countries, hybrid car owners pay a lower rate of tax, and don't have to pay on certain roads. In some cities, hybrid cars are allowed to park for free. Question: Hybrid cars consume less energy than conventional cars because hybrid cars _ . - have large engines to deal with accelerating - have conventional brakes to slow down the car - have electric power to assist when needed - have no energy consumption when stopping
have electric power to assist when needed
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Before you go to another country, it is a great help if you know the language and some of the customs of the country. When people meet each other for the first time in Britain, they say "How do you do?" and shake hands . Usually they do not shake hands when they just meet or say goodbye. But they shake hands after they haven't met for a long time or when they will be away from each other for a long time. Last year a group of German students went to England for a holiday. Their teacher told them that the English people hardly shake hands. So when they met their English friends at the station, they kept their hands behind their backs. The English students had learned that Germans shake hands as often as possible, so they put their hands in front and got ready to shake hands with them. It made both of them laugh. Question: English people usually shake hands when they _ . - meet every time - meet for the first time - say goodbye to each other - very bad
meet for the first time
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Protecting Copyright Having finished her homework, Ma Li wants some music. As usual, she starts her computer and goes to Baidu.com to download music files. But this time she is surprised when an announcement about protecting songs' copyright bursts onto the screen. The age of free music and movie downloads may have come to an end as Web companies like Baidu are accused of pirating copyright. Lawsuits have been filed against four websites offering free downloads. In September 2005, a Beijing court ordered Baidu to pay recording company Shanghai Push compensation for their losses. Baidu was also told to block the links to the pirated music on the website. This caused a heated discussion on Interact file sharing. "Baidu's defeat in the lawsuit shows it is not right to get copyrighted songs without paying. Down loaders may face lawsuits or fines," said an official. Like many teens, Huang Ruoru, an 18-year-old girl from Puning in Guangdong Province, doesn't think that getting music from websites is wrong. She always shares her favourite songs downloaded from Baidu with her friends. When told about the lawsuit, she began to feel a little guilty about obtaining others' work without paying. However, other teenagers have different ideas. Wang Yafei, a Senior 2 girl from Jinan, Shandong Province pointed out that file sharing is a good way to promote pop singers. "If I download a song and really like it, I will buy the CD," she said. "So what the recording companies really should concentrate on is improving their music, rather than file-sharers." Question: Which of the following best describes the passage? - Downloading material can be illegal. - Music on the Internet is of better quality. - It's good to get free music on the Internet. - Baidu is a popular web company.
Downloading material can be illegal.
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