*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: A lot of people these days believe Valentine's Day is a made-up holiday designed to promote the sale of greeting cards and gifts. And while there may be some Arguments for that, there is a mysterious story as to why February 14th has become known today as "Valentine's Day." Our story dates back centuries ago, to the Roman Empire, and the martyrdom of two or three Christians named Valentine. At least one of those Valentines is thought to have been killed on February 14th. Legend has it that this particular Valentine wais killed by a Roman emperor because he secretly presided over the marriages of young men and women, against the wishes of the Emperor, who wanted only single men to fight in his army. However, there is no historical evidence to back this up. But what is widely known is that the love-element to Valentine's Day can be first traced to the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer wrote a poem in 1382 to mark the anniversary of his King's engagement, and scribed a line -- "For this was Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his male." From this point, on Valentine's Day became intertwined with love. But for the pessimists out there who see Valentine's Day as a commercial idea, there is some historical evidence to back this up as well! The true popularization of Valentine's Day can be traced to late 18th century England, when a British publishing company first started selling paper Valentine's Day cards with tender words on them. They became so popular that by the middle of the 19th century, some 1.3 billion British pounds a year were being spent on Valentine's Day gifts. Question: One of those Valentines was killed because _ . - he refused to join the army - he refused to remain single - he helped young people find partners - he helped with young people's marriages
**Answer**
he helped with young people's marriages

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: European Day of Languages falls on 26 September. BBC News Online reported the attitudes across several European Union countries to languages. Tamsin Smith, Rome, Italy Italians place very high importance on learning languages, particularly English. Twenty years ago it was quite difficult to find an English speaker here but today it is quite easy. The strong influence of American and English culture helps young people to learn the English language. They often become familiar with it through "Harry Potter" books or Disney movies. English schools, where Italian children are taught all their lessons in English, are also becoming popular among rich Italians. Lucien Libert, Paris, France Languages are very important in France. A good knowledge of the English language is necessary for many Frenchmen to get a good job and the more languages you can learn, the better. English is the first language you learn in school and you start very young. Most people have at least eight years of learning English at school. Learning German or Spanish comes next and Latin is also taught in most schools. While French people learn languages, there is also a movement to protect the French language. James Helm, Dublin, Ireland The English language predominates in Ireland, but the ancient Irish language is a lasting source of pride and interest, and it remains a living tongue that is used in several areas. School are required to teach ancient Irish, and most students learn it as part of the subjects. There is a continuing discussion about how to protect the language best. In recent years some primary schools have introduced foreign language classes for younger students, and the Irish government has tried to encourage schools to offer more languages such as French, Spanish, German and Italian. Question: Which of the following statements is TRUE according to Tamsin Smith? - English learning in Italy has been popular for more than a century. - Some popular books and movies help young Italian people with their English a lot. - Only children from rich families like to learn English in Italy. - More and more Italian children have given up learning their mother tongue.
**Answer**
Some popular books and movies help young Italian people with their English a lot.

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: "Mobile phones killed our man,"screamed one headline last year. Also came claims that an unpublished study had found that mobile phones cause memory loss. And a British newspaper devoted its front page to a picture supposedly showing how mobile phones heat the brain. For anyone who uses a moblie phone, these are worring times. But speak to the scientists whose work is the focus of these scared and you will hear a different story. What we do have, however, are some results suggesting that mobile phones'emission have a variety of strange effects on living tissue that can't be explained by the general radiation biology. And it's only when the questions raised by these experients are answered that we'll be able to say for sure what moblie phones might be doing to the brain. One of the odd effects comes from the now famous"merrory loss" study. Alan Preece and his colleagues at the prefix = st1 /UniversityofBristolplaced a device that imitated the microwave emission of mobile phones to the left ear of volunteers. The volunteers were all goood at recalling words and pictures they had been shown on a computer screen. Preece says he still can't comment on the effects of using a mobile phone for years on end. But he rules out the suggestion that mobile phones have an immediate effect on our cognitive abilities."I'm pretty sure there is no effect on short-term memory," he says. Another expert, Tatterasll, remarked that his latest findings have removed fears about memory loss. One result, for instance, suggests that nerve cell synapses exposed to microwaves become more----rather than less-----receptive to under-going changes linked to the memory formation. It would be an even happier outcome if microwave turned out to be good for you. It sounds crazy, but a couple of years ago a team led by William Adey at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California, found that mice exposed to microwave for two hours a day were less likely to develop brain tumours when given a cancer-causing chemical. So should we forget about... Question: What is the attitude of Preece on the suggestion that mobile phones have an immediate effect on our congnitive abilities? - Positive - Negative - Unknown - Wait and see
**Answer**
Negative

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: It's not Christmas Day yet. But wherever I go on the streets, I see shops selling Christmas trees and all kinds of beautiful decorations, waiters wearing Christmas hats; I hear children singing Christmas songs on broadcast; I get messages of Christmas's best wishes from friends. I just got quite confused again, since when have Chinese begun celebrating Christmas Day? What do these people celebrate it for, the birth of Chris? But we all know that most of Chinese are not Christians, they don't even know the origin of Christmas Day, and they celebrate it for no reason. I don't celebrate Christmas Day or any other western holidays since I'm not a Christian and nor am I a westerner. I don't know what Christmas really means. Anyway I can't get reasonable answers from my friends. Some of them think they would like to just take this chance to enjoy themselves regardless of the meaning of the festival. Some of them think I'm an old-fashioned girl, a _ who doesn't appreciate the spirit of Chinese cultural tolerance and understanding of other cultures. Well, if it is about cultural tolerance, why don't we ever celebrate the month of Muharram, or festivals of colours in India, or Fiestas Patrias in Mexico? I really appreciate cultural exchanges and communications with all nations, but I don't think this is what it's about. People are celebrating more and more western festivals while ignoring our traditional ones. Is it part of globalization ? Do people in other non-western countries also celebrate Christmas? Question: According to the writer, many Chinese people celebrate Christmas _ . - for no reason - for the birth of Chris - because most of them are Christians - because they don't like Chinese festivals
**Answer**
for no reason