Recently we've had a popular department store open in our area. It's been the talk of the town for months. On about the third day of the grand opening, I thought I'd stop by to check it out. I noticed right away that the parking area was very busy. As I was about to exit my car, a lady was about to enter her car to leave. She was parked on the opposite side of me and there was a four way stop behind our parking areas. As the lady tried to back out to leave, some of the shoppers were extremely rude to her. They shouted and beeped their horns at the lady and she had a look of terror on her face. She looked at me and threw up both of her hands as if she didn't know what to do. I gestured for the lady to put her window down and I told her that she was doing just fine. She smiled and seemed to relax. I then became her rear view mirror as it was hard for her to see behind her while backing out of the parking space. As I watched for safety, she was able to back out enough to drive forward. At this point, she was smiling broadly!She thanked me many times. I felt that many of the other drivers weren't sympathetic enough toward. I was happy to help that lady. Besides that, who knows, we may have avoided a potential accident with this simple act of patience and kindness. Noticing the woman's difficulty, the driver _ . A) comforted her and guided her to drive out B) offered to drive her car out of the parking area C) told her to use her rear view mirror D) stood by smiling and watched her driving by
A
Award-winning director Steven Spielberg will head up this year's Cannes Film Festival jury,the organizers announced Thursday,just days after he missed out on his third best-director Oscar. Spielberg,66,one of the most powerful and respected film-makers in Hollywood,said he was flattered by the appointment. "The memory of my first Cannes Film Festival,nearly 31 years ago with the debut of E.T.,is still one of the most vibrant memories of my career,he said in a statement."It is an honor and a privilege to preside over the jury of a festival that proves,again and again,that cinema is the language of the world," he added. Ever since E.T.screened at Cannes in l982, "I've often asked Steven to be jury president,but he's always been shooting a film,"said the festival's president,Gilles Jacob. The festival is one of the highlights in the international cinema calendar and this year runs between May l5 and May 26.Spielberg's works cuts across a wide range" between entertainments films and serious reflections on history,racism and the human condition",festival organizers said in the statement. Spielberg has directed more than 50 films in his five-decade career,including pop culture touchstones such as "Jaws,"E.T.," "Indiana Jones" and "Jurassic Park." But it was not until he turned to darker subjects that he won his first Oscars.He won his first best director award in l994 for" Schindler's List" and his second best director Oscar in l 998 for "Saving Private Ryan." This year's "Lincoln "led the nominations ahead of Sunday's Oscar ceremony with l2 nods,but took home only two prizes.Ang Lee beat Spielberg to best director for "The Life of Pi". Because of his films,he's year-in year-out the equal of the very greatest Hollywood filmmakers. He felt _ when he was invited to head up this years' Cannes Film Festival jury. A) surprised B) nervous C) satisfied D) proud
D
Q: Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few obvious benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked. Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup as human beings. What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival. Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible. Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for. Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger. With knowledge, we can lessen its effects. Exploration also allows minerals and other potential resources to be found. Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later. Resources may be more than physical possessions . Knowledge or techniques have been gained through exploration. The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives. We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems. Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products of technological developments in the space industry! While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us. While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers. The danger exists, but knowledge can help human being to survive. Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist. While Earth is the only planet... What makes it possible for humans to live on other planets? A) Our genetic makeup. B) Resources on the earth. C) The adaptive ability of humans. D) By-products in space exploration.
A: C
(Q).
Self-control can make you happier not only in the long-run, but also in the moment. The research showed that self-control isn't about giving up desires, but more about managing conflicting goals. Since most people consider highly self-controlled ones as being more task-centered, the scientists decided to find out the connection between self-control and people's happiness to determine if being self-disciplined leaves people feel less joyful. Through a set of tests-including one that assessed 414 middle-aged participants on self-control and another that randomly interviewed volunteers on their smart phones about their mood and any desires they might be experiencing, researchers found a strong connection between higher levels of self-control and satisfaction. The smart phone experiment also showed how self-control may improve mood. Those who showed the greatest self-control reported more good moods and fewer bad ones. But this didn't appear to be linked to being more able to resist temptation --it was because they exposed themselves to fewer situations that might inspire desires in the first place. They were doing a number of things that bring them happiness and avoiding problematic desires and conflicts. That became clear in the study's last experiment, which looked into how self-control affects the way people handle goals that conflict with one another. In particular, the researchers were interested in how self-disciplined and less-disciplined people differed when it came to choosing among "virtues" and "vices" like the pleasure of eating sugar cookie vs. the pain of gaining weight. Participants were asked to list three important goal conflicts they experienced regularly and were also questioned on how they managed to balance the goals. The highly self-controlled showed an obvious difference from those with less discipline over their lives. They tended to avoid creating situations in which their goals would conflict, and reported fewer instances of having to choose between short-term pleasure and long-term... Different from the less-controlled ones, the highly self-controlled people _ . A) rarely prefer pleasures B) often create conflicting goals C) like to put up with pain D) stay away from negative emotions
(A).
D