You've just come home, after living abroad for a few years. Since you've been away, has this country changed for the better or for the worse? If you've just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight's holiday, small changes have probably surprised you--anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house. So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed--or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned. Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families--all very conservative .The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners. Having been an immigrant myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I'd think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they're more open-minded and often work harder than the natives. Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we'd left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed. To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening -- in Cyprus, they're very relaxed -- and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers. But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they've got. Which might be the best title for the passage? A) Life in Britain. B) Britain in Memory. C) Britain in Future. D) Back in Britain.
D
(Question)
The producers of instant coffee found their product strongly resisted in the market places despite their product's obvious advantages. Furthermore,the advertising expense for instant coffee was far greater than that for regular coffee. Efforts were made to find the cause of the users' seemingly unreasonable resistance to the product. The reason given by most people was dislike for the taste. The producers doubt that there might be deeper reasons,however. This was supported by one of motivation research's classic studies,one often cited in the trade. Mason Haire of the University of California constructed two shopping lists that were the same except for one item. There were six items common to both lists: hamburger,carrots,bread,baking powder,canned peaches,and potatoes,with the brands or amounts specified. The seventh item,in fifth place on both lists,read"lib. Maxwell House coffee"on one list and"Nescafe instant coffee"on the other. One list was given to each one in a group of fifty women,and the other list to those in another group of the same size. The women were asked to study their lists and then to describe,as far as they could,the kind of woman(personality and character)who would draw up that shopping list. Nearly half of those who had received the list including instant coffee described a housewife who was lazy and a poor planner. On the other hand,only one woman in the other group described the housewife,who had included regular coffee on,her list was lazy; only six of that group suggested that she was a poor planner. Eight women felt that the instant-coffee user was probably not a good wife!No one in the other group drew such a conclusion about the housewife who intended to buy regular coffee. The"instant coffee"probably means _ . A) expensive coffee B) coffee made up quickly for use C) cheap coffee D) coffee made up slowly for use
(Answer)
B
Ques: I have a friend named Monty Roberts. He has let me use his horse ranch to put on events to raise money for youth at risk programs. Last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let you use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be when he grew up." "That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of owning a horse ranch someday. He put all his heart into the project and wrote about his dream in great detail. He even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of the buildings, stables and the track, and even a detailed floor plan for a 4000-square-foot house on it." "The next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later ,he received a large red "F" on his paper with a note, 'See me after class.' The boy went to see the teacher and asked why. The teacher told him there was no way for a young boy like him to do that because owning a horse ranch required much money and resources, and then added 'If you'll rewrite his paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.'" "The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what to do. His father said, 'Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it's a very important decision for you.'" "Finally, a week later, the boy turned in the same paper without any change and stated, 'You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream.'" "I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace." Don't let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what. Why did the boy turn in the same paper without any change? A) Because he made up his mind to stick to his dream. B) Because his father stopped him from rewriting it. C) Because he was angry about his teacher's words. D) Because he had put too much of his heart into it.
Ans: A
Ques: Many years ago a kind farmer bought a tank of gas for a mom with two children. He didn't accept any money but just smiled and said, "Pass it on to someone else." The mom was my mother. After many years, I had a similar experience. A few weeks ago as my husband and I were filling up our car with a coupon for 99 cents a gallon, I got into a long line to pay. I could see that the young man before me was having some kind of problem; I quickly realized that he had misunderstood the coupon and thought it was 99 cents to fill his small truck. Everyone was saying, "99 cents a gallon is so cheap - they can't give the gas away." He was embarrassed and was just calling his wife when I got to the counter . He said to his wife, "Just come here because I don't have enough money on me." I asked the cashier how much his was, and she told me. I told her I would pay for it and touched the man on the arm and told him to tell his wife it had been paid for. He nodded and turned back to the phone, then stopped and looked at me. "What?" I told him again, and I was so surprised to see everyone stop what they were doing to watch me as if I had just grown another head. When he asked how he could give the money back to me, I just said, "Pass it on to someone else in need!" We know from the passage that the young man _ . A) paid for his gas with the help of his wife B) felt stupid for having mistaken the gas price C) went to the gas station together with his wife D) was not allowed to use the coupon that day
Ans:
B