Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Connie Lau hates smoking. "It smells awful, and it's so bad for you. It breaks my heart to see my friends smoking. I try to get them to give up smoking." She says. So why does Connie walk into convenience stores and try to buy cigarettes? She is testing to see if stores will sell cigarettes to a kid who is younger than 18. "You have to be 18 to purchase cigarettes, and I'm 16, so if they sell to me, they're breaking the law," Connie says. Connie isn't a vigilante ; She works with local police in her town of Castro Valley, California. Officers drive her to stores, and she goes in alone to try to buy cigarettes. If the person behind the counter sells her a pack, an officer comes in and writes the business a ticket for breaking the law. Most stores obey the law and don't sell her cigarettes. The law requires that customers show ID if store employees ask them to. "When they ask your age, you can't lie," Connie says. "Most stores don't sell to me. In a year, we've visited almost 150 stores and had only 15 sales." Working undercover can be scary, even with police nearby. Connie said one cashier refused to sell her cigarettes and then got angry when he found out her age. He threatened to call the authorities. "To calm him down, the police went in to explain that I was undercover," she says. Most teens wouldn't think of going undercover for the police. What's Connie's motivation ? For starters, she can't stand smoking. But she also believes it's important for young people like her to try to make a real impact in their communities. In her view, teens can do more than get good grades in school, do chores at home, and do well in out-of-class activities. Every time she stops the sale of cigarettes to children, she's helping to uphold the law. "A single teenager can make a big difference," Connie says. "For the most part, when stores get caught, they learn their lesson and don't do it again." Question: According to the law what age of person can the store be allowed to sell cigarettes to? - Under 18. - More than 18. - 16. - More than 16.
More than 18.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: New York City plans to put a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts, in an effort to fight rising obesity. The ban would affect almost all the popular sugary drinks found in fast-food restaurants and even sports centers, from energy drinks to pre-sweetened iced teas. The sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 ounces would be forbidden under the first-in-the- nation plan. The measure would not apply to diet sodas, fruit juices, zero-calorie Vitamin Waters, dairy-based drinks like milkshakes , or alcoholic drinks; it would not expand to drinks sold in grocery stores or convenience stores. Stefan Friedman, spokesman for the New York City Beverage Association, criticized the city's plan, saying it turns focus away from the hard work that needs to be done on this front. Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, said he believes the ban would be effective. "It is not right to put all the blame for obesity on sugar drinks, but they are strongly connected with this rise in obesity over the last 30 years." Dr. Farley, the health commissioner, said the city had seen higher obesity rates in neighborhoods where soda consumption was more common. City officials said they believe it will finally prove popular and push governments around the U.S. to follow similar rules. Mr. Bloomberg has introduced a series of rules in his term of office, including bans on smoking in restaurants and parks, a ban on trans fat in restaurant food and a requirement for health inspection grades to be posted in restaurant windows. Because of the measures, the mayor was laughed at as Nanny Bloomberg, by those who view the bans as threats to personal freedom. But many of the measures adopted in New York have become models for other cities, including bans on smoking and trans fat, as well as the use of graphic advertising to fight smoking and soda consumption, and the demand that restaurants post calories contents... Question: According to the ban, _ . - the sales of diet sodas are forbidden in movie theatres - sugary drinks are allowed to be sold in grocery stores - large-sized drinks can't be sold in convenience stores - fruit juices and milkshakes are not allowed on sale.
sugary drinks are allowed to be sold in grocery stores

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Based on new analysis, we are rapidly approaching major climate change and the effects on society and the environment could be quite severe. Geographers predict that within the next eighty years, current world climate zones could shift and some could completely disappear. Polar regions will get colder while tropical regions will get even hotter, forcing animals to migrate north. Climate changes like these could lead to the spread of diseases. Tropical storms and hurricanes will not only increase but may also become more intense. If the changes come too quickly, animal and plant species may not be able to adapt fast enough and could disappear. According to Science Daily, a new study predicts that by the year 2100, many of today's familiar climates will be replaced by climates unknown in today's world. It is urgent that we reduce the risks of these far-reaching consequences for the whole world. The planet itself has been showing signs of change. In 2004, a serious tsunami created by a major earthquake killed thousands in Sumatra and in 2008, thousands died in China because of another severe earthquake. Egypt was hit in 2009 with a major earthquake and Haiti was _ in 2010 by yet another massive earthquake. Within just the last few months, new reports from around the world have been coming in and most agree that our climate situation is much worse than previously thought. At this point, it doesn't matter what is causing it, but rather, what can be done about it. What's more, our world is getting more and more unstable every year. There is war and threat of war everywhere. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and serious. However, other planets are experiencing global warming as well as our own and some scientists believe there may be some connection between this. No one knows anything for sure at this point because there is simply not enough data. Question: What is the author's purpose in using the examples of earthquakes? - To show the damage earthquakes caused. - To remind people to prevent future earthquakes. - To show major changes are taking place on the planet. - To tell us more earthquakes will happen in the future.
A: To show major changes are taking place on the planet.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote the story of the detective Sherlock Holmes, was having a trip in Europe. One day he got out of the railway station and climbed into a taxi. Before he could say a word, the driver turned to him and asked, "Where can I take you, Mr. Doyle?" Doyle was rather surprised. He asked the driver if he had ever seen him before. "No, sir," the driver replied, "I have never seen you before." Then he explained, "This morning's newspaper had a story about your being on vacation in Marseilles. This is the taxi stop where people who return from Marseilles always come. Your skin color tells me you have been on vacation. The ink spot on your right fingers suggests to me that you are a writer. Your clothes are very English, not French. Adding up all those pieces of information, I conclude that you are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle." "This is truly surprising!" the writer cried out. "You are a real-life copy to my fictional story, Sherlock Holmes!" "And there is one other thing," the driver added, with a smile on his face. "What's that?" "Your name is on the front of your suitcase." Question: The conversation between the two people took place _ . - at a bus stop - in a taxi - in Marseilles - in a railway station
in a taxi