Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Life can be so wonderful, full of adventure and joy. It can also be full of challenges, setbacks and heartbreaks. Whatever our circumstances, we generally still have dreams, hopes and desires--that little something more we want for ourselves and our loved ones. Yet knowing we can have more can also create a problem, because when we go to change the way we do things, up come the old patterns and pitfalls that stopped us from seeking what we wanted in the first place. This tension between what we feel we can have and what we are seemingly able to have is niggling suffering, the anxiety we feel. This is where we usually think it is easier to just give up. But we are never meant to let go of the part of us that knows we can have more. The intelligence behind that knowing is us--the real us. It's the part that believes in life and its possibilities. If you drop that, you begin to feel a little "dead" inside because you are dropping "you". So, if we have this capability but somehow life seems to keep us stuck, how do we break these patterns? Decide on a new course and make one decision at a time. This is good advice for a new adventure or just getting through today's challenges. While, deep down, we know we can do it, our mind--or the minds of those close to us--usually say we can't. That isn't a reason to stop, it's just the mind, that little man or woman on your shoulder, trying to talk you out of something again. It has done it many times before. It's all about starting simple and doing it now. Decide and act before overthinking. When you do this you may feel a little, or large, _ and you will be on your way. Question: What does the author intend to tell us? Options: A: It's easier than we think to get what we want. B: It's important to learn to accept sufferings in life. C: It's impractical to change our way of thinking. D: It's harder than we expect to follow a new course.
A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Many people once thought that air pollution had a bad influence upon only the area immediately around large cities with factories and heavy automobile traffic. Today, we know that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is nearly worldwide. On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the entire eastern half of the United States and led to health warnings even in rural areas away from any major concentration of factories and automobile traffic. In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be affected by air pollution. Some scientists feel that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide( ) in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) is creating a"greenhouse effect" - holding in heat reflected from the earth and raising the world's average temperature. If this view is correct and the world's temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be under water. Another opinion, less widely held, is that increasing tiny substances in the atmosphere are blocking sunlight and lowering the earth's temperature-a result that would be equally disastrous.A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to new ice age and would make agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas. At present we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though one recent government report prepared by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very likely). Perhaps, if we are very lucky, the two tendencies will make up for each other and the world's temperature will stay about the same as it is now. Question: As pointed out at the beginning of the passage, people used to think that air pollution _ . Options: A: caused widespread damage in the countryside B: affected the entire eastern half of the United States C: almost brought worldwide effect D: existed merely in urban and industrial areas
D

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I first visited hutong as part of a tourist group several years ago. We rode on a trishaw with a guide explaining the history, architecture and lifestyle of the local inhabitants. Having visited the "must-sees" of Beijing, like the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Drum Tower and the Summer Palace, going into the hutong home of some famous ancient families gave the "Beijing experience" a human element. My curiosity has sharpened over the years from reading about them at every opportunity. During the preparation for the Olympics, I was eager to learn that some siheyuan courtyards in hutong were turned into accommodations for visitors. I wished to stay in one someday. Preparing for a recent trip to the capital, I eagerly sought one out. On my limited teacher's salary, I settled on an affordable option, though I looked longingly at the more courtyard accommodations. As usual, by not being able to go upmarket, I ended up having something closer to a true experience. A real family still lives in the courtyard, which is closer to the original. The rooms all opened into the central courtyard. Flowers were blooming, beans and peas were climbing up the bamboo fence, and the cat was napping in the sun. Every day after exploring the city, I'd hurry back to the hutong, take a quick shower and join the cat - snoozing in a bamboo-made chair with a book ready nearby. As the other guests came back we'd greet one another. There was a mother and young daughter from France, a guy from Canada, a mother and teenage daughter from the Netherlands, a teacher from England and several guests from various parts of China. Coming and going through the narrow alleys of the hutong, the residents would smile and give cheery "ni hao" (hello). Laughing children were playing under the watchful eyes of the neighbors. I felt right at home in this friendly neighborhood. Question: When did the author have the idea to visit Beijing hutong? Options: A: As early as he was a little child B: when he was reading the text books at school C: during the preparation for the Olympics D: the author doesn't mention it specifically
D

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A new study suggests that listening to music in the office improves the speed and accuracy of tasks such as data entry, proof reading and problem solving. In an office-based experiment, 88 per cent of participants were found to produce their most accurate work when listening to music. The study also found that 81 per cent completed their fastest work when music was played. And it matters what type of music you listen to. For instance, if you're doing your tax returns, then classical music is the most effective as it improves maths skills. Listening to Jessie Jor Justin Bieber could also improve your speed, with 58 per cent of participants completing data entry tasks faster while listening to pop songs. During proof-reading, dance music, such as David Guetta, had the biggest positive impact with participants increasing their speed by 20 per cent compared to tests undertaken with no music at all. Dance music also had a positive effect on spell-checking with a 75 per cent pass rate compared to 68 per cent when no music was played at all. The research, undertaken by Brighton-based Mind lab International, suggests that silent offices may be the least productive. 'The Music Works experiment revealed a positive _ between music and productivity - overall it showed that when listening to music, nine out of 10 people performed better,' said Dr David Lewis, chairman of Mind lab International. Question: The main purpose of the passage is to _ Options: A: describe and argue B: inform and explain C: compare and evaluate D: discuss and assess
B