Christmas in the United States is traditionally a time of gift-giving and family gatherings.But small towns across the country have their own traditions. Middleburg,a small town in the state of Virginia,is known for its horses.For more than 50 years,Middleburg has organized a yearly Christmas parade .Men and women ride horses through the woods and fields.They follow hunting dogs as they search for a wild fox.But first,these hunters ride in the yearly parade,wearing their bright red hunting clothes and hats. John Hale,a citizen of Middleburg says many city people visit his town."We have a lot of people from an urban area that come to visit,but it incorporates a lot of the o1d traditions." The nighttime hay ride is one such tradition.Small groups gather under the moonlight on an open wagon filled with hay.The passengers sing as farm horses pull the wagon slowly across the fields. There are some newer traditions,too.Trey Matheu works at the nearby Salamander Resort.He says a visit to Middleburg is a chance to slow down for a day.He says Middleburg can be a calming,peaceful place without tension. "Middleburg is an opportunity to take a step back,to take a deep breath,and understand that even though life is moving on at a very fast pace,there's really an opportunity where you're allowed to step off for a little bit." Parade organizers say more than 13,000 people attend even in below-freezing weather. But if you ask,you will hear many different reasons why people come to watch the parade: "I come here because I'm from a small town. I like how everybody comes together.""I live right down that street;right there.And that's my dog." Middleburg looks its best at Christmastime.That may be why so many people return each year. At Christmas,people in Middleburg usually _ . A) visit friends and families B) feed farm horses with hay C) hunt for dogs in the woods D) ride in the yearly parade
D
We all think that we know what happiness is. We all seem to be making great efforts towards this goal of happiness but what is it really? It is an agreed fact that all the creatures want happiness and are afraid of pain and sadness. The question, however, is "what is real happiness?" What really is called happiness? The desire for happiness has no meaning without understanding the real nature of happiness. Some thinkers say, "Happiness does not lie in objects of enjoyment; happiness or unhappiness lies in imagination." To prove their belief, they give examples like the following one: A man has a two-storey house; on the right is a five-storey building and on the left a cottage. When he sees right, he feels unhappy and when he sees left he feels happy. As such happiness does not lie in possession of sensory objects, but in imagination. They advise people to look towards those who have fewer possessions and be happy. If you look towards people having more wealth and possessions, you will always be unhappy. It is unreasonable to hold this point of view. It is unkind to regard one happy by imagining that one is better than the poor and the unhappy. "If you want to be happy, look towards the poor". We know that those poor people cannot satisfy even their basic needs. This attitude satisfies the sense of pride of possessions, but this can never be called happiness. Unless we really find where happiness lies, we cannot really be happy. Some ask people to do this and do that and say, "This way your desires would be satisfied. You would get the desired objects and become happy." People holding these views regard happiness as satisfaction of desires. But it is not possible to satisfy one's desires because there are countless desires of countless people and the material things are limited. Then new desires arise as soon as the previous ones are satisfied. Therefore, desires, which are changing all the time, can never be satisfied. Happiness is a characteristic of a good life, that is, a life in which a person fulfills ... According to the passage, people who think happiness lies in imagination will try to achieve happiness by _ A) looking towards those with fewer possessions B) looking towards people having more wealth C) imagining how rich you will be in the future D) imagining that you have a five-storey building
A
Q: There are four types of persons who go to work part-time. These include retirees who want a bit more income or socialization, parents who want to spend more time with their children, college and high school students and temporary agency workers who want more experience. Many people enjoy the advantages of working part-time, but benefits are rarely offered to part-time employees. Most people are hoping for health insurance and retirement benefits when taking a job. Traditionally, companies only offer benefits to employees who work 30 hours or more a week. This is only a 25% reduction in hours, so it doesn't free up a lot of time for the employee who needs part-time hours. Even when a part-timer is offered health benefits, he is rarely offered paid time off and retirement benefits. Dental benefits are almost never offered to part-time employees. Many businesses hire part-time employees for the simple reason of saving money. If they work less than a certain number of hours, the employers don't need to pay for benefits. There are companies, however, that are beginning to offer benefits to part-time employees. This includes benefits for health, paid time off and retirement plans. Some companies have begun to offer this in order to take in high quality, trained professionals who just want part-time hours. If a company wants a qualified employee, it will have to compete with other companies. People who may only want to work part-time may be forced to take a full-time job to get the benefits. Companies who offer benefits to part-timers have an advantage by offering more choices to their employees in terms of hours. Conducting an Internet search is probably the quickest way to find companies that provide benefits for part-time employees. Many large corporations like Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and Whole Foods offer benefits to part-time employees among other things. Look for companies that offer a team approach to their employees. Employees are given choices and part of decision-making in the business. Businesses that... People prefer to work part-time mainly because they _ . A) don't want to spend more time on work B) have so many household and social affairs C) hope to have more money, time and experience D) only expect to make more friends
A: C
(Question)
When you have a post-office box, the postman doesn't bring letters to you, but you go to the post-office and get your letters and parcels from your box. The box is locked, only you have the key, so the letters and parcels are safe. One day the headmaster of a school wrote to the post-office and asked for a post-office box for his school. He soon got an answer. It said, "We will give you a post-office box in one month." Three months later, the headmaster wrote to the post-office and said, "Why haven't we got a post-office box yet?" This was the answer from the post-office: "Dear sir, We gave you a post-office box two months and wrote to you then to tell you. Here is the key to your box. You will find our letter to you in it." When you have a post-office box, _ . A) it is easier for you to write letters B) you will have more letters than parcels C) you get your letters in front of your house D) you got to the post-office to get your letters
(Answer)
D