Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: One of the speaking rules you need to know might sound strange to most ESL (English as a second language) students, but it is one of the most important rules. If you want to pass examinations, then study grammar. However, if you want to become fluent in English, then you should try to learn English without studying the grammar. Studying grammar will only slow you down and confuse you. You will think about the rules when creating sentences instead of naturally saying a sentence like a native. Remember that only a small part of English speakers know more than 20% of all the grammar rules. Many ESL students know more grammar than native speakers. I can confidently say this with experience. I am a native English speaker, majored in English Literature, and have been teaching English for more than 10 years. However, many of my students know more details about English grammar than I do. When they sometimes ask me about grammar, I can easily look up the definition and apply it, but I can't tell them the answer _ I often ask my native English friends some grammar questions, and only a few of them know the correct answer. However, they are fluent in English and can read, speak, listen, and communicate effectively. Do you want to be able to recite the definition of a causative verb, or do you want to be able to speak English fluently? Question: Which of the following titles best suits the text? Options: A: Fluency or Grammar? B: Grammar Counts! C: Exams or No Exams? D: No More Grammar!
A: A

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Megan Tarzynski, 17, knows she lives in a world where looks are important, especially for teenage girls, but she is not ashamed of (...) her looks. At Notre Dame High School for girls, Tarzynski takes an active part in many activities. "I am involved with drama club and another club called Polish club," said Megan. Eighty-five percent of Megan's body is covered with what are called "port wine stains "caused by a serious illness. She also has glaucoma . Megan has been going to Children's Memorial Hospital for laser treatment since she was a child. When she was growing up, her mom, Karen Miller, had a hard time dealing with the public. "I'd be accused of beating her and burning her. I mean, it was very difficult, very difficult, and I was a young mom and just to hear those things from people was hurtful," said Karen. Support from her family and persons of her age have helped Megan accept herself. "I only wear make-up if I'm going out in public or some place where I would feel more uncomfortable," she said. "And, if I'm at school, I usually don't wear make-up. I feel pretty comfortable with the girls around me," said Megan. One of those girls is Megan's new friend Tanan Nicpon. She said, "I don't judge Megan by her looks. She is a really cool person." "Megan is amazing. There is nothing that she can't do. She doesn't let anybody put her down. She does not let anyone help her in any way; she doesn't want any special treatment. She just does everything. She's amazing," said Karen. In the autumn, Megan will be a senior at Notre Dame High School. Question: Karen Miller had a hard time dealing with the public because _ . Options: A: she had to persuade her daughter to face the public cleverly B: she had difficulty in making the public not laugh at her daughter. C: the public thought her daughter's looks was caused by her ill-treatment D: the public thought she didn't treat her daughter's illness in hospital
A: C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Dubai boasts that it has just built a "new global landmark"---the Dubai Tower, which stands 512.1 meters high now and has just become the tallest building in the world. The Dubai Tower now _ Taiwan's Taipei 101, which is 508 meters tall, and has 141 storeys, more than any other building in the world. The Dubai Tower, being built by South Korea's Samsung Corporation and scheduled for completion next year, is one of a series of great projects taking shape in Dubai. The final projected height of the tower has remained a secret since the project was launched in January 2004; however, it is rumored that the tower will be more than 700 meters tall and have more than 160 storeys. The Dubai Tower has become the tallest building in the world in just 1,276 days, leaving behind other tall buildings. The Dubai Tower will house 30,000 apartments in addition to the world's largest shopping mall. It is the centerpiece of the 20-billion-dollar venture. Another venture gradually emerging across the desert sands is Dubailand, a series of multi-billion-dollar projects claimed to be the Middle East's very own Orlando. Dubai also paid 100 million dollars to buy the Queen Elizabeth II, one of the world's superb cruise liners , which it plans to turn into a luxury floating hotel. Faced with decreasing oil wealth, the Western-oriented emirate has raced to turn itself into a business and leisure hub and it aims to more than double the number of tourists to 15 million by 2015. Question: Which building was the tallest in the world before the Dubai Tower began to be built? Options: A: Dubai land B: Orlando C: Taiwan's Taipei 101 D: The Twin Towers
A: C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Country music is one of the most popular kinds of music in the United States today because it is about simple but strong human feelings and events-love, sadness, good times, and bad times. It tells real-life, stories and sounds the way people really talk. As life becomes more complicated , it is good to hear music about ordinary people. Country music, sometimes called country-western, comes from two kinds of music. One is the traditional music of the people in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern Unite States. The other is traditional cowboy music from the west. The singers usually play guitars, and in the 1920s they started using electric guitars. At first city people said country music was low class. It was popular mostly in the South. But during World War II, thousands of Southerners went to the Northeast and Midwest to work in the factories. They took their music with them. Soldiers from the rest of the country went to army camps in the South. They learned country music. Slowly it became popular all over the country. Today country music is also popular everywhere in the United States and Canada--in small towns and in New York City, among black and white, and among educated and uneducated people. About 1, 200 radio stations broadcast country music twenty-four hours a day. English stars sing it in British English, and people in other countries sing it in their own languages. The music that started with cowboys and poor southerners is now popular all over the world. Question: Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? Options: A: Country music is about human feelings and events. B: Country music is sung by stars all in English. C: Country music is popular among city people today. D: City people didn't like country music at first.
A: B