Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: One day, around Christmas time, fishermen off the west coast of Peru started on their traditional fishing trip. Much to their surprise, there were no fish! They knew immediately what had happened. Tales from years gone by had told them this was the result of El Nino which sometimes stop fishing for many months! El Nino is a warm _ that comes and goes along the west coast of South America. It got its name from fishermen in Peru more than a century ago. Every few years, they noticed a sudden warming in the normally cool Pacific water where they fished. Because this warming often came about around Christmas, they called it El Nino, which is Spanish for the "Christ Child". Generally, El Nino occurs every three to seven years and lasts only a few weeks to a month or more. El Nino warms the water it flows through. Because the fish and sea birds need cold water to live, many of them die when El Nino comes through. El Nino also causes both floods and droughts. It is believed that El Nino may have caused the 1993 Mississippi and 1995 California floods. And at the same time, it may have caused droughts in South America, Africa and Australia. El Nino has occurred thirteen times within the last fifty years, bringing natural disasters to many countries such as Indonesia and Peru. However, El Nino does not often trouble China. During this period China was badly hit by El Nino only once. In 1998, North China had a terrible drought, while South China was troubled by floods. Question: According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about El Nino? - It happens in November and December. - It was named by some Spanish fishermen. - It only happens in South America. - It lasts a few weeks or more.
It lasts a few weeks or more.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Alan Tong was the worst driver in town. He had an accident of some kind almost every week. Alan lived with his mother. His mother was always worried about him. Every day she worried that police would turn up to arrest him. This wasn't a foolish worry because they usually called on the Tong household about once a week to deliver a speeding ticket or to serve him notice to appear in court. Most of his accidents were caused by his carelessness. He drove through red lights. He turned right without signaling. He drove at night without proper lights. He overtook other cars on hills and sharp curve. In short there wasn't a traffic regulation Alan had not broken, and he had had so many accidents that it was a miracle he was still alive. But luckily for Alan, he had never hurt anyone in his accidents or even gone to the hospital. Although Alan wasn't popular with the police, he was very popular with his lawyer. Alan's lawyer, Mr.Tsui, had earned a lot of money from Alan's cases and always rubbed his hands expectantly when he saw Alan coming into his office. One day Alan was working in the garage spraying painting his car when his mother walked in. "What are you doing?" his mother asked. "Painting my car," Alan replied. "I can see that," his mother said, "but why are you painting one side of the car red and the other side blue?" "Because every time I have to go to court for a traffic offense, there are always two witnesses . "What color1 was the car?" the prosecutor always asks, and the two witnesses always give the same answer. Well, in the future, one witness will say it was blue. Mr. Tsui will then say to the judge, "Your honor, the witnesses cannot even agree on the color1 of the car involved in the accident." And the judge will have to dismiss the case against me. Question: Alan's mother's worries were _ . - unbelievable - quite reasonable - silly - unrelated to his bad driving
quite reasonable

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The most exciting kind of education is also the most personal. Nothing can exceed the joy of discovering for yourself something that is important to you! It may be an idea or a bit of information you come across accidentally--or a sudden insight, fitting together pieces of information or working through a problem. Such personal encounters are the "payoff" in education. A teacher may direct you to learning and even encourage you in it--but no teacher can make the excitement or the joy happen. That's up to you. A research paper, assigned in a course and perhaps checked at various stages by an instructor, leads you beyond classrooms, beyond the texts for classes and into a process where the joy of discovery and learning can come to you many times. Preparing the research paper is an active and individual process, and ideal learning process. It provides a structure within which you can make exciting discoveries, of knowledge and of self, that are basic to education. But the research paper also gives you a chance to individualize a school assignment, to suit a piece of work to your own interests and abilities, to show others what you can do. Writing a research paper is more than just a classroom exercise. It is an experience in searching out, understanding and synthesizing , which forms the basis of many skills applicable to both academic and nonacademic tasks. It is, in the fullest sense, a discovering of an education. So, to produce a good research paper is both a useful and a thoroughly satisfying experience! To some, the thought of having to write an assigned number of pages, often more than ever produced before, is upsetting. To others, the very idea of having to work independently is threatening. But there is no need to approach paper assignment with anxiety, and nobody should view the research paper as an obstacle to overcome. Instead, consider it a goal to accomplish, a goal within reach if you use the help this book can give you. Question: The writer argues in the passage that_. - one should explore new areas in research - one should trust one's own ability to meet course requirements - one should consider research paper writing a pleasure, not a burden - one should use all one's knowledge and skills when doing research
one should consider research paper writing a pleasure, not a burden

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Sitting in the play area of the doctor's office, my children, Paul, four, and Bailey, three, built a Lego tower while we waited to be called for Paul's examination. "Good job, you guys,"I said, trying not to sound too tired. My husband was away on business, and it was difficult being alone with the kids. At times I felt like I was living in the jungle rather than the suburbs. "Don't put the Lego in your mouth, Bailey,"I said. Paul grabbed it from him."That's not nice, Paul,"I said. He gave back the Lego. I looked around the waiting room. A woman was eating something, a couple were talking, and an old gentleman in a blue jacket was reading a magazine. I wished I could sit quietly for a while. I wanted to be able to take a rest, or go shopping alone. At once, I was ashamed of myself. What kind of mother was I? "God,"I thought, "help me to be the very best mom I can be." The nurse came into the waiting room to get us. Just at that moment, the old gentleman in the waiting room put down his magazine and came up to me. With a smile on his face, he said, "Your children are most certainly lucky to have such a wonderful mother.""Thank you,"I replied in a low voice and watched him walk back to his seat. We followed the nurse into the examination room. While she weighed Paul, I told her how that man had made my day. Motherhood is still a jungle sometimes, but now when I feel tired I remember the encouraging words of the old gentleman. Question: The writer criticized Paul when he _ . - put the Lego into Bailey's mouth - took away the toy from Bailey - made trouble in the waiting room - didn't follow her advice
took away the toy from Bailey