Years ago there was a group of kids who would hang around at some local ponds in the woods near their houses in Warwick, Rhode Island. In summer they caught frogs and fish. When winter arrived they couldn't wait to go skating. Time passed, and the ponds became the only open space for the kids to enjoy themselves in that neighborhood. One day a thirteen-year-old boy from this group of kids read in the local newspaper that a developer wanted to fill in the ponds and build over a hundred small houses called apartments. So the boy went door to door and gathered more than two hundred signatures to stop the development. A group of citizens met and decided to support him. At the meeting of the town planning organization,the boy was quite nervous at first and spoke very softly. But when he saw the faces of his friends and neighbors in the crowd and thought about what was happening to their favorite ponds,his voice grew louder. He told the town officials that they should speak for the citizens. He also insisted that they should leave enough space for children. A few days later,the developer stopped his plan. Nine years later, when that teen was a senior in college, he was informed that the developer was back with his proposal to build apartments. Now twenty-two years old, he was studying wetlands ecology. He again appeared before the town planning organization. This time as an expert, he used environmental protection laws to explain _ on development in and around wetlands and the knowledge of wetlands ecology to help to improve the development. Finally some apartments were built, but less than half the number the developer wanted. The ponds where those kids used to hang around were protected by a piece of natural land, and are still there today. Which statement is true according to the passage? A) The apartments were built as the developer had planned. B) The grown-up boy helped to protect the wetlands as an expert. C) The developer stopped the boy's plan at the meeting years ago. D) The ponds were filled in and some apartments were built on them.
B
Although there are many ways in which people communicate through speech, public speaking has probably received more study and attracted more attention than any other. Politicians winning an election, salespeople presenting products and etc. All depend upon this form of public communication. Even people who do not make speaking a part of their daily work are often asked to make public speeches: students at graduation, for instance, or members of churches, clubs or other organizations. Nearly everyone speaks in public at some time or other, and those who perform the task well often become leaders. There are many reasons for speaking in public. A public speaker may hope to teach an audience about new ideas, or provide information about some topic. Creating a good feeling or entertaining an audience may be another purpose. Public speakers, however, most often seek to persuade an audience to accept new opinions, to take certain actions, or to see the world in a new way. Public speakers usually know well in advance when they are scheduled to make a speech. Consequently, they are able to prepare their message before they deliver it. Sometimes, though, speakers must deliver the message unprepared, or off the cuff, such as when they are asked to speak at a wedding reception or to participate in an interview. When they do not have to speak unprepared, most speakers write their own speeches. Politicians and business managers sometimes employ professional writers who prepare their speeches for them. These professional writers may work alone or in small teams. Although the speaker may have some ideas into the contents of the speech, the writers sometimes have a great influence over the opinions expressed by their employers. Regardless of how a speech is prepared, the person who delivers it is given credit for its effect upon its hearers. Which of the following is rarely the purpose of public speaking? A) To influence people's ideas and behaviour. B) To persuade the audience to accept an idea. C) To enjoy the satisfaction from one's own speech. D) To develop public interest.
C
Q: BEIJINCG, Feb.28, 2008 (Xinhua) -- China plans to carry out its first spacewalk in second half of the year, an official of the nation's manned space program said here on Thursday. The Shenzhou VII spacecraft will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu late in the year and the astronauts will leave their spaceship for the first time, the official told Xinhua. Compared with the previous two manned space flights, the upcoming Shenzhou VII space mission is more complex.Besides the spacewalk, the crew is also expected to perform extra-vehicular work such as fixing and tightening equipment.The spaceship will also release a small inspection satellite, which keeps an eye on its own performance. China may live broadcast the first ever spacewalk."The Shenzhou VII spaceship is able to live-broadcast the walk, but it has not been decided whether the spacewalk will be broadcast in a live or recorded version," the official told Xinhua. Breakthroughs have been made in significant techniques related to the spacewalk.Research into the development of spaceship and rockets has been going smoothly, and astronauts have undertaken extensive training, according to the official. The Shenzhou VII mission will start the second phase of China's three-stage space program.said the official. In the second stage, China plans further breakthroughs in manned space flight, such as space walks.In this phase, China will put into orbit a space laboratory staffed by humans for short periods and create a fully-equipped space engineering system. In the third stage, China will build a permanent space station and a space engineering system.Astronauts and scientists will travel between the Earth and the space station to conduct large-scale experiments. Which is true according to the passage? A) Important technique about spacewalk remain uncertain in spite of researches. B) spacewalk is the only factor that leads to Shenzhou VII mission's complexity. C) Due to Shenzhou VIPs inability, it's uncertain how to broadcast the spacewalk. D) Our.country is getting along quite well with developing spaceship and rockets,
A: D
(Q).
Two men dressed as police officers stole about $200 million worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum early this morning. The two burglars knocked on a side door of the museum at about 1:15 am. They told the two security guards on duty that there was a disturbance in the area. The guards then made the very serious mistake of allowing the two men to go into the building. After they went in, the two burglars tied the guards up with tape. The two men stole 11 paintings and an ancient Chinese vase. The stolen works included three paintings by Rembrandt. A maintenance worker discovered the two guards at about 7 am and called police. One of the greatest losses was Rembrandt's works, "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee." It was a very popular attraction at the museum and was one of the most valuable works stolen. Museum officials said that the value of the stolen art is at least 200 million dollars, and may in fact be much more. The true value of the paintings is unknown, because they have not been on the market for nearly a century. This is considered to be the biggest theft ever in the United States. Officials are waiting to see whether the burglars will or try to sell them to a private collector. Museum officials and police are not sure why the burglars chose certain works and not others. There are other paintings in the museum that are even more valuable than the ones that were stolen. Special investigators are looking into the theft and the museum's security system. They believe that this is a "professional job," because the people involved were well prepared and knew what they wanted. Which of the following best explains "demand a ransom for the paintings"? A) Ask for money to give the paintings back. B) Send the paintings to some foreign country. C) Hide the paintings in a secret place. D) Change them into more valuable things
(A).
A