The first visit to a foreign country that I can remember was when I was about seven years old. We live about 5 miles away from the Canadian border . My family and I went to Parc Safari, Quebec, a wonderful place that has animals and rides. We drove down a nice long road. My sister and I sat in the back of the car, and it was a hatchback so we opened it up. I remember feeding the animals snacks we had bought for ourselves. The time we went we were told there would not be monkeys because they had escaped and had not been found. I remember thinking to myself, how cool it would be to see a monkey in our backyard. Even though the monkeys were not there it was still so much fun. When we reached the area that had camels, giraffes and other animals, I remember one of the camels reached into the car to get our snacks. However, we were a little _ because the camels seemed to froth at the mouth and we had camel slobber all over the car and us. It was one of the best family vacations that I can remember. It was not too far from home, it was in a different country and it was with my family. I cannot remember if we went on the rides or not but seeing many animals was a great time. Now I am grown up and have a son, and I am planning to go there again. He is 7 years old and I think he is at a great age to enjoy a trip like this. I am sure it has changed a lot over the years but it will still be a great family trip. What does the author intend to do? A) To revisit the place he went to at seven. B) To take his 7-year-old son to a zoo. C) To have a family trip in his own country. D) To have a holiday abroad with his parents.
A
Grant Wood's American Gothic caused a stir in 1930 when it was exhibited for the first time at the Art Institute of Chicago and awarded a prize of 300 dollars. Newspapers across the country carried the story, and the painting of a farmer and a younger woman posed before a white house brought the artist instant fame. In 1930, Grant Wood, an American painter with European training, noticed a small white house built in the small southern Iowa town of Eldon. Wood was so fascinated by it that he decided to paint the house along with the kind of people he thought should live in that house. In the painting, the farmer is modeled on his dentist. Dr. Byron McKeeby. His younger sister Nan served as a model for the woman (imagined to be the farmer's wife or daughter). Wood wanted to give a description of the traditional roles of men and women as the man is holding a pitchfork symbolizing hard labor. Each element was painted separately; the models sat separately and never stood in front of the house. The Gothic style of the house inspired the painting's title. American Gothic remains one of the most famous paintings in the history of American art. The painting has become part of American popular culture. Some believe that Wood used it to satirize the narrow-mindedness that has been said to characterize Midwestern culture. The painting may also be read as a praise of the moral virtue or rural America or even as a mixture of praise and satire. American Gothic is one of the few images to reach the status of cultural symbol, along with Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. From the passage we can infer Iowa is in _ . A) the southern town of Eldon B) the Midwest of the United States C) a European country D) the city of Chicago
B
Q: For many of us, cartoon strips are simply one of our pastimes. The popular Japanese manga provides us with an escape from reality into a world of fantasy, adventure and romance.With much less text and pictures running for pages, it fits perfectly into today's fast, throwing away city lifestyle. But Tsai Chih-chung,a famous Taiwanese illustrator , doesn't agree.He believes cartoons can be a bridge connecting traditional Chinese culture and wisdom with the modern world in a much wittier and more acceptable way. He has interpreted Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius,Zhuang Zi and Sun Zi and made their works accessible to a global audience. He has also produced two books about Zen , introducing oriental philosophy. His cartoons are humorous yet full of wisdom and are admired as an easy way to learn Chinese classics. After avoiding the public for ten years, Tsai made a comeback in late April with seven new works. But does his age, 61, work as a gap between him and his young readers? Tsai doesn't think so. The topics he has covered range from philosophy in a time of individuality to the learning and memorizing techniques used at school. "Every child is a genius and has the potential beyond his own imagination, " he said. If popular Japanese manga is purely for entertainment, Tsai's work, to a large extent, is to light the power of thinking in a light-hearted way. Tsai uses differenr forms of water to refer to people. In his eyes some people are like an ocean, some are like vapor, while others may be ice or rain. But in essence they share a similarity-human being's forever chasing for the true and the good. "The person who thinks over life issues is not necessarily a scholar or a philosopher," he said. "I've dedicated my whole life to thinking and individual freedom, not making a living." Compared to Japanese manga, Tsai's works are _ A) mainly designed for a pure time killer for all B) more popular with young readers in China now C) to inspire people to think in a cheerful way D) much more interesting and instructive
A: C
Q: Mayor Bill de Blasio designated the Lunar New Year an official public school holiday in New York City in June, 2015. The move came after de Blasio in March, 2015 declared school holidays on the most-observed holiday in Islam, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. De Blasio, _ a promise made during his 2013 mayoral campaign, said students would also have a day off on the Lunar New Year, and not long ago the Asian holiday took place on February 8, 2016. "About 15% of the city's school system is of Asian descent , and many student, have been taking the day off as a sick day" said State Senator Daniel Squadron. "It's a big deal," he said, whose district includes Manhattan's Chinatown. "Families have had to choose between their most important cultural celebration and missing a day of school." The city's Department of Education had been working on the practical arrangements for adding another holiday while maintaining the legal 180 school days. The problem was solved by combining two half days that previously did not count towards the total to form a single full day that can be counted towards the total. After San Francisco, New York is the second major urban school district to add the Lunar New Year to the official school calendar. "This holiday is not about kids just getting a day off from school," said Assemblyman Ron Kim. "It's about the City of New York telling hundreds of Asian-American societies that America is a cultural melting pot." Kim said recognizing the holiday is one way of pushing back against feelings of isolation and marginalization felt by the Asian-American community. What's the best title for this passage? A) A new public school holiday in New York B) A promise made by the mayor of New York C) Cultural differences between America and Asia D) A revolution of the Lunar New Year in New York
A: A