Santa Claus is someone who will remain in the hearts of children forever. Santa C1aus also has some other names: Saint Nicholas, St. Nick, Kris Kringle, Pelznickel. Two of his names-Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas-both come from the Dutch who settled in New York long ago. The Dutch honored this kindly saint with a yearly festival on December sixth. The Dutch spoke the name "Saint Nikolas" very fast. It sounded like "sinterklaas". And so, when the English said this word, it sounded like "Santa Claus". West of New York, in Pennsylvania, many German farmers had also heard of Saint Nikolas. But they cal1ed him "Pelznickel". This word came from "pelz", meaning fur, and "nickel" for Nicholas. So, to the Germans of Pennsylvania,"Pelznickel" was a man dressed in fur who came once a year with gifts for good children. Soon, people began to feel that the 1ove and kindness Pelznickel brought should be part of a celebration honoring the "Christkindl", as the Germans ca1led the Christ child. After a time, this became Kris Kringle. Later, Kris Kringle became another name for Santa Claus himself. Whatever he is called, he is still the same short, fat, jolly old man with a long beard, wearing a red suit with white fur. The picture of Santa Claus as we see him came from Thomas Nast. He was an American painter born in Bavaria. Someone asked him to paint a picture of Santa Claus. Nast remembered when he was a little boy in southern Germany Every Christmas, a fat old man gave toys and cakes to the children. So, when Nast painted the picture, his Santa Claus looked like the kindly old man of his childhood. And through the years, Nast's painting has remained as the most popular picture of Santa Claus. Santa can be seen almost everywhere. It is easy to find them by the long lines of children waiting to tell Santa what they want for Christmas. Why did Thomas Nast paint Santa Claus into a fat old man? A) Because a fat old man looks more kindly than others. B) Because nobody was sure about what Santa looked like. C) Because this image had already been the most popular D) Because he had a nice childhood memory of such a man.
D
(Question)
From my earlier memory of Mother it somehow seemed quite natural to think of her as different, nor of everyday things as Father was. In those days he was a young-looking man. He did not hesitate to make friends with children as soon as they were able to talk to him and laugh at his stories. Mother was older than he was. She must have been a woman of nearly forty, but she seemed even older. She changed little for a long time, showing no indication of growing old at all until, towards the end of her life, she suddenly became an old lady. I was always _ about Mother's age. She never had birthdays like other people, nor did anyone else in our family. No candles were ever lit or cakes made or presents given in our house. To my friends in the street who talked delightfully about their birthday parties, I would repeat my mother's words that such celebrations were only foolish. "Nothing but deception," she would say. "As though life can be marked by birthdays. It's deeds, not years, that matter." Although I often repeated her words and even prided myself on not having birthdays, I once could not help asking Mother when she was born. "I was born. I'm alive as you can see, so what more do you want to know?" she replied, so sharply that I never asked her about her age again. In so many other ways Mother was different. Whereas all the rest of the women I knew in the neighboring hoses took pride in their housewifely abilities, their new furniture, the neat appearance of their homes, Mother regarded all those things as of little importance. Our house always looked as if we had just moved in or were about to move out. How did Father impress the author? A) He liked writing stories. B) He loved making friends. C) He was a very young man. D) He was popular with children.
(Answer)
D
Ques: During the last twenty years there has been increasing concern with the quality of the environment. Along with air and water pollutions, noises pollution has been recognized as a serious pollutant. As noise levels have risen, the effects of noise have become more apparent. Noise is defined as "unwanted sound". Causes of noise pollution include traffic, aircraft, rock bands, barking dogs, televisions, garbage trucks, and noise from neighbors, voices, alarms, and watercrafts. Studies show that over forty percent of Americans are disturbed at home or lose sleep because of noise pollution. Noise has bad effects on people and the environment. Noise causes hearing loss, interferes with human activities at home and work, and is in various ways dangerous to people's health and well being. When we think, talk, listen to music, or sleep, we need quiet. Even low levels of noise can be annoying or frustrating. Sudden increases in volume can make sounds annoying. The quieter the background is, the more _ a noise can be. Noise can also make instructions or warning unclear, resulting in accidents. Louder noise bursts can be more disruptive .Continued stress can lead to high blood pressure, which is the major cause of some diseases. Long exposure to noise levels above eight-five decibels can damage inner cells and lead to hearing loss. Noise can result in the involuntary fear response and can cause adrenaline to be pumped into the bloodstream, the heart rate to quicken, muscles to tense, breathing to increase, and the digestive system to slow down. Local government has the responsibility to fight noise pollution. For example, it can regulate the speed of trains through their community. On the other hand, a responsible citizen will never make noise pollution wherever he is. Which of the following is not related to noise pollution? A) hearing loss B) speeding the digestive system C) high blood pressure D) accidents
Ans: B
Ques: The horsepower was first used two hundred years ago. James Watt had made the world's first widely used steam engine. He had no way of telling people exactly how powerful it was, for at that time there were no units for measuring power. Watt decided to find out how much work one strong horse could do in one minute. He called that init one horsepower. With this unit he could measure the work his steam engine could do. He discovered that a horse could lift a 3,300-pound weight 10 feet into the air in one minute. His engine could lift a 3,300 pound weight 100 feet in one minute. Because his engine did ten times as much work as the horse, Watt called it a ten-horsepower engine. Which is not true? _ . A) Watt decided to find out how much work one strong horse could do in one minute B) Watt decided to make the world's first widely used horse engine C) He wanted to find a way to tell people exactly how powerful his engine was D) He wanted to measure the work his engine could do
Ans:
B