Ques:Article: Four American college students learned last week that free music downloads can carry a hidden price tag --- US $ 12,000 to $ 17,500, to be exact. Major record companies accused the students of fueling music piracy by running file-sharing networks on campus allowing hundreds of songs to be downloaded for free. Last Thursday, the four promised not to violate the companies' copyrights. Although they did not admit any wrongdoing, they each agreed to pay thousands of dollars to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "I don't believe that I did anything wrong," said Daniel Peng at prefix = st1 /PrincetonUniversity, one of the four. "I hope that for the sake of artists, the larger issues can soon be resolved." None appears to have made any money off the file-sharing systems they operated, which were confined to their campus's computer networks. The payments mark the first time record companies have recovered money from individuals in the USaccused of piracy on file-sharing networks. This may be a sign of things to come, as the industry starts taking its battle against online piracy directly to users. Many record-company executives blame the long slump in CD sales on file-sharing networks, which let users copy songs from each other's computers for free. Matt Oppenheim, senior vice president of business and legal affairs for the RIAA, said the settlements, although well below what the companies could have asked for, were "the right amount" given the situation. He also noted that since the four lawsuits were filed, at least 18 campus file-sharing networks have been taken down by their operators. Question: What's the main idea of the whole passage? Yes or no, is the answer "Record companies have taken action to protect their copyrights by accusing individuals of piracy on file-sharing networks."?

Ans:No
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Ques:Article: The Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki-matsuri) is a festival being held every year in Sapporo, Japan for over seven days in February. Presently, Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main places of the festival. The 2013 Yuki-matsuri dates are February 5 to 11. The festival is one of Japan's largest and most typical winter events. In 2007 (58th Festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of floating statues and ice sculptures at the Odori Park and Susukino sites, in central Sapporo, and at the Satoland site. The festival is thought to be a chance for promoting international relations. International Snow Sculpture Contest has been held at the Odori Park site since 1974, and 14 teams from various areas of the world participated in 2008. The subject of the statues differs and often shows an event, famous building or person from the previous year. For example, in 2004, there were statues of Hideki Matsui, the famous baseball player who at that time played for the New York Yankees. A number of stages made out of snow are also constructed and some events including musical performances are held. At the Satoland site, visitors can enjoy long snow and ice slides as well as a huge maze made of snow. Visitors can also enjoy a variety of local foods from all over Hokkaido at the Odori Park and Satoland sites, such as fresh seafood, potatoes and corn, and fresh dairy products. Every year the number of Statues displayed is around 400 in total. In 2007, ther were 307 statues created in the Odori Park site, 32 in the Satoland site and 100 in the Susukino site. The best place to view the creations is from the TV Tower at the Odori Park site. Most of the statues are lighted in the evening. The Sapporo Snow Festival Museum is placed in the Hitsujigaoka observation hill in Toyohira-ku, and displays historical materials and media of the festival. Question: Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage? Yes or no, is the answer "The best place to view the creations is from the TV Tower at the Satoland site."?

Ans:No
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Ques:Article: A young woman went to her mother and told her how hard life was. She was tired of struggling and fighting and wanted to give up. So, her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out, pulled the eggs out and then poured the coffee into three different bowls. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see." "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the daughter was asked to drink the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its rich fragrance. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same disaster but reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, and hard. However, after being subject to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The coffee beans were unique, however; after they had been in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When misfortune or change knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?" "Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with change and difficulty will you wilt and become soft and lose your strength? Are you the egg that starts with a malleable , heart, but changes with the heat? When faced with a death, a break-up, a financial hardship or other trial, do you become hardened and stiff? The coffee bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the... Question: We can learn from the passage that _ . Yes or no, is the answer "the coffee bean taught us to convert the bad circumstances and improve ourselves"?

Ans:
Yes
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