Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In the early morning, I headed for the back door and found 10 inches of snow blanketing our home. Oh, no, Bryan would have to clear the roof again, I thought. But Rio rolled onto his back, playing in the white stuff and kicking his back legs, delighted. His days in an animal shelter in New Mexico were long forgotten---he had wholeheartedly enjoyed life as a Colorado dog. Rio needed a walk. I had planned to attend an emergent webinar, but my husband was busy clearing. Rio pushed my leg with his snout , wondering why we were still inside. We were overdue for our morning hike. I pulled on my boots reluctantly. I didn't have time for this. Rio and I walked a block through our neighborhood to the beginning of a road. Rio leaped happily into the snow, which was up to his neck. But I walked slowly with heavy steps, worrying about my to-do list, and I didn't notice that the world around me until Rio started barking. A squirrel chattered at him from a high branch of a pine tree. We hadn't seen a squirrel in at least a week because of all the storms, so this was a treat for us. Once again, my animal teacher was reminding me to enjoy the present moment, and I was grateful. I took a deep breath ans looked around. Suddenly, there was an explosion of snow. A nearby tree had released its heavy burden, snapping back upright. Silver snowflakes dusted the air around me as a group of birds fled the area, talking to one another as they flew overhead. I watched and listened in wonder for what seemed like a full minute. There would be 1,440 minutes in this day, but this was the one I would remember most. Then I looked back to the earth and there was my sweet boy, waiting patiently for a treat. He knew I would want to celebrate this moment we had just shared. "I love you, Rio!" I said as I gave him a cookie. He had trained me well. When we walked home, I smiled broadly, spirit washed clean, ready for whatever the day might bring. Question: What did the author learn from Rio? Options: A: No pains, no gains. B: Live in the moment C: Nothing is impossible. D: Troubles never come singly
A: B

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Jeffery Deaver looks more like a brainy villain in a James Bond movie than a "00" agent in Her Majesty's secret service.Best known for his thrillers starring criminalist Lincoln Rhyme, Jeffery Deaver has a new mission: Bring Bond into the 21st century in a new 007 novel. The yet-to-be-named book is cryptically referred to as "Project X" by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., which owns the rights to Fleming's work.Most of the details surrounding Project X, to be published in May, are being kept under wraps, but under gentle coaxing Deaver begins to spill his guts."The novel," he says, "is set in the present day, in 2011.Bond is a young agent for the British secret service.He's 29 or 30 years old, and he's an Afghan war vet." That in itself is big news.After all, if Bond were aging in real time -- he first appeared on the screen in 1953 -- the now doddering 007 would be nearly 90. But first up: a new stand-alone Deaver novel, Edge (Simon & Schuster, $26.99), to be published Tuesday.It's about a federal agent who risks his life to protect a Washington police detective from a man hired to extract information from him using any means at his disposal . Sipping coffee while seated on a leather chair in a sitting room decorated with portraits of his dogs and show ribbons, the mild-mannered author who writes about murderers and serial killers talks about his career and the solid fan base that has allowed him to pursue writing full time since 1990."I may not sell as many books as John Grisham(although he has sold a cool 20 million), but I have a very loyal fan base," says Deaver, 60, who wrote some of his novels while working as a Wall Street lawyer.Deaver's initiation into the Bond family -- more than 100 million 007 novels have sold worldwide -- could significantly raise his profile . Other novelists have written Bond novels since Ian Fleming's death in 1964 -- including Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and, most recently, Sebastian Faulks -- but they all took place in the original era.Deaver is taking a new... Question: Which of the following is NOT true about Jeffery Deaver? Options: A: Jeffery Deaver is a "00" agent in Her Majesty's secret service in a James Bond movie. B: Jeffery Deaver was working as a lawyer while he wrote some novels about murderers and serial killers. C: It is the loyal fan base that has allowed Jeffery Deaver to keep on writing since 1990. D: Jeffery Deaver is best known for his thrillers rather than for 007 novels.
A: A

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Maybe you don't know the fact that the green forests we see from an airplane or from the highway can be false. Because centuries ago forests were twice as many as what they are today. A hike into many of those woods will tell different stories, too--of diseases and insects that are slowly killing trees, of some forests that are burned by fire, of logging that local people do more often. Deforestation and degradation of the world's forests mainly harm the basic ability of those ecosystems to function or provide services, such as fresh water, air, plants and animals, which benefit people everywhere and keep the balance of nature. Deforestation Forests today are a small part of what they once were. Nearly half of the world's forest cover is gone, and each year 40 million acres more are cut and replaced by agriculture and development. Over the next 45 years, wood use in the world is guessed to increase by 50 per cent over its present rate. Many of the forests that remain are severely destroyed, which harms the ability to protect birds or wild animals, and to supply natural resources to people. Deforestation also brings about between 20 per cent and 25 per cent of all air pollution causing global climate change. Degradation Forests continue to be degraded by some uses such as the gathering of wood for fuel, the arrival of pests and diseases that kill trees, the effects of climate change and poor management such as the fire, flood and so on. Question: Deforestation can do all the following harm EXCEPT _ . Options: A: cause global climate change B: take away animals' habitats C: stop agriculture developing D: reduce natural resources
A: C