Andrew Carnegie, once the world's richest person, was born in 1835 to a weaver's family in Scotland. As a child, he was expected to follow his father's profession. But the industrial revolution destroyed the weavers' craft, and the family had to leave for new possibilities in America. In 1848, the Carnegies arrived in Pittsburgh, then the iron-manufacturing center of the country. Young Carnegie took odd jobs at a cotton factory and later worked as a messenger boy in the telegraph office. He was often asked to deliver messages to the city theater, where he would stay to watch plays by great playwrights. He also spent most of his spare time in a small library that a local sponsor made available to working boys. After the Civil War, Carnegie saw great potential in the iron industry. He devoted himself to the replacement of wooden bridges with stronger iron ones and earned a fortune. He further introduced a new technique to change iron into steel. By 1900, Carnegie Steel produced more of the metal than all of Great Britain. However, Carnegie often expressed his uneasiness with the businessman's life. Wishing to spend more time receiving instruction and reading systematically, he once wrote, "To continue much longer overwhelmed by business cares and with most of my thoughts wholly upon the way to make more money in the shortest time, must degrade me beyond hope of permanent recovery." The strong desire for getting knowledge led him to sell his company and retire at 64. Fond of saying that "He, who dies rich, dies disgraced," Carnegie then turned his attention to giving away his fortune. He opposed charity; instead, he used his money to help others help themselves. He established over 2,500 public libraries, and sponsored numerous cultural, educational and scientific institutions. By the time he died in 1919, he had given away 350 million dollars. How did Carnegie handle his fortune after his retirement? A) He left it to his family and friends after he died. B) He gave it to poor people and charity organizations. C) He used it to support organizations of higher learning. D) He put it in developing new technology in producing steel.
C
(Question)
Just as the English language has changed quickly in the previous century, so has the use of it. After the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was founded in 1927, the particular style of speech of the BBC announcers was recognized as standard English or Received Pronunciation (RP) English. Now, most people still consider that the pronunciation and delivery of BBC announcers is the clearest and most understandable spoken English. English has had a strong relationship with classes and social positions. However, since the Second World War there has been a clear change of attitude towards speech snobbery , and marks of class distinction such as styles of speech have been gradually diminishing, especially in the younger generation. By the end of the 1960s, it had become clear that it was not necessary to speak standard English or even correct grammar to become popular, successful and rich. The fashionable speech of the day was no longer the special right of a special class but rather a defiant expression of classlessness. The greatest single influence of the shaping of the English language in modern times is the American English. Over the last 25 years the English used by many people, particularly by those in the media, advertising and show business, has become more and more mid-Atlantic in style, delivery and accent. In the 1970s, fashion favored careless pronunciation and a language full of jargon, slang and "in" words, a great quantity of which couldn't be understood by the outside world. What is considered modern and fashionable in Britain today is often not the kind of English taught in schools and colleges. It can be concluded from the passage that _ . A) standard English is taught only in schools and colleges B) there has been a great change in the English language in the previous century C) the English language has not been influenced by the American English in the last 25 years D) young people are defiant because they refuse to speak standard English
(Answer)
B
Ques: A well-dressed man came to a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife's birthday. The price didn't matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left. A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, because she wanted a pair of earrings made, "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl? " said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, "I would say it's exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl. " The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right. Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. "I don't like to part with it," she said sadly, "I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money. " The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man's hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found. Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _ . A) to see the perfect pearl B) to buy some beautiful pearls too C) to get in touch with the rich man D) to sell their own pearl at a high price
Ans: D
Ques: Sirs, Your twelve thousand 'Smart' watches were received by our company this morning. However, we wish to make a number of complaints concerning the serious delay in delivery and your failure to carry out our instructions regard to this order. It was firmly pointed out from the beginning that the delivery date had to be less than six weeks from the original order in order to satisfy our own customers' requirements. While we understand that delays in production are occasionally unavoidable, we must point out that the major reason why the order was placed with your company was that we were assured by you of its simplicity, and that your existing stocks were sufficiently high to ensure immediate shipment. Late delivery of the goods has caused us to disappoint several of our most valued customers, and will have an unfavorable effect on future orders. The second complaint concerns the difference in colour between the watches we ordered and those delivered. It was stated clearly in the order that watches in combinations of green/purple and orange/purple only were required. However, only half the watches in the delivery received are of the colours specified. Our Hong Kong agent informed you of the importance of following our instructions exactly, since we consider there to be only a limited market in this country for watches of other color1s at the present time. Any watches that are not of the specified colours will, of course, be returned to you. We are also somewhat concerned about the rather poor quality of the goods received, since it is obvious that the watches that finally arrived have been made from not good enough materials and have been produced to a lower standard than those in the sample. We have also found that a number of the watches do not appear to be working. Whether the latter problem is due to poor production, or damage in transportation is not yet clear, but we should like to point out that we feel this matter to be entirely your fault. As a result of the above problems, therefore, we feel that... The producers of 'Smart' watches were given the order because they promised _ . A) the designs were already prepared B) there was enough space for shipment C) they could produce enough watches quickly D) they had enough ready-made watches to ship
Ans:
D