Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I would like to tell you a story about my uncle Theo. He is my oldest uncle, a tall, thin, grey-haired man whose thoughts are always on learning and nothing else. He is quiet, gentle and absent-minded and with about as much sense as a child where money is concerned. Well, he applied a post in Camford University. It was a very good post and there were hundreds of candidates who applied for it, and about fifteen, including Theo, were asked to be interviewed. Camford is a very small town; there is only one hotel in it, and it was so full that they had to put many of the candidates two in a room. Theo was one of these, and the man who shared the room with him was a self-confident fellow called Adams, about twenty years younger than Theo, with a loud voice, and a laugh that you could hear all over the hotel. But he was a clever fellow all the same and had a good post in Iscaiot College, Narkover. Well, the Dean, who was the head of the department of the University, and the committee interviewed all the candidates; and as a result of this interview, the number of the candidates was reduced to two, Uncle Theo and Adams. The committee couldn't decide which of the two to take, so they decided to make their final choice after each of the candidates had given a public lecture in the college lecture-hall. The subject they had to speak on was "The Civilization of the Ancient Summerians"; and the lecture had to be given in three days' time. Well, for these three days Uncle Theo never left his room. He worked day and night at that lecture, writing it out and memorizing it, almost without eating or sleeping. Adams didn't seem to do any preparation at all. You could hear his voice and his laughter where he had a crowd of people around him. He came to his room late at night, asked Uncle Theo how he was getting on with his lecture, and then told him how he had spent the evening playing bridge, or at the music hall. He ate like a horse and slept like a log; and Uncle Theo sat up working at his lecture. The day of the lecture... Question: Adams did not bother to do any preparation because _ . Options: A: he was quite familiar with the subject. B: he knew the committee members well. C: he had a well-thought-out plan. D: he had full confidence in himself.
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Dear Economist, My newly-wedded wife and I are deeply in love.There is, however, one issue that threatens the happiness of our marriage.I absolutely insist on shopping at Walmart.My wife, meanwhile, would rather avoid Walmart at all costs. I have recently tried to convince her that not only does Walmart offer the lowest prices known to man, but that the chain is also a force for good--lower prices mean better standards of living for all consumers, increased global trade means a tighter-knit international community, and efficient operations translate into higher productivity growth for the economy.My wife complains about poor labour policies, the "fact" that Walmart squeezes suppliers, and that it puts local shops out of business. Who is right? Will our marriage survive? Brian Gee Dear Brian, I have to agree with you about Walmart.Jason Furman, then an economist at New York University, now an adviser to President Obama, famously argued in 2005 that Walmart was unwittingly a progressive success story.The chain's prices don't much affect me (I prefer Whole Foods) but Furman estimated that they benefited low-and-middle-income Americans to the sum of around $250 billion a year. Walmart does not pay much, so it may depress wages.Then again, it may increase wages by offering jobs to the otherwise-unemployed.Either way, the benefits of low prices to Walmart shoppers far outweigh any seemingly reasonable costs to Walmart employees.And while it is true that Walmart employees tend to be poor, the same is true of Walmart shoppers. Armed with this information you can face your wife with confidence.You are sure to win the conversation.The divorce is likely to be more argued. Economist Question: What concerns Brian Gee so much that he wrote the letter? Options: A: His wife refuses to shop at Walmart. B: They are faced with a divorce. C: They can't afford the costs of shopping at Walmart. D: They are in conflict about shopping at Walmart.
D

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: People celebrate birthdays in almost every country on earth. And they celebrate them in many different ways. In China and in Japan, for example, the arrival of New Year is more important than a person's birthday. So everyone adds a year to celebrate their ages on New Year's Day, instead of on their birthdays, In Brazil, the special birthday food isn't cake, but special candles. In China, it's long noodles--for long life. In Iceland, people have pancakes with candies rolled inside them on birthdays. In Britain, a birthday is an all-day celebration. At school, the birthday child is lifted up and "bumped" by his classmates. This means the child is lifted by the feet and arms and bumped to the ground, once for each year once for good growth. In Israel, the same custom is followed, except the birthday person is lifted and lowered while sitting in a chair. In Holland, children not only get presents, but also give things out. They give cakes, cookies and candles to their classmates and teachers on their birthdays. In Mexico, it's good luck to give birthday greetings as early in the day as possible. So it's usual for the birthday child to be woken up at midnight by fiends singing birthday songs. In India, birthday celebrations also begin before dawn. Prayers and blessings must be said before morning comes. In Thailand, two tall candles are lighted the night before the birthday. One is as tall as the birthday person. If it goes out early, it's bad luck. Another customs of Thailand is that they buy live fish and birds for the birthday person and then the birthday person frees the animals, and it brings good luck. In Nigeria, people in a certain age group celebrate their birthdays together, on a certain day. In many countries birthday customs are changing. Old customs are giving way to western style of birthdays, with candle topped cakes. But one thing never changes--birthdays are special days for everyone! Question: What does the text mainly talk about? Options: A: Different countries have different birthdays. B: Celebrating birthdays is exciting. C: Different ways of celebrating the birthday in different countries. D: Everyone likes celebrating his or her birthday.
**Answer**
C