It all started at the beginning of this term. At first, Carmen wasn't really sure what was happening. In class, she had tosquint to see the blackboard clearly. As it got worse, she became more and more worried. It was important for her to see the notes and homework the teacher wrote on the board. In class, she asked for a desk that was closer to the blackboard. One day, her teacher said, "Carmen, I've noticed you squinting a lot. Are you having trouble seeing the board?" Carmen shook her head. "I'm fine, Mrs. Cruz." At home, she had to sit closer and closer to the television. Her mother noticed her squinting as she watched her favorite shows. "Tomorrow I will go to see a doctor," she said firmly. Three days later, Carmen had new glasses. She was told to wear them all the time. "All of the kids at school will think I am anerd ," she said. "You look just as beautiful with those glasses on as you do without them," her mother said. But Carmen didn't believe her. The next day, Carmen kept the glasses in her pocket as she walked into the schoolyard. Suddenly, she heard her friend Theresa shout. "What's wrong?" she asked. "My silver ring is gone!" Theresa cried. Carmen could tell that Theresa was very upset. They all looked for the ring in the grassy area of the playground. Carmen realized that she could search better if she could see better. She took the glasses out of her pocket and put them on. Everything looked so different! So clear! And aglimmer of silver caught her eye. "Here it is," she shouted. "Thanks Carmen," Theresa said. "I didn't know you wore glasses. They look great!" "Thanks," Carmen replied shyly. As they walked back toward the school building, two more girls praised her glasses. Carmen smiled. "Maybe wearing glasses won't be so bad after all," she thought. The purpose of the text is to tell readers _ . A) how to protect their eyes B) never to make fun of others C) things aren't always as bad as we expect D) it is necessary to give a hand to those in trouble
C
(Question)
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road. " Millions of animals die each year on the U. S. roads, " the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact, only about 80 ocelots , an endangered wild cat, exist in the U. S. today. The main reason? Roadkill. "Eco-passages" may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. " These ecopassages can be extremely useful,so that wildlife can avoid road accidents ," said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society. But do animals actually use the eco-passages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an eco-passage that went under a highway. This showed that the lions used the passage. Builders of eco-passages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses. The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal over-pass ! This passage is written to _ . A) protect the endangered animals B) call on drivers to be careful when they see animals on the road C) introduce a new way to help protect wild animals D) tell us the main reason for the killing of animals in the U. S.
(Answer)
C
Ques: What is a six-letter word that immediately comes to mind when you need some information on the Internet? You probably thought of Google. But Google wasn't always the name of the famous search engine. In fact, the original name was BackRub! BackRub was the name two graduate students gave to the new search engine they developed in 1996. They called it BackRub because the engine used backlinks to measure the popularity of Web sites. Later, they wanted a better name -- a name that suggests huge quantities of data. They thought of the word googol. (A googol is a number followed by 100 zeros.) When they checked the Internet registry of names to see if googol was already taken, one of the students misspelled the word by mistake, and that's how Google was born. Google is just one example of a name change in the business world. Many other companies have decided to change their names or the names of their products. Here are some more examples: Jerry Yang and David Filo, two young computer specialists, developed a guide to Internet content in 1994. They called it "Jerry and David's Guide to World Wide Web." But they soon realized that this wasn't a very catchy name, so they searched through a dictionary and found a better one: "Yahoo." Sometimes companies change their names because of the popularity of one of their products. In 1962, a young runner named Phil Knight started a company called Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, Knight decided to design and manufacture his own brand of shoes. He named the shoes after the Greek goddess of victory -- Nike. Nike shoes became so well known that Knight changed the name of the whole company to Nike. The company Nike got its name from _ . A) its founders B) its customers C) its popular products D) its advanced techniques
Ans: C
Question: A new study suggests that listening to music in the office improves the speed and accuracy of tasks such as data entry, proof reading and problem solving. In an office-based experiment, 88 per cent of participants were found to produce their most accurate work when listening to music. The study also found that 81 per cent completed their fastest work when music was played. And it matters what type of music you listen to. For instance, if you're doing your tax returns, then classical music is the most effective as it improves maths skills. Listening to Jessie Jor Justin Bieber could also improve your speed, with 58 per cent of participants completing data entry tasks faster while listening to pop songs. During proof-reading, dance music, such as David Guetta, had the biggest positive impact with participants increasing their speed by 20 per cent compared to tests undertaken with no music at all. Dance music also had a positive effect on spell-checking with a 75 per cent pass rate compared to 68 per cent when no music was played at all. The research, undertaken by Brighton-based Mind lab International, suggests that silent offices may be the least productive. 'The Music Works experiment revealed a positive _ between music and productivity - overall it showed that when listening to music, nine out of 10 people performed better,' said Dr David Lewis, chairman of Mind lab International. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true? A) The research was carried out by Brighton-based Mind lab International. B) When listening to music, ninety percent of the people performed better. C) Music has a positive effect on work in the office D) David Guetta is the head of the experiment
Answer:
D