About 400 high school students from Western Pennsylvania and the neighboring state of Ohio joined a heated discussion recently on "China: What Does the Future Hold?" "It's either going to turn out really good or really bad - who knows?" said Braveen Ragunathan, a senior from an Ohio high school. In his mind all Americans are connected to China in some way. The forum was held in Pittsburgh, once a US industrial center, now facing job-cuts because of competition brought about by globalization. The aim of the forum is to help American students learn more about the outside world. Elliott Blackwell, a junior at the Neighborhood Academy, said the forum let him know more about how China's economic development will affect America in the future. Some students, although impressed by China's economic boom, expressed uneasiness about the nation's practices and differences from the American way of doing business and politics. "China is a power coming up,so they might challenge us," Paul Amon, a junior from Oil City High School, said. "I'd hope that China can be our partner but I think that we'd clash along the way because we're too different," he added. George Riley, a teacher explained: "The view of China is usually negative and I think that's fueled by the media." However, some negative feelings are not from the media. Merri Ebel is a senior at East Allegheny High School north of Pittsburgh. Both her parents lost their jobs recently. The company they worked for said it was cheaper to produce goods in China rather than the US. "China is just this big question mark. China was just a big country with millions of people that no one really knew about because it was so far away and our class was more American history based," she said. For better or worse US teenagers are eager to know more about China, the forum shows. From the passage we know that most US teenagers _ . A) know only a little about China B) know much about China C) know nothing about China D) like China very much
A
Last year, around Labor Day, I read a "Happy Ad" in our local newspaper. There was a lady in a local nursing home, who was celebrating her 90th birthday and her family wanted everyone to know about it. It said that if you wanted to drop her a line, here was her address. So I did. I found a birthday card and dropped her a short note, wishing her a happy birthday. A week or so later, someone knocked at my front door. I opened the door and found a middle-aged man standing on my doorstep. He introduced himself as the son of this woman to whom I had sent the card. He explained that he just wanted to drop by in person and thank me for sending such a nice card to his mom. Apparently, like many older folks, she did not receive much mail and was quite excited to receive mine. I just didn't know what to say. I told him it was my pleasure and that I hoped his mom had enjoyed her birthday. That year, I did not send out any Christmas cards, except to this lovely old lady in the nursing home. I just told her that I was thinking about her and hoped that she had a nice holiday. I sent her a Valentine and also a couple of notes in between. I just thought she might like to have someone write to her, to get some mail. She passed away a couple of months ago. I never met this lady, but I did keep her and her family in my thoughts. I dropped them a line of sympathy. I hope that my few little notes were enough to brighten a couple of her days here on earth. The old lady's address was given because _ . A) her family wanted to make her well-known B) the old lady wanted to receive a birthday card C) the son of the old lady wanted to meet the author D) her family wanted to give her a happy birthday
D
Q: "Why should I care about the environment?" some people ask. There is a very simple reason: We live on the earth, and it is the only place we can live on right now, as we cannot live in space yet. If we treat the earth like a garbage dump, it will become dirty and unlivable. If we treat it well by being eco-conscious, the earth will stay clean and suitable for living, for ourselves and for our children. What is "being eco-conscious"? Being eco-conscious means being aware of your actions, and what you do to the environment. For example, you might think, "Using hairspray is great for fixing my hair." However, if you are eco-conscious, you would ask, "Does this hairspray have CFCs in it? Could I be destroying the earth by using hairspray?" How can I be eco-conscious? You can find many simple ways to help the environment in your everyday life. When you go shopping, bring a bag or a basket with you. Please try not to use plastic bags as much as you can. You can go to work by bike or on foot if it is not far from your home. You can put your rubbish into different bags, which makes it convenient for recycling. You can eat less chewing gum. You can use your own chopsticks instead of the disposable ones in your company or in restaurants. You can put batteries in a special box instead of in garbage bins. You can use the water which has been used for washing vegetables or fruits to clean the floor and the toilet or to water your garden. You can turn off the decorative lights in your room when watching TV. You can turn down your air conditioner by one degree, as this will cause a 10% reduction in energy use. You can use recycled paper. Every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil. You can also use recycled glass instead of glass made from raw materials. This will reduce the related air pollution by 20%, and the related water pollution by 50%. Please believe that. If you do a little, it will make a big difference. Human beings should care about the environment because _ . A) if we make the earth unlivable, we'll have to live in space B) it can help our children live better C) if we don't, the earth will become a garbage dump D) it will help to make the world a good living place
A: D