Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I was hurrying to our basketball game one morning when Hillary Barnes,the most popular girl,in school,stopped me."Are you the twin who won the art competition?"she asked. "No,that's Christine.I'm Katie."I said. We were not identical twins;we looked quite different.She could defeat Snow White in a beauty contest!Compared to Christine,I felt like one of Cinderella's stepsisters. One Saturday Christine gave me a painting lesson because I was always attempting to be artistic too.But I knocked over the vase of flowers,spilling water onto Christine's painting.Instead of becoming angry,though,she turned the whole mess into a dreamy masterpiece .You could look at it five different ways and see five different things.With this brilliant creation,she won First Prize in the art competition.I really envied her,but I knew it wasn't her fault and I was the one with wild,unmanageable hair and no talent. Joining Christine's basketball team was my latest effort to be like her. On the way to the gym,I'd made up my mind to give my best performance in that day's game.I made preparations with great enthusiasm."Christine,here!"I tossed her a ball.But it was too high,she leapt for it,it slipped through her fingers and crashed into the tape recorder that was used to play the national anthem before each game. I muttered apologies as I picked up the broken pieces of the recorder.Coach looked at the mess and asked,"How are we going to play the song now?" Christine suggested,"Let Katie sing it!She's always singing at home." Coach asked."Would you?"I found myself nodding. Coach announced the national anthem and everyone stood.Standing before a microphone,I looked up to the flag.The notes seemed to flow from deep inside me,and my voice was steady and clear.When I finished,the gym was silent Then it was filled with applause.As the game started.teammates patted my back and gave me the"thumbs up"sign.Laura Jamison said."You should try out for the school musical!"I Nodded and said that I might. The next morning Hillary Barnes stopped... Question: What is the message of the story? Options: A: Bad situations help become popular. B: People are talented in different ways. C: People should always be nice to others. D: Unsuccessful attempts are well worth the effort.
A: B

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: What should you think about when trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to know the subjects you do well in at school. On the other hand, you may not have any especially strong subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. A knowledge of history is not required for most jobs but if history is one of your good subjects you will have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs. Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at metalwork or cookery and look for a job where you can improve these skills. If you have had a part-time job on Saturdays or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside in a part-time job. Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may _ when you handle tools; perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is better to face any weakness than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not be apologetic about it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work. Question: From the passage we learn that if a student's school performance is not good, he _ . Options: A: should pay more attention to learning skills and developing abilities B: will be regretful about his bad results C: may also do well in his future work D: should restart his study in school
A: C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The air bag is a piece of safety equipment in cars. It was first designed by John W. Hetrick in 1952. Like many inventions, he came up with the idea as a result of an event that had occurred in his life. He says: "In the spring of 1952, my wife, my seven-year-old daughter, Joan, and I were out for a Sunday drive in our 1948 Chrysler Windsor. About three miles outside Newport we were watching for deer jumping across the road. Suddenly, there was a large rock in our path. I hit the brakes and we went into a ditch . "As I applied the brakes, both my wife and I threw our hands up to keep our daughter from hitting the car. There was soft mud in the ditch, so the car wasn't damaged, and no one was hurt." "During the ride home I couldn't stop thinking about the accident. I asked myself,'Why couldn't some object come out to stop you from striking the inside of the car?'As soon as I got home that night I drew some sketches . Each evening for the following two weeks, I'd add or reduce something from the sketches." Hetrick applied an event he had observed while in the Navy to the design of the air bag. He was repairing a torpedo which had a cloth covering. When the compressed air that was in the torpedo was let out, the covering was suddenly filled with air and was shot to the ceiling. With this knowledge, he developed his design until he was able to obtain a patent on the invention on August 5, 1952. The idea was similar to the air bag designs of today. Compressed air is stored in a container and when a traffic accident occurs and the car slows down at a rapid enough rate, the air will be released into the air bag. The idea was _ , but Hetrick's air bag never would have functioned properly. It was really a breakthrough, but it would require years and years of designing and testing by some top car designers before it could be used. Question: The car accident Hetrick was involved in _ . Options: A: damaged his car B: happened in 1948 C: was caused by a deer D: caused no harm to his family
A: D