Suddenly another thought went through Kate's mind like an electric shock. An express train was due to go past about thirty minutes later. If it were not stopped, that long train, full of passengers, would fall into the stream. "Someone must go to the station and warn the station-master," Kate thought. But who was to go? She would have to go herself. There was no one else. In wind and rain she started on her difficult way. Soon she was at the bridge that crossed the Des Moines River, a bridge also built of wood, just like the bridge across Honey Creek. The storm had not washed this away, but there was no footpath across it. She would have to cross it by stepping from sleeper to sleeper. With great care she began the dangerous crossing, sometimes on her hands and knees, hardly daring to look down between the sleepers into the wild flood waters below. If she should slip, she would fall between the sleepers, into the rapidly flowing stream. At last -- she never knew how long it had taken her -- she felt solid ground under her feet. But there was no time to rest. She still had to run more than half a mile and had only a few minutes left. Unless she reached the station before the express did, many, many lives would be lost. She did reach the station just as the train came into sight. Fortunately the station-master was standing outside. "The bridge is down! Stop the train! Oh, please stop it!" Kate shouted breathlessly. The station-master went pale. He rushed into the station building and came back with a signal light. He waved the red light as the train came into the station. It was not a second too early. What did Kate decide to do? A) Stop the express train. B) Check the signal light. C) Meet the passengers. D) Visit the station-master
A
(Question)
Some say college is wasted on the young. So many of us look back at our own college years and realize what we could have done differently to make the most of them. While we can't go back, we certainly can offer our sons and daughters our best advice to help them make the right choices in college. Hopefully, they will have fewer regrets than we do. Following are five guidelines parents can share with their college-bound kids to put the whole experience in perspective. EDUCATION IS YOUR FIRST PRIORITY As soon as you arrive on campus, there will be competing interests. Feel free to check them out but always remember that you are there first and foremost for your education. Go to class prepared and on time. Be engaged during class. Make sure your professor knows you and realizes that you care. BE RESPONSIBLE There are many layers of responsibility. Do what you say you will do and, if you can't, own up to it early and communicate clearly. But being responsible isn't just about meeting your commitments; it is also about taking care of you, your body, and your friends. For example, more than 1800 college students die annually from alcohol-related injuries. Look out for yourself and other people. Make moderate, sensible decisions so you aren't reeling from the consequences later. TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY Incredible opportunities will present themselves: studying abroad, interning at a unique place, trying new things. Don't let fear prevent you from taking advantage of them. There may never be so much time or as many resources devoted to your betterment again in your life. Say yes to opportunities that will help you grow. FIND AND BE A MENTOR Some of the best lessons available to us can come outside of the classroom in the form of a mentor. One of the most powerful growth opportunities is being a mentor. Early on, find someone on campus who you feel can help you grow and develop a relationship with him or her. Also find someone for you to mentor. You will reinforce and enrich your own learning experience by teaching... What is the main purpose of the passage? A) To give some rules for the college students. B) To call on the students to make full use of college years. C) To summarize some tips for parents to share with their children. D) To analyze the benefits and difficulties of college life.
(Answer)
C
Ques: Americans like to think of themselves as martyrs to work. At this time of the year they admire the laziness of their European cousins, particularly the French. Studies show that the average American gets only four weeks of paid leave a year compared with seven for the French and eight for the German. In Paris many shops close down for August; in Washington, where the weather is really hot, they remain open, some for 24 hours a day. But when it comes to the young, the situation is just opposite. American children have it easier than most other children in the world, including the supposedly lazy European children. They have one of the shortest school years anywhere, a mere 180 days compared with an average of 195 for OECD countries and more than 200 for East Asian countries. German children spend 20 more days in school than American ones, and South Koreans over a month more. Over 12 years, a 15-day deficit means American children lose out on 180 days of school, equal to an entire year. Americans also divide up their school time strangely. They cram the school day into the morning and early afternoon, and close their schools for three months in the summer. The long summer vacation acts like a mental eraser, with the average child reportedly forgetting about a month's worth of instruction in many subjects and almost three times that in mathematics. American academics have invented a term for this phenomenon, "summer learning loss". It is leaving American children ill-equipped to compete. They usually perform poorly in international educational tests, coming behind Asian countries that spend less on education but work their children harder. California's state universities have to send over a third of their classes to take some extra courses in English and math. During the long summer vacation, American children _ . A) will make up for their lost lessons B) spend most of the time learning C) probably don't care about studies D) will suffer some memory problems
Ans: C
At age 11, Ghulam was married off to 40-year-old Jaiz in a rural Afghan village, making her only one of more than 10 million young girls who are being forced to wed men old enough to be their fathers of grandfather every year. In an effort to start a global conversation about the devastating effects of early marriages, which are currently practiced in more than 50 developing countries, the United Nations designed October 11 as International Day of the Girl Child this year. Although child marriage is against the law in many countries, and international treaties forbid the practice, it is estimated that about 51 million girls below age 18 are currently married, often under the cover of darkness and in secret. In Afghanistan alone, it is believed that approximately 57 percent of girls wed before the legal age of 16. Various factors drive parents of child bridges to marry off their daughters, from the community's pressure to confirm to age-old cultural customs to economic considerations. In poor, developing nations, it is not uncommon for families to settle debts by offering their daughters as payment. Experts agree that early marriage denies the girl education and robs them of their childhood because most young wives, burdened by grownup responsibilities, do not get a chance to interact with their peers or carry on friendships outside the household. In many cases, the girls are lorded over by their husbands and in-laws, leaving them vulnerable to domestic violence as well as physical, sexual and verbal abuse. Underage wives who are lucky enough to escape from their husbands end up living in poverty, or worse. Most girls who enter early marriages are expected to get pregnant right away, which often leads to tragedy for both the mothers, who are still children themselves, and their babies. Unless international organizations take steps to reverse the troubling trend, it is estimated that over the next decade, 100 million more girls--or about 25,000 girls a day ---will marry before they turn 18. To learn more about... Which of the following is a cause of early marriages? A) The present girls develop much earlier than before B) Some poor parents marry off their young girls for economic problems. C) Many young girls receive little or no education for different reasons. D) Most girls suffer from domestic violence and have babies too early.
B