The businessman was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy . Suddenly an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you." he said. After listening to the businessman, the old man said: "I believe I can help you." He asked the man his name, wrote out a check , and pushed it into his hand saying: "Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time." Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. The businessman saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world! "I can settle all my debts in a moment!" he realized. But instead, the man decided to put the uncashed check in his safe, just knowing it would give him the strength to work out a way to save his business. With renewed optimism, he made better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big deals. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again. Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the businessman was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man. "I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller." And she led the old man away by the arm. The businessman stood there, still and shocked. All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, believing that he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that had given him the power to achieve anything he wanted to. Why did the businessman put the uncashed check in his safe? A) He was afraid that it might be stolen by someone. B) He felt secure against further difficulties with the check as a backup. C) He was uncertain if he was able to pay back the money a year later. D) Rockefeller at all.
B
(Question)
Though war is something people hate, Director Feng Xiaoning often exposes his audience to it. "If we don't impress the audience, who are without the painful experience of war, with the cruel injury to life and human nature war causes, how can we bring them a love of peace and objection to war?" asked the director with a glance in his eyes. After Red River Valley and Lover's Grief over the Yellow River, both of which star Chinese model and actress Ning Jing, Feng drew a satisfactory full stop to his war trilogy last month with Purple Sunset. The film tells a story which took place in 1945, at the very moment when World War II was drawing to an end. A Chinese peasant and a Soviet woman soldier flee into a forest, where they seize a Japanese girl. They follow the girl in the hope that she will take them out of the forest, but instead they arrive in a Japanese base. Humanity prevents them from killing the young, innocent victim of Japanese militarism. This humanity, the longing for peace and eagerness to survive, make the three unite. "If people are touched by justice, tolerance and unselfishness, I think I have achieved my goal," Feng said. Feng admits that there are violent and bloody scenes in the film, such as tanks fighting and Japanese burning Chinese people alive, to show the cruelty of the war. But that's never his personal preference, he says. "Everyone who has watched my films can tell how much I hate war," he said. "I wrote all the things for my war films by myself. Whenever I finished one, I felt as though I had suffered great pain." Feng regards every one of his productions as an opportunity to learn about human nature and humanity. In spite of violent scenes which frighten and sicken the audience, a balance is sought with beautiful scenery. Just like the snowy mountains in Red River Valley and the grand plateau in Lover's Grief over the Yellow River, a beautiful vast grassland appears in this film. "I used to study art, and I appreciate beautiful things," Feng said. "I believe that films... Scenes of Japanese burning Chinese people alive in the film are to _ . A) show that war is cruel B) attract people's interest C) show Feng's personal preference in dealing with details D) make the film moving and interesting
(Answer)
A
What a Scientist Is Like If you were asked to imagine a scientist, what image would come to your mind? The common idea that most kids from kindergarten through college have of a scientist is a man wearing a white lab coat with messy hair, big glasses, and several glass cups of mysterious color1ful liquids giving off clouds of smoke. As for adults, the majority view scientists as strange people who spend 100 hours a week slaving away in a lonely laboratory. However, the reality is quite different. Recently I've had a chance to take part in a scientific experience far from my laboratory and into Costa Rica. It supports a huge amount of wildlife due to its geographical placement between North and South America. It is home to more than 500,000 species ,which represents nearly 4% of the total species worldwide! First we worked alongside conservationists to preserve wildlife at a leatherback turtle ( )rescue center. We helped the volunteers preserve turtle populations by removing rubbish from the shoreline to create a safe environment for turtle eggs to come out. After that we stayed at Mount Arenal where we studied seismic activity relating to earthquakes. During our stay at Arenal, we rode over the mountainous areas and took a long walk through the rainforest. After reaching the top, we went down and through waterfalls to the beautiful valley below! On the last day we got a hands-on introduction to rocket science where we learned about new rocket technology that will be used on the international space station. During my Costa Rica experience, I know that being a scientist doesn't mean working in a lab all day and night. A scientist is one who loves learning and getting a better understanding of the world from helping preserve wild-life, learning about earthquakes or inventing rockets. I think that schools should really stress that science is so much more than wearing a lab coat and mixing chemicals. Kids need to be aware of the excitement and adventures science can bring! What does the author learn about science from his experience? A) Science is full of boring experiments. B) Science is more than working in a lab. C) Science is related to mysterious liquids. D) Science is about wildlife and earthquakes.
B