Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: China has announced it's abolishing its one-child policy. What difference has it made, statistically speaking? 400 million births prevented The one-child policy, officially in place since 1979, has prevented 400 million births. Parents have faced fines and other punishments for having more children. The majority of the decrease in China's fertility rate happened in the 1970s. It dropped from 5.8 children per woman in 1970 to 2.7 in 1978. Despite the one-child policy the rate had only fallen to 1.7 by 2013. 21:28-baby deaths rate Since the one-child policy was introduced, baby girls have become more likely to die than boys. In the 1970s, according to the United Nations, 60 males per 1, 000 live births died under the age of one. For girls the figure was 53. In the 1980s, after the one-child policy became official, the rate for both was 36. By the 1990s, 26 males per 1,000 live births died before the age of one - and 33 girls. The 2000s saw 21 boys per 1,000 live births dying and 28 girls. 1.16 boys born for every girl Sexually selective abortions have been considered as a major cause of China's unusual imbalance. Gietel-Basten, associate professor in social policy at Oxford University, says the births of many girls are not registered if parents have broken the rule by having two children, adding officials often turn a blind eye. It's estimated there are now 33 million more men than women in China. 4: 2: 1 families With the ageing of China's population and the continuation of the one-child policy, a "4: 2 :1" home is the description given to households in which there are four grandparent, cared for by two working age parents, who themselves have one child. By 2050, it's predicted that a quarter of China's population will be 65 or older. The predicted decline in the number of people of working age is thought to have persuaded the government to drop the one-child policy. Question: When was the baby deaths rate for both boys and girls equal? - In the 1970s. - In the 1980s. - In the 1990s. - In the 2000s
In the 1980s.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: "Colour" and "color","favourite" and "favorite"... Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a "u"? Is it because they are lazy? Of course not. In fact,the difference in spelling was created by Noah Webster (1758-1843). He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger. Linguists celebrated his 250th birthday on October 16. After the Revolutionary War (1775~ 1783),Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary,rather than rely on British versions . He dropped the British "u" in some words. And he changed "centre" into "center" for children to learn English by spelling words more like they sounded. Webster wasn't shy about expressing his opinions. In defining preposterous (unreasonable),he wrote: "A republican government in the hands of females is preposterous." Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary in 1828 with his American-style spellings. He also added local words. His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom. "He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity,"said Joshua Kendall,who is working on a biography about Webster. "He at last bonded us through our language." Question: When did Noah Webster probably begin his project of the dictionary? - In 1758. - In 1783. - In 1800. - In 1828.
In 1800.

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Why should you learn Sign Language? Do you want to improve your communication with a family member or friend who is deaf? Do you want to be able to communicate with deaf people in general? Would you like to advance in your career by being able to communicate in ASL? Do you want to be a Sign Language interpreter? Sign language is not just a random collection of gestures but a full-blown language in its own right, complete with its own grammatical rules. Each country or region has its own sign language, as different from each other as English is from Spanish. Each version of sign language is somewhat linked to the spoken language in its region. For example, American sign language does share similarities with English, even though it is its own language. The advantages of knowing sign language in addition to a spoken language are many. Communication becomes possible on many levels with the deaf community, with other people either hearing or not in any of the above situations, as well as many more. While other languages take years to learn, American Sign Language can be taught in a much shorter time period. It is one of the easiest languages to learn because most of the signs were developed to mimic the actual word or phrase it is representing. Even the alphabet signs look like the letters of the English alphabet. American Sign Language, or ASL, is the third most used language in the United States. Used by the deaf community, interpreters, and friends and family of the deaf. There are a lot of sites on the internet that not only shows you the sign with video, but will help you practice reading signs as well. Teaching even hearing babies sign language seems to be the fashion in recent years and for good reason. Communicating in sign language is fun and natural as babies naturally use body gestures in early communication. Teaching baby sign language actually appears to enhance the learning of verbal skills and brain development of the children involved. Question: Which of the following topics is not discussed in the passage? - What is sign language? - The advantages of knowing sign language. - The relation of American sign language and English. - Ways of learning sign language.
A: Ways of learning sign language.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Instead of a normal court hearing, the trial on Wednesday appeared more like a prepared drama. Hundreds of reporters waited outside the court, in the hope of learning "shocking" information about the case, which includes well-known military singer Li Shuangjiang's son, who gang-raped a woman with another four men on February. The case was not a public hearing because it includes teenagers, whose privacy must be protected under law, but many details had been exposed by the lawyers before the trial. Lawyers of all five suspects and the woman's lawyer made a lot of debate on the Internet before the trial, making the case more confused. Wu Ming'an, a law professor from the China University of Political Science and Law, said it was a pity to see such a "performance" by the lawyers. "It can be understood that the two parties freely spoke their opinions, but it's not professional or wise to see lawyers do the same," Wu said. "Instead, the lawyers should guide and persuade their clients to calm down, especially for such a non-public and sensitive case." China has no clear rule to manage lawyers' behavior before trials, "but it should be general knowledge that the lawyers of the two sides cannot _ too many details, particularly in a case that includes teenagers", Wu added. Yi Shenghua, a lawyer who has been following the case, said it does more harm than good to both parties for such detailed information to be exposed before the trial. "It's OK for lawyers to speak, but what is said must be reasonable and legal. Although judgments should not be affected by public opinion, it's hard for them not to be," he said, suggesting judicial authorities should speak out if the case goes wrongly. Trials must be conducted based on evidence, while lawyers should protect their clients' rights instead of adding fuel to the flames, Yi said. In my eyes, the most important aspect of the case, lies in how to make lawyers do their work more professionally and reasonably. Question: What is Wu ming'an's attitude towards the lawyers' behavior of making a lot of debate on the internet before the trial? - approval - critical - neutral - indifferent
critical