Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: "Clean your plate!" and "Be a member of the clean-plate club!" Just about every kid in the US heard this from a parent or grandparent. Often, it's accompanied by an appeal: "Just think about those starving orphans in Africa." Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in the US take too many bites. Instead of "cleaning the plate', perhaps we should save some food for tomorrow. According to news reports, US restaurants are partly to blame for the growing bellies(,). A waiter puts a plate of food in front of each customer, with two to four times the amount recommended by the government, according to a USA Today story. Americans traditionally associate (......) quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. They prefer to have customers complain about too much food rather than too little. Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Pennsylvania State University, told USA Today that restaurant portion(,) sizes began (or grew) in the 1970s, the same time that the American waistline began to expand . Health experts have tried to get many restaurants to serve smaller portions. Now, apparently, some customers are calling for this too. The restaurant industry trade magazine QSR reported last month that 57 percent of more than 4,000 people surveyed believe restaurants serve portions that are too large; 23 percent had no opinion; 20 percent disagreed. But a closer look at the survey indicates that many Americans who can't afford fine dining still prefer large portions. Seventy percent of those earning at least $150,000 per year prefer smaller portions; but only 45 percent of those earning less than $25,000 want smaller. It's not that working-class Americans don't want to eat healthily. It's just that, "after long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal. They live from paycheck, happy to save a little money for next year's Christmas presents." Question: Why do American restaurants serve large portions? Options: A: Because Americans associate quantity with value. B: Because Americans have big bellies. C: Because Americans are good eaters. D: Because Americans are greedy.
A: A

Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Adults usually do not remember most of the things that are taught by their teachers at school. But this story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I think of this story. It was a normal Monday morning, and my teacher was teaching us on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went: An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get onto the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years. His house was dirty, and a stench came out of the house and it smelled terrible. The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they called for the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years. The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire . They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire. But the old man said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, sat at the street corner and continued to beg. Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing. Question: What lesson do we learn from the story? Options: A: Make great plans for your life. B: Keep on doing what you like. C: Do something that is good to society. D: Depend on yourself rather than others.
A: B

Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: The professor stood before his class of 30 senior biology students, about to pass out the final exam. "I have been honored to be your teacher this term, and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test. I also know most of you are off to medical school or graduate school next fall," he said to them. "I can well understand how much pressure you are under to keep your grades up, and because I know you are able to understand this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic "B" to anyone who would prefer not to take the final." In relief a number of students jumped up to thank the professor and left the class. The professor looked at the students who remained, and offered again, "Any other takers? This is your last chance." One more student decided to go. There were seven students left. The professor closed the door. Then he handed out the final exam. There were only two sentences typed on the paper: "Congratulations, you have just received an "A" in this class. Keep believing in yourself." I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It may seem like the easy way out of grading a lot of exams, but it's a test that any teacher in any subject could and should give. Students who don't have confidence in what they've learned are "B" students at best. The same is true for students of real life. The "A" students are those who believe in what they're doing because they've learned from both successes and failures. They have learned life's lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and become better people. Take your cue from Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma: "It's not the mountain we conquer , but ourselves." Don't let the biggest limit be yourself. Question: According to the writer, the test given by the professor was _ . Options: A: funny B: meaningful C: difficult D: harmful
A: B

Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: What can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top university might not be enough. A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school, the more money you'll earn later. The idea that popularity could have a serious impact on one's earning potential shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The researchers noted that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking are easily as powerful as talent and hard work. "If a person has lots of friends, it means that he or she has the ability to get along with others in all kinds of different situations," said Xu Yanchun, 17, from Nantou High School in Shenzhen, who totally agreed with the recent finding. "Also, friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but lift your mood when you occasionally feel depressed," said Xu. She believed that all this helps you "earn a higher salary". Maybe that's why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendalholism . A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook's 5,000-friend limit was too low for her large reserve of social contacts. But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency? "Call me uncool, but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom I enjoy actually seeing. It seems, however, that this is no longer the definition of 'friend'," said Meghan Daum, who works with the Los Angeles Times in the US. Question: According to Xu Yanchun, when you have lots of friends, it means _ . Options: A: you have the ability to earn more money B: you will not feel lonely C: you are quite content with your life D: you have the ability to get along with others in various situations
A: D