*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my calsses. (I have not used his real name for personal reasons. As he requested.) But here is his real story as he told it before one of our adult - education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-old daughter, a child he adored. He and his wife thought they couldn't bear that first loss; but, as he said:"Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days." This double was almost too much to bear. "I couldn't take it," this father told us. "I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I couldn't rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone." At last he went to doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip. He tried both, but neither helped. He said:"My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice , and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter." The tension of grief ----if you have ever been paralyzed by sorrow, you know what he meant. But thank God, I had one child left ----a four --year-- old son. He gave me the solution to my problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked; 'Daddy, will you build a boat for me?' I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent little fellow! I had to give in. Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy. The following night, I went from room to room in the house, making a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired: bookcase, stair steps, storm windows,... Question: Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because _ . Options: A: he hadn't been able to spare time to mend them B: he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them C: the items had actually been broken and needed attention D: repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind
**Answer**
D

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: One day a teacher was giving her young students a lesson on how the government works. She was trying to explain the principle of income tax . "You see ," she began , speaking slowly and carefully , "each person who works must pay part of his or her salary to the government . If you make a high salary, your taxes are high. If you don't make much money, your taxes are low ." "Is that clear?" she asked. "Does everyone understand the meaning of income tax?" The students nodded. Are there any questions?" she asked. The students shook their heads. "Very good!" she said." "Now, I would like you to take a piece of paper and write a short paragraph on the subject of income tax." Little Joey was a slow learner. He had lots of problems with spelling and grammar, but this time he at least seemed to understand the task.. He took his pen and after a few minutes, he handed the teacher the following composition: Once I had a dog. His name was Tax. I opened the door and in come Tax. Question: After the teacher's explanation, _ . Options: A: not all the students understood the meaning of income tax B: many of the students were still puzzled C: all the students shook their heads D: few students disagreed with their teacher
**Answer**
A

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Jim found a job in a shop two years ago. Mrs. White, the shopkeeper trusts the able young man and pays him more. He's happy and works harder. Once Jim knew a beautiful girl called Mabel at a friend's party. They danced for several times and the girl was deeply in love. But Mabel's parents didn't agree to marry their daughter to a poor young man. So they began to travel in America and didn't let the girl come back to London. She wrote a letter to Jim and told him about it. Of course the young man hadn't enough money to go to see her. He was so sad that he began to drink. It was Saturday one day. Jim didn't go to work. He came to a bar and sat down to drink. Just then an old friend of his came in. He asked him to drink with him. Crying, he told Mike all and the young man felt sorry for him. After a while they were both drunk and left. Mike wanted to take his friend home. When they passed a zoo, they went in and walked to a cage in which there were two tigers. Having seen them, a tiger roared. Mike was afraid and said, "Let's go. Let's go. It's dangerous to stand here." "I don't think so," said Jim. " I'm watching TV now". Question: Mabel's parents didn't agree to marry their daughter to Jim because _ . Options: A: they decided to travel in America B: they made the girl study in America C: the young man wasn't rich enough D: the young man worked in a shop
**Answer**
C

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: You can mail a letter or package under 16 oz. (unit of weight, 454g) in a mailbox, a blue box found on many street corners in U.S. cities and towns. Each mail box should have pick-up times clearly posted on top. !Packages over 16 oz. placed in a mailbox will not be sent. Bring the package to the post office or retail mailing shop instead. The clerk will process if for you. The Post Office In the larger cities, when you go to the post office you must take a number and wait in line. Post offices tend to be extremely crowded around Christmas. Try to go as early in the morning as possible. Post office branches open at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. while main branches close at 6 p.m. Buying Stamps ! The cost of a first-class postage stamp to mail a letter is currently 39 cents, although rates tend to change often. Stamps are sold individually or in booklets of 10 (US$3.90) or 20(US$7.80) or in rolls of 100(US$9.00). You can buy stamps at the following locations: *online, if you have a computer. Link to the U.S. Postal Service website (http://www. usps.com) and click on "stamps online". *at your local post office *at some ATMs (automated teller machine) *at some supermarkets *by mail *retail mailing stores(you may have to pay extra for stamps and to mail packages through the U.S. Postal Service) Postal Rates and Fees The U.S. Postal Service's online postage calculator tells you the cost to mail a letter or package anywhere in the world. But you should know the weight of the package and the post code of the package's origin and destination. If you don't know the weight of the letter or package to be mailed, you can go to your local post office and the postal clerk will weigh it for you. Question: When do the post office main branches close? Options: A: At 9 p.m. B: At 6 p.m. C: At 5 p.m. D: At 5:30 p.m.
**Answer**
B