Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In the Pacific Northwest there is a kind of owl that serves as a unique piece to the Northwest habitat -- the northern spotted owl. Northern spotted owls are known to be curious. When seeing you, these owls will come down close and check you out. The northern spotted owl has been a savior of old-growth forests. Old-growth forests are forests that have been around for a long time without significant disturbances. One way the spotted owl has become a protector of old-growth forests is simply by being there. The northern spotted owl has become endangered, and so to protect them from dying out, the government has to protect their habitat. So now any destruction of old-growth forests is illegal. Another way the owls help their habitat is by eating small animals. This helps create a balance in the forest. So, if the northern spotted owl is in a habitat that is protected by laws, why are they still endangered? Unfortunately, a cousin of the northern spotted owl has moved into its neighborhood. The bigger, more aggressive "barred owl" has grown in population and due to loss of the forests they lived in on the East Coast of the United States, they have begun to move to the west coast. These owls are taking the food source and pushing northern spotted owls out of their own home. Although the barred owl is able to live in different habitats, the northern spotted owl can only live in old-growth forests. Many government officials have been at a loss to find an answer to the difficult question, "What do we do with the non-native barred owls?" Some methods include shooting them. It is a difficult problem to deal with. Can you think of any possible solutions? Question: Northern spotted owls are in danger mainly because of _ . Options: A: illegal hunting B: the destruction of the forests C: another kind of owl D: environmental pollution
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The Future of Dairy Farming: Robot Milkers The future has arrived at a dairy farm in about an hour by car from WashingtonD.C. A robot is milking cows. It is milking time at Woodbourne Creamery in Mt. Airy, Maryland. The cows are standing in line for a turn at the robot. John Fendrick is the owner of the farm. He inspects the progress of the animals by looking at a computer screen. That is all he has to do."The door opens up, they walk in, and they get milked. The door opens up, and they walk out." The robot does all the work. It uses a laser to find each teat -- the place on the cow where the milk comes out. The robot then cleans the teat and connects a milking tube toit. The robot also tests the milk for possible contamination . If it finds a problem, it rejects the milk. When the amount of milk coming out of the cow slows, the machine knows to stop, and sends the cow on its way. Milking robots are becoming popular among dairy farmers in the United States, Europe and Australia. John Fendrick says the robots have changed life on a dairy farm."You are given the freedom back. So it allows me or the people working for me to actually do other things on the farm." Most dairy farmers must milk their cows two times a day, early in the morning and late at night. The animals are milked every day in good weather or bad. But Mr Fendrick's cows do not follow such a schedule. They stay in the field until they want to be milked by the robot. Some of them come to be milked in the middle of the night. Mr Fendrick doesn't even need to be there to watch his cows being milked. He can watch from his telephone. He can learn when each cow was milked and how much she produced. He can also learn if a cow has not been milked for a long time. The cow milking robot is not low-cost technology. Mr Fendrick paid more than $150,000 for it. But he notes, paying someone to milk the cows is also costly."In three years, I will have paid off the difference with this, and I don't have to be the person who's always on call to milk. The fact... Question: The reason why Mr Fendrick doesn't even have to be on the farm is that . Options: A: he can watch and learn from his telephone B: he has completely been replaced by robots C: robots will tell him all by telephone D: he is not the person on call to milk
A

(Q).
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: On August 5 at 10:31 p.m. PST, a rover named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was lucky enough to have a front-row seat. My name is Clara, and when I was in Grade 6, I won the essay contest NASA held to name its next Mars rover. The essay I wrote was not even 250 words long, but somehow it was enough to change my life. I still remember that cold December day, sitting in a science class. I'd finished a worksheet early and decided to get a Time for Kids magazine off Mrs. Estevez's bookshelf. It was the 2008 Invention Issue, but that wasn't the only thing that caught my eye. In the magazine, there was an article about a girl who named the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The article also talked about the essay contest NASA was holding to name its next Mars rover. Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind: Curiosity. I couldn't wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home from the bus stop, sat down at the computer and typed until my fingers ached. It turned out that I was just in time. A few days later, and the contest would have closed. Five months later, shortly after I had turned 12, I was watching a National Geographic special on mammoths when the phone rang. My mom answered, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face. When she told me that I had won, I was happier than I could ever remember being, I screamed and ran up and down the stairs and all around the house. I completely forgot about the mammoths and did not even remember to turn off the TV until it was really late. Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandfather and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. He'd tell me stories and point out the stars. My grandfather lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas. I loved the stars because they kept us together... Question: What is conveyed in the passage? Options: A: Curiosity is important to human beings. B: A thirst for knowledge helps one grow up. C: Entering a contest is a way to achieve success. D: Curiosity changes people's attitude towards science.
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A