Afraid that her son would be too tired, Ms. Wendy would sometimes tell the boy to skip school, but each time, Fabian would insist on going to school. "I don't like _ because when I return to school, I don't know what's going on," the 12-year-old boy explained. He suffers for SMA-a neuromuscular disease that leads to weakness in muscles-and gets around in a wheelchair. Fabian's determination to excel in his studies was evident when he was disappointed that he got a total score of 236 yesterday in his Primary School Leaving Examination. He was hoping for a score of at least 240, but his mother was full of pride. "I am happy with his results. He's very motivated," said Ms. Wendy. When Fabian was two months old, he was diagnosed with SMA. Ms. Wendy, who used to go to other homes to teach piano lessons, started teaching lessons at home so she could take care of her son. Fabian proved to be a fighter. Ms. Wendy said, " He would study every day on his own even though he was weak and his spine was already starting to curve quite badly." Fabian is also active in the Singapore Disability Sports Council, where he plays boccia , a ball sport for those who require a wheelchair due to physical disability. At just 133cm tall and weighing 14kg, he knows that he will have to rely on others all his life. "I'm afraid that when my parents grow older, they will not be able to carry me and that there will be nobody to carry me," said Fabian. "But for now, I feel lucky that I get to go out and do a lot of things that I thought I couldn't." His dreams aren't lofty either-all he want to be able to do is work and provide for his parents. "I just want to study hard so that I can be a businessman, like my dad." He is planning to apply to study at Victoria School. Which words can best describe Fabian? A) Sensitive and weak. B) Active and optimistic. C) Clever and strong. D) Stressed and concerned.
B
Eve was waiting in the corridor outside her class.She was feeling sick.She had two exams that day and physics was first.She really hated physics.It was her worst subject.Lisa looked back at her, and then looked away quickly.Eve thought she looked guilty.She didn't have a problem with physics.She didn't have a problem with anything...Miss Perfect! "Hi, Eve! So what's wrong with you and Lisa?"asked Tina,"I thought you were friends.""Yes, so did I," said Eve."But she hasn't spoken to me for two weeks now.She promised to help me review for the physics exam too, but then she's ignored all my calls and texts." While in the exam, Eve found Lisa was holding her phone on her knee under the table and reading from it.Eve couldn't believe it! Is that how Lisa always got such good grades? She thought about telling the teacher, but she hesitated.The next exam was history.That was Eve's favorite subject but she couldn't concentrate.She didn't know what to do about Lisa.Just then, Mr.Reed, their teacher, walked past."Mr.Reed..." Lisa was called to the teachers' office and there waited Mr.Reed... The history test was over.Eve was walking towards the school gate when she heard footsteps behind her.It was Lisa.Eve could see that she had been crying."Listen," said Lisa."I'm really sorry I haven't answered your calls, but my dad had a heart attack two weeks ago and he's in hospital.He had a big heart operation today and I was very worried about him.So I was reading texts from my mum, but Mr.Reed caught me.He thought I was cheating.He believes me now, but I have to take the exam again.I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was happening.Will you forgive me?" At the end of the story Eve probably felt _ . A) confident and optimistic B) regretful and sorry C) sad and angry D) glad and inspired
B
Q: While it may be unlikely for a computer to write a best seller, a technology expert has created a computer program that writes its own fiction stories with minimal user input. The program, called MEXICA, is the first to generate original stories based on computerized representations of emotions and tensions between characters. An Internet survey was carried out to see the popularity of the computer-generated stories, other computerized stories and stories written solely by a human. The result was that readers ranked MEXICA stories highest for flow and coherence, structure, content, suspense and overall quality. Rafael Perezy Perez, the creator of MEXICA, explained that a story might begin with something as basic as, "The enemy wounded the knight. The princess cured the knight. The knight killed the enemy. The knight rewarded the princess. The end." The program reads characters as variables and assigns a numerical value, between a continuum from -3 to +3, to emotional connections that are defined as either amorous or non-amorous. The numerical value is equivalent to the degree of emotion, with -3 being intense hate and +3 being intense love. The program also understands story tension, such as linking the word "wounded" with tension. This too is assigned a numerical value. Once these clusters of emotional links and tensions are established, the program begins what is called an "engagement reflection cycle". Basically this involves searching a database of story actions and other happenings, which are called "atoms", and determines the best match for the characters and contexts for that moment. The process repeats itself again and again until the system can no longer make any matches. At this point, the computer analyzes the story for coherence and "interestingness". The program views a story as interesting when tension levels increase and fall throughout the piece. If the program finds that the story is boring or incoherent in places, it will replace or insert atoms until a version is thought to be satisfactory. What can we know about MEXICA from the passage? A) It is a computer program that can write fiction stories on its own. B) It is a computer program created by Rafael Perezy Perez. C) It is blamed for low quality among many other descriptors. D) The stories it has written is not very popular among readers.
A: B
There is no question that teenagers need rules, which is often not a difficult thing for parents to give. What can be more challenging is giving teenagers their freedom. It can be difficult to draw the line between the two. However, some issues cannot be changed by discussion and require firm rules. For instance, rules should be established concerning driving the family car. I will admit that I have no problem coming up with rules. To me they make life easier and they leave no room for questioning. What can be more difficult, however, is giving my teens their freedom. I guess there are really two primary reasons for this. One is that I sometimes am afraid to give them freedom. The second is that I'm not always so sure what the freedom should be. It helps that I have a husband with whom I can discuss these problems. We talk about _ , give our thoughts and then we come up with an agreement. Sometimes one of us might be more unwilling but we know that there comes a time when we really do have to learn how to let go of the reins a bit. If we try to make life have nothing but rules, we are more likely to see our teen's rebelling . They need to know that while we do have certain expectations, we also trust them to begin making their own choices and decisions. How else can they do that unless they are given the space and room to do it? It's really all about balance and I will be the first to admit that it can be a challenge to carry out. However, it is a necessary part of growing up. Yes, teens definitely need rules but they also need freedom. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text? A) Rules are difficult to make for parents. B) Rules and freedom are similarly important. C) We should give children freedom as much as possible. D) Rules are more important than freedom.
B