Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: My six-year-old granddaughter stares at me as if she is seeing me for the first time. "Grandma, you are an antique," she says. "You are old. Antiques are old. You are my antique." I am not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I explain, "An antique is not only just old; it's an object existing since or belonging to earlier times such as a work of art or a piece of furniture. Antiques are valuable." We look around the house for antiques. There is a large desk that was handed down from an aunt to our family. "It's very old," I tell Jenny. "I try to keep it polished, and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques." When Jenny gets older and understands such things, I might also tell her that whenever I look at the desk or touch it, I am reminded of the aunt who was dear to me and gave me the desk as a gift. I see her face again, though she is no longer with us. I remember myself as a little girl standing against this antique, listening to one of her stories. Our tour of antiques continues. There is a picture on the wall purchased at a yard sale. It is dated 1867, and it is not in very good condition. There is a vase on the floor. I'm not certain where it came from, but I didn't buy it new. And then there is an old-style bed, sent to me forty years ago from an uncle who slept in it for fifty years. "The one thing about antiques," I explain to Jenny, "is that they usually have a story." For a moment Jenny looks thoughtful. "I don't have any antiques but you," she says. Then her face brightens. "Could I take you to school for our antiques show?" "Only if I fit into your backpack," I answer. And then her antique lifts her up and gives her a big hug that will last through the years. Question: What do the picture and the vase have in common? - Both came from the author's uncle. - Both are still in good condition. - Both were received as a gift. - Both were bought old.
Both were bought old.

(Question)
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own. We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies beyond our everyday lives. This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists have made to find out whether life of some kind exists on Mars, and the popularity of fantasy literature or movies like The Lord of the Rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other, to the world around us, and to the world of make-believe, but have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us? Human beings, as biologists have suggested, possess an inborn desire to connect with and understand other life forms. However, people, especially in big cities, often lead rather isolated lives. In a study of British schoolchildren, it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than common wildlife. Without modem technology, a small pond could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants, insects, birds, and animals. When we lack meaningful interaction with the world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends, we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen. The world of make-believe is not necessarily bad, but when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet for our sense of wonder, then we are really missing something. We are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful worlds exist all around us. But even more interesting is that if we look closely enough,we can see that these worlds, in a broad sense ,are really part of our own. Question: The popularity of The Lord of the Rings proves _ . - the close connection between man and the fantasy world - the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature - the fine taste of moviegoers around the world - the general existence of the sense of curiosity
(Answer)
the general existence of the sense of curiosity

Ques: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Thomas James Hanson will remember for a long time the snowstorm that hit the state of New York on November 22. The 47-year-old man from Niagara Falls was stuck in his car on the highway for almost eight days after his vehicle was accidentally pushed to the side of the road and covered with snow by workers employed to remove the snow from the streets. Driving on the Interstate Highway 190 during the worst of the snowstorm, Mr. Hanson decided to pull over his old 1993 Volkswagen Passat to the side of the road and wait for the weather conditions to improve. He remained motionless for approximately five hours before a snow plow arrived to clear the way. Unfortunately for the poor man, the driver of the gigantic snow removal vehicle did not see the small car, pushing it into the ditch and covering it with more than 2 meters of snow. Fortunately for the father of two children, the snow that was stacked over his vehicle was not very dense and allowed for enough fresh air to get through to enable him to survive. He was able to drink Thomas Hans water that he obtained by melting snow with his lighter in an aluminum coffee cup, and he ate the few items of groceries he had bought before going home. "If I had known I would be stuck for eight days, I would have bought more than a jar of dill pickles , a bottle of ketchup and two sticks of beef jerky ," said the survivor with a smile.on had almost lost all hope of being rescued when his car was hit once again this morning by another snow plow, which revealed the poor man's location. Question: What caused Thomas James Hanson to fall into the ditch according to the passage? - His drunk driving. - The strong wind. - The slippery road. - A snow removal vehicle.
Ans: A snow removal vehicle.

Ques: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: A group of senior high school students are playing outside on a basketball court. They are shouting with excitement. And they all have the same dream. They wish to play in the NBA, just like Huston Rocket's Yao Ming. "Someday, there will be more Chinese players like Yao in the NBA," said 15-year-old Xie Tao, a senior 1 boy at Shanghai No. 2 Middle School. Xie always watches Yao playing on TV. "He is a great player. He makes me proud to be Chinese," he said. Like Xie, 17-year-old Liu Yan at Beijing No. 22 Middle School is also a big NBA fan. "Since early May, I've not missed one game in the NBA," said the senior 3 student. Basketball is becoming popular in middle schools across the country. And more young players are starting to like the sport. More students are playing the game. Jiang Hui, a basketball teacher at Beijing No. 2 Middle School, said that 85 percent of the students at this school like the sport. "Students are full of passion for the game," Jiang's team won the regional first prize in the 2004 National High School Boy's Basketball League in march. The league is the first national basketball competition for high school students. Playing basketball is a good way to exercise. But students also enjoy it for other reasons. For Li Yan, a Senior 2 at Shanghai No. 12 Middle School, basketball teaches him lessons in life. "When I am in a game, I feel more confident about my studies, " he said. " It also teaches me to have a good team spirit and to enjoy friendship." Question: How many students are mentioned in the passage? - 2. - 3 - 4 - 5
Ans:
3