Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The united States has about 475,000 school buses -- all painted yellow. Each day they carry more than 25,000,000 children, half of all schoolchildren in the country. But these buses, on average, use four liters of diesel fuel to travel less than sixteen kilometers. When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged 55 cents a liter nationally. The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and 8 cents, by the end of school in June. Bob Riley speaks for the American School Bus Council. He says fuel prices for schools are not much lower than others have to pay. As a result, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportation costs. Bus routes are being redrawn or, in some cases, canceled. Some areas are buying buses that use natural gas or other alternative fuels. Other steps include fewer field trips and less travel by sports teams. And some school districts may end any bus service not required by law. Studies show that school buses are the safest form of transportation to and from school. The American School Bus Council says cuts in bus service are bad for children and possibly the environment. It says removing buses from the road will mean an increase in other vehicles transporting students. Spokesman Bob Riley says another concern is that reducing bus services might reduce attendance. But it could also get more children to walk or bicycle to school. And that would surely make people happy at the National Center for Safe Routes to School. More kids walking or biking safely to school is the aim of a three-year-old federal program, part of an international movement. The goal is to increase physical activity and reduce air pollution. The United States will celebrate Walk to School Day on October eighth this year. But for some students, high fuel prices could make every day a walk-to-school day. Question: The National Center for Safe Routes to School encourages more children to walk or bike to school in order to _ . Options: A: save more fuels and diesel for the country B: keep the children safe on their way to school C: make the children live a simple life D: keep the children healthy and the environment clean
D

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The biggest danger facing airlines nowadays may not be a terrorist with a gun, but the man with portable computer in business class. In the last 16 years, pilots have reported well over 100 incidents that could have been caused by electromagnetic interference . The source of this interference remains not proved, but increasingly, experts are pointing the blame at portable electronic devices such as portable computers, radio and cassette players and mobile telephones. RTC.A. an organization which advises the aviation ( )industry, has suggested that all airlines ban such devices from being used during "critical" stages of flight particularly take-off and landing. Some experts have gone further, calling for a total ban during all flights. Currently , rules on using these devices are left up to individual airlines. And although some air- lines prevent passengers from using such equipment during take-off and landing, most are unwilling to carry out a total ban, given that many passengers want to work during flight. The difficulty is predicting how electromagnetic fields might affect an aircraft's computers. Experts know that portable devices send out radiation which affects those wavelengths which aircraft use for navigation and communication. But, because they have not been able to reproduce these effects in a laboratory, they have no way of knowing whether the interference might be dangerous or not. The fact that aircraft may be fragile to interference raises the risk that terrorists may use radio systems in order to damage navigation equipment. As worrying,though, is the passenger who can 't hear the instructions to turn off his radio because the music's too loud. Question: Why is it difficult to predict the possible effects of electromagnetic fields on an airplane 's computers? Options: A: Because it is extremely dangerous to conduct such research on an airplane. B: Because it remains a mystery what wavelengths are liable to be interfered with. C: Because research scientists have not been able to produce the same effects in labs. D: Because experts lack adequate equipment to do such research.
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Some parents say summer is the time when teachers should get more pay.But not everyone is grateful to teachers for keeping kids occupied between June and August--Washington state representative Liz Pike has written a Face book post and responded to teachers' complaints of rising cost of living.After reading her post,I feel that Liz Pike should rethink her criticism of public school teaching and avoid comparing it to the private sector. Many of us teachers would certainly like teaching to be more like the private school.It's nothing wrong with fair pay for fair performance.With standardized testing popular throughout the education, teachers are some of the most analyzed and performance-measured employees in the United Sates. Liz Pike is very angry that teachers want raises even while test scores are dropping.Well,how are they supposed to have discipline in the classroom when our hands are tied and we can hardly do anything with naughty students? Teachers would love to be able to turn education around and improve student performance.,However, unlike private school businesses.public schools cannot turn away "customers".A private school business serves customers who walk through the door of their own free will,while public schools have to educate students who only attend school because laws say they must. She says those teachers who are uninspired by a lack of a cost of living increases should give up teaching.Is this the message that she thinks should be sent to the students whose academic performance she claims to care so much about? I think supporting teachers can make teachers teach children how to stand up for themselves. Question: What problem do teachers face in the author's opinion? Options: A: Many schools become private. B: Unfair pay for fair performance. C: Popular standardized tests and their tied hands. D: Facing naughty students and their tied hands.
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth,it is really an eye-opening experience to study here. In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, I didn't know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut. When I first studied English, I was told to say,"I am fine" when people say "How are you?" But in the US, I found that people say, "I am good" or "I'm tired". One day, someone greeted me with "What's up?" It made me _ . I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn't know what to say. Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures. To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan . However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or "whiter". I was also surprised by how hardworking US students are . In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that's it. But here, a "good" student gets good grades, does a lot of work for the public and plays sports or music. The kids here are so talented, I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports. Question: Which of the following is NOT true ? Options: A: The writer is now in US. B: American girls love to have white skin. C: US students are talented and hard working. D: The writer regrets that he gave up playing the piano.
B