My grandmother was from a town in Michigan. Summer after summer, I enjoyed staying with my grandparents as a young child. I was from the city and loved the small town they lived in. People knew everyone, their kids, their pets, their ancestors. The bond with them continued to grow as I grew and they got older. Grandma was always using her hands for something exciting. She would make little sandwiches and we'd have tea parties. She'd make beautiful quilts for each one. I remember the small thimble she would use while doing her needle work. A few years ago, when Grandma left this earth, I bid farewell to a loving grandmother. How quickly our lives can change. We had just had tea together a couple of months earlier, on her 91st birthday. I missed her very much. On one particular birthday, when I was feeling a little low, something happened to make me feel like she was sharing that special day with me. I was arranging some colorful pillows that she had made, and suddenly I felt something inside one pillow. It was small and hard. I moved the object to a seam that I carefully opened, and to my delight out came a tiny silver thimble! How happy I was to find something that had been a part of her. Not realizing it had fallen off her finger, I pictured her sewing it in that little pillow that I just happened to place on my bedspread that day. I carefully laid the thimble alongside the others I've collected over the years, where I could continue to see the gift God chose to reveal to me. What a precious memory of a very special lady who somehow, I knew, was laughing in delight at sewing her thimble inside my pillow. I made some tea, using my best china, as Grandma always did, and enjoyed my tea and Grandma's thimble. What a wonderful birthday that was! How did the author feel when she found the silver thimble? A) Sad B) Proud C) Lucky D) Cheerful
D
(Question)
During the summer holidays there will be a revised schedule of services for the students. Changes for dining-room and library service hours and for bus schedules will be posted on the wall outside of the dining-hall. Weekly film and concert schedules, which are being arranged, will be posted each Wednesday outside of the student club. In the summer holidays, buses going to the town center will leave the main hall every hour on the half hour during the day. The dining-room will serve three meals a day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm during the week and two meals from noon to 7:00 pm on weekends. The library will continue its usual hours during the week, but have shorter hours on Saturdays and Sundays. The weekend hours are from noon to 5:00 pm. All students who want to use the library borrowing services must have a new summer card. This announcement will also appear in the next week's student newspaper. The main purpose of this announcement is to _ . A) tell students of important schedule changes B) show the excellent services for students C) tell students of new bus and library services D) ask students to renew their library cards
(Answer)
A
Ques: The federal government is about to make a huge investment in high school. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Congress has put aside more than $100 billion, including a competitive "Race to the Top" fund that encourages innovation in public schools. But the real revolution, hidden in the Race to the Top guidelines released by the Department of Education last month, is that high school has a new mission. No longer is it enough just for senior graduate students, or even prepare them for college. Schools must now show how they increase both college enrollment and the number of students who complete at least a year of college. In other words, high schools must now focus on grade 13. Some states, school districts and nonprofit educational organizations have begun to gather data about how freshmen get along in college after graduation, but they haven't made fast progress. Florida has one of the best systems, but even it can't explain a high school graduate who enrolls in college in another state. The nation is asking principals to deliver students who can succeed in college, without ensuring they know whether what they're doing is working. The Department of Education has begun to solve this problem by instructing states on how to keep good records of its graduates' progress in college. This gives high schools the two pieces of information they most need: their college enrollment rate and "college proficiency" rate (the speed with which graduates complete a year of college-level coursework). Race to the Top has finally established a realistic purpose for high school in the 21st century. If principals can now get the support they need to fulfill that purpose, high schools can once again be top producers of American potential . Who directs states on recording the graduates' progress in college? A) The US government. B) The Department of Education. C) The foreign experts. D) The school principals.
Ans: B
Question: One day a woman spotted a beggar sitting on the corner. The man was elderly, unshaven and ragged. Passers-by wanted nothing to do with him. But the woman smiled. "Are you hungry?" she asked. The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly used to the finer things in life. Her coat was new. She looked like that she had never missed a meal in her life. "No, " he answered sarcastically . "I've just come from dining with the president. Now go away. "To his surprise, the woman continued standing. And her smile became even broader. "What are you doing, lady?" he asked angrily. "I said to leave me alone. " Just then a policeman came up. "Is there any problem, ma'am?" He asked. "No problem here, officer," the woman answered. "I'm just trying to get this man to his feet. Will you help me?" The officer scratched his head. "That's old Jack. He's been around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?" "See that cafeteria over there?" She asked. "I'm going to get him something to eat and get him out of the cold. " "Are you crazy, lady? I don't want to go in there!" Then the homeless felt strong hands lift him up. "Let me go, officer. I didn't do anything." "This is a good deal for you, Jack, "the officer answered. "Don't blow it. " Finally, the woman and the police officer got Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table. It was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived. The woman turned to the officer, "Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?" "Yes, ma'am. That would be very nice. " Then, she sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him. "Jack, do you remember me?" Old Jack searched her face. "I think so --I mean you do look familiar. " "I'm Penelope Eddy. I'm a little older perhaps, "she said. "In my younger days when you worked here, I came through that very door, cold and hungry. " "I was just out of college, "the woman continued. "I... By "I saw a miracle today", the officer means that _ . A) some people get help just when they need it B) the cup of coffee is going to taste as sweet as sugar C) Jack was paid back for his kindness so many years later D) Eddy achieved her Success through painstaking efforts in the end
Answer:
C