*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Giant pandas are now extremely rare. Their number is less than 1,000 in the wild. The hunting of pandas has been banned for many years, so this is not the problem. Destruction of its habitat, when areas are cleared for growing crops, is one of the main reasons for panda's decline . Another reason is that the bamboo on which they mainly feed, is dying back. The pandas find it difficult to move to new feeding areas. As the bamboo disappears, the pandas simply starve to death. Bamboo is a poor source of food, and pandas have to eat up 45kg of it every day, a process that takes them up to 16 hours. The process goes on day and night, with the pandas in a constant cycle of eating for eight hours and sleeping for four. They can eat other foods, but will rather starve than change their diet when bamboo is scarce. Giant pandas are very good climbers, and use this skill to escape from the enemy. The giant panda lives alone for most of its life, only coming together with another of its species for long enough to mate. A newborn panda baby is born hairless and blind, is about 15cm long and weighs only 100g. The baby will stay with its mother for about 18 months, until it is able to set up its own territory Chinese and American scientists are studying giant pandas and their habits in order to put in place a major conservation programme. Zoos around the world are taking part in panda breeding programmes. There is still hope that with human's help, the giant panda can survive in the wild. Question: How much bamboo does a panda eat every year? - Nearly 3 tons - Nearly 2 tons - Almost 1 ton - A half ton
**Answer**
Nearly 2 tons

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Over the centuries the French have lost a number of famous battles with the British. However, they've always felt superior in the kitchen. France has for centuries had a reputation for cooking excellence, and Britain for some of the worst cooking in the world. But according to a recent survey, _ In the survey, 71% of the Britons said they cook at home every day, while only 59% of the French said they cook daily. British home cooks spend more time cooking each week and also produce a greater variety of dishes than French home cooks. The reaction in London was predictably enthusiastic. British food has greatly improved since the 1990s. Once upon a time, the menu for many family meals would have been roast beef, potatoes and over-cooked vegetables, but not now. Home cooks are experimenting with the huge range of ingredients now available in British supermarkets and are preparing all kinds of new dishes, using the cookbooks that sell millions of copies every year. As a result, there's much more diversity in British food now, compared to French food, which tends to be very traditional. Some French people say that the survey did not show the whole picture. They agree that during the week French women don't cook as much as they used to because most of them work and don't have much time. They tend to buy ready-made or frozen dishes, but many of them make up for it on the weekend. There's also a difference between Paris and the country-side. It's true that people in Paris don't cook much, but elsewhere, cooking is still at the heart of daily life. For many French people, opinions about British food have not changed. When Bernard Blier, the food editor at a magazine, was asked about British food, he replied: "I don't go out of my way to try it. It is not very refined. You can say that I'm not a fan at all." Question: According to the passage, nowadays British people _ . - cook less at home than the French every day - no longer eat roast beef and over-cooked vegetables - are more willing to try cooking all kinds of new foods - buy more cookbooks than French people do
**Answer**
are more willing to try cooking all kinds of new foods

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: In 1975, George Carlin appeared on a popular TV show, Saturday Night Live, with his famous words about blue food. "Why is there no blue food? I can't find blue food--I can't find the flavor of blue! I mean yellow is lemon; orange is orange and red is cherry. Where is the blue food? " Well, Carlin pretty much has it right--there's not no blue food, but there's certainly not a lot of it. Fresh-picked blueberries are blue, though they become purple when they are turned into jam. The blue in blueberries--like the purple in grapes and the red in tomatoes--is found in nature. But it isn't a hot color for food. People don't seem to prefer blue food. Some diet programs even suggest that those determined to lose weight should make their food blue. Eating, in part, begins with our eyes. Charles Spence--an experimental psychologist from Oxford University--points out that color can change our taste experience. Commonly, we consider red-colored foods up to 20% sweeter than they actually are; and green foods as being more sour. Spence suggests: human expectations may be influenced by our long history of watching - green fruits can become sweet as they grow up and turn red. But what about blue? Except blueberries, much of the blue food we see these days _ blue artificially. Food producers argue that artificial color doesn't do much harm to health. A lot of research shows that some physical problems of kids are related to food dyes--while other studies show no effects at all. Blue birthday cake or even blue-dyed chicken can be served on the dinner table. So what? Question: Eating sometimes begins with our eyes because _ . - our taste experience can be influenced by color - red-colored food are 20% sweeter than green food - people prefer red-colored food to green food - before eating, people watch food for a long time
**Answer**
our taste experience can be influenced by color