In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl going to Howard University, aiming at a law career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different story to tell. My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to leave college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait. Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a mix of adopted and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To put eyes on him was wonderful---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy then followed son No.3. in 2003, I gave birth to another boy. You can imagine how engaged I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each term The hardest part was feeling sorry about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to give up, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives. In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree! I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you are looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you are in the middle of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won't arrive in your life on one day. It's a process . Remember: little steps add up to big dreams. Why did the author give up school in her second year of college? A) She wanted to study by herself. B) She fell in love and got married. C) She suffered from a serious illness D) She decided to look after her grandma.
D
(Question)
As an English teacher, I've been lucky enough to travel to many countries all over the world. I've seen people celebrate everything from the arrival of new babies to the delivery of new cars. I've attended weddings, parties and religious celebrations in countries such as Argentina and Japan, and I've noticed that gold---the metal or the colour of it---is always part of cultural events, traditions and celebrations. It makes me wonder: Why do people love gold? For some people, gold seems to be a status symbol. Indian businessman Datta Phuge loves gold so much that he even bought a shirt made of gold at a cost of $250,000. I'm not sure I'd spend so much money on a shirt, would you? But Datta Phuge has his reason .He explains," Some people want to own an Audi or a Mercedes. I choose gold." For other people, gold is an investment . The price of gold generally increases over time and in European markets, it reached even $1,500 per ounce in 2011. And for many people, a family heirloom brings together status and investment. My mother has a gold bracelet that was given to her by her grandmother who, in turn, inherited it from her own grandmother. It's quite a heavy piece and probably worth quite a lot of money. But its mental value is greater than its value in dollars. It's a beautiful object that holds many family memories. When the time comes, my mum will give the bracelet to me, and one day, I'll pass it on to the younger generation. Therefore, status and investment are good reasons to value gold. However, I think that the real reason why people love gold is that it can be made into beautiful objects. Think about Tutankhamen's death mask. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful? People love gold because it holds their minds, their imaginations and, above all, their hearts. Datta Phuge bought a shirt made of gold because _ . A) gold is a status symbol to him B) he loves this kind of shirt C) people there love gold so much D) he is a successful businessman
(Answer)
A
Things you need to know about studying there Study style Since the 1950s, the Netherlands has had courses in English especially for foreign students. Students are expected to be critical of what they read and hear, and to be able of working independently. Foreign students will soon notice that at Dutch institutions for higher learning people are expected to do a lot of talking. The most common form of teaching is the seminar or working group, where a small group of students work under a teacher's supervision to analyze a certain problem. On exams, they have to show that they know the material, and that they have formed well-founded opinions on the subject. Accommodations If you are in an exchange programme or an international course, it is quite possible that a room will be arranged for you. Accept it immediately, or you will regret it later. That's because finding a place to live in a country as crowded as the Netherlands is not easy. Before you leave China, ask your host institution whether or not housing will indeed be arranged in advance. If you are in the Netherlands and still looking for a place, ask the international relations office or the student dean for advice. Expences Tuition: Bachelor's degree:about 2,500 euros a year Master's degree: 5,000-12,000 euros a year Living expenses: Experience has shown that a year in the Netherlands costs a Chinese Student about 450-700 euros a month. Here is a breakdown of average prices of supermarket goods: Litre of milk: 0.5--0.8 euro Kilo of apples: 1.5 euros Shampoo, 400ml: 4 euros Tube of toothpaste: 1 euro Bed sheet: 20 euros Other expenses: Haircut: 15 euros Air ticket to China: 600-800 euros Mobile phone call(one minute): 0.1-0.3 euro Phone call to China (with IP card): 7 euros(one minute) Postage stamp in the Netherlands: 0.39 euro Stamp for China: 0.78 euro (1 euro-about 10 yuan) Transportation Trains, buses and trams run throughout the country. If you really want to sample Dutch life, and get around... It costs at least _ a year for a Master degree. A) 104,000 yuan B) 104,000 euros C) 174,000 yuan D) 134,000 euros
A