Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Bringing up children is hard work, and you are often to blame for any bad behavior of your children. If so, Judith Rich Harris has good news for you. Parents, she argues, have no important long -term effects on the development of the personality of their children. Far more important are their playground friends and neighborhood. Ms. Harris takes to hitting the assumption, which has dominated developmental psychology for almost half a century. Ms. Harris's attack on the developmental psychologists' "nurture" argument looks likely to reinforce doubts that the profession was already having. If parents matter, why is it that two adopted children, brought up in the same home, are no more similar in personality than two adopted children brought up in separate homes? Or that a pair of identical twins, brought up in the same home, are no more alike than a pair of identical twins brought up in different homes? Difficult as it is to track the clear effects of parental upbringing, it may be harder to measure the exact influence of the peer group in childhood and adolescence. Ms. Harris points to how children from immigrant homes soon learn not to speak at school in the way their parents speak. But acquiring a language is surely a skill, rather than a characteristic of the sort developmental psychologists hunt for. Certainly it is different from growing up tensely or relaxed, or from learning to be honest or hard -working or generous. Easy though it may be to prove that parents have little impact on those qualities, it will be hard to prove that peers have vastly more. Moreover, mum and dad surely cannot be ignored completely. Young adults may, as Ms. Harris argues, be keen to appear like their peers. But even in those early years, parents have the power to open doors: they may choose the peers with whom their young associate, and pick that influential neighborhood. Moreover, most people suspect that they come to resemble their parents more in middle age. So the balance of influences is probably complicated. Even if... Question: According to Ms. Harris, _ . - parents are to blame for any bad behavior of their children - children's personality is largely shaped by their friends and neighbors - nature rather than nurture has a significant effect on children' s personality development - parents will affect greatly the children's life in the long run
children's personality is largely shaped by their friends and neighbors

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: "Confidence" is probably one of the most noticeable traits in the Americans. They show confidence in the way they talk, the way they smile, the way they dress and the way they walk. Living and competing with all these confident American students, I find it extremely important to be confident as an international student and instructor. As a student, being confident means you should never hesitate to raise your hand whenever a question or a point comes to your mind. Don't mind if it sounds simple or silly. Otherwise you will never get a chance to speak in class at all. What's worse, the professors may think you are not prepared for the discussion or you do not have your own opinion on the issue--this is the last comment any graduate would like to receive. Being confident for me as a foreign instructor means calmly asking the student to repeat what he or she has said if I did not get it. Pretending to understand what you actually did not may just bring yourself embarrassment or even disgrace. But the time I most need to be confident is when my students come to my office and bargain about the grades I have given for their speeches. (The course I'm teaching here is Public speaking). Modesty is a trait highly valued in China, but it won't be of much help here if you want to survive and succeed in a good American graduate program. Question: The author is most likely to feel embarrassed if _ . - he asks a student to repeat what he has said - the students bargain with him - he pretends to know what he doesn't - he has to give a speech
he pretends to know what he doesn't

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Why do women earn less than men? Women earn less than men. For example, in 1988 the hourly wages of women in the U.S. were 16% less than those of men. The gap between male and female incomes varies with age. The gap between the labor incomes of young women and young men is much smaller than that between middle-aged women and men. It is also clear that jobs in which women are concentrated pay less. The larger the number of workers in an industry who are women, the lower the average wages. Why do women earn less than men? Are the differences explained by the fact that women are looked down upon? If so, the government has to intervene, to force the employers to pay equal wages to equal jobs. however, there is no agreement among economists about the causes of the gap. One view argues that women on the average have chosen low-paying jobs in which workers enjoy the freedom of entering and leaving the labor force, which reduces their years of experience relative to men. Other people say the gap can also be explained by the difference in educational background which is shown in the difference in the marginal product between men and women. Much of the gap, however, has not been fully explained. It might be the result of some bias against women. It is this part that has produced calls for government action. What would happen if the government did intervene to increase the wages paid to women? One possibility is that incomes for women as a group might actually decline. An increase in wage decreases the quantity of labor input demanded, resulting in decreased employment as the rate of hiring new workers declines. The result will be a surplus of labor. Those who can find jobs might be better off while those who had jobs might find themselves out of work. Question: Some economists believe women earn less than men partly because _ . - women are less experienced than men - women are only provided with low-paying jobs - women have much freedom in selecting their jobs - there is more than enough women in the labor force
women are less experienced than men

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: "Enough" with the multivitamins already. That's the message from experts behind three new studies that tackled an often debated question: Do daily multivitaminsmake you healthier? "We believe that the case is closed - supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults with (most) mineral or vitamin supplements has no clear benefit and might even be harmful," concluded the authors of the editorial summarizing the new research papers. They urge consumers to not 'waste' their money on multivitamins. "The 'stop wasting your money' means that perhaps you're spending money on things that won't protect you long term," editorial co-author, Dr. Edgar Miller said, "What will protect you is if you spend the money on fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, low fat dairy, and things like that. Exercising would probably be a better use of the money." The strong message was based on a review of the findings from three studies that tracked multivitamins link to cancer protection, heart health, and brain and cognitive measures. The first study looked at vitamin supplementation's role in preventing chronic disease. The next study looked at whether long-term use of multivitamins would have any effect on slowing cognitive decline. The third study looked specifically at multivitamins and minerals role in preventing heart attack. "The three studies found no difference in rates of chronic disease, heart attack and the need for hospitalization between vitamin-takers and placebo -takers." Dr. Edgar Miller stated. One expert agreed some nutrient-deficient people may still benefit from multivitamins. "There might be an argument to continue taking a multi(vitamin) to replace or supplement your not healthy diet," Dr. Edgar Miller added. He also notes that vitamins can benefit people with celiac disease and those who are pregnant. Question: What can be inferred from the text? - Vitamin supplements have proved harmful to the health of adults. - Vitamin supplements are beneficial in certain conditions. - Nowadays taking vitamin supplements is common to most people. - Daily multivitamins will make you healthier.
Vitamin supplements are beneficial in certain conditions.