I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Whether it is "women and children first" or "every man for himself" in a shipwreck may depend on how long it takes the ship to sink, researchers said recently. When the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German ship in 1915, it sank in 18 minutes and the majority of the survivors were young men and women who responded immediately to their powerful survival instincts . But when the Titanic struck an iceberg in 1912, it took "three hours to go down, allowing time for more civilize behavior to take control--and the majority of the survivors were women, children and people with young children. Economist Benno Torgler of the Queensland University of Technology in Australia and his colleagues studied the two sinkings in order to explore the economic theory that people generally behave in a "rational" and selfish manner. The two tragedies provided a "natural experiment" for testing the idea, because the passengers on the two ships were quite similar in terms of gender and wealth. The major difference was how long it took the ships to sink. They suggested that when people have little time to react, instincts may rule. When more time is available, social influences play a bigger role. But psychologists noted that many factors other than following social norms could come into play in a disaster, including an evolutionary urge to save the species, attachments that are formed between individuals during the event and the leadership of authority figures. The extent of altruism and how it occurs "is a very controversial issue," said Anthony R. Mawson, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.He thinks the dominant response was attachment behavior. Psychologist Daniel Kruger of the University of Michigan, US thinks that the answer lies less in social norms and more in our evolutionary heritage. Human beings have a deep instinct to preserve our kind, he said, and that means "people are more likely to save those who have higher reproductive value, namely the young... Question: According to Benno Torgler, what led to the different results between the two shipwrecks? Options: A: The survival instinct. B: The civilized behavior. C: The leadership of the captain. D: The length of time.
D

I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: SOME teenagers take up smoking during the holidays either because they become "rich" enough to afford a pack of cigarettes or they think they look "cool". Everyone knows that "smoking is bad for you", but do smokers really know what the health warnings mean to them? Smoking, the world's second leading cause of preventable death, kills 4.9 million people a year, the United Nations said on February 27. The world has about l.2 billion smokers and World Health Organization surveys show that about 20 per cent of them are children aged between 13 and 15 years old. On the same day, a global treaty aimed at encouraging children not to smoke and help people kick the habit came into force. This is the first worldwide agreement on a public health issue. It will see strong warnings added to cigarette packets and a ban on all tobacco advertising. Young smokers may think little of the health effects of smoking. But smoking can stop them from making friends, as most non-smokers don't like being around smokers. "I feel sick when I see people of my age smoke. Smokers make themselves look less educated ," said Shi Qingyu, a Senior 3 student at Luanxian No 1 High School in Hebei Province. Once while on a bus, he asked a girl who was smoking next to him to put out her cigarette. For Wang Gezhu, a Senior l girl from Wuxi Furen High School in Jiangsu Province,boys who smoke are less attractive. "Boys that smoke may think they are cool or impressive, but I think they look weird compared to other ordinary students in my eyes. They only do what others won't risk doing," Wang said. Every one wants to impress others, but there are ways to show off other than smoking. On February 26, around 200 students from across the country gathered in Beijing to be awarded for their outstanding performance in the 2004 "Sunflower Cup". The programme included several contests in writing, calligraphy , drawing and painting. It aimed to encourage students to take part in meaningful activities so that they could spend their free time developing... Question: From the passage. what does the author want to say? Options: A: Don't make friends with young smokers. B: Young smokers, drop off your cigarettes ! C: The young smoke because they have enough money. D: Meaningful activities are the only ways to prevent the young from smoking.
B

I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: It has become a certain belief among the public-drink at least eight glasses of water a day to improve health and well--being.Bottled water companies often repeat it to increase their sales but it is actually a silly idea. There is no evidence to prove the advantages of drinking eight glasses of water a day,scientists say. The misunderstanding is caused from the suggestion that adults should drink 2.5 liters of water daily,which was highlighted(,)by the British Medical Journal in December.The important part of the suggestion that most of this quantity of water is contained in prepared foods,however,is usually ignored. U.S.researchers who reviewed the evidence concluded that most people do not need to worry about the amount of water they drink every day.Besides drinking water,they will be getting plenty of liquid in other ways.Caffeinated drinks such as tea,coffee and cola,and alcohol can help reach the daily total if they don't drink too much,though these drinks help the production of urine . Less well known are the dangers of drinking too much water,causing water poisoning,low salt levels and even death. The review of research by Dan Negoianu,from the University of Pennsylvania,found that not a single study included the suggestion of drinking eight glasses of water a day.Although one small study suggested that drinking water could result in fewer headaches,the results were not very important.However,the benefits of drinking some water to prevent a pain in head after drinking too much alcohol are.separately,proved to be true. No studies showed any advantages to the color1 of the skin because of the increased water taken into bodies.Dehydration can make skin less pleasant,but there was no clear evidence to support the idea that water helps people keep a youthful appearance.The researchers also found no evidence that drinking lots of water does some good to the body's organs . Question: The writer's main purpose of writing this passage is to _ . Options: A: persuade people to drink different kinds of water B: warn people of the danger of drinking much water C: tell people drinking much water is not as healthy as is considered D: help people realize the importance of drinking enough water every day
C