Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: DEAR AMY: We recently had to put our cat down. It came _ . We had no idea that he had health problems, and we woke up early one morning to the cat crying out painfully. We immediately rushed him to the vet's where the vet said that at best treatment might lengthen his life by two to three months. We did not want to see him suffer, so we chose to kill the cat in a painless way. I am having a rough time! I cry when I am alone. I cry when I see pet commercials on television. I put away everything that reminds me of the cat. But the last sight of seeing the cat in pain plays over and over in my head. My kids seem alright with what has happened, but why am I struggling? It has only been one week since his passing, so I hope things will get better. Do you have any suggestions? Yours, Sad DEAR SAD: There is no loss quite like the loss of a pet; these animals keep us company through important life passages and are beloved witnesses to our human lives. I understand your instinct to put away all of your cat's things, but it may help you now to memorialize your pet by using these things. Each family member can write down favorite things about him or memories of him; read their memories aloud and put the papers inside his bowl. The idea is to replace those painful last memories with much more lively memories taking place over the most of the animal's life. Time will then do its job, which is to affect your feelings. And then, when you're ready, I hope you will adopt another animal and give it the opportunity to[:Z-X-X-K]share your life. Yours, Amy Question: Which of the following made the author's family choose to kill the cat in a painless way? - The cat had changed its color. - The vet himself had no way to save its life. - The family wouldn't see it suffer in its later life. - The cat suffered so much that it could die at any time.
The family wouldn't see it suffer in its later life.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: John Wesley Powell(1834--1902)Was a famous explorer of the American West.When he Was young,his mother put him under the guidance of George Crookham,a self-taught scientist,from whom he received a wide,but informal,education.Young John learned many things about the natural sciences.But his father preferred him to study religion.The argument continued for three years.Then John decided to leave home to seek further education.He soon discovered that he knew more about science than any teacher he met.He realized that the only good scientific education in the country came from colleges in the east,like Harvard and Yale.But he Was too poor to go to them,SO he got work as a school teacher in Illinois.Whenever possible,he went on scientific trips of his own. In 1861,civil war broke out in the United States.John joined the Union forces of the North.At the battle of Shiloh Powell lost his right arm.Despite his disability, he began his famous exploration of the Colorado River on May 24 1869. It Was one of the greatest trips of discovery in the history of America.Never before had any white men traveled to that area.The trip Was far more dangerous than expected.The rivers were filled with rocky areas and waterfalls.Sometimes,the boats overturned or broke into pieces against big rocks.All along the way, Powell measured distances,temperatures,heights,depths and currents.He examined soils,rocks and plant life.Powell'S explorations led to the creation of US Geological Survey, which became responsible for all mapping and scientific programs of American lands. Powell's scientific studies of western lands shaped his ideas of how those lands should be used.He suggested programs to control both crop farming and cattle raising.He Was especially concerned about water supplies.Many of his ideas were rejected at first and were not signed into law until years after his death because they were far ahead of his time. Question: The author wrote about John's experience of the civil war in order to show his following characters except _ . - his courage - his determination - his bad fortune - his braveness
his bad fortune

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Heavy rain has triggered floods and mudslides in southern prefix = st1 /China, leaving at least 200 people dead or missing, a resident and state media said. Torrential rain hit a mountainous region of Hunanprovince in the early hours on Wednesday and 22 people died in floods. Two officials were killed during rescue work. Thirty-five people, including five students, were missing. However, a local resident with knowledge of the casualties and damage said at least 200 people died or were missing after torrential rains hit Xinshao and Lianyuan counties, Shaoyang city and three other cities in Hunan province since June 1, 2005. "Villagers, cadres and rescuers were washed away by floods," the resident, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. "More than 10,000 people were left homeless after their homes were either washed away, flooded or toppled," he said. Mountain torrents in Xinshao were the worst in the county's history. At least 47 villages were devastated by the torrents and 54,600 villagers affected. About 3560 homes were destroyed, and electricity and telecommunications services were cut off in some villages. Crops, bridges and roads were destroyed. A local official reached by telephone estimated damage to property at over 2 billion yuan ($344.92 million). People's Liberation Army soldiers were called on to help with rescue work, residents said. Question: We can infer that the torrential rain caused great damage and casualties of the people in _ in Hunan. - two counties and three cities - three counties and two cities - two counties and four cities - two counties and five cities
two counties and four cities