In the early 1980s, one of our neighbors asked my mom if she would make a few gift baskets for her [:]to give as gifts for the holidays. My mom agreed and news of the unique gift baskets my mum was making spread like wildfire throughout the neighborhood. My mum was busy throughout the holiday season, so she asked a friend to help her. When the orders continued after the holiday season for baby gifts, birthday gifts and more, it occurred to them that maybe this job could be turned into a business and they did it. My mum went into her business because she had a creative idea. She got orders and filled orders. But there was no purpose and no real strategy . In 1991, my mum' s partner got into financial trouble and there was not enough money to support either my mum or her partner. So if you are led by your creativity or enthusiasm, make sure you ask yourself what you want out of your business. If you don't set goals, how will you know what direction to go in? Do you want to create jobs and growth in the economy? Are you looking for a hobby? You can't keep scores if you don' t know what game you are playing. After my mom's partner gave up, she had to abandon her business to support herself. She swore she would run a business again and do it differently the next time. However, there wasn't a "next time" for her. She passed away just after her 51st birthday. She never had someone tell her how important having a goal was. She never had an opportunity to be everything that she could be. There are no right or wrong goals, only the ones that matter to you. Set them so that you can make progress and achieve success, whatever that may mean to you. The author's mum started her own business after she _ . A) got continuous orders with her friend B) cooperated with one of her neighbors C) advertised her products in the neighborhood D) designed unique gift baskets for the holidays
A
The common cold is the world's most widespread illness, which is plagues that flesh receives. The most widespread fallacy of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes. During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches , cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds. In the Second World War prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp , naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds. At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in Experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose. If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter?Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on. No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors such as aspirin, but all they do is relieve the symptoms. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage? A) The Eskimos do not suffer from colds all the time. B) Colds are not caused by cold. C) People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors. D) A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already has one.
C
Q: Jules Verne was a Frenchman who was born in 1828 and died in 1905. He read a great many scientific books and wrote a number of exciting books about the things which he thought that scientists and inventors would one day be able to do. Years later, many of the things really happened. At that time, however, his stories seemed like fairy tales. Jules Verne's most famous book is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.(A league is an old word meaning a distance of about three miles). In those days submarines had not been invented but he described an underwater ship very like a modern one. Many of the things Jules wrote about in his books more than a hundred years ago to look into the future, however, were surprisingly exact. In his book From the Earth to the Moon he wrote at the age of about forty, three men and a dog made a journey around the moon in a hollow ship fired from a gun. After going around the moon, they returned to the earth and splashed down into the sea not far from where the first real moon traveler landed in July, 1969. The thing Jules described in his book From the Earth to the Moon is _ . A) as large as the spaceship today B) similar to the spaceship today C) a gun used to send up a ship D) an underwater ship
A: B
BALl, Indonesia-China, a booming economy known for its air pollution and rising greenhouse gas emissions , is winning praise at an international climate confernce for its efforts to clean up and support anti-global warming moves. Some experts believe prefix = st1 /Chinahas surpassed theUnited Statesas the world's emitter of greenhouse gases, yet it has made long steps in improving energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy, environmentalists and officials said on Friday. "I think China is taking climate change seriously, and that's a good sign that there will be a good outcome here in Bali,"said Artur Runge-Metzger, head of the European Commission delegation at the conference on the Indonesian island. Even hard-to-please environmental groups are praising Beijing, though it's clear China, which relies heavily on dirty, outdated coal burning techniques has a lot more to do. China ranked 40thon environmental watchdog Germanwatch's annual index , which ranks 56 industrialized and developing countries, was an improvement of four places over last year, the group said on Friday. The US and Saudi Arabiawere the worst on the list, at 55thand 56thplaces, respectively. Last year, theUSwas ranked 53rd, followed byChina,Malaysia, andSaudi Arabia. Germanwatch noted the Chinese government has carried out policies promoting renewable energy, including orders that solar, wind, hydroelectric and other forms of renewable energy provide 10 percent of nation's power by 2010. it also has ordered key industries to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent. Politicians and activists said Chian's defensive attitude of the past has given way to constructive discussions at the Bali climate change conference. Beijing has also taken the lead among developing countries in calling for wealthier nations to speed up the transfer of cleaner technologies to _ to help move away from fossil fuels. Hans Verolme, director of WWF International's Global Climate Change Program, attributed China's position to concerns over energy security... Which country ranks the last on environmental watchdog Germanwatch's annual index? A) China. B) TheUS. C) Saudi Arabia. D) Malaysia.
C