Read the article and select the best answer. Article: People think being an artist must be a wonderful way to earn one's living. And of course, there are lots of great things about working for oneself, at home alone, even in a cold studio like mine. What I really like is that nobody tells me what time to start in the morning. I like to paint as soon as I wake up, which is always early, but isn't the same time every day. And nobody tells me what to wear or whether I can take the afternoon off and go to a football match. But then, I have no one to chat with when I'm bored, no one to discuss last night's match with during the office lunch hour. Sure, I can spend the afternoon doing something I enjoy like cycling or gardening if I choose. But the work will still be there when I do finally get back home. Unfortunately, working at home means that people can always find me, whether I'm bored or not, and once I've answered the doorbell, it's too late -- my thoughts have been interrupted. No one would dream of calling in if I worked in an office, but I find myself listening to friends' troubles. As they talk, my ideas disappear and I feel increasingly stressed thinking of my work waiting to be done. However, when I hear the traffic news on the radio, and imagine my friends sitting miserably in their cars in a jam, feeling bored, or waiting unhappily for an overcrowded train in the rain, I realize that I really haven't got much to complain about. I find a CD which will start me thinking, turn it up really loudly and begin another picture. Question: What does the writer like about his working life? Options: A: He has plenty of opportunities for sport. B: He can do things without being told by others. C: He needn't work in the morning. D: He has a comfortable place to work in.
B

(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The cost of raising a child has hit an all-time high, according to a new report, putting pressure on families already dealing with cuts to child benefit. Figures from the insurance company LV's annual Cost of a Child Report show that the cost of bringing a child up to the age of 21 has reached $222, 458 -- more than $4,000 higher than last year and up$82,000 on ten years ago. The company estimates that this is set to reach $350,000 by 2023 if costs continue to increase at the same rate. The report will be a further blow for hard-working families as cash-strapped parents continue to struggle with rising household bills, wage freezes and cuts to child benefit. The right to receive the payments, worth $20.30 a week for the first child and $13.40 further children, was removed earlier this month from households with one earner on a salary of more than $60,000 and reduced for families where one member is paid more than $50,000. The research published today shows costs have risen in all areas over the last decade, except for clothing, with education seeing the biggest increase. As a result, more than three-quarters of parents have been forced to make ends meet. According to LV, more than four in ten are reining in spending on luxuries such as holidays, a third are also cutting back how much they spend on essentials such as food. Education remains the biggest expense for parents. The cost of education, including uniforms, after school clubs and university costs, has shot up from $32,593 to $72,832 per child in the last ten years. Childcare costs have also rocketed, up from $39,613 in 2003 to $63,738 today. Question: According to the passage the cost of raising a child to the age of 21 ten years ago was _ . Options: A: $222,458 B: $218,458 C: $140,458 D: $82,000
(Answer)
C

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Today, I will tell you a story about AbdulRahman, a friend of mine, who was the victim of the big name DHL. I am sure that 90% of you have at least heard of it. It is known for being the best company when it comes to shipping. It is thought to be fast ,reliable and safe. AbdulRahman's brother bought him a mobile phone while he was in the United Kingdom. He wanted to send it to him here in Kuwait . AbdulRahman specifically asked him to send it through DHL. He trusted the company that much, as most people do. But in the end, even though the company told him that it would take up to 5 days for the phone to arrive at AbdulRahman's door, he never received it. And after two weeks of him calling them and hearing the same response "We will investigate the matter, and let you know of our decision by next week. We might pay you back up to 50% of the item's cost." So they are not paying him the full price of the thing they have lost, or as we think, they have stolen. We have reason to think that way, because according to the records, the mobile phone went "missing" while it was in a "sorting facility" of the company. Last Tuesday, they stopped telling him "We are investigating the matter" and officially said, "We ended the investigation. Your shipment is missing." We are still waiting to hear their "decision" about whether they will try to make it up to him, by "maybe" paying him up to 50% , and nothing more. Question: We can learn from the passage that DHL _ . Options: A: generally has a good reputation B: focuses more on speed than safety. C: doesn't provide international service D: mainly sells mobile phones overseas
Ans: A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Bonus culture has become the subject of many studies nowadays. Many people have been angered by the way some bankers and high officials seem to have been rewarded for failure. Others find the idea of offering many-million-dollar bonuses morally disgusting. But few have asked whether performance-related bonuses really do improve performance. The answer seems so obvious that even to ask the question can appear ridiculous. Indeed, in spite of all the complaints about them, financial encouragements continue to be introduced in more and more areas, from healthcare and public services to teaching and universities. So it may come as a shock to many to learn that paying for results can actually make people perform badly in many circumstances, and that the more you pay, the worse they perform. No one is arguing that bonuses can help companies and institutions attract and keep the best staff. Nor does anyone argue against the idea that you can encourage people to do specific tasks by linking payments to those tasks. Rather, the point is about how to get the best out of people. Do employees really perform better if you promise to pay them more for getting results? There are some obvious reasons why such payments can fail. It has been argued, for instance, that cash bonuses contributed to the financial crash, because traders had little enthusiasm to make sure that their companies enjoyed long-term survival. Most bonus projects are poorly designed, says Professor Malcolm Higgs. He thinks the reason is that organizations try to keep bonus arrangements simple. Nevertheless, he thinks bonus projects can work as long as they link the interests of individual employees with the long-term goals of a business. Bonuses can also encourage cheating. "Once you start making people's rewards dependent on outcomes rather than behaviors, the evidence is people will do whatever they can to get those outcomes," says Professor Edward Deci. "In many cases the high officials simply lied and cheated to make the stock price go up so they got... Question: If a person plays safe to get a bonus, he is probably being _ . Options: A: more enthusiastic B: more risk-taking C: less daring D: less responsible
C