The United States will introduce a new exam system for students who seek to study in the USA and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York. The exam, which means a great change from the English level test, was introduced by Theresa Jen, associate director of the International Service of the USA College Board, America's leading educational organization. "The Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL) will be offered for the first time all over the world on May 10, 2012," said Jen. However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), the GRE (Graduate Record Examination), or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System). "I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam," said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL. Most of Xu's classmates have never heard of the APIEL."The APIEL is made for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia." Jen said. "The APIEL will be used," said Jen, "because the TOEFL can no longer perfectly show the students' abilities of using English." Xinhua reported that a large number of foreign students who had high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after being admitted. "Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student's ability to read, write, speak and understand 'English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with fluency, and writing in an organized way." Jen said. The APIEL is designed for students who want to study in English-speaking countries, such as _ . A) the United States and Canada B) Canada and Ireland C) Australia and India D) Britain and France
A
Beijing Acrobatic Show in Chaoyang Theatre Introduction of Acrobatic Show: This is the entertainment that should not be missed by the young and old on a visit to Beijing. You can see breath-holding acrobatics, some of which can be so demanding in the balance skill as to be close to the impossible. This time you can see the bicycling show-- ten cycling girls all ending up on a bicycle with their fans spread out like a peacock. There are also girls bending and folding their bodies to a position where the feet hold the face and the head and hands are still balancing some glasses. Other exciting acts are the martial arts , balancing of bowls, rope walking, pole climbing, roller skating and plate swirling , etc. Ticket Prices Two daily acrobatic shows from 5:15 pm to 7:15 pm. The detailed price is as follows (including 5-65 years old): Yellow Zone: (Mid Rows 14-23) RMB 120 Blue Zone: (Mid Rows 1-4) RMB 160 Green Zone: (Mid Rows 8-13) RMB 220 Red VIP Zone: (Mid Rows 5-7) RMB 400 Booking Book at beijing-travels.com or call 13801067568 Booking information: Your Name, Shows, Date, Time, Tickets, Telephone Number We will explain your enquiry or confirm booking within one working day. When your booking is confirmed, you will receive a confirmation letter by e-mail, which includes the detailed tickets with prices. Payment Please pay cash to our clerks when you get to the theater. Both RMB and US dollar are acceptable. What can we learn about the acrobatic show? A) Only old people would like to watch it. B) It will include the bicycling show and a peacock. C) It will be performed by the best acrobatic group. D) It will last two days, from 5:15 pm to 7:15 pm each day.
D
Q: Do you feel lucky? You probably don't. You may think you've got where you are today through willpower and hard work. We tend to overlook luck's role,and this seems to get worse the richer we get; surveys show that the wealthiest are least likely to owe their fortunes to good fortune. Many such people oppose taxation and government spending: why should others get a handout if they don't need one? More often than not,they vote against the very policies that helped them get lucky to begin with. In a recent Atlantic essay,Robert Frank,an economist who has studied attitudes to chance,quoted EB White: "Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men." However, if we see this just as a problem of the super-rich people,we may let the rest of us off too easily. Anyone living in a highly developed economy in 2016 is already the one who benefits from luck--for example,not living in the modern-day Central African Republic, where few people can live a long life. In fact,we are lucky to have been born human. You might have been a battery hen,or a mayfly with only one day to live. Our blindness to such truths isn't only because we're self-absorbed but also we attach more significance to things that are easier to call to mind. It's not hard to recall countless times when you put in the effort to succeed: struggling through university finals,preparing for job interviews,tolerating a long-distance travel to work. On the other hand,it's rather difficult to realize you're privileged--like not being born in a war zone,or before antibiotics ,and so forth. According to the author,you are fortunate if you are not_. A) struggling through university finals B) preparing for interviews C) tolerating a long distance travel D) living in a war zone
A: D
Close relationships, thought to help communication by giving speakers a common context, are actually more likely to make _ when strangers are involved, a new study suggests. Because close colleagues and friends already share so much common knowledge that they often use short, ambiguous messages which can lead to misunderstandings. "People are so used to talking with those with whom they already share a great deal of information that, when they have something really new to share, they often present it in a way that they assume the person already knows it." says study-team member Boaz Keysar. Keysar and his graduate student, Shall Wu, trained 40 pairs of undergraduate students to memorize made-up names and descriptions of strange shapes. In each pair, the "director" had to communicate the identity of one of the 24 shapes. The partner had to use the information to choose the correct shape from a set of three images on a computer monitor. Half of the partners studied only the first six shapes, while the others learned the first 18 shapes. The directors, who had memorized all the shapes, were aware of their partners' knowledge levels of the shapes. In the pairs with the most shared knowledge, the directors were more likely to rattle off shape names, compared with pairs with little knowledge overlap , in which the directors were more likely to describe the actual shapes. Not surprisingly, participants with more shared knowledge were twice as likely to ask for clarification as those with less overlap. Language itself can be confusing. "The reason all this is happening at all is that language in general is ambiguous," said Keysar. He recalls an ambiguous billboard near a stadium holding a Rolling Stones concert that night. The billboard read, "Avoid LSD tonight." (:LSD"") Hmmm? "It was about Lake Shore Drive, and I'm sure the writer of the sign didn't realize he was being ambiguous," Keysar said. "Even though miscommunication can lead to missed meetings or deadlines, people are often unaware when their language is... It can be inferred from the example of the billboard that _ . A) most people know what LSD usually refers to B) local people would not misunderstand the meaning of LSD C) the writer of the sign means to play jokes on those attending the concert D) people sometimes ignore the limitation of shared knowledge
D