When I was an education official in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our school board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly's son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally disabled and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents acknowledged his academic difficulties, but always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper: Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed instantly in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known when I talked to him last that it would be the last time. If I had only known I would have said, "Jim, I love you and I'm very proud of you." I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he brought to the lives of the many who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, the sound of his laughter, his genuine love of people. When you put all the good qualities on the scale and try to balance all the _ phenomena such as the radio which was always too loud, the haircut that wasn't to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., your angry feelings won't amount to much. I won't get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, you do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear if you knew it would be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the day he died. He called me to say, "Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. Got to go to work. Bye." He gave me something to treasure forever. If there is any purpose at all for Jim's death, maybe it is to make others appreciate more of life and to have people, especially family members, take the time to let each other know just how much we... Which of the following can be the best title of the passage? A) Love your Family. B) Do it Today. C) Walk with Pride. D) Appreciate Smiles.
B
(Question)
Poor families in some countries spend as much as eighty percent of their money on food. Rising prices in recent months have created the worst food crisis in more than thirty years. The United Nations World Food Program says high food prices could push one hundred million people into hunger. Nathan Childs is an expert on rice markets. He notes that the harvest for the latest growing season was the largest on record. But India, Vietnam and others have restricted exports to keep prices down at home and protect supplies. Thailand's agriculture minister says his country will never restrict rice exports. He told the Reuters news agency Thursday that Thailand has enough supplies to meet demand at home and for export. Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter. Recent signs of an increase in supplies have helped ease record prices for Thai rice. Prices rose last week above one thousand dollars a ton. Vietnam, the second biggest exporter, has banned exports until June. And Vietnamese officials have now warned that non-food traders who buy rice for speculation will be severely punished. Some experts say speculation is a necessary part of market activity. But the head of the U.N. Environment Program blames it for the high food prices. "We have enough food on this planet today to feed everyone." Achim Steiner told the Associated Press. Earlier, a member of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission didn't accept the idea that speculators are the main cause. Bart Chilton blamed reduced harvests and grain supplies and the falling value of the dollar. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called heads of major international agencies to a meeting this week in the Swiss capital, Bern. He says high food prices could harm world trade, economic growth, social progress and political security. What is the reason for the speculation according to the head of the U.N. Environment Program? A) High food prices. B) The falling value of the dollar. C) Enough rice supplies in some countries. D) Restricted food exports in some countries.
(Answer)
A
Ques: Put yourself in these tourists' position. You are walking an icy mountain path in the Alps in Europe. Suddenly you spot a body on the ground,face downward and stuck to the ice. You think someone may have been murdered or in an accident. So you rush back and call the police. The police,however,quickly realize that this body is different from others they've found on the mountain. For one thing,it is mostly undamaged. For another,its skin is dried out,like a mummy's. And with it is a knife with a small stone knife. The body turned out to be much older than the tourists could have guessed. When specialists had a chance to examine it,they discovered it had been there for about five thousand years! How could a body stay preserved for all this time?Two things probably helped. First,the place where the man died was somewhat sheltered,so animals couldn't get at it. Then he was quickly covered by falling snow. Wind blowing through the snow probably "freezedried" his body,removing all _ from it. Objects found with the body told something about the Iceman's life. He wore a thick fur overcoat and trousers. He clearly had been hunting,for he carried arrows,and animal bones were nearby. He also had a grass cushion for sitting or sleeping on. Perhaps he was exhausted when he lay down for the last time. The body was found in 1991,when some of the ice on the mountain melted. Searching for the cause of the Iceman's death,scientists put the body back into cold conditions and hoped... The time of the year that the Iceman died was probably _ . A) early fall B) late spring C) summer D) winter
Ans: D
A young boy was sitting in the back seat of the car eating an apple. He asked his father, "Why does my apple turn brown?" his father answered, "When the skin is removed, air reaches the flesh of the apple and causes oxidation. This changes the apple's molecular structure and results in a brownish color." The boy asked, " Daddy, what are you talking about?" I know how that boy feels. Sometimes I want answers to some of those confusing questions that we all meet with, such as how to get through difficult times or what to do in a tough situation. I just want to get it right. The problem is that I don't always have the answer I need. Nobody else seems to have them, either. So I go on making mistakes and think that I'll never get it right. Often I didn't know what to do. I often made poor choices, but I gradually improved. Then I realized that I don't HAVE TO always get it right. I don't have to always know what to do all the time. All I really need to do is try my best, learn from my mistakes and go on. Dr. Leo Buscaglia once said, " No one gets out of this world alive, so the time to live, learn, care, share, celebrate and love is now. That would be pretty hard to do when you're waiting for all the answers first." So you got it wrong. You made a mistake. So what should you do next? Forgive yourself and try again. You may not get out of this world alive, but you can get plenty of life out of this world if you are not too worried about always getting it right. What do Dr. Leo Buscaglia's words mean? A) We must make right choices as often as possible. B) We can search the answers when enjoying life itself. C) People have many desires when they enter the world. D) It is hard to lead a happy and satisfying life.
B