A great-grandfather has put up his Christmas tree for the 85thtime after his father first bought it from a toy shop. Douglas Hewitt, 85, has celebrated every Christmas with the artificial tree since he was born. His father bought the tree from a toy shop in Sheffield just months after Douglas was born. The four-foot tree remains the centre point of the Hewitt family household during every festive season. Mr. Hewitt, of South Anston, South Yorkshire, said, "It reminds us of my childhood, our children's childhood and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren's after that. They all come and look at it and smile; it's become part of the furniture. If we didn't put that Christmas tree up, it wouldn't feel like Christmas." The tree was passed down to Mr. Hewitt when he married Mavis. Mrs. Hewitt said, "Year after year we have just carried on using that one. You have to be a bit more careful with it now, as it's _ ." Their daughter, June Murphy, also has fond memories of the Christmas tree. She said, "It was in my grandparents' home and then it was given to us. It looks a little thin now, as each time you get it out something else falls off. It's become a bit of a family joke. Each year someone has to comment 'not again!' But it's a Christmas tradition of getting the tree out that we all love. We'd all be sad to see it go, as I think it would be hard to find such a loved replacement." Mr. Hewitt said, "There were a lot more branches on it, and it's lost its feathers that were all along the edge. There were little candle holders on the ends and little legs on it, but unfortunately they've been lost over the years." Where did Douglas Hewitt get the Christmas tree? A) He got it from his father. B) He bought it from a toy shop. C) He made it by himself. D) He cut it down in a forest.
A
(Question)
The British royal family is about to be slimmed down. The queen plans to reduce the number of real royals, as was recently announced. However, there seems little sign of the monarchy disappearing completely. Up till the 17th century, the British king or queen was believed to rule by "divine right", which was the idea that God chose the king or queen to rule and that he or she was therefore above the law. However, this idea ended with the English Revolution, in which King Charles I was imprisoned and then killed in 1649. So what role does the British royal family have today? Well, the Queen has important formal duties: as Head of State, the Queen represents the UK on visits abroad and invites other world leaders to visit the UK. As Head of the Armed Forces, only the Queen can declare when the UK is at war or when war is over. The Queen also has constitutional duties: She has to sign many government and Commonwealth documents every day. In addition, the royal family spends a great deal of its time traveling up and down the country in support of different charity projects. But the public in Britain do not believe there should be a royal family. Sometimes, the press and media criticize the royal family as well. One criticism is that British people should not have to pay for the royal family through their taxes. Today, the royal family works hard to be relevant in the modern world. The queen's speech on TV is less formal every Christmas, and is now available as a podcast . In 2005, after graduation from university, Prince William spent time teaching English in Uruguay, the sort of work many young British people do at some time in their lives. We can infer from the passage that _ . A) British people are all in favor of the royal family B) the British royal family are facing surviving challenges C) the public are encouraged to oppose the royal family D) British youths are required to teach English in Uruguay in their lives
(Answer)
B
Ques: Read the following reviews for movies that are showing at the moment. And then answer questions. ............................................................................................. Happiness(Romance) Happiness tells the story of two people(Lisa Turbot and Danny Roy)who work for different advertising companies. They talk on the phone all the time and do not like each other. But then they _ by e-mail and fall in love. This movie will be very popular with teenagers and people who like romances. It also has beautiful music. ............................................................................................. I Scream(Thriller) In I Scream,Paul(Colin Jacks)is a young man who joins a thriller club. Each of the members tries to frighten the others. Paul is told to stay in an old house for the night. Everyone who has tried to stay in the house before has died. This movie is very frightening but also quite silly. It does not make sense for Paul to stay in the house when things start to go wrong. Only for people who like thrillers. ............................................................................................. Paul's Heroes(comedy) This is a very funny war movie set in World War Two. Six soldiers (including Sammy Tur- blow) have to get toprefix = st1 /Italyto take secret messages to the American army there. During the movie,they dress up as women and fight with Italian workers. You can guess the ending,but it is great fun getting there. ............................................................................................. (Drama) This is a very good drama with Jack Ross, who plays a hard--working truck driver. His wife becomes ill and he has to find a doctor who can help her. In his travels he meets Dr Lloyd(Phil Driver) who has found the cure for the illness,but Jack Ross has only twelve hours to get the medicine back to his wife on the other side of America. This is an excellent movie,which is very exciting. Of which movie does the reviewer have the best opinion? A) No. 1 B) No. 2 C) No. 3 D) No. 4
Ans: D
Ques: For well over a thousand years, smallpox was a disease that everyone feared. The disease killed much of the native population in South America when the Spanish arrived there in the early sixteenth century. By the end of the eighteenth century, smallpox was responsible for about one in ten deaths around the world. Those who survived the disease were left with ugly scars on their skin. It had long been well known among farmers that people who worked with cows seldom caught smallpox; instead, they often caught a similar but much milder disease called cowpox . A British doctor called Jenner was extremely interested in this, and so he studied cowpox. He believed that, by vaccinating people with the disease, he could protect them against the much worse disease smallpox. In 1796, he vaccinated a boy with cowpox and, two months later, with smallpox. The boy did not get smallpox. In the next two years, Jenner vaccinated several children in the same way, and none of them got the disease. News of the success of Jenner's work soon spread. Vaccination soon became a common method to protect people against other diseases caused by virus, such as rabies , and vaccines were sent across the world to the United States and India. It took nearly two centuries to achieve Jenner's dream of getting free of smallpox from the whole world. In 1967, the world Health Organization (WHO) started a great vaccination program, and the last known case of smallpox was recorded in Somalia in 1977. The story of vaccinations does not end there, however. There are many other diseases that kill more and more people every year. Besides, many new diseases are being discovered. The challenge for medical researchers will, therefore, probably continue for several more centuries Edward Jenner discovered that vaccination with cowpox could _ . A) make smallpox much milder B) stop people from getting smallpox C) protect people against any disease D) prevent people's scars after smallpox
Ans:
B