Jean-Michael Lourdis was a promising young pianist. But when the young man played, it seemed to him, as if his hands were iron. He worried so much about his playing that he became oversensitive to the comments of his playing. Unfortunately, in those days, a critic was not considered a critic, unless he found something wrong. This attitude of the critics would often leave the young man ready to give up his dream and return home. He was invited to play in Helsinki. The rich, the famous, the leaders of State were all there. Jean-Michael had one of those days when everything went wrong. That night as he played, he felt as if it were the worst concert of his young life. The next day, in the newspapers, some of the comments were so unkind. The young musician was painful. That day, as he sat in his hotel room in total despair , there came a knocking at his door. He had a visitor.The famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius had come by to congratulate the young pianist on his performance. Jean-Michael asked how he thought of that and began to quote some of the newspaper critics. " Hands of iron. No imagination. Little skill. No joy. Don't you hear what they say?" he asked. Jean Sibelius looked at young Jean-Michael and said, "Remember, son, there is no city in the world where they have erected a statue for a critic." Jean Sibelius came to visit the young musician because _ . A) he wanted to tell the young man the critics were right B) he wanted to tell the young man not to lose his temper at that time C) he wanted to tell the young man his performance was great D) he wanted to tell the young man to respect the critics' opinion
C

When Jeff Sparkman draws his cartoon superheroes with colored pencils, he often has to ask other people to tell him what color his masked men turned out to be because he's color-blind. Now, a new smart phone application (app) can help him figure out what colors he's using and how the picture looks to most everyone else. The DanKam app, available for iPhone and Android for $2.99, is an application that turns the vague colors that one percent of the population with color-blindness sees into the "true" colors as everyone else sees them. In America, an estimated 32 million color-blind Americans--95% are males--can soon have their life improved. "DanKam takes the stream of data coming in through the phone's camera and changes the colors slightly so they fall within the range that people who are color-blind see,"developer Dan Kaminsky told CNET. He came up with the idea after watching the 2009 film Star Trek with a color-blind friend. It was then that he got to know more about colorblindness like its varying types and degrees. A vast majority, for instance, have trouble seeing red or green due to a genetic defect . Blue-yellow colorblindness, however, is rarer and develops later in life because of aging, illness or head injuries, etc. He started experimenting with one of the most common representations of points in the RGB color model. What the DanKam app attempts to do is to clean up the color space of the image or video signal so that colors can be _ to those suffering from viewing problems. "You can adjust the app to fit your needs. There is a range and not everyone who is color-blind sees things the same." Says Kaminsky. Sparkman, a copy editor at CNET, tried out the app and was pleased with the results. "It would be useful for dressing for a job interview," he said. But using it for his art is "the most practical application." It worked well on LED and other lights on electronic gadgets, which means Sparkman can now identify the power light on his computer display as green. Which of the following is NOT included in the things that DanKam helps Sparkman with? A) Choosing clothes. B) Playing computer games C) Drawing his pictures. D) Handling electronic gadgets.
B

One afternoon Peter and Jim went out for a bicycle ride. When they passed a place they saw a large area of grass and bushes on fire and a strong wind was blowing the flames towards a village. The firemen had already arrived and were trying to put out the fire. The boys left their bicycles and ran towards the village to see if they could help to fight the fire. On the way they met two firemen. "Quick, you boys," said one of the firemen. "Come and help us to pull a pump to the stream. We can't beat out the fire. The wind is too strong. The pump is our only hope." The two boys ran further until they came to a heavy pump. They helped to pull it to a stream not far from the village. Soon the pump was working well so the boys went to watch the fire. It had already reached the edge of the village. The boys saw that two houses were on fire, and the flames were attacking a third building. Suddenly there was a shout from one of the villagers. "Keep away!" a voice shouted. "There's paint stored in that building." The boys and villagers moved away quickly. With a loud explosion , the whole building burst into flames, sending clouds of thick black smoke into the sky. At this time Peter and Jim began to think that the whole village would be burnt to the ground. The firemen had left the burning buildings and were pouring water onto the neighboring houses, trying to stop the fire from spreading. Then the wind died down. A second pump was brought up to help, and the fire was gradually put out. "It's soon finished," Peter said to his friend. "We must go or we shall get home late." "Yes, come on," agreed Jim, and with a last look at the ruins, they walked back to their bicycles. Seeing the fire, the boys ran to the village to _ . A) watch it B) ask for help C) help the firemen D) warn the villagers
C

Research by the Institute of Education (IOE) in London found that men who went to single-sex schools were not only more likely to be separated from a partner or divorced, but also more likely to be depressed by middle age. The chances of women having successful marriages were not affected by whether they were educated in mixed or single-sex schools.Separate research by the IOE found that going without boys was beneficial for women in other ways since there was a " statistically significant positive association between single-sex schooling and wages for women". The study into marital success interviewed 17,000 adults who were taught in a range of schools including private boarding schools to state comprehensives.It found that single-sex education does not compromise the chances either of men or women of getting married. However, researchers found that boys educated on their own were more likely to divorce in later life.While for women, there was no significant link.The research also found men taught in boys' schools were more likely to suffer from depression by age 42--perhaps because of their increased chances of marital breakdown.But Professor Leonard's team was unable to identify why those men educated in a single-sex environment were more likely to divorce. The study asked married and _ g couples where men had attended both single-sex and mixed schools to rate how happy they were and found no marked difference in their happiness levels or willingness to share domestic chores. Mary Boust, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the IOE research confirmed what was always suspected."All the research shows single-sex schools are good for girls but bad for boys--both in terms of academic performance and socialization," she said."Boys learn better when they are with girls and they actually learn to get on better." The findings were presented at a conference on gender in education hosted by Perse School for Girls in Cambridge. According to the passage, the single-sex education _ . A) comprises a wide range of schools B) has a close link with women's marriage C) influences men's chances of getting married D) may increase the risk of divorce for men in later life
D