WHAT sets Spain apart from the rest of Europe? It might be "siestas", the three-hour lunch break that is customary in the country. The Spanish start work at 8 or 9 am, but in the early afternoon they usually take a three-hour break. After lunch, people can be seen napping in cars or on benches. During hot summer afternoons, Spanish village streets are often totally deserted . When they return to their offices at 4 pm, Spanish workers often have to make up for the lost time by working until 8 or 9 pm. So, while most other Europeans are sound asleep, Spaniards are still having dinner or watching television. "Everything in Spain happens later, from meal times to broadcast entertainment," described AP. "This work schedule is a Spanish cultural vice," said Nuria Chinchilla, head of the International Center on Work and Family at the University of Navarra in Barcelona. "Changing to the European schedule should be the most urgent project for the government." Many Spanish people complain about their never-ending workdays, and some even think the issue has affected the country's development. "In Spain we sleep almost an hour less than the World Health Organization recommends," lawmakers in the Spanish parliament wrote in a proposal. "This has a negative effect on productivity, stress, accidents and school dropout rates." That's why, last September, they recommended that Under the proposed newuthe government turn back the clocks by one hour. schedule, the lunchtime break would be cut to an hour or less. And a regular eight-hour workday would be introduced. However, some doubt that changing the time zone would reverse low productivity, which comes more from the country's service-oriented economy , according to Maria Angeles Durant, a sociologist with the Spanish National Research Council. But Ignacio Buqueras, the president of the Association for the Rationalization of Spanish Working Hours, told The New York Times that "changing the Spanish schedule would allow families more... What can you infer from the passage? A) The present work schedule in Spain has existed for over 100 years. B) The Spanish government has taken some action to change the work schedule. C) The present work schedule has a negative effect on productivity. D) Many countries in Europe arrange their work schedules according to Greenwich Mean Time.
D
(Question)
Climbing Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, just became more challenging. The government of Nepal is telling climbers they cannot leave rubbish on the trails . Each climber will have to come down the mountain with at least 18 pounds of garbage. That's the average amount of rubbish a climber leaves behind on Everest. Officials say climbers are responsible for their own rubbish. "We are not asking climbers to pick up rubbish left by someone else," said Maddhu Sudan Burlakoti, who works for the Nepal Tourism Ministry. "We just want them to bring back what they took up." More than 4,000 people have reached the 29,035-foot mountain top in the past 60 years. Leaving rubbish along the way helps climbers keep their bags light so they have energy to reach the top. "The rubbish problem in Mount Everest is not new," Burlakoti says. "When the people started to climb the mountain, they started to leave their garbage there." They have left behind cans, tents, food wrappers, and equipment. Last year, climbers carried down a total of four tons of rubbish. The new rule came into effect in April of 2014. To make sure it is followed, climbers will have to deposit money before the climb. Once they climb back down the mountain, officials will check climbers at a return camp to make sure they have the required 18 pounds of rubbish. If they do, their money will be returned to them. If they do not, climbers will not receive their deposit and they will not be given a permit the next time they want to climb Everest. The goal is to make sure no more litter will be left on Everest, which has earned the nickname the World's Highest Dustbin. "As we offer Mount Everest to all the people of the world they should take responsibility to clean it," Burlakoti says, "After seeing the results from this, we will extend this rule to other mountains also." What is mainly discussed in the passage? A) Mount Everest is suffering white pollution. B) A new rule was made to punish climbers. C) Climbers were asked to clean up after themselves. D) Mountains of garbage are left behind by climbers.
(Answer)
C
Ques: Being that I worked in a grocery store for 7 years, I know quite a bit about impulsive purchases. In fact, I helped (sadly to say) push certain products by placing them in a certain fashion. Through said experience, I tend to know some of the best ways to counter the impulsive nature of buying things that are unnecessary. The following is a 3- point list to counter the need to buy something shoved in your face... Don't bring the kids. You wouldn't believe (or maybe you parents would) how much more junk parents buy for their kids that is completely impulsive. Working as a checker at a grocery store, I quickly learned that most of the time kids were with their parents, the parents would buy something else within 10 feet of the check stand. Bring exact cash. I like to use my debit card because I am able to track every penny better, but holding and letting go of cash is much tougher for me personally. So, if I am going through a tough time budgeting properly, I will bring the allotted amount of cash to the place of business and only allow that to be used. Ignore salesman. If you are at a department store and someone asks if you need help, try to ignore their push as much as possible. Sure, if you know nothing about laptops, get their advice, but even then I suggest doing your research pre-shop. Salesman could care less what you want. It's all about what their quota or commission is. Ignore them. Why does the author like to use debit card? A) Because her debit card is convenient. B) Because she has not much cash. C) Because she can know where every her penny goes. D) Because she has many debit cards.
Ans: C
Ques: Three Yale University professors agreed in a discussion that the automobile was what one of them called "Public Health Enemy No. 1 in this century". Besides polluting the air and overcrowding the cities, cars are involved in more than half the disastrous accidents, and they contribute to heart disease "because we won't walk anywhere any more," said Richard Weeinaman, professor of medicine and public health. Speaking of many of those man-made dangers of the automobile, Arthur W. Galson, professor of biology, said it was possible to make a kerosene-burning turbine car that would "lessensmog by a very large factor". But he expressed doubt whether Americans were willing to give up moving about the countryside at 90 miles per hour in a large vehicle. "America seems wedded to the motor car--every family has to have at least two, and one has to be a convertible with 300 horsepower," professor Galson continued. "Is this the way of life that we choose because we treasure these values?" For professor Sears, part of the blame lies with "a society that regards profit as a supreme value, under the illusion that anything that's technically possible is, therefore, morally justified". Professor Sears also called the country's dependence on its modern automobiles "terrible economics" because of the large horsepower used simply "moving one individual to work". But he admitted that Americans have painted themselves into a corner by allowing the national economy to become so dependent on the automobile industry. "The solution," Dr Weeinerman said, "is not finding a less dangerous fuel but a different system of inner city transportation. Because of the increasing use of cars, public transportation has been allowed to wither and grow worse, so that if you can't walk to where you want to go, you have to have a car in most cities," he declared. This, in turn, Dr Weeinerman contended, is responsible for the "arteriosclerosis " of public roads, for the pollution of the inner city and for the middle-class movement to the suburbs. The main idea of the passage is that _ . A) Americans are used to travelling by cars B) American public transportation is growing worse C) American car industry caused disastrous road accidents D) American people's health is threatened by automobiles
Ans:
D