*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: -American office workers spend an average of 52 hours a week at their desks, according to a statistic survey. Some might argue that not all that time is spent working,but still all those hours in windowless offices with artificial light can have an influence. A few green additions could have a large effect on worker happiness,according to the survey led by Tina Cade from Texas State University. "We pretty much found out that if you had windows and plants or even if you just had plants in your office, you were more satisfied with your job," Cade told LiveScience. "We thought it was important for offices because a lot of times people are looking for ways to keep employees happy and do all these expensive things like building a gym. Maybe for less investment they could put in a few plants in important places." The team surveyed 450 office workers in Texas and the Midwest,asking questions about job satisfaction and the work environments. When asked about their overall life quality,82 said they felt "content" or "very happy". Only 69 percent of those who work with plants but without windows,and 60 percent of those who have windows but no plants, said they felt this way. The group of people who work without plants or windows were the most dissatisfied,with only 58 percent of them saying that overall they were "content" or "very happy". While no one who works with plants,windows,or both reported they felt "miserable", 0.8 percent of those who work in offices without either said they were "miserable". "I was really surprised that having a plant in your office appeared to be more beneficial than having a window in your office," Cade said. "Everybody says, 'I need a window!' but actually it seemed like a plant could be a suitable alternative." Question: What does the passage mainly tell us? Options: A: Green plants can increase job satisfaction. B: An easier way to increase job satisfaction. C: What the best working environment is. D: Who are happy with their job environment.
**Answer**
A

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I work at a Care Center where most of the people are elderly. About a year and a half ago a 59-year-old lady came to us who had cancer. She had to have her right leg amputated and she didn't have a family to take care of her after the operation. This lady was a quiet lady who mostly stayed alone. But in the afternoons, when she was feeling well, she would go to visit the other people in the Care Center. She would visit a lady who was blind and read to her. She would go into the room of a young girl with severe cerebral palsy and sing to her. In her quiet and gentle way, she would go about the Care Center doing goods. She passed away last Wednesday and after her passing, stories are coming forward of her quiet acts of kindness in her own hour of sorrow. We never know what _ we have upon others. She had every reason to be bitter, to be angry, or to be swallowed up in her own grief. But she wasn't. She didn't have a family and probably felt forgotten, but her small and quiet acts of service made an impact upon the entire Care Center. Each of us feels better than before for having known her. We have pledged to be more aware of the service that we can offer to others. Question: Which of the following might be the best title of the passage? Options: A: Old though she was, she proved better loved. B: Lost in grief, passing away in love. C: Better known for one's kindness. D: Deep in trouble, but great in help.
**Answer**
D

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: There is an old Chinese proverb that states "One Generation plants the trees; another gets the shade," and this is how it should be with mothers and daughters. The relationship between a mother and daughter is sometimes confusing. If close, the relationship can be similar to friendship. However, the mother and daughter relationship has unique characteristics that distinguish it from a friendship. These characteristics include a hierarchy of responsibility and unconditional love, which _ mothers and daughters from being best friends. Marina, 27 years old, says, "I love spending time with my mom, but I wouldn't consider her my best friend. Best friends don't pay for your wedding. Best friends don't remind you how they carried you in their body and gave you life! Best friends don't tell you how wise they are because they have been alive at least 20 years longer than you." This doesn't mean that the mother and daughter relationship can't be very close and satisfying. While some adult relationships are still troubled, many find them to be extremely rewarding. This generation of mothers and adult daughters has a lot in common which increases the likelihood of shared companionship. Mothers and daughters have always shared the common experience of being homemakers, responsible for maintaining and passing on family values and traditions. Today contemporary mothers and daughters also share the experience of the workforce and technology, which may bring them even closer together. Best friends may or may not continue to be best friends, but for better or worse, the mother and daughter relationship is permanent, even if for some unfortunate reason they aren't speaking. The mother and child relationship is closer than any other. There is not an equal relationship. Daughters should not feel responsible for their mother's emotional well-being. It isn't that they don't care deeply about their mothers. It's just that they shouldn't be burdened with their mother's well being. The mother and daughter relationship is a... Question: Why do many mothers and adult daughters keep a rewarding relationship? Options: A: Because they have a lot in common. B: Because they have common family values. C: Because they have no generation gap. D: Because they keep a constant relationship.
**Answer**
A

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: My family moved from Taiwan to a small town in central Georgia, where my dad got a visa for his family and a job. I had just learned English, and from what little I could gather from my classmates, Santa Claus would come down one's chimney and put toys in one's stocking on Christmas Eve! What a great country, I thought. After I looked up "stocking" in my Chinese-English dictionary, I knew _ . On that fateful night, after everyone went to bed, I took my longest, cleanest knee sock and attached it to a nail already on the mantel . Obviously, the previous owners of this house were no strangers to this Santa character. I woke up before everyone else on Christmas Day and ran to the fireplace. To make a sob story short, I was hit with the reality of an empty sock and the biggest lie ever told. I burst into tears, quickly took down the sock, and stuffed it in the back of a drawer. Santa was dead. Every December since then, the topic of Christmas memories would unavoidably come up, and I would amuse my friends with my poor-little-me story. I had to make it as funny as possible, or else I would cry. How could I know that Santa was just late? Nine years ago, on Christmas Eve, an older man with a white beard and a red cap knocked on my front door. He said, "I've been looking for you for twenty-five years." He handed me a bulging red stocking, winked, and left. On top of the stocking was a card. It read: "For Becky--I may have missed you in the second grade, but you've always lived in my heart. Santa." Through tear-blurred eyes, I recognized the handwriting of Jill, a friend I had met just two months before. I later discovered that the older man was her father. Jill had seen the hurt little girl underneath the thirty-something woman and decided to do something about it. So now I believe that Santa is real. I don't mean the twinkle-eyed character of children's mythology or the creation of American holiday marketers. Those Santas annoy and sadden me. I believe in the Santa Claus that live inside good and thoughtful... Question: By writing the passage, the author speaks highly of _ Options: A: friendship B: parenting C: religion D: culture
**Answer**
A