Question: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Have you ever wondered what you will be when you grow up? Perhaps you have thought of becoming an engineer or an environmentalist. Here's good news: you can combine all of these career goals by designing, building and operating a solar-powered house. That is what students from 20 universities did as they competed in the U.S. Department of Energy 2009 Solar Decathlon . Like a game show where teams compete against each other, the Solar Decathlon's student teams competed against each other in ten separate events to see who could build the best solar-powered house. The team from Germany took the top honor. The contest is held on the National Mall in Washington D.C., and is open to the public. In order to win, the Decathlon's teams have to successfully host a dinner party, do the laundry, run the dishwasher, and maintain a comfortable temperature in their solar-powered houses. They also have to make their houses look attractive. Team Germany's winning "Cube House" produced a surplus of power, even during three days of rain. This is the fourth time the Solar Decathlon has been held. The houses keep getting better and better. "The Department of Energy does research on solar and building technologies. In the 1990s, we were seeking expertise to help design houses that would integrate solar systems in a reliable way. I came up with the idea of having a competition to challenge students at architecture and engineering schools to design solar-powered houses from the ground up. I thought that having a competition would motivate these students to be creative. The new generation of our country should be innovative . They may come up with solutions that would help our country," said Richard J. King, the Decathlon's Director. Question: What do we know about the Solar Decathlon from the text? - The participated teams are separated from the outside world during the competition. - The house designed by the German team will be adopted by the Department of Energy. - The competition had been held three times before 2009. - It includes students from twenty countries around the world.
Answer: The competition had been held three times before 2009.

Question: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Despite the anxiety that Jones'Host-said by some to be the first digital novel-caused in 1993,publishers weren't too concerned that e-books would one day replace printed books.However,that attitude was changed suddenly in 2007 when Amazon's Kindle came onto the market,which led to e-book sales jumping up to 1,260%.Since then,e-books'popularity has continued to steadily rise.The publishing industry seemed to have lost all possible ability to regain its position.Will printed books eventually become a thing of the past? According to Mike Shatzkin,founder and CEO of the Idea Logical Company,printed books just for plain old reading will,in 10years from now,be unusual."Not so unusual that a kid will say,'Mommy,what's that?'but unusual enough that on the train you'll see one or two people reading something printed,while everyone else is reading off of a tablet."And Shatzkin believes that the demise of print is sure to happen,though such a day won't arrive for perhaps 50to 100or more years. Robert Stein,founder of the Institute for the Future of the Book,however,believes that books won't disappear entirely,at least not anytime soon."Print will exist,but it will be in a different field and will appeal to a very limited audience,as poetry does today.Like woodblock printing,hand-processed film and folk weaving ,printed pages may assume an artistic value,"he says.He imagines that future forms of books might be developed not by conventional publishers but by the gaming industry.He also predicts that the distinction between writer and reader will be made less obvious by a social reading experience in which authors and consumers can digitally interact with each other to discuss any passage,sentence or line. Is there anything we risk sacrificing,should print really disappear entirely?According to Maryanne Wolf,director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University,electronic reading can negatively affect the way the brain responds to text,including reading comprehension,focus and the ability to... Question: How did publishers feel about the rising e-book sales inspired by the Kindle? - Worried. - Excited. - Curious. - Skeptical.
Answer: Worried.

Question: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity , especially in the context of black holes. He experienced extreme difficulties and obstacles in his life, which only made him stronger. Finally he contributed much to the careers he devoted to and became one of the most famous scientists in the world. Hawking was outstanding in his school life. After a successful period of education at St. Albans School, the entrance of Oxford opened to him. In March 1959, at the age of 17, Hawking took the scholarship examination with the aim of studying natural sciences at Oxford. Then Hawking went to Cambridge to do research in cosmology. When Stephen Hawking was dreaming about his future, he faced extreme difficulties and obstacles. Symptoms of disorder first appeared while he was enrolled at Cambridge; he lost his balance and fell down a flight of stairs, hitting his head. The diagnosis of motor neuron disease came when Hawking was 21, shortly before his first marriage, and doctors said he would not survive more than two or three years. Hawking gradually lost the use of his arms, legs, and voice, and is now almost completely paralyzed . Despite his disease, he describes himself as "lucky" --- not only has time to make influential discoveries, but also has, in his own words, "a very attractive family". As someone has said, when we meet frustration, someone fights, someone cries, someone escapes, someone tries. Hawking succeeds because he tries. Question: What's the main idea of the passage? - Hawking is famous for his contributions. - Hawking has a successful school life. - Hawking overcame extreme difficulties and achieved his aims. - Hawking suffers from disease and is completely paralyzed.
Answer:
Hawking overcame extreme difficulties and achieved his aims.