Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Sixteen-year-old Maria was waiting in line at the airport in Santo Domingo. She was leaving her native country to join her sister in the United States. She spoke English very well. Though she was very happy she could go abroad, she was feeling sad at leaving her family and friends. As she was thinking all about this, she suddenly heard the airline employee asking her to pick up her luggage and put it on the scales . Maria pulled and pulled. The bag was too heavy and she just couldn't lift it up. The man behind her got very impatient. He, too, was waiting to check in his luggage. "What's wrong with this girl?" He said, "Why doesn't she hurry up?" He moved forward and placed his bag on the counter, hoping to check in first. He was in a hurry to get a good seat. Maria was very angry, but she was very polite. And in her best English she said, "Why are you so upset? There are enough seats for everyone on the plane. If you are in such a hurry, why can't you give me a hand with my luggage?" The man was surprised to hear Maria speak English. He quickly picked up her luggage and stepped back. Everyone was looking at him with disapproval. Question: Maria's story happened _ . - when she was leaving America - on her way back to Santo Domingo - before she left the USA - when she arrived at the airport
when she arrived at the airport
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Scientists explain why people often blame others when things don't work out. Researchers say that when it comes to fixing blame, we can't always trust our own judgment .When things go wrong and we're to blame, we 're supposed to feel guilty. Right? Not necessarily. It turns out that when we do something that causes a negative result, we actually feel less responsible for our actions. But we see the entire situation differently if things turn out well. The "blame game" is nothing new. Behavior experts have long known that people push responsibility to others, or to outside factors, when things don't work out. But the new research shows that this reaction is more than about wanting to escape blame. We actually don't believe that what happened is our fault. To learn more about the "blame game", researchers conducted a study. They asked 34 people to press keys that produced three different noises. The noises were positive (amusement, laughter), negative (fear, upset, or anger), or neutral . The volunteers were asked to try to judge the time that it took between when they pushed the button and when they heard the sounds. Volunteers felt there was longer time between their actions and the negative sounds than that between their actions and the positive ones. In their minds, the negative results were separate from their actions. Therefore, they were able to feel less responsible for them. The findings suggest that perhaps more of us need to realize that unpleasant or negative situations may actually be our fault - even if we don't see it that way. And taking more responsibility for our actions could lead to better relationships with others. Question: This passage is likely to be selected from a book of - medicine - science - entertainment - health
science
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: It is often said that politeness costs nothing.In fact,it seems that a little more courtesy could save businessesPS5 billion every year. Frequently hearing the phrase "thank you" or "well done" means the same to staff as a modest pay rise,researchers say. Praise and encouragement also makes employees more likely to work hard and stay in their jobs,saving on the cost of finding replacements. A third of 1,000 workers surveyed by consulting firm White Water Strategies said they did not get thanked at all when they did well--and a further third said they were not thanked enough. In both cases,staff said they felt undervalued,meaning they were less likely to exert themselves and were more likely to look for employment elsewhere. The net result is around PS5.2 billion in lost productivity from employees who would raise their game if they felt more appreciated,White Water claimed According to the company,praising staff has the same motivational kick as a 1 per cent pay rise--and works out much cheaper for bosses. Three out of four employees said that regular acknowledgement by their boss was important to them,but only a quarter said they were actually given as much praise as they felt they needed. The survey found that those in blue-collar and manual jobs were less likely to be given any recognition for doing well. In regional terms,Scottish staff felt most undervalued.Four out of ten workers said they were never thanked and eight out of ten said they would like more praise.However,workers in the North-East are less impressed by being buttered up by the boss,as only 69 per cent said they felt the need to be told "well done"regularly. Older employees and women need the most reassurance,according to psychologist Averil Leimon,a director of White Water Strategies.She said that words of praise did more than create a pleasant place to work--they could even boost profits. Question: The main idea of the passage is that _ . - praise and encouragement may help employees work better - workers are always demanding more praise and encouragement - bosses in prefix = st1 /Scotlandusually praise and encourage their staff enough - if undervalued employees will certainly look for employment elsewhere
praise and encouragement may help employees work better
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: There have always been a lot of commonly believed but exercise. Some people believe that they can't help putting on hold that if they stop exercising, their muscles will turn into fat. Here are some more myths: false ideas about being fat and doing weight as they get older, while others I'll never lose weightI come from a fat family Wrong! While we can't change the body type we are bom with, we can't blame our genes for making us fat. There's plenty of evidence that fatness runs in families, and the main reason is that they share the same habits of eating too much and exercising too little. I am fat because I burn calories slowly Wrong! Fatness is not caused by a slow metabolism . In fact, although fat people consume more energy than slim people,they also fail to realize how much they eat! Keeping a diary can help you work out your daily food intake more accurately. Exercise is boring Wrong! Anything will become boring if you do it repetitively. The key is to develop a balanced and varied program thafs fun as well as progressive. If you enjoy a Sunday walk,take a different route. If you do yoga,try a tai chi class. If you like swimming, set yourself a distance or time challenge. No pain, no gain Wrong! Exercise is not meant to hurt. Indeed, pain is your body telling you something's wrong, and continuing to exercise could lead to serious injury. You may experience mild discomfort as you begin to exercise regularly, but this is your body adapting to the positive changes in your lifestyle and the aches should disappear relatively quickly. If they don't, rest and seek medical advice. Question: What does the author think about being fat? - It is the family genes that make people fat. - People are fat because they consume too little energy. - A diary of exercise can prevent people from becoming fat. - It is the consequence of people's unbalanced lifestyle.
It is the consequence of people's unbalanced lifestyle.
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