With only fish and birds for company, Eric Erden has been rowing across the Pacific Ocean to Australia in his 23-foot-long boat since he left California on July 10, 2009. This is the first part of Eric's trip around the world using only his own energy. He will row, bike, and walk without help from any motors at all. His plan includes climbing the tallest mountain on each of the six continents he visits, to honour the memory of a fellow climber. He says he is doing this to show kids that they can achieve any goal, but he also hopes to have some great adventures along the way. Storms and huge waves regularly force him in the wrong direction and even threaten to overturn his boat. "Sometimes I really feel scared," says a somewhat embarrassed Eric. "But that's part of the journey. I knew this wouldn't be easy when I started." Protein bars give him energy, and he boils water to heat freeze-dried meals on a one-burner stove. A sun-powered machine removes salt from ocean water so he can drink it, but when that fails he sometimes tries to collect rainwater in a bucket. He's not bothered by any of the hardships. Eric sees the world as a laboratory where there is much to learn. And when his trip around the world takes him across land, he enjoys meeting people -- especially children. He has already visited several schools and shared his story. Why is Eric making this trip? A) To encourage children to reach for their goal. B) To learn to overcome various hardships. C) To do experiments all over the world. D) To honour the memory of a fellow climber.
A
Yawning sends out certain messages -either "Oh,this movie is so boring" or "I probably need to get some sleep". But did you know that a yawn can also help your brain to cool down when it is overheated? A new study, led by a research team at Princeton University, has indicated that yawning could be the brain's natural way of regulating temperature. People yawn more often when the temperature outdoors is lower than their body temperature but are less likely to yawn when it is hotter outdoors, according to Sciencedaily. com. The research team did an experiment on 160 people, 80 in summer and 80 in winter, to examine how often they yawned at different air temperatures. The study found that people yawned more often in winter than in summer. Scientists say that when the air temperature is lower outside the body, there is heat exchange between the overheated brain and the cool air. But when the air temperature is higher than or equal to the body, people are less likely to yawn because the hot air they breathe in will make the brain even hotter. When people yawn, their jaw is also stretched,which increases blood flow and may also help cool the brain The study showed that the amount someone yawned could be related to the amount of time they spent outside. The longer they spent outside in summer, the less they yawned. Nearly 40 percent of participants yawned within their first five minutes outside, but after that the percentage was reduced to less than 10 percent. However, the result was the opposite in winter. The number of people who yawned increased when they spent more than five minutes outdoors. But the change was only slight compared to summertime. According to Gallup, this is the first report to show that yawning frequencies change depending on season. This could help us to understand better the way our brains work. It may also help us understand the reason why frequent yawning can sometimes be a sign of brain disease. What could be the best title for the text? A) Yawning Is A Sign of Brain Disease B) Yawning Cools Your Brain C) Yawning Benefits Your Body D) Yawning Carries Some Information
B
Q: Nowadays, the increase in the prices of agricultural products is one of the greatest concerns of the people and the government. The government has announced a series of policies to prevent the prices from rising further. Rising housing prices is still a big concern for the people, but since farm products are needed every day, the increase in their prices has made life very difficult for them. Many people may think the increase will help farmers. But have higher prices of farm products really benefited the farmers? Take the increase in vegetable prices in the first half of this year for example. Though natural disasters such as droughts and spring frost did not cause the prices of farm products to increase greatly--in fact, prices of some products did not increase at all--vegetables have become dearer by as much as 20 percent compared to that of last year. This means only a small part (or even none) of the extra money that city people have paid to buy farm products has gone to the farmers. The extra cost actually has gone to middlemen. As the fact shows, just increasing prices of farm products will have negative influence on the entire economy. On one hand, the price increase has created some abnormal phenomena, which hurts farmers' interests. On the other hand, resources will enter the agriculture because of the high price of farm products, which would finally create negative effect on the whole economy. In such a case, it would be better to leave the market to decide the prices instead of raising farm products' prices to protect the interests of farmers. Actually, such a way will be better for farmers in the long run. The following statements are true EXCEPT _ . A) the government has done something to prevent the prices from rising further B) it is better for farmers to leave the market to decide the prices in the long run C) natural disasters did not cause the prices of farm products to increase greatly D) rising housing prices has made life very difficult for people
A: D
(Question)
Until March 28, the fate of the gray wolf in the Rocky Mountains was in the hands of the federal government because the wolf was listed as an endangered species. But once it was removed from the list -- a decision that is being challenged in court by a dozen conservation groups -- the gray wolf fell under the protection of individual states. That is turning out to mean almost no protection at all. prefix = st1 /Idaho's Fish and Game department announced last week that it would allow 428 of the state's estimated 1,000 wolves to die this year. Some will die of natural causes. Most will be killed by hunters. Idaho officials argue that the remaining population will still be larger than the very small number to be protected in the original federal wolf recovery plans. But Idaho's Fish and Game department has overruled its own staff biologists, who for the good of the wolf population -- and the ecosystem as a whole -- argued that more animals should be allowed to survive. Sadly, in Idaho, wolves are nothing more than another game animal to be managed for the benefit of human hunters. Beginning on Sept. 15, any Idaho hunter with a hunting license and $10.50 for a wolf tag will be entitled to shoot one wolf, at least until the quota of dead wolves in his region has been reached. And how will a hunter know if the local quota has been reached? There will be a hot line, of course. Hunters will be encouraged not to shoot wolves wearing radio collars because those wolves are still being studied. Perhaps the solution is to fit all wolves with radio collars. It is still possible that Idaho's wolves -- and the wolves in other states -- will get a _ . A federal judge will soon decide whether to support or object to the government's decision to delist the gray wolf. We hope he will restore the wolf to the endangered species list. There is no better proof of how dangerous life is for wolves thanIdaho's plan to protect them. What does the author think of Idaho's plan to protect gray wolves? A) Wolves are only a game animal to be managed for the benefit of human hunters. B) There is no better plan to protect gray wolves than Idaho's plan. C) It will restore the wolf to the endangered species list. D) It's a danger to the life of the gray wolf.
(Answer)
D