Read the article and select the best answer. Article: We thought we had it all---a beautiful house, three healthy children and one more on the way, two cars, a couple of four-wheelers for entertainment---and we loved it. Then, the market turned and my husband's job at a construction company was gone. The company was closing down for good.We both started looking for jobs right away, but there weren't any to be found. With each passing day we were getting increasingly worried and we continued to work together in order to pull our family through. _ I felt feelings of admiration for my husband that I hadn't felt in years. That's why it was so hard for me to watch him blame himself for our present situation. I continually asked him to stop, but he seemed to want to punish himself for not having a job. Finally, one afternoon I pulled him aside and said, "We have four healthy children and each other. That's what's important. That makes you a rich man." " But what if we lose the house? They'll hate me--you'll hate me," he replied. I smiled at him and put my hands on both sides of his face to make him look me in the eye. "No matter where we live I will be happy -as long as I have you." I smiled again. In all the struggling together I had found that deep love for him that I had on the day we said "I do". I could see his shoulders and neck relaxed. He held me close and we were able to talk and plan and dream together in a way that we hadn't for quite some time. It was a turning point for us as a couple and a family. We are still struggling for out better life, but I consider us well-off because we have something that money can't buy and no one can take away from us. Question: Which of the following can best describe their present life? Options: A: Bitter but easy. B: Comfortable and happy. C: Hard but warm. D: Well-off and relaxing.
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: "There's going to be one less boy in the room!" The words rang in my ears as the criminal pointed his gun against my head. The floodgates opened and tears ran down my face. No one in the courtroom moved. Everyone was held silent with fear. A few seconds passed and the criminal put down his gun, turning his back on me. "Cut!" the director shouted with joy. One take! We had done the scene in just one take. Then all the people who acted in the film went off for lunch. I got my food and joined them, and the criminal, who had moments before been so scary, took his seat beside me and told us many funny jokes. A table of adults surrounded me, but I was never uncomfortable talking with strangers. I worked with these people and they worked with me. We talked, we laughed, we got to know each other and sometimes we became friends. At the end of the day we all went our separate ways, but we had been drawn close by working together to make this play. After the show was broadcast, my friends asked if I had been scared of the criminal. At first this sounded funny. He was, after all, a kind and intelligent man. Then I realized that they didn't see that side of him. Television and films are about creating an alternate life that appears real even if for a while. We had been successful in doing that. Even my friends, who knew the real me, were drawn in the make-believe world of our story. Acting has helped me to feel comfortable in my own skin and in communicating with others. I feel relaxed during interviews and when leadership opportunities come. Change is not threatening to me, and I am grateful for the chance to learn and to grow in knowledge and experience in my life. Question: In the film, what was the manner of the author's character when facing the criminal? Options: A: Brave and calm. B: Anxious and terrified. C: Shy and quiet. D: Heroic and fearless.
B

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: David is an excellent student and he comes from New York. His family was there until he finished eighth grade. David had no choice but to sleep on park benches. Being alone on the streets was scary. One thing kept David going: his determination to do well in school. Even though many things were difficult in David's life, one thing was going very well. David was accepted to a special high school called MC2STEM.It is a public school in Cleveland for kids who are extremely good at science. The school turned out a peaceful place for David. He especially enjoyed having the chance to learn by doing lots of projects. High school wasn't easy. But David says that the school helped him set high standards for himself. Even when he didn't have a place to stay at night, David kept his focus on his schoolwork. While he was homeless, David would sometimes sleep in the park during the day because it was safer. " If you sleep in the daytime in the park, people won't bother you," he says. "you're just taking a nap. It's acceptable." Then David would study through the night. He showered at a friend's house when his friend's parents were at work. All his hard work paid off. In May 2011, David graduated second in his high school class. He was accepted to 22 colleges. He also won a scholarship form the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It will pay for all his college expenses. Last fall, David began attending Harvard University, one of the top colleges in the US."I found the perfect school for me." He wrote in his blog. In the future, David might look for a job at a company like Google. Even better, he would like to start his own company. David says, " I want to work for myself." Question: What's the best title for the passage? Options: A: A top University B: A Poor Student C: Homeless to Harvard D: Winning a Scholarship
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I'm afraid to grow old--we're all afraid. In fact, the fear of growing old is so great that every aged person is an insult and a threat to the society. They remind us of our own death, that our body won't always remain smooth and responsive, but will someday betray us by aging. The ideal way to age would be to grow slowly invisible, gradually disappearing, without causing worry or discomfort to the young. In some ways that does happen. Sitting in a small park across from a nursing home one day, I noticed that the young mothers and their children gathered on one side, and the old people from the home on the other. Whenever a youngster would run over to the "wrong" side, chasing a ball or just trying to cover all the available space, the old people would lean forward and smile. But before any communication could be established, the mother would come over, murmuring embarrassed apologies, and take her child back to the "young" side. Now, it seemed to me that the children didn't feel any particular fear and the old people didn't seem to be threatened by the children. The division of space was drawn by the mothers. And the mothers never looked at the old people who lined the other side of the park. These well-dressed young women had a way of sliding their eyes over, around, through the old people; they never looked at them directly. The old people may as well have been invisible; they offended the aesthetic eye of the mothers. My early experiences were somewhat different; since I grew up in a small town, my children had more of a nineteenth-century flavor. I knew a lot of old people, and considered some of them friends. Question: In the author's opinion, it is a perfect way to _ . Options: A: grow old slowly and then die unnoticed B: grow old suddenly and then die C: shut oneself up from others when growing old D: remain young all one's life and then die suddenly
A