Three wishes A man and his wife were very poor. They kept hoping for new clothes and good food. The man enjoyed eating, and he especially liked cakes. One night an old woman came to their house and told them she would let them have three wishes. They could wish for anything they wanted. The man had just finished eating a piece of bread for his dinner, but he was still hungry. He said, "I wish I had a big cake!" Suddenly a cake appeared on his plate. "You fool!" His wife cried. "You could have wished for a house full of wonderful food, but you wished for a cake. I wish that cake was on the end of your foolish nose! " Immediately the cake stuck to the end of his nose. Then the man and his wife started blaming each other. "It's your fault!" the man cried. "No, it's your fault!" she answered. What could they do? The cake was still stuck to the husband's nose. "Oh!" the wife cried. "I wish none of this had ever happened!" Immediately the cake was gone, and the man was saying, "I'm still hungry. How I wish I had some cakes! " But of course nothing happened. The wrong statement of the following is _ . A) the man wished that the cake were not on his nose B) the wife made two wishes, which worked C) the wife wanted her husband to wish for more than a big cake D) the man made his wishes before dinner
D
When Alexandra Holderman of Indiana was five years old, she saw a bay dressed in only a T-shirt, diaper , and blanket in the middle of winter. Alexandra could tell that the baby was very cold. "He had red, chapped skin and a runny nose," she remembers. That same year, Alexandra started Baby Bundles , a program to help mothers keep their babies warm. She packed bundles of pajamas, blankets, diapers, bottles and bibs, and then delivered them to centers for women who couldn't afford the items. Alexandra continues this program today. Where does Alexandra get the money for her program? The first year, family members helped a lot. Many of them gave Alexandra money to buy supplies. Alexandra's mother, who has always encouraged Alexandra to share her blessings with people who are less fortunate, taught her how to request donations from stores. Alexandra felt shy speaking with stores' business managers at first. "But now it just comes naturally," she says, "and I have places that donate stuff every year." Alexandra has been doing Baby Bundles for six years now. Each September she writes betters to stores asking for supplies and donations. Then she makes follow-up phone calls. In October, she gathers all of the donations and goes shopping. One of the biggest challenges is getting all of the supplies she needs while staying within a planned budget. Alexandra has had to give up her allowance and some time with friends, but she knows that what she's doing helps. Sometimes she sees a baby wearing clothes like the ones she put in her bundles. And she wonders if that baby was helped by her program. "I know that there are babies out there who are warmer and healthier now," she says. Alexandra plans to continue Baby Bundles as long as she can and is currently trying to get a Web site set up. She hopes that her work will inspire other young people to find ways to serve their communities. Alexandra has made sure that many babies in Indiana remain cozy during the winter months. DCAC The following things except _ may be included in Alexandra's Baby Bundles. A) baby clothes B) diapers C) baby caps D) money
D
Q: My sisters and I have dreamt of a home in the city, but when the Alcott family found itself in a small house at the South End without a tree in sight, only a back yard to play in, and no money to buy any of the beautiful things before us, we children all opposed it and longed for the country again. Anna soon found little pupils, and walked away each morning to her daily task, pausing at the corner to wave her hand to me in answer to my greet with the duster . My father went to his office downtown, mother to her helping the poor, the little girls to school, and I, Lousia, was left to keep house, feeling like an aged sea-gull as I washed dishes and cooked in the basement kitchen where the only thing I could hope for was someone talking with me. Good drill, but very hard, and my only comfort was the evening reunion where all met with such various reports of the day's adventures, we could not fail to find both amusement and instruction. Father brought interesting and attractive news from the upper world; mother, usually in low spirits because she would give away her clothes with sad tales of suffering from the darker side of life; gentle Anna gave a modest account of her success as a teacher, for even at seventeen her sweet nature won all who knew her, and her patience gained her the support of the most naughty pupil. My reports were usually a mixture of sadness and happiness, and the children poured their small joys and troubles into the family where comfort and mercy were always to be found. We know from this passage that the Alcott family was _ . A) a happy and united family B) an extremely poor family C) a family with lots of serious problems D) a family that remained in the country
A: A
*Question*
Two more people have died in China from a new strain of bird flu, raising the death toll from the virus to 13, state media reported Sunday. The official Xinhua News Agency said the two deaths were reported in Shanghai and that three new cases were also confirmed in the financial hub. A total of 11 new cases were reported Sunday - including two in a central province that previously had been unaffected. In all, 60 cases of the virus, known as H7N9, have been reported in China. The two cases reported Sunday in central Henan province, which is next to Beijing, followed an announcement Saturday that a 7-year-old girl had become the first person in the capital to be infected with the virus. All previous reported cases were in Shanghai and other eastern areas of China. A World Health Organization official said Sunday that it wasn't surprising that the virus had spread to Beijing. Michael O'Leary, head of WHO's office in China, said it's not the case that everyone confirmed to be infected with H7N9 was "clustered in one small area with the same source of exposure." "So we've been expecting new cases to occur. ... Furthermore, we still expect that there will be other cases," he said. Four new cases were reported Sunday in eastern Zhejiang province and two more in Jiangsu. Health officials believe the virus, which was first spotted in humans last month, is spreading through direct contact with infected fowl. O'Leary said "the good news" was that there was still no evidence that humans had passed on the virus to other humans. "As far as we know, all the cases are individually infected in a sporadic and not connected way," he said, adding that the source of infection was still being investigated. The girl from Beijing, whose parents are in the live poultry trade, was admitted to a hospital Thursday with symptoms of fever, sore throat, coughing and headache, the Beijing Health Bureau said. O'Leary said early treatment can be effective, as demonstrated by the girl, who was in stable condition. In the only other reported... According to the passage, death toll from Bird Flu in China rises to _ A) 13 B) 60 C) 11 D) 5
**Answer**
A