Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: American officials have sharply reduced their expecmtions for this year's corn and soybean crops.Farmers in the Midwest are struggling with record heat and the worst drought in many years. The United States is the world's largest producer of com and soybeans.Last Friday the Agriculture Department predicted corn production would add up to 10.8 billion bushels this year.That was down 17%from a prediction made just a month ago.And it was down 13%from last year's level.The average yield per hectare could be the lowest in seventeen years. At the sarne time,the government predicted that soybean production would be 12% lower than last year. The price of corn has hit record levels.Corn is a major part of animal feed,so the price of meat,milk and eggs is also expected to climb. The FAO says average food prices worldwide rose 6%in July.The American drought was a big reason. The situation has renewed the fight between food and fuel.About 40%of the nation's corn crop goes into making ethanol .The production process leaves some of that in a form that can be fed to animals.Still,at least one-fourth of the American corn crop is now made into fuel. The United States requires that part of its corn crop be used in the production of biofuels .The use of ethanol has grown as government requirements have increased.But Jose,the head of the FAO called for"an immediate,temporary pause"of that requirement.He said more of the American corn production could then be used as food or to feed animals. The American livestock industry is also urging Congress to stop the law that requires ethanol in gasoline.But corn farmer Alan Bennett says doing that would hurt his town. A 2005 law requires automobile fuel to contain ethanol.The growth of the ethanol industry and competition for corn has been helping parts of rural America that had been reducing for years. Question: What's the main idea of the passage? Options: A: Average food prices rose all over the world. B: The decrease of crops in America restarted the fight between food and fuel. C: The argument between farmers and the American livestock industry came up. D: America produces most of the corn and soybeans in the world.
Ans: B

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Two Chinese living in South Africa were killed in a robbery on February 5, bringing the total number of Chinese killed in the country to four in less than a month. Chen Jianqing, 35, from Southeast China's Fujian Province, who ran a shop with her husband in a small town 45 kilometers away from South African capital Johannesburg, was shot dead. www.zxxk.com "One of her business partners died later in the hospital," the Chinese consulate officials in Johannesburg said yesterday. "Local police are trying to find more information about the case. And we have told the victims' relatives and are helping them come to Johannesburg," Consul Wu Gang told China Daily. Chen's husband was injured during the robbery but did not suffer seriously, said Wu. The robbery happened at about 5:45 pm local time and the armed robbers ran away after taking more than 50,000 South African rand (US $8,200) and some jewelry, Xinhua News Agency reported. The killing happened just three days after Chen Jingmin, a 23-year-old man from Qingdao, Shandong Province, was shot dead north outside Johannesburg by armed robbers. On January 10, a Hong Kong businessman was attacked and robbed at his home in Johannesburg and died the next day in the hospital. All these happened just in less than a month. According to records, there were more than 40 robberies attacking Chinese in South Africa last year, in which eight were killed. More than 100,000 Chinese are doing various kinds of businesses in South Africa, according to a Chinese official in the country. An increasing number of them are becoming targets of robbers after buying big houses or luxury cars, the official said. Question: Who were killed on February 5 in a small town near Johannesburg? Options: A: Chen Jianqing and her husband. B: Chen Jianqing and one of her partners. C: Chen Jingmin and a Hong Kong businessman. D: Chen Jingmin and one of his relatives.
Ans: B

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Toyota Motor Corp, Japan's biggest carmaker, said on Friday it will recall 1,489 Lexus sedans sold in China. "It will take us some time to ship the fuel tanks and vent pipes to China to change those in these Lexus sedans for customers free of charge, if problems are found," said Yang Hongjian, a spokes- woman of Toyota's China representative office. The expected recall will affect Lexus LS430 sedans made in Japan from July 29, 2003 to January 14, 2004, the representative office said in a statement. Toyota has not received complaints from Chinese customers, according to the statement. The move will be part of Toyota's global recall of 18,200 Lexus LS430s. It will be the third car recall in China in two weeks. Although automobile recall is a common practice in developed markets, it remains new to Chinese customers. The Chinese government published long-awaited automobile recall rules on March 15, which will be officially carried out at the beginning of October. China's auto market is forecast to reach 10 million units by 2010. Automakers, especially Chinese producers, will face greater pressure from automobile recalls, which could be very costly sometimes, and should be in full preparations, according to the expert. The Japanese carmaker sold 1, 549 Lexus vehicles on the Chinese mainland during the first five months of this year, according to Yang. Lexus sales on the mainland reached 4,000 units last year, up from 1,600 units in 2002. (China Daily July 3, 2004) Question: Which of the following is the best tide of this passage? Options: A: Toyota to Recall Its Lexus Sedans Sold in China B: China Prepares to Recall Cars C: The Problems in China's Car Market D: Costly Japanese Car Recalls
Ans: A

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I am a single working mother and going to college for a better life for my three-year-old child and myself. I am taking a nurse course called "Urban Community ". We were asked to do a major project on problems in urban communities. I chose the topic "Homeless". Each day I would walk down the streets of the homeless and offer them something to drink and to eat. I know it's tough to survive on the streets. Last night I ran into a group of 30 kids who were living on the streets in New York. _ and I just wanted to cry. But I had to be strong. I asked about their families and if they contacted them to let them know they were alive. Most of them said, "NO!" They all looked like a happy family and they took care of one another. I tried to persuade them to get help and to contact their families but they did not want to. I did not want to make them to do it as they had their own reasons. All these kids were very respectful. None of them was high on drugs nor were they drinking. Some of them enjoyed reading and writing. Some of them enjoyed skateboarding, dancing and playing music. One girl asked me if I could give her a hug and I did so. She started to cry and said, "Thank you for not treating us as freaks like everyone else does. People don't realize that we all have our own problems and some are worse than others." She told me that her stepfather was extremely mean to her and her mother did not believe her. She ran away. Her street name was Little Mary. They were good kids just trying to make ends meet. I told them that I didn't have much to offer because I was a single mother just making ends meet. I had offered them sandwiches and drinks. They were so happy to have something to eat and told me that I couldn't change the world but at least there was someone who really cared. Question: What's the best title for this passage? Options: A: A Story of a Single Mother B: Care for the Homeless Kids C: An Urban Community D: How to Survive on the Streets
Ans:
B