Crime has its own cycles, a magazine reported some years ago. Police records that were studied for five years from over 2,400 cities and towns show a surprising link between changes in the season and crime patterns. The pattern of crime has varied little over a long period of years. Murder reaches its high during July and August, as do rape and other violent attacks. Murder, moreover, is more than seasonal: it is a weekend crime. It is also a nighttime crime: 62 percent of murders are committed between 6 pm. and 6 am. Unlike the summer high in crimes of bodily harm, burglary has a different cycle. You are most likely be robbed between 6 pm. and 2 am. on a Saturday night in December, January, or February. Which is the most un-criminal month of all? May except for one strange statistic. More dog bites are reported in this month than in any other month of the year. Possibly, _ thermometers and high humidity bring on our strange and terrifying actions, but police officials are not sure. "There is, of course, no proof of a connection between humidity and murder," they say. "Why murder's high time should come in the summertime we really don't know." For many years, which of the following does not reach its high during the summer? A) Rape. B) Burglary. C) Murder. D) Other violent attacks.
B
Passing a store, you might just step in and see if the store has received any new CDs. Once in the store, you're delighted to discover some new CDs that you must have. You could buy them later, of course, but you're already here, so why not now? In the checkout line you wonder whether to write a check or pay with a credit card. Either way would be OK, you suppose. The trouble with writing a check, though, is that you don't have much money left in your checking account. Using the credit card you won't have to pay at once, and when you do pay, you will only have to pay a little a month. So you hand the salesperson your plastic card, and that's the deal! There are a few good things about credit cards. For one thing, it's almost impossible to rent a car without a credit card. For another, they are helpful if you are in a situation where you don't have your checkbook or you have little cash with you. What are the disadvantages? One is that few people have the discipline to use their credit cards wisely. Instead, many fall into the buy-now-pay-later trap. Many become "addicted to plastic." Another disadvantage is that credit cards are more abstract than money or checks and thus contribute to our having less control over our money. Bank notes are physical things, and you have to _ your checking account every month when you pay with a check. This takes a bit of work, and although it's painful, it's more realistic. Credit cards represent the abstract, lending a certain air of unreality to the stage of managing your finances. All you do is sign your name; someone else does the math for you. What is the advantage of credit cards? A) You can buy what you like at a lower price. B) You can buy what you like without paying at all. C) You can buy what you like more conveniently. D) You can buy what you like more freely.
C
Q: On October 10, 2014, Malala, 17, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for struggling for the right of children to education. Malala is the youngest Nobel winner in history. Malala Yousafzai has never been ordinary. When she was just 11, she started blogging about the Taliban takeover of her hometown of Mingora, Pakistan. Taliban members follow an extreme belief of Islam and forbid girls to go to school. Classrooms were closed for several months. Malala spoke out about her desire to go back to school. "All I want is an education," she told one television broadcaster. Malala was later able to return to class. But she continued to blog and speak out about girls' right to education. On October 9, 2012, the Taliban tried to silence her. A gunman boarded her school bus and shot her in the head. Malala survived and showed great courage and optimism during her long recovery. At that time she became a symbol of the struggle for girls' rights all over the world. Nine months after she was shot, she gave a now-famous speech at the United Nations. "They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed," she said. "And then, out of that silence came thousands of voices. ... Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power, and courage were born." Malala has also become an international symbol for peace. In 2011, she won Pakistan's National Youth Peace Prize, which is now renamed the National Malala Peace Prize. Malala said the 2014 Nobel Prize was an "encouragement" to go forward to help kids. "I want to tell children all around the world that they should stand up for their rights," she said. "This award is for all those children whose voices need to be heard." We can learn from the passage that Malala is _ . A) creative and outgoing B) strict and stubborn C) simple and warm-hearted D) brave and determined
A: D
Q: Many thousands of Chinese are studying at schools in the United States. And writer Liel Leibovitz says the students are following an example that began in the eighteen seventies. Mr. Leibovitz and writer Matthew Miller joined forces to tell the story of the students in their book, "Fortunate Sons." The book says China sent one hundred twenty boys from 1872 to 1875 to America to learn about developments that could help modernize their country. Mr. Leibovitz got the idea for the book about the boys a few years ago when he was traveling with his wife in China. Mr. Leibovitz learned that Qing government sent a whole delegation of boys to learn the ways of the West. The goal was for them to return to China and help their country. The book says the boys received their American training in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. It must have been a very good education. Mr. Leibovitz says the first prime minister of the Chinese Republic completed this program. And so did the first engineer to build a large-scale railroad without foreign help. The same was true of the fathers of Chinese education, diplomacy and the Navy. The book-writers had only to open some boxes containing the writings of these men to learn about them. Their notebooks, journals, letters and postcards were in English. Mr. Leibovitz said he was lucky to have so much information from events that took place long ago. The students returned to China after about nine years. They no longer spoke Mandarin well enough to answer questions. Police welcomed them home by putting them in jail. The young men were released after about a week. But they were given low-level jobs. Mr Leibovitz says it took about ten years for them to rise to higher positions. He said their story continues today with large numbers of Chinese studying in the United States. How many exchange children did Qing government send to America? A) 1872. B) 1875. C) 120. D) 210.
A: C