Ques: It's not Christmas Day yet. But wherever I go on the streets, I see shops selling Christmas trees and all kinds of beautiful decorations, waiters wearing Christmas hats; I hear children singing Christmas songs on broadcast; I get messages of Christmas's best wishes from friends. I just got quite confused again, since when have Chinese begun celebrating Christmas Day? What do these people celebrate it for, the birth of Chris? But we all know that most of Chinese are not Christians, they don't even know the origin of Christmas Day, and they celebrate it for no reason. I don't celebrate Christmas Day or any other western holidays since I'm not a Christian and nor am I a westerner. I don't know what Christmas really means. Anyway I can't get reasonable answers from my friends. Some of them think they would like to just take this chance to enjoy themselves regardless of the meaning of the festival. Some of them think I'm an old-fashioned girl, a _ who doesn't appreciate the spirit of Chinese cultural tolerance and understanding of other cultures. Well, if it is about cultural tolerance, why don't we ever celebrate the month of Muharram, or festivals of colours in India, or Fiestas Patrias in Mexico? I really appreciate cultural exchanges and communications with all nations, but I don't think this is what it's about. People are celebrating more and more western festivals while ignoring our traditional ones. Is it part of globalization ? Do people in other non-western countries also celebrate Christmas? It can be inferred from the passage that the writer _ . A) is an old-fashioned girl B) doesn't like festivals at all C) prefers western festivals to Chinese festivals D) prefers Chinese festivals to western festivals
Ans: D

Ques: The most enjoyable way to discover Liverpool is by boat.The first thing to do is to take a ferry (boat) across the River Mersey. It's the best way to find out about this city's long and interesting history. The Liverpool Ferry,which is the oldest ferry service in Europe, started more than 800 years ago. In the l8th century Liverpool became an important city for international business across the Atlantic Ocean.Ships sailed from Liverpool to the United States and Africa.The place to learn more about Liverpool's importance is the Maritime Museum. Liverpool was important because of its industry and trade in the 18th century.In the 20th century it became famous for music.The boys in the rock group,the Beatles,all came from Liverpool.The city is very proud of them.It named its airport John Lennon International Airport after one of the Beatles.Tourists can take a bus tour to visit some of the places the Beatles mention in their songs, like Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields.They can also visit the Cavern Club--the group first played there in 1961.The Beatles Story is a museum and gallery.Here you can find out more about these world--famous musicians. But there's more to see and do in Liverpoo1.At the Walker Art Gallery you can see the best art in the North of England.If you like modern art,the place to visit is the Tate Gallery.But above all,it's the friendly and welcoming people of Liverpool who make this a city you should visit when you come to Great Britain. In the 20thcentury Liverpool became well known all over the world because _ . A) its important in international business B) a group of pop singers C) a beautiful river called River Mersey D) a big museum in the town
Ans: B

Ques: The artist Grandma Moses became famous for her simple, bright, cheerful paintings of American farm life.Her full name was Anna Mary Robertson Moses.But she was known to everyone as Grandma Moses because she did not begin to paint seriously until in her seventies. Born on a farm in New York, Anna had little schooling.Her days were filled with farm chores.But she often found time to make pictures.Soon, however, she became too busy to draw or paint.At the age of 12, she went to work as a servant for a family nearby.She worked for other people for many years.Then, when she was 27, she married Thomas Moses, a farmer.And they began raising a family of their own. Anna Moses could no longer do heavy farm work with age.Then, in her seventies, she began to paint in oils.Her pictures showed things she recalled from childhood-farm scenes, ice-skating, bringing home the Christmas tree.Later, she began to display her art at county fairs.Her pictures recorded a way of life that was quickly passing away.People everywhere loved these happy scenes, and soon her paintings were shown in art galleries.Grandma Moses became famous partially on account of her age, but mainly because her approach to art was modest and simple compared to many other painters of her time.Without formal training or even knowledge of Modernism, she relied on her own simple techniques to create her landscapes and scenes.She continued to paint almost until her death, on December 13, 1961 , at the age of 101. The themes in her paintings provided the comfort of a rural life that many busy Americans treasured from their past.The threat of nuclear arms that appeared on television screens and in magazines had Americans starving for something more.Grandma Moses' art appealed to those who had lost hope for the future.Her classic paintings still appear on TV commercials, greeting cards, and magazine and book covers. What can be inferred from the fact that Grandma Moses picked up a paintbrush? A) She had no other ways to kill time. B) Her friend and family suggested it. C) She had had a love for painting since her childhood. D) She needed to make a living by selling her paintings.
Ans: C

Ques: BERLIN (Reuters)--Germany's postal service has announced plans to explore improved service and help protect the environment by getting "fetch friends"--ordinary people traveling across cities--to deliver parcels on their way. It is hoped that the move, which will be tested in the coming months, might lessen traffic in inner cities and reduce CO2emissions . This should help DHL, a division of the German postal service, reach its target of improving the company's carbon efficiency by 30 percent before 2020. "As the world's biggest logistics provider, we recognize a special responsibility to reduce the impact on the environment as much as possible," said Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Post DHL, in a statement referring to a variety of measures being considered. The "fetch friends" find out online about parcels that need delivering to people who live or work along the way that they are planning to travel through the city. They then select the ones that they want to take. Codes sent to their mobile phones tell the volunteers where to pick the packages up. Parcels can be taken part of the way or passed on to another volunteer but all volunteers need to have the right code on their mobile phone so the track and trace system can be updated. Logistics companies will be responsible for looking after the operation to make sure that the privacy of post is respected. It's hoped that this could be done using mobile phones but DHL says it recognizes that some security issues remain to be worked out. What might be the best Title for the best passage? A) New Challenges for the Postal Service B) A Greener Way to Deliver Parcels C) Solutions for Global Warming D) Statements from DHL
Ans:
B