Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In the earliest stages of man's development he had no more need of money than animals have. He was content with very simple forms of shelter, made his own rough tools and weapons and could provide food and clothing for himself and his family from natural materials around him. As he became more civilized, however, he began to want better shelter, more efficient tools and weapons, and more comfortable and more lasting clothing than could be provided by his own neighborhood or by the work of his own unskilled hands. For these things he had to turn to the skilled people such as smiths, leather workers or carpenters. It was then that the question of payment arose. At first he got what he wanted by a simple process of exchange. The smith who had not the time to look after land or cattle was glad to take meat or grain from the farmer in exchange for an axe or a plough . But as more and more goods which had no fixed exchange value came on the market, exchange became too complicated to be satisfactory. Another problem arose when those who made things wanted to get stocks of wood or leather, or iron, but had nothing to offer in exchange until their finished goods were ready. Thus the difficulties of exchange led by degree to the invention of money. In some countries easily handled things like seeds or shells were given a certain value and farmer, instead of paying the smith for a new axe by giving him some meat or grain, gave him so many shells. If the smith had any shells left when he had bought his food, he could get stocks of the raw materials of his trade. In some countries quite large things such as cows or camels or even big flat stones were used for trade. Later, pieces of metal, bearing values according to the rarity of the metal and the size of the pieces, or coins were used. Money as we know it had arrived. Question: Money was not used until _ . Options: A: paper was invented B: nothing could be offered in exchange C: people practiced a simple process of exchange D: the exchange of one thing for another became too complicated
D

(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Fahad Azad, an engineer in India, invented a robot named DuctBot.The toy-car sized DuctBot measured 23 centimeters in length, 19 centimeters in width and 9 centimeters in height and weighs just two kilograms. The robot is designed to snake through dark, narrow air conditioning ducts and clean them.A pair of LEDs fitted on the robot light up the dirty scenery, so _ can be captured by a camera. In order to control it more easily, Mr. Azad chooses to fix DuctBot on wheels.The robot can clean off lots of dirt, as well as dead pigeons and insects.Keeping indoor air in good quality and monitoring carbon-dioxide levels in buildings with central air conditioning is a challenge.It is important in some places where clean air can mean a difference between life and death, such as hospitals.Dirty air has a bad influence on people's health. EPSCO, a Dubai-based company which specializes in improving indoor air quality, read about Mr. Azad's invention in a national newspaper after he had won an international robotics competition.EPSCO had cleaning equipment, but it needed someone to get into those ducts to do the dirty, dangerous work.Across India, for example, the task still falls to children.They are small enough to go through those ducts. In 2005, Mr. Azad who was still at university decided to do something about it.Six years later his own company, Robosoft Systems, has Bluestar, EPSCO and the Indian Navy, some leading air condition makers, as partners. Mr. Azad and his ten employees are currently exploring robot designs to examine oil tanks or sewage pipes.Their biggest challenge is to make the robots user-friendly enough.Mr. Azad hopes that the robot could eventually be operated not by engineers but by workers.There will be lots of difficulties they need to overcome in the future. Question: What can we learn about Ductbot? Options: A: It is a toy car and popular with children. B: It is designed to move like a snake in the ducts. C: many LEDs are fitted on it to tell its location. D: It is actually a camera to capture dirty scenery.
(Answer)
B

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: World Reading Day was set up by the UNESCO in 1995 to encourage people, especially teenagers, to discover the pleasure of reading. It is also the day to honor great writers, for example, William Shakespeare, born or dead on that day. Many countries celebrated World Reading Day. Take the UK as an example, on that day, millions of schoolchildren can buy book of special price, a much lower price than usual, in any bookstore. It has been done every year since 1998. World Reading Day 2010 in the UK will take place on Thursday 4th March. Please note that this date applies to the UK and Ireland only. The goal is so well set in schools there that they want to make sure that the Day happens in term time to really make the most of this opportunity to celebrate books and reading. Most other countries hold World Reading Day on 23 rd April every year. World Reading Day is also celebrated in China. Chinese former premier Wen Jiabao, an avid reader, does lots of reading every day though he is very busy. On World Reading Day 2009 he encouraged citizens to do more reading. Wen suggested that young people should spend more time reading. "Books cannot change the world, but people can change the world by changing themselves through reading." Reading can benefit people a lot. Reading helps us to follow the latest developments of science and technology. Reading gives us information about other cultures and places of the world. Reading is also one of the most important ways to learn a foreign language like English. "Reading makes a full man." (Bacon, 1597) Books, magazines, newspapers and other kinds of reading materials can help us to know more about the outside world and perfect us. Therefore, it is necessary for us to spend time on reading every day. Question: Which of the following statements about World Reading Day is TURE? Options: A: It was set up to encourage people to learn English. B: China also celebrates it on 4th March every year. C: It is also the same day as some great writers were born or dead. D: Only since 1998 has the UK begun to celebrate it.
Ans: C

Ques:Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The Peales were a famous family of American artists. Charles Willson Peale is best remembered for his portraits of leading figures of the American Revolution. He painted portraits of Franklin and Jefferson and over a dozen of George Washington. His life-size portrait of his sons Raphaelle and Titian was so realistic that George Washington reportedly once tipped his hat to the figures in the picture. Charles Willson Peale gave up painting in his middle age and devoted his life to the Peale museum, which he founded in Philadelphia. The world's first popular museum of art and natural science mainly covered paintings by Peale and his family as well as displays of animals in their natural settings. Peale found the animals himself and found a method to make the exhibits more lifelike. The museum's most popular display was the skeleton of a huge, extinct elephant, which Peale _ on a New York farm in 1801. Three of Peale's seventeen children were also famous artists. Paphaelle Peale often painted still lives of flowers, fruit, and cheese. His brother Rembrandt studied under his father and painted portraits of many noted people, including one of George Washington. Another brother, Rubens Peale, painted mostly landscapes and portraits. James Peale, the brother of Charles Willson Peale, specialized in miniatures . His daughter Sarah Miriam Peale was probably the first professional female portrait painter in America. Question: What is the main topic of the passage? Options: A: The life of Charles Willson Peale. B: Portraits in the 18th century. C: The Peale Museum. D: A family of artists.

Ans:
D