Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: There is one word that is on the lips of Americans , day and night , "Sorry". One time as I was walking on the street , a young man ran by hurriedly , brushing against my handbag . Even as he continued on his way , he turned back and said "sorry" to me . Even in a rush , he didn't forget to apologize . One day , after I bought some apples , the salesman was giving me the change , but I wasn't ready for it , and a coin dropped on the ground, "I'm sorry ," he said while bending down to pick it up . I was puzzled --why would he apologize when it was my fault ? Another time , I stepped on a man's foot in an escalator . At the same time , we both said "sorry" . I thought it interesting : was it really necessary for him apologize ? Later on , an American friend explained to me that according to the American ideas, the escalator is public place which everyone should be able to stand in . After someone occupies a position in the escalator , making it difficult for someone else to find a place to stand in , isn't it necessary to express an apology ? During my stay in America , I gradually realized that when friction occurs in daily life , Americans don't care much about who is responsible . If someone is troubled , a "sorry" is always necessary . Even if the other person is hurt , the "sorry" would cool tempers . Perhaps this is why I never saw anyone quarreling on the buses , subways or streets in America . Question: When the salesman gave me the change , _ Options: A: I purposely didn't want to accept it from the salesman B: the salesman purposely didn't want to pass it to me C: I was slower to accept it than the salesman to give it to me D: the salesman was slower to give it to me than I could accept it
Ans: C

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A serious problem for today's society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem. First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs. Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor. In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions. Furthermore, some institutions should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly _ answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young. One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent. To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations. Question: What is the passage mainly about? Options: A: The problems faced by the old in society. B: Why we should take responsibility for the old. C: How we can improve the lives of the old. D: Where the old can go to get their pensions.
Ans: C

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: When you think of an artist, you probably think of someone painting on canvas . But Guido Daniele creates fantastic paintings of birds, elephants, tigers, and giraffes by painting on skin. Born in Soverato, Italy, Guido Daniele has been called"Ha nd Gogh" (after artist Vincent van Gogh) since he began creating works of art on people' s hands in 1990. Painting on the hands can be a challenge because, unlike canvas, the skin moves when rubbed. Daniele' s models must remain perfectly still for hours as he paints. He often uses his daughter and his son as his "canvases". Before he can begin to create his "manimals" ( the artist' s name for his hand animals), Daniele studies photographs of the animal that he will be painting in order to be able to understand its character and give it life. "Next," he says, "I look at the hand from different perspectives ,and I begin to imagine what is the best way to position the hand for me to paint the animal. "He also studies the skin of the model, preferring it to have little hair and few blemishes . Daniele starts by drawing on the model' s hand with a pencil. He next paints the skin using watercolor1s made specifically for body art. The eyes of Daniele' s painted animals look amazingly real, and they are the most difficult part to paint. Paintings on hands must eventually be washed away. Guido Daniele says that he's gotten used to this part and that he doesn' t really mind seeing his work washed down the drain . " Tomorrow, I will paint the next one. The important thing is to take many good photo- graphs before washing the hand!" Question: How does Daniele feel about the fact that his paintings must be washed away? Options: A: He feels disappointed at this. B: He cares little about this. C: He is satisfied to see this. D: He in fact can' t accept this.
Ans:
B