Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: John Wesley Powell(1834--1902)Was a famous explorer of the American West.When he Was young,his mother put him under the guidance of George Crookham,a self-taught scientist,from whom he received a wide,but informal,education.Young John learned many things about the natural sciences.But his father preferred him to study religion.The argument continued for three years.Then John decided to leave home to seek further education.He soon discovered that he knew more about science than any teacher he met.He realized that the only good scientific education in the country came from colleges in the east,like Harvard and Yale.But he Was too poor to go to them,SO he got work as a school teacher in Illinois.Whenever possible,he went on scientific trips of his own. In 1861,civil war broke out in the United States.John joined the Union forces of the North.At the battle of Shiloh Powell lost his right arm.Despite his disability, he began his famous exploration of the Colorado River on May 24 1869. It Was one of the greatest trips of discovery in the history of America.Never before had any white men traveled to that area.The trip Was far more dangerous than expected.The rivers were filled with rocky areas and waterfalls.Sometimes,the boats overturned or broke into pieces against big rocks.All along the way, Powell measured distances,temperatures,heights,depths and currents.He examined soils,rocks and plant life.Powell'S explorations led to the creation of US Geological Survey, which became responsible for all mapping and scientific programs of American lands. Powell's scientific studies of western lands shaped his ideas of how those lands should be used.He suggested programs to control both crop farming and cattle raising.He Was especially concerned about water supplies.Many of his ideas were rejected at first and were not signed into law until years after his death because they were far ahead of his time. Question: John argued with his father because _ . - his father refused him to leave home - he wanted to go to college - his father wanted him to study religion - he wanted to work instead of study
his father wanted him to study religion

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: As Paige watched the other kids playing football in her local park she longed to join in. But at nearly nine stone (1stone equals 6.35 kilograms), the 11-year-old was too big to enjoy her favorite sport, she was well on her way to being another overweight member of her family. Mandy, her mum was 17th 10 lb and Anne, her grandma 15th 10 lb. Mandy, 39, and Anne, 67, both have a sweet tooth and share a love of all things stodgy. Recent figures show that two-thirds of kids will be dangerously fat by 2050, and overweight kids often become obese adults and live shorter lives as they are at higher risk of everything from heart disease to cancer and type-2 diabetes. Mandy says she knew things had to change for her and her family. Mandy's mum Anne had an even greater motivation for wanting to slim down. Last autumn Paige went along to the Slimming World to keep her mum and grand ma company. In the first week on the Slimming World eating plan, Mandy lost a whopping 9.5lb. Mandy asked Paige to join in. They believed the Free2Go plan is balanced and nutritious and doesn't deprive Paige of anything. Supporting and encouraging each other the whole time, Anne, Mandy and Paige all whittled away their waistlines. Mandy says: "My back problems have cleared up." Anne has also noticed a real difference in her health. She says: "I feel like I've got my old energy back." Paige is almost as delighted with her new wardrobe as she is about her foot balling skills. Mandy adds: "I'm just so proud of Paige. I felt awful because I knew her weight problems were a result of my bad eating habits. But when I see her now it's like she's a different person." Question: What can we learn from the passage about Mandy? - She once suffered a headache. - She once suffered a backache. - She once suffered heart-attack - She didn't like the Free2Go plan.
She once suffered a backache.

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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: American teenager Thomas Cheatham had planned to study Latin during his sophomore year at Hebron High School in Texas. But when he learned that the school district was going to offer a Mandarin class, he quickly changed his mind. "I thought it (Mandarin) would be more beneficial than Latin," said Cheatham, who is now in his second year of studying the language. He speaks Mandarin to order food at Chinese restaurants and can read Face book posts from his Chinese-speaking friends. While it'a difficult language to master, the high school junior, who plans to study computer engineering, thinks it will be a valuable thing in his career. "Chinese is a good language to know, especially with China becoming a growing power," he said. Many experts agree that proficiency in a language spoken by a billion people worldwide will give American students an edge in the global economy. "People are looking at China as our next economic competitor, and interest in Mandarin is growing,'' said Marty Abbott, executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. ''We're seeing it in all parts of the country." The number of students studying Mandarin in public schools nationwide in grades 7 through 12 grew from 20,000 in 2004-2005 to 60,000 three years later, according to the council's most recent survey. Abbott estimates that as many as 100,000 students are now studying Mandarin, in public and private schools, throughout the nation. She said the US government has considered Mandarin to be an "important needs" language and provides professional development programs for teachers. "Our government wants to increase our language ability for national security and economic competitiveness," Abbott said. At the same time, the Chinese government is spreading knowledge of the Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institutes established in many states. The Confucius Institute at the University of Texas in Dallas, founded in 2007, opens Confucius Classrooms at 11 local public and private schools where more... Question: Why does the writer mention Thomas in the passage? - To tell us how changeable he is. - To introduce the topic of the passage. - To introduce his college life. - To tell us Latin is less popular now.
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To introduce the topic of the passage.