Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Comfort is comforting, but it might narrow our experience at work -- and beyond. In our modern world, discomfort is considered a terrible thing. If not terrible, at least a thing of the past. Dishwashers, washing machines, computers, remote controls--yes, they add convenience, but also a level of comfort our forefathers did not enjoy. As pain of any kind discourages happiness, we tend to reason, anything that compromises our ability to feel good must be bad. And that's also particularly true for our careers. Success makes us feel great, not terrible. Such a view, however, is a matter of personal opinion. And it may blind us to hidden opportunities. Artists throughout history have tried to experience suffering, instinctively if not consciously, to produce works that explore the darker hidden sides of the human condition. This was done, in part, because pain is a reality of life for everybody in some form at some time. Pain is something everybody can relate to. And pain makes a person very present. For such artists, to relieve or to deny pain would be to block the creative thinking, which drives them to explore and express. In fact, Germans have a term for this melancholia, " _ ", which means "suffering from the world." Writers, from Lord Byron to Kurt Vonnegut, have used the term to describe the psychological pain encountered along life's roller-coaster journey. It was not to be avoided; it was to be understood, investigated and employed. So I propose that discomfort is good for us. Or, put another way, it tells us that something needs to be addressed. It stretches us by forcing us to view our circumstances through a wholly different lens. Because we're drawn to safety and security, we do our best to create pleasant comfort zones for ourselves and our loved ones through the cars we drive, the homes we live in, and the places we work. But by resisting discomfort, we deny ourselves an important opportunity: the chance to shake ourselves out of our predictable perspectives and allow ourselves to make... Question: Which of the following is NOT a reason why artists throughout history have been exploring sufferings? - Pain is a mirror that can reflect the life of everybody. - Pain is something that no one can escape from. - Pain can help them to avoid the creative thinking. - Pain can strengthen the feeling of existence of a person.
Pain can help them to avoid the creative thinking.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Solar water heaters can use energy from the sun to heat water. They are used around the world. The solar water heater is based on a design developed some years ago in Afghanistan. Since then, it has been built and used in many countries. It can heat seventy liters of water to 60degC. It can do this between sunrise and noon on a clear day with an average temperature of 32degC. There are two parts of the solar water heater. One part, the collector, is made of a metal plate painted black. This metal surface, placed in contact with the water, will heat the water. Black-painted surfaces that receive the sun's heat become hotter than those of any other color1. Metal plates that have raised parts on the surface work better than those without them. Once the water is heated, it is kept hot with special material, which allows the water to stay warm for a long time. The second part of the solar water heater holds the water for the system. This water tank can hold about one hundred liters of water. Two rubber pipes are connected to the water tank. One pipe lets water go into the system. The other lets water go out. When the water heater is working correctly, water will flow from the tank to the collector and back again. You can use the hot water at the top of the tank for washing and cleaning. This solar water heater is easy to build and operate. It will last about two years before the rubber pipes need to be replaced. Question: We can learn that solar water heaters _ . - have three basic parts in their system - are hardly able to heat water above 60degC - are used widely by people all over the world - can heat water even on cold and rainy days
are used widely by people all over the world

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The National Geographic Magazine, later shortened to National Geographic, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded. It has become one of the world's best-known magazines and is immediately identifiable by the characteristic yellow border running around the edge of its cover. There are 12 monthly issues of National Geographic per year, plus additional map supplements. On rare occasions, special editions are also issued. It contains articles about geography, popular science, history, culture, current events, and photography. The current Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic Magazine is the well-known photographer, Chris Johns, who has photographed extensively in Africa. The foreword to Johns' own illustrated book on Africa was written by Nelson Mandela. Society Executive Vice President John Q. Griffin, and President of the Magazine Group, has overall responsibility for the English language magazines at National Geographic. Terry B. Adamson, Society Executive Vice President who also is the Society's chief legal officer and heads governmental relations, has overall responsibility for the Society's international publications. With a worldwide circulation in all languages of nearly nine million, more than fifty million people read the magazine every month. In May, 2007, National Geographic magazine won the American Society of Magazine Editors' prestigious General Excellence Award in the over two million circulation category and the best photography award for three issues of the magazine in 2006. Question: Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? - Over fifty million people read National Geographic Magazine every month. - The National Geographic Magazine was later shortened to National Magazine. - The National Geographic Magazine published its first issue in 1889. - The National Geographic Magazine is identifiable by the orange border running around the edge of its cover.
A: Over fifty million people read National Geographic Magazine every month.

Question: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: There was once a farmer who lived near a road. It was not a busy road,but from time to time,cars passed the farm. Near the farm gate, there was a large hole in the road. this hole was always full of water, and the drivers of the cars could not see how deep the hole was. They thought it was probably not deep.So when they drove into the hole, they could not drive out because it was so deep. The farmer did not spend much time working on his farm. He spent most time watching the hole. Whenever a car drove into it, he would pull the car out with his tractor and he would charge the drivers for much more money than they had expected. One day, a driver of a car said to him, "You must have made a lot of money pulling cars out of this hole night and day." "Oh no," the farmer said, "I don't pull cars out of the hole at night. At night I fill the hole with water." Question: The drivers were _ to pay the farmer for pulling their cars out of the hole. - glad - forced - ready - anxious
Answer: forced

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Scientists around the world have been studying the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino . The appearance of El Nino is known to affect the weather around the world. Scientists still do not completely understand it. Yet they now find they can use it to tell about the future in different areas of the world. One example is the work of two scientists at Columbia University in New York, Mark Cane and Gordon Eshel. A scientist of Zimbabwe , Roger Buckland worked with them. They have found that when El Nino appears, Zimbabwe has little or no rain. This means corn crops in Zimbabwe are poor. The last El Nino was in 1991 to 1993. That was when southeastern Africa suffered a serious lack of rain. The scientists wrote about their recent work in the publication Nature. Their computer program can tell when an El Nino will develop up to a year before it does. They suggest that this could provide an effective early warning system for southern Africa, and could prevent many people from starving. Question: El Nino is known as _ . - the changing of the weather in southern Africa - the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean - the weather which brings drought to Africa - the weather phenomenon that brings heavy rains to Africa
A: the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean