New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk. It's now a "global village" where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communications equipment is greatly increased by foreign language skills. Deeply involved with this new technology is a kind of modern businesspeople who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, success overseas often helps support domestic business efforts. Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being "out of sight and out of mind." He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company's plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to manage back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more common. Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets. English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn't generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal. The employee posted abroad who speaks the country's language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign customers over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm. The advantage of employees having foreign language skills is that they can _ . A) fast-forward their proposals to headquarters B) better control the whole negotiation process C) easily make friends with businesspeople abroad D) easily find new approaches to meet market needs
B
You have been badly injured in a car accident. It is necessary to give you a blood transfusion because you lost a great deal of blood in the accident. However, special care must be taken in selecting new blood for you. If the blood is too different from your own, the transfusion could kill you. There are four basic types of blood; A, B, AB, and O. A simple test can make sure of a person's blood type. Everybody is born with one of these four types of blood. Blood type, like hair color1 and height, is received from parents. The four groups must be transfused carefully. A and B cannot be mixed. A and B cannot receive AB, but AB may receive A or B. O can give to any other group; therefore, it is often called the universal donor . For the opposite reason, AB is sometimes called the universal recipient . However, because so many reactions can happen in transfusions , patients usually receive only salt of plasma (liquid part of blood) until their blood can be matched as exactly as possible in the blood bank of a hospital. In this way, it is possible to prevent the transfusion from any bad reactions. Which of the following statement is NOT true? A) Carelessness in a blood transfusion may lead to death. B) AB is the mixture of A and B C) AB is called the universal recipient because it can receive any other group. D) In transfusions, patients usually receive only salt of plasma at first.
B
Q: Many birds migrate. This means that every year they fly somewhere warm in the winter and then return to the place they came from in the spring. One mystery is how birds know how to travel such long distances without getting lost. Scientists have wondered for years whether they are born with the knowledge of where to go or whether they learn it after they are born. Now, researchers have found evidence that shows that one type of bird, at least, learns how to migrate. The bird is the whooping crane , a tall, white bird that lives in the United States. In the 1940s, the number of these birds decreased to fewer than 25 individuals, and many people feared that they would die out. Thanks to efforts to save them, they have now increased to about 600. However, the birds are not very good at taking care of their young. Because of this, eggs are brought to a site in Maryland. There, scientists from the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership raise the baby birds. Later, the young birds are taken from Maryland to Wisconsin, where the scientists teach them how to fly. From there, they fly about 2,200 kilometers south to Florida to spend the winter. The first time, scientists lead the way in a small airplane. From the second year, though, the birds travel by themselves. For 14 years, the scientists have kept a careful record of every flight the birds have taken between Wisconsin and Florida. They have also recorded which birds fly together, the relationships between the birds, and the gender of each bird. When scientists analyzed the data, they were surprised by the results. These showed that each bird took a very different route. However, as they got older, they flew more and more directly between Wisconsin and Florida. This continued until they were five years old. This indicates that the birds gradually learned the best route to take. Moreover, when an older bird was in a group, the whole group flew more directly. This suggests that the older birds taught the younger ones a quicker route. Scientists say that this evidence... What is one thing that scientists want to know about birds? A) How they manage to migrate successfully. B) Why they migrate to warmer places. C) When they start migrating each year. D) Whether some birds fly faster than others.
A: A
(Q).
Humor is very important in any relationship. It is truly a unique gift when someone has the ability to make another laugh. Humor allows a person to forget his troubles and focus on positive aspects of his life. Personally speaking, making another laugh, whether it is a family member, a close friend, or even a stranger, has always given me a good feeling! Humor plays an important role in our family lives. The interaction , between husband and wife and between a parent and a child, is very important, just thinking how much better our relationships would be if we would take the time to laugh. Humor and laughter are especially important during difficult times. No matter how bad a person may feel, a family member or a friend can make him feel good by laughing with him. I once had a co-worker, for whom there was no humor in her daily life. She seldom smiled and seemed to focus on only the negative or the dark side. One day I was told she was very unhappy, had few friends, and had poor relations with family members. Later, I learnt that she couldn't remember laughing or enjoying life. In order to enjoy her life, she was advised to have humor and laughter each day of her life. In the end, it seemed to make a huge difference. We do live in a difficult world. "Stress" seems to be a major factor contributing to health problems of our society. So, in order to live easily, we should put humor into our daily lives. I have a plaque hanging on the wall, which reads "Live, Love and Laugh"! According to the passage, humor matters a lot in the following EXCEPT _ . A) the personality development B) mental health C) human relations D) family lives
(A).
A