It remained a question who had to be the pioneer life on a new island. In fact, few people knew it. Thousands of years ago, in the middle of an ocean, miles from the nearest island, an undersea volcano broke out. The hot liquid rock piled higher and higher and spread wider and wider. In this way, an island rose up in the sea. As time went on, hot sun and cool rains made the rock split and break into pieces. Sea waves dashed against the rock. In this way, soil and sand came into being. It is well known that nothing lived on the naked soil. And then the wind and the birds brought plant seeds, spiders and other creatures there. Only plants could grow first. Only they, in sunlight, could produce food from the minerals of the soil, water and air. While many animals landed on the island, they could find no food. A spider spun its web in vain , because there were no insects for its web to catch. Insects could not stay until there were plants for them to eat. So plants had to be the pioneer life on his new island. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE? A) Spiders were the first life that could live on the island. B) Insects could not live on the island without plants. C) The island is far away from any piece of island. D) Plants were brought to the island by human beings.
B
(Question)
Imagine an eco-conscious city where rooftops have been transformed into fertile, green gardens. It's a place where every home is equipped with a system that recycles valuable water resources. In this town, protecting the planet is a way of life. That's how Abby Sharp, 14, Wyatt Peery, 13, and Tom Krajnak, 14, saw their city of tomorrow. The vision won the eighth-graders from Bexley, Ohio, first prize at the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition. The annual design competition challenges middle school students to use engineering to deal with issues that affect the earth. This year the competition focused on water conservation. Participants had to come up with ways to improve water use in the home. Kids from 38 middle schools across the country competed in the finals. The event took place from February 17-18 in Washington, D.C. More than 30,000 students entered the competition. Abby, Wyatt and Tom call their winning city Novo Mondum. The name means "new world" in Latin. Novo Mondum sits on the coast of Iceland. The group chose the spot for its wealth of clean energy resources, such as geothermal energy and hydropower. Both sources use the power of nature to generate electricity. Geothermal energy draws heat from deep inside the Earth. Hydropower gets energy from flowing water. "Our city is very globally aware," Abby told TFK. Students team up with a teacher and a volunteer engineer mentor to develop their cities. Each group creates a fictional city on SimCity 4 Deluxe, a computer game that allows players to build virtual towns. Then they construct tabletop models of the cities and write essays describing their project. The models must be made using recycled materials and cost no more than $100 to build. It can be inferred that water conversation is _ . A) one of the problems that influence the Earth. B) the main theme of 2009 Future City Competition. C) one of the issues for the participants to deal with abroad. D) an easy topic for all the students to design.
(Answer)
B
Ques: We have a strange and strong belief in the idea of perfection. Driven by our culture, we struggle for an unattainable ideal: If I have the perfect parents, perfect grades, perfect..., then I would be happy. We seek what we can't have without remembering that we don't actually need to be perfect. Imperfection allows us to be human. Parents, teachers and other high-achieving peers will have us believe that we must be perfect if we wish to remain competitive. However, what job or school requires you to develop a cure for some form of cancer by the age of 18? Although these grades would be admirable achievements, are they worth losing sleep over? We feel like we need the perfect grades to get into the perfect college that will provide us with the perfect education necessary to obtain the perfect job. Making use of our thirst for perfection, the whole college and career industries have emerged claiming to help us reach our goals. Truth is, you only need to be good enough to get into the conversation. It is what you do afterwards that sets you apart. Focus more on your passions. Don't worry about anything secondary to your passions. You don't become an expert at anything if you spent your time trying to succeed in everything you do. You only become an expert when you devote your time to that one project that truly brings you joy. As members of this society, we have a responsibility to be excellent in what we do, not perfect. Although perfection can be a goal, it should not be the only goal. We only have 24 hours in a day and seven days in a week. Thus, we need to plan what we want to do and cut out the activities we cannot do. With everything, though, make sure you're doing enough. Pursuing your passions is not enough of a reason to completely give up on everything else. Try as hard as you can and let your future worry about itself. Worry about your task at hand and you will be successful in achieving your dreams. Most of all, remember that you're going to be okay. What might be the most suitable title for the passage? A) How to be perfect B) Being enough is enough C) Finding your own passions D) Giving up your secondary goals
Ans: B
Christmas came in extravagant fashion to the Muslim desert emirate of Abu Dhabi as a shining hotel uncovered a bejeweled Christmas tree valued at more than 11 million dollars on Wednesday. It is "the most expensive Christmas tree ever" with "a value of over 11 million dollars", said Hans Olbertz, general of Emirates Palace Hotel, at its inauguratuion . The 13-metre (40-foot) evergreen, located in the gold hall of the hotel, is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped decorations and small white lights. But the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery hung around the tree's branches are what give it a record value. "It holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, sapphires and other precious stones," said Khalifa Khouri, owner of Style Gallery, which provided the jewellery. "The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars," Olbertz said. "The jewellery has a value of over 11 million dollars--I think $1,141,150." "This will probably be an entry into the Guinness book of world records," Olbertz said, adding that Emirates Palace planned to contact the organization about the tree which is to stay until the end of the year. Asked whether the tree might be against religious sensibilities in the United Arab Emirates, where the vast majority of the local population are Muslim, Olbertz said he did not think it would. "It is a liberal country," he said. The hotel has had a Christmas tree up in previous years, but this year "we have to do something different", and the hotel's marketing team _ the plan, said Olbertz. Why is the Christmas tree said to be "the most expensive Christmas tree ever"? A) Because the cost pf planting and decorating the tree is too high. B) Because the tree itself has a value of more than 11 million dollars C) Because the tree has unique religious sensibility in the United Arab Emirates. D) Because the jewellery hung around the tree's branches gives it a record value.
D