I love it at night. It's peaceful. And when it cools down I sometimes do some ironing. I don't really care for it. I work full-time and am too busy for most housework. I remember the old woman who taught me to iron . I was about 15 and somehow got a live-in job taking care of a woman who had been an able-bodied, healthy woman until the accident that caused her to be paralyzed. The woman had an electric wheelchair. She could move her head and arms but not her hands or fingers. She had this clamp attached to her arm and I'd have to open it and put a cup or a pencil in it and then she could move it. She would tell me how to do things. She would instruct me in great detail on the correct way to do things. Her home was perfect and beautiful. She would follow me around in her electric wheelchair to make sure I did everything exactly right. I'm sure she had been a perfect homemaker. She would have me fold everything, including socks and pillow cases. I would complain silently and wish terrible things on her. She taught me the right way to make the bed and tuck the corners. I know sometimes she'd get frustrated and impatient with me. I knew she wanted to grab it and do it herself. But she never yelled or scolded. Only she insisted I do it right. I didn't like it much, but I did it. Today I can iron pretty well. I know where to start on a shirt, the right way to do the collar and sleeves. Now that I think about it, I don't think she is an old lady. I think she might have been about my age now. Anyway, when I iron, I think of her and silently thank her for all the things I learned. From the passage we can infer that the writer of the passage now is _ . A) a housewife B) a full-time worker C) a clothes maker D) a college student
B
(Question)
The English, as a race, are very different in many ways from all other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, the French, the Belgians and the Dutch. It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons are, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has developed many attitudes and habits which distinguish him from other nationalities. Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems _ , even embarrassed. You have only to witness a city train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or having a light sleep in a corner, and no one speaks. In fact, to do so would seem most unusual. An Englishman, pretending to be giving advice to overseas visitors, once suggested, "On entering a railway carriage, shake hands with all the passengers." Needless to say, he was not being serious. There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately suspected. In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc, often accompanied by appropriate gesture. The Englishman is somewhat different. Of course, an Englishman feels no less deeply than anyone of a different nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far less. This is reflected in his use of language. Imagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girl. A more emotional man might describe her state "Oh, she is a goddess", whereas an Englishman might just say "Oh, she's all right." An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, "It's not bad you know", or on seeing some very unusual scenery he might convey his pleasure by saying, "Nice, yes, very nice." The overseas visitor must not be disappointed by this apparent... If an Englishman says "all right", it may mean " _ ". A) not bad B) correct C) quite right D) wonderful
(Answer)
D
Ques: Technology: Taking the good without the bad? Very soon, unimaginably powerful technologies will remake our lives.This could have dangerous consequences, especially because we may not even understand the basic science underlyi ng them.There's a growing gap between our technological capability and our basic scientific understanding.We can do very clever things with the technology of the future without necessarily understanding some of the science underneath, and that is very dangerous. The technologies that are particularly dangerous over the next hundred years are nanotechnology , artificial intelligence and biotechnology.The benefits that they will bring are beyond doubt.But they are going to be very, very dangerous.I'm working in the field of artificial intelligence.I have a model design for something that might be 50,000 million times smarter than the human brain.Target date is 2010.The only thing that's not possible in the film Terminator is that the people win.If you're fighting against technology w hich is 50,000 million times smarter than you, you probably will not win. Nanotechnology.We've all heard of the grey glue problem, that self-replicating nanotech devices might keep on copying until the world has become sticky glue.And certainly in biotechnology, we've really got a big problem because it's converging with nanotechnology and IT.Once you start mixing nanotech with organisms and you start feeding nanotech-enabled bacteria, we can really go an awful lot further than the Borg in Star Trek .And those superhuman organisms might not like us very much. Eventually these technologies will become routine.That's a threat to humanity.I don't think it's possible to slow it down.So what we need to do is accelerate the scientific research and try to get some extra tools.The problems facing us in the future are getting bigger and bigger.I think if we don't get some proper science done, the future is hopeless indeed. Why does the author say it is not possible in the film Terminator that the humans win? A) Because the power of the technology is exaggerated . B) Because the strength of the machines is much greater. C) Because machines with that much intelligence can easily defeat humans. D) Because human beings are not courageous enough to win the battle.
Ans: C
Ques:Singer and songwriter Corrinne May's songs always try to express hope, joy and "a deeper beauty and meaning to the everyday moments of life." Music seemed to play a part in May's life from the very beginning. Her parents say she hummed songs from the time she was two or three. May began taking classical piano lessons when she was five and started writing songs when she was eight. She won her first songwriting contest at 15. May didn't always want to be a singer. In fact, at the National University of Singapore, May studied communications and English literature, planning to become a reporter. But upon graduation, her calling to do music was so strong that she decided to study in America at Berklee College of Music. In 1999, after graduating from Berklee, May went to Los Angeles. She still lives there with her music producer husband, Kavin, and daughter, Claire. In 2001 at the age of 28, May released her first album, "Corrinne May" and won an award. Since then, she has produced four more albums. May's university education turned out to be excellent preparation for writing music. She may not have become a reporter, but she learned to find material for her songs about daily life. Her understanding of literature also added beauty to her lyrics. One personal turning point for May came in 2007 when she had a small heart operation. After that, she "began to look deeper into things I had once ignored." May's song "Beautiful Seed" grew out of this. The song encourages people to go after their dreams and compares every person to a seed with the ability to change the world and her experiences have changed her from a "beautiful seed" into the artist she is today. According to the text, May's song "Beautiful Seed" _ . A) expresses that people are able to change the world. B) encourages people to be an artist like her. C) was written before her heart operation. D) compares people's dreams to seeds.

Ans:
A