Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Taxes, Taxes and More Taxes Americans often say that there are only two things a person can be sure of in life; death and taxes. Americans do not have a corner on the "death" market, but many people feel that the United States leads the world with the worst taxes. Taxes consist of the money which people pay to support their government. There are generally three levels of government in the United States: federal , state, and city; therefore, there are three types of taxes. Salaried people who earn more than a few thousand dollars must pay a certain percentage of their salaries to the federal government. The percentage varies form person to person. It depends on their salaries. The federal government has a graduated income tax, that is, the percentage of the tax (14 to 70 percent) increases as a person's income increases. With the high cost of taxes people are not very happy on April 15, when the federal taxes are due. The second tax is for the state government: New York, California, North Dakota, or any of the other forty-seven states. Some states have an income tax similar to that of the federal government. Of course, the percentage for the state tax is lower. Other states have a sales tax, which is a percentage charged to any item which you buy in that state. For example, a person might want to buy a packet of cigarettes for twenty-five cents. If there is a sales tax of eight percent in that state, then the cost of the cigarettes is twenty-seven cents. This figure includes the sales tax. Some states use income tax in addition to sales tax to raise their revenues . The state tax laws are various and confusing. The third tax is for the city. This tax comes in two forms: property tax (people who own a home have to pay taxes on it) and excise tax, which is charged on cars in a city. The cities use these funds for education, police and fire departments, public works and municipal buildings. Since Americans pay such high taxes, they often feel that they are working one day each week just to pay their taxes.... Question: How do you understand the sentence "Americans do not have a corner on the 'death' market"? Answer:

OPTIONS:
- It means that Americans, just like all other people, must die.
- It means that Americans do not have a secret place to keep from death in their life.
- It means that Americans are not good at doing business in the death market.
- It means that there is no such place as a death market in the U. S.

Answer: It means that Americans, just like all other people, must die.

Read the following article and answer the question. Article: The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life. I had my arms full of books and I was walking into the classroom when I ran into something solid. It was Carlos. "My God, you're tall" he said. Of course, the class began to laugh. Angry, I walked to my seat without a word. I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest. That would be the last straw. But Reed as studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else. I didn't know why I considered Reed my friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and make a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington. "Take that seat." Mr. McCarthy told the cocky newcomer Carlos, pointing to the only empty one, in the back of the room. Carlos laughed widely. "But I need a couple of dictionaries." Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos, not at him. He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side." The bell rang for classes. As I stood up to go, I saw Carlos coming toward me. " I'm sorry I embarrassed you," he said. I looked straight head over the top of his black hair. "That's all right." "I ought to know better." He was still blocking my way." What's your name?" "Karen Forbes." "You probably heard me say I'm Carlos Herrera." He held out his hand. Unwillingly, I shook hands with him. He looked up at me seriously with his brown eyes." "I don't see why you're so touchy." I brushed by him and said sharply, "You wouldn't understand." He followed me a few steps. "I'm just the one who should, Karen," he said. "You and I have a lot in common." It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president. "How come?" I kept asking myself," How come this shrimp who's only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?" So that morning, I stopped Carlos and said, " It doesn't seem to bother you ---being short." He looked... Question: The author was angry because _ Answer:

OPTIONS:
- Reed Harrington didn't date her.
- Carlos was too rude to her.
- she had to carry many books.
- the class made fun of her.

Answer: the class made fun of her.

Read the following article and answer the question. Article: 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. Question: When the lady taught the writer how to do housework, the little girl was _ . Answer:

OPTIONS:
- careful to learn
- eager to learn
- forced to learn
- unwilling to learn

Answer:
unwilling to learn