*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Is there clear boundary between science and the liberal arts as a major for college students? The question of whether our government should promote science and technology or the liberal arts in higher education is not an either / or proposition , although the current emphasis on preparing young Americans for STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) -related fields can make it seem that way. The latest congressional report acknowledges the critical importance of technical training, but also stresses that the study of the humanities and social sciences must remain central elements of America's educational system at all levels. Both are critical to producing citizens who can participate effectively in our democratic society, become innovative leaders, and benefit from the spiritual enrichment that the reflection on the great ideas of mankind over time provides. Parents and students who have invested heavily in higher education worry about graduates' job prospects as technological advances and changes in domestic and global markets transform professions in ways that reduce wages and cut jobs. Under this circumstances, it's natural to look for what may appear to be the most "practical" way out of the problem. "Major in a subject designed to get you a job" seems the obvious answer to some, though this ignores the fact that many disciplines in the humanities characterized as "soft" often, in fact, lead to employment and success in the long run. Indeed, according to surveys, employers have expressed a preference for students who have received a broadly-based education that has taught them to write well, think critically, research creatively, and communicate easily. Moreover, students should be prepared not just for their first job, but for their 4th and 5th jobs, as there is little reason to doubt that people entering the workforce today will be called upon to play many different roles over the course of their careers. The ones who will do the best in this new environment will be those whose educations... Question: What does the author say about the so called soft subjects? - They are essential to students' healthy growth. - They improve students' communication skills. - They broaden students' range of interests. - They benefit students in their future life.
**Answer**
They benefit students in their future life.

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Australia, the last continent, was discovered by ships belonging to some European nations in the seventeenth century. These nations were less interested in changing it into a colony than in exploring it. As in the early history of the United States, it was the English who set up the settlements in Australia. This history and the geography of these two British colonies have some other things in common as well. Australia and the United States are about the same in size, and their western lands are both not rich in soil. It was the eastern coast of Australia and American that the English first settled, and both colonies soon began to develop towards the west. However, this westward movement took place more because the English were searching for better land than because the population was increasing. Settlements of the western part of both countries developed quickly after gold was discovered in America in 1849 and in Australia two years later. Although the development of these two countries has a lot in common, there are some striking differences as well. The United States gained its independence from England by revolution while Australis won its independence without having to go to war. Australia, unlike the United States, was firstly truned into a colony by English prisoners and its economic development was in wheat growing and sheep raising. By 1922, for example, Australia had fifteen times more sheep than it had people, or almost half as many sheep as there are people today in the United States. Yet, in spite of these and other main differences, Australia and the United States have more in common with each other than either one has with most of the rest of the world. Question: Who turned Australia into a colony? - Britain. - Several European countries. - The United States of America. - None of the above.
**Answer**
Britain.

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Elephants have four distinct personalities that help their herd survive in the African bush, scientists have found. With their grey skin, mournful eyes and slow heavy pace, you could be forgiven for thinking elephants are uniformly melancholy creatures. But scientists have now discovered the largest living land animals have personalities to match their size. In a new study of African elephants, researchers have identified four distinct characters that are common in a herd - the leaders, the gentle giants, the playful rogues and the reliable plodders . Each of the types has developed to help the giant mammals survive in their harsh environment and is almost unique in the animal kingdom, according to the scientists. Professor Phyllis Lee and her colleague Cynthia Moss studied a herd of elephants in the Amboseli National Park in Kenya known as the EB family -- famous for their matriarch Echo before she died in 2009. Using data collected over 38 years of watching this group, the researchers analyzed them for 26 types of behavior and found four personality features tended to emerge. The strongest personality to emerge was that of the leader. Unlike other animals, where leadership tends to be won by the most dominant and aggressive individual, the elephants instead respected intelligence and problem solving in their leader. Echo, the matriarch and oldest in the group, her daughter Enid, and Ella, the second oldest female, all emerged as leaders. The playful elephants tended to be younger but were more curious and active. Eudora, a 40-year-old female in the herd, seemed to be the most playful, consistently showing this feature throughout her life while playfulness in some of the other elephants declined with age. Gentle elephants, which included two 27-year-old females Eleanor and Eliot, touched and rubbed against others more than the others. Those that were reliable tended to be those that were most consistent at making good decisions, helped to care for infants in the herd and were calm when faced with threats.... Question: In the EB family Echo and Eudora are _ . - mother and daughter - two oldest females - the gentlest ones - leader and member
**Answer**
leader and member

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: When one person gains weight, their close friends often follow. Researchers have just offered evidence in a study that says obesity appears to spread through society. But the findings might also offer hope. If friends help make obesity acceptable, then they might also be influential in losing the fat. The researchers note that support groups are already an effective tool in dealing with other socially influenced problems, like alcoholism . The findings appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers used information collected from 12,000 people. It was collected between 1972 and 2003 as part of the Framingham Heart Study. The information was highly detailed. There was even contact information for close friends of the people in the study. The researchers examined more than 40,000 social ties. They found a person's chances of becoming severely overweight increased by 50% if a friend had become obese. A sister or brother of a person who became obese had a 40% increased chance of becoming obese. The risk for a wife or husband was a little less than that. Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School was a lead researcher in the study. He says there is a direct causal relationship between a person getting fat and being followed in weight gain by a friend. The study found that the sex of the friends was also an influence. In same-sex friendship, a person had a 71% increased risk of becoming obese. Men had a 44% increased risk of becoming obese after weight gain in a brother. In sisters, it was 67%. The researchers also considered the effect of where people lived in relation to each other. James Fowler of the University of California was the other lead expert. He says a friend who lives a few hundred kilometers away has as much influence as one in the same neighborhood. He says the study demonstrates the need to consider that a major part of people's health is tied to their social connections. Both researchers say their research shows that obesity is not just a private medical issue, but also a... Question: James Fowler seems to believe that _ . - a friend who lives nearby affects us most - one's health has nothing to do with friends - social connections have effects on one's life - a friend living faraway has the same influence as one's neighbor
**Answer**
a friend living faraway has the same influence as one's neighbor