Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Two weeks ago while my daughter and I were eating dinner I saw a police officer walking past my backyard with a worried looking woman following. I went out, opened my door and asked if everything was okay. The woman was the grandmother of an eight-year-old boy who had gone missing an hour before. She was so anxious that she looked pale. With fear she trembled all the time. They came to ask us about it. I said we hadn't seen the boy, but we would help to look for him. I asked my two-year-old daughter if she understood why we had to go looking for this boy and couldn't finish dinner right then. She replied, "Be kind people, Daddy." _ ! We hopped into our truck and went searching all over the town for about an hour and a half. Along the way, as we asked various strangers on the street if they had seen this little boy. A group of kids said they would help too. They hopped on their bikes and joined the search without any hesitation. I was surprised and very impressed. What a moving scene! The little boy was found safe and sound a few miles away in forest. He had just decided to go on a little adventure on his own as his story said. Finding him, his grandmother was moved to tear. I was just so happy to see so many people joined the search for a complete stranger. At least two dozen people from the neighborhood went looking for this boy just because being"kind people"was the right thing to do. Question: Why did the writer feel surprised when he saw the kids joined the search? Options: A: Because he felt they were causing trouble. B: Because they were so familiar with the town. C: Because they got the boy hidden somewhere. D: Because he found them helpful though young.
A: D

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: My teenage son Karl became _ after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six failing grades for the year. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked. One night I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. "I want to talk to you about Karl's absences." Before he could say another word I choked up and said sadly, "I love my son. I've tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It's out of my hands." For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, "Thank you for your time." and hung up. Karl's next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. He was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, "Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?" I nodded. "That was me. I thought I'd play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That's when I knew I had to make you proud. Question: When the mother said "It's out of my hands" to the headmaster, she meant that she _ . Options: A: didn't know what to do about her son B: would drive her son away from the house C: had no money to support the family D: would have to hang up
A: A

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: What's the meaning of "dark horse"? It's someone who wins when no one expects it. Han Xiaopeng took China's first gold on snow. He became an Olympic "dark horse" by winning the gold medal in men's freestyle aerial skiing at Turin in Italy. He made two almost perfect jumps for the highest score. Han had never won a world gold medal before, let alone in the Olympics! "I never thought this would happen," said the 23-year-old. "I feel like I'm in a dream." It's China's second gold medal at the Turin Olympics. But more important, Han's gold was the country's first ever in a snow sport. In 2002, China's Yang Yang won the gold for speed skating at the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, US. That Han's win was unexpected doesn't mean that he didn't work hard. Han grew up in Jiangsu Province. Before he started his training on snow, he used to be an acrobat at a circus. In 1995, a coach found his talent . The coach, Yang Er'qi, said Han had the agility and courage to be a ski jumper. When Yang first took the 12-year-old to northern China, the boy couldn't swim, skate or ski. But he wasn't afraid of the high platform and kept on training. Han almost left the sport after hurting his knee months before the Salt Lake Games. In that Olympics he only got 24th. "I was hopeless at that time, but my family and the coach stood firmly behind me, helping me through," he recalled. Han Xiaopeng worked so hard that he won the gold medal in the Olympics at last. Because of his success, more and more people in China are becoming interested in skiing. We are proud of him and we hope he will have another big success in the next winter Olympics. Question: What does 'dark horse' mean? It means _ . Options: A: a horse which is dark B: someone who is unexpected to win C: a horse which likes the dark D: someone whose win is expected
A: B

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: At some time in your life you may have a strong desire to do something strange or terrible. However, chances are that you don't act on your impulse , but let it pass instead. You know that to take the action is wrong in some way and that other people will not accept your behavior. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the phenomenon of taboo behavior is how it can change over the years within the same society, how certain behavior and attitudes once considered taboo can become perfectly acceptable and natural at another point in time. Topics such as death, for example, were once considered so upsetting and unpleasant that it was a taboo to even talk about them. Now with the publication of important books such as On Death and Dying and Learning to Say Goodbye, people have become more aware of the importance of expressing feelings about death and, as a result, are more willing to talk about this taboo subject. One of the newest taboos in American society is the topic of fat. Unlike many other taboos, fat is a topic that Americans talk about constantly. It's not taboo to talk about fat; it's taboo to be fat. The "in" look is thin, not fat. In the work world, most companies prefer youthful-looking, trim executives to sell their image as well as their products to the public. The thin look is associated with youth, vigor, and success. The fat person, on the other hand, is thought of as lazy and lacking in energy, self-discipline, and self-respect. In an image-conscious society like the U.S., thin is "in", fat is "out". It's not surprising, then, that millions of Americans have become obsessed with staying slim and "in shape". The pursuit of a youthful physical appearance is not, however, the only reason for America's fascination with diet and exercise. Recent research has shown the critical importance of diet and exercise for personal health. As in most technologically developed nations, the life-style of North Americans has changed dramatically during the course of the last century. Modern machines do all the... Question: The topic of fat is _ many other taboo subjects. Options: A: the same as B: different from C: more boring than D: less often talked about than
A: B