Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Are you an optimist? Do you look at your glass and see it as half full? Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that things generally turn out for the best? Do you believe that if something is meant to be, it will be? If you reply "yes" to all of these questions, then you are an optimist. You probably are enthusiastic, cheerful and outgoing. You may be successful at work and in love. But you may be misguided because things don't turn out for the best. You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example, you may fail to obtain a new job; another chance will come around soon). Wrong. When one door closes, another door slams in your face. That's bitter reality. Now a book has been published which confirms what pessimists have suspected all along. It's called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism. Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results. Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear, anxiety and worry. Defensive pessimists prepare for the things by setting low outcomes for themselves. They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems. And this gives them a sense of control. Lawrence Sanno, a psychology professor, says, "What's interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people, so their low opinion of the situation's outcomes is not realistic. They use it to motivate themselves to perform better." So far, so good. _ . Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong, whether at work, on date or even in a sports game. It makes sense to have a back-up plan. There are many sayings in English urging caution. For example, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." And "Don't count your chickens until they hatch." To have a confident and optimistic approach to life's problems is good. But listen to what Woody Alien, the American comedian says, "Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem." There are pros and cons to... Question: The writer would probably describe himself as _ . Options: A: an optimist B: a defeatist C: a realist D: a scientist
A: C

Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Betty and Harold have been married for years. But one thing still puzzles old Harold. How is it that he can leave Betty and her friend Joan sitting on the sofa, talking, go out to a ball game, come back three and a half hours later, and they're still sitting on the sofa, talking? What in the world, Harold wonders, do they have to talk about? Betty shrugs . Talk? We're friends. Researching this matter called friendship, psychologist Lilian Rubin spent two hundred women and men. No matter what their age, their jobs, their sex, the results were completely clear: women have more friendships than men, and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships is "marked and unmistakable". More than two-thirds of the single men Rubin interviewed could not name a best friend. Those who could were likely to name a woman. Yet three-quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend, most trusted person, or the one they would turn to in time of emotional distress . "Most women," says Rubin, "identified at least one, usually more, trusted friends to whom they could turn in a troubled moment, and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives." "In general," writes Rubin in her new book, "women's friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support, but men's relationships are marked by shared activities. "For the most part, Rubin says, interactions between men are emotionally controlled - a good fit with the social requirements of "manly behavior". "Even when a man is said to be a best friend," Rubin writes, "the two share little about their innermost feelings. Whereas a woman's closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage, it wasn't unusual to hear a man say he didn't know his friend's marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared on night asking if he could sleep on the sofa." Question: What old Harold cannot understand or explain is the fact that _ . Options: A: he is treated as an outsider rather than a husband B: women have so much to share C: women show little interest in ball games D: he finds his wife difficult to talk to
A: B

Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: When you enter a supermarket, you see shelves full of food. You walk between the shelves. You carry a shopping basket and your food is in it. You probably hear soft, slow music as you walk between the shelves. If you hear fast music, you walk quickly. The supermarket plays slow music. You walk slowly and have more time to buy things. Maybe you go to the meat department first. There is some meat on sale, and you want to find it. The manager of the supermarket knows where customers enter the meat department. The cheaper meat is at the other end of the meat department, away from where the customers enter. You have to walk by all the expensive meat before you find the cheaper meat. Maybe you will buy some of the expensive meat instead of the meat on sale. The department selling milk and milk products such as butter and milk powder is called the dairy department. Many customers like milk that has only a little butterfat in it. One store has three different jars of low fat milk. One says"1 percent fat"on the jar. The second says "99 percent fat free". The third says "LOW FAT" in big letters and"1%"in small letters. As you can see, all the milk has the same amount of fat. The milk is all the same. However,in this store the three jars of milk cost three different amounts of money. Maybe the customers will buy the milk that costs the most. Most of the food in supermarkets is very pleasing. It all says "Buy me!" to the customers. The expensive meat says "Buy me!"as you walk by. The expensive milk jar says "Buy me! I have less fat." Question: Low fat milk is in the _ . Options: A: meat department B: fruit and vegetable department C: sweets department D: dairy department
A: D

Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Although it was autumn, the snow was already beginning to fall in Tibet. Our legs were so heavy and cold that they felt like blocks of ice. Have you ever seen snowmen ride bicycles? That's what we looked like! Along the way children dressed in long wool coats stopped to look at us. In the late afternoon we found it was so cold that our water bottles froze. However, the lakes shone like glass in the setting sun and looked wonderful. Wang Wei rode in front of me as usual. She is very reliable and I knew I didn't need to encourage her. To climb the mountains was hard work but as we looked around us, we were surprised by the view. We seemed to be able to see for miles. At one point we were so high that we found ourselves cycling through clouds. Then we began going down the hills. It was great fun especially as it gradually became much warmer. In the valleys colorful butterflies flew around us and we saw many yaks and sheep eating green grass. At this point we had to change our caps, coats, gloves and trousers for T-shirts and shorts. Question: Why did the children dressed in long wool coats stopped to look at us? Options: A: they felt it unbelievable. B: they felt it interesting. C: they felt it fun D: they felt it curious
A: C