I am a taxi driver. One Monday morning, I had stopped at New York Hospital when I found _ man dashing down the steps. He was waving to me. I waited until he jumped into the cab. " LaGuardia Airport, please," he said. As always, I wondered about my passenger. " What do you do?" " I am in the neurology department at the hospital." For some unknown reason, I decided to ask for his help. " Could I ask a favor of you?" He didn't answer. " I have a son, 16. He's doing well in school. He wants a job this summer. Is there any possibility that you might get him a summer job?" After a pause, he said, " The medical students have a research project. Maybe he could fit in. Have him send me his school records." He searched his pocket and handed me a card. That evening, I pulled the card from my pocket. " Robbie," I announced proudly, " this could be a summer job for you. Send him your school records." He read it out loud, " Fred Plum, New York Hospital." " Is this a joke?" he said in disbelief. After I shouted and threatened to cut off his pocket-money, Robbie promised to send off his grades the next morning. Two weeks later, when I arrived home, my son handed me a letter from Plum. He was to phone Plum's secretary for an interview. Robbie got the job. The white coat he wore made him feel more important than he really was. As high school graduation neared, Plum was kind enough to write letters of recommendation for universities. To our delight, Robbie was admitted to New York Medical College. It never occurred to me that a stranger should change my son's future. What message does the passage want to tell us? A) A stranger may change your life. B) One must be friendly to strangers. C) A father should be responsible for his son. D) Doctors may have a great effect on people.
A

The Oil Lamp and the Lighthouse On an island off the coast of a rocky shore stood a great lighthouse. During the day, the white walls of the lighthouse shined under the sunlight, while at night it burned a light for those at sea. Many people visited the lighthouse, and when they did, they commented on its size and strength and admired the beauty that it added to the surroundings. Some told its keeper how its light had saved them during a storm. All loved the lighthouse except a little oil lamp that lived in the lighthouse. By day it hung forgotten at the bottom of the stairs. At dusk it helped the keeper of the lighthouse make his way from the bottom of the stairs to his bedroom. It seemed to the oil lamp that he is not important. To his way of thinking, his shortcomings were made clear by his nearness to one so much greater than he. Always, the oil lamp labored under this heaviness of heart. Then one day, after a brilliant afternoon when many visitors had come to play on the sandy beach, there was a knock at the door. It was a boy, searching for a friend who was lost. The sun had set and what had seemed such friendly shores hours before was now dark and cold. The keeper quickly took the youth inside and hugged him into a blanket. Then he reached to the hook between the door and the stairs and took down the little oil lamp. After carefully making sure that the tank was full of oil, the keeper lit the lamp and whispered, "Burn bright tonight, my dear friend. I cannot take the lighthouse with me. He serves his purpose here, but you were made for times like this. It is now that I need you most!" In that instant, all of the oil lamp's misgivings were replaced by joy---joy in knowing that here was something only he could do. All through the night, through bushes, the oil lamp burned brighter and more steadily than ever before. He had to; the keeper was depending on him. At last the lost boy was found and brought safely back to the lighthouse and his friend. Never again did the oil lamp doubt his place or... The oil lamp burned brighter and more steadily than ever before that night because _ . A) the boy depended on him to find his lost friend B) the keeper loved him more than the lighthouse C) he could replace the lighthouse D) he found his own value
D

Men and women are still treated unequally in the workplace. Women continue to earn less, on average, for the same performance. Research has shown that both conscious and subconscious biases contribute to this problem. But we've discovered another source of inequality: Women often don't get what they want and deserve because they don't ask for it. In three separate studies, we found that men are more likely than women to negotiate for what they want. The first study found that the starting salaries of male MBAs who had recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon were 7.6%, or almost $4,000, higher on average than those of female MBAs from the same program. That's because most of the women had simply accepted the employer's salary offer; in fact, only 7% had attempted to negotiate. But 57% of their male counterparts--or eight times as many men as women--had asked for more. Another study tested this gender difference in the lab. Subjects were told that they would be observed playing a word game and that they would be paid between $3 and $10 for playing. After each subject completed the task, an experimenter thanked the participant and said, "Here's $3. Is $3 OK?" For the men, it was not OK, and they said so. Their requests for more money are nine times as many as the women's. The largest of the three studies surveyed several hundred people over the Internet, asking them about the most recent negotiations they'd attempted or started and when they expected to negotiate next. The study showed that men place themselves in negotiation situations much more often than women do. There are several reasons accounting for the phenomenon. First, women often are taught from an early age not to promote their own interests and to focus instead on the needs of others. The messages girls receive--from parents, teachers, other children, the media, and society in general--can be so powerful that when they grow up they may not realize that they've made this behavior part of them, or they may realize it but not understand how it... According to this passage, what causes the inequality in the workplace? A) social bias B) women's poorer working ability C) women's worse academic background D) women's less negotiating
D

A great loss--Shirley Temple dies at 85 February 12,2014 BYDERRIKJ.LANG ,Associated Press Shirley Temple Black, who died on February 10that age 85, wasn't just a child star. She was THE child star--the sweet little girl whose shining smile helped _ some of the darkest days the US has known during the Great Depression. It's hard today to imagine the super star Shirley was once "America's Little Darling". She sang and danced her way to the top of the box office in such films as Bright Eyes, Curly Top and Heidi. By 1940, she had appeared in 43 films. Temple teamed with Bill Robison in four movies, and their dance on the stairs in The Little Colonel is still a legendary film moment. In the 1930s, her name on a movie introduction assured a packed house. She inspired dolls, dresses, dishes--even a drink (alcohol-free, of course). US President Franklin D. Roosevelt once famously said that "as long as our country has Shirley Temple, we will be all right.'' Unlike so many of today's child stars, Temple didn't end up with her name appearing across the headlines for bad behaviors. Instead of getting her photos on front pages or struggling with drugs and alcohol, Temple went on to a second career in diplomacy , including presidential appointments as ambassador to Ghana. She surprised a lot of people who doubted her with her grace, knowledge and eagerness to serve. In fact, her career in public service (20 years) was longer than her career in movies (19). The role she valued most, however, was as wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. The world has lost a treasured Hollywood legend. But her movies will allow that little dynamic figure to continue charming audiences for a very long time. Where does this passage possibly come from? A) A biography. B) A newspaper. C) A magazine. D) A poster.
B