When Johnny Cash sings, people listen. His big, deep voice rumbles out of radios and juke-boxes across North America. His records sell by the million. Country-music fans everywhere, know his big hits. They love songs like "Hey Porter", "Ring of Fire", and "Folsom Prison Blue". Johnny Cash sings about a hundred concerts a year. People like what they hear--and what they see, too. Rugged and big-shouldered, the singer stands six-two without his black boots on. He's a two-hundred-pound package of muscle and talent. And that scar on his cheek? It's a bullet hole, of course! In the minds of most people, Johnny Cash is "Mr Tough( violent) Guy". He's an ex-drug addict who was once put in prison. His grandmother was an Indian. To keep from starving he once had to live on wild rabbits killed from forty feet away with a knife. Some people say he even killed a man. In fact, most of the Johnny Cash story is just that--a story. True, years ago he had a "drug habit "for a short time. He "popped" pills. But he never used heroin or other "hard "drugs. Sometimes he'd go wild and get locked up for a few hours. But he never served a prison sentence. There's no Indian blood in his veins. He's been a killer only in song. As for the "bullet hole", it's an old scar left by a doctor who opened a cyst . People who know Johnny Cash well say he's a "gentle guy", a "generous guy'--anything but a "tough guy". How did the stories get started? Some of them, like the story about the "Indian grandmother", he made up long ago to add excitement to his career. Others, like the "bullet hole" , simply got started. Now there's little the singer can do to change people's minds. "They just want to believe it," he says. In truth, Johnny Cash _ . . A) invented the "Indian grandmother" B) used to kill rabbits for a living C) had a bullet hole on his cheek D) served a long prison sentence
A
My life began similarly to most children but I grew up without knowing what a father or mother was. No one was there to teach me how to tell right from wrong. Because of this, I got into some bad habits and spent seven years as a boy on the street. When I was 20, I was taken in a rehab clinic . Inside I met Bill, my counselor . He taught me a lot of things. The main thing was the gift of giving. It was the night before an important test and I was very nervous. Bill invited me to go out for a walk to relax me. As we walked and talked, Bill suggested we should go for a coffee. I told him I had no money when I got paid, and I offered to pay him back. He stopped then and looked at me in a serious, but loving way and said he was doing this because he wanted to. Then he said, "One day when you'll be around someone who will need a coffee, you'll be able to buy it for them. That's how you can pay me back." I'm a primary school teacher now. My job is simple and I can buy young people coffee now. Bill taught me how to offer help to others. What did the author learn from Bill? A) To be thankful to others. B) To offer kindness to others. C) To stop drinking alcohol. D) To buy coffee for others.
B
Q: More perhaps than any other European nation, the Swiss are accustomed to looking after foreign travelers. As early as the 18th century, wealthy French, Germans and Italians were treating the country as a amusement center while, in the 19th century, it became the major holiday playground for the British nobles. Today, it attracts visitors from all over the world. The Swiss are clear about the importance of tourism to their economy, which contributes about eight percent of Gross National Product, and helps the industry greatly. Managers of hotels the world over go to Switzerland to learn how to do the job, and a generally high standard can be expected from the great majority of the country's hotels, most of which are small and pride themselves on a personalized service. Public transport is the best in Europe. Both the Swiss Federal railways and the private railways are fully electrified, and the total network is made up of about 5000 kilometers of track. Under the Fly Baggage system passengers can check luggage in at 116 railway stations and have it automatically carried to their flight. The national highway system is equally well planned, and the mountain roads offer views of some of the country's most breathtaking scenery. Also serving the mountains is an effective system of railways and cable ways, while more than 160 passenger cars cross the lakes and rivers to and fro. Hiking in the mountains is equally popular with Swiss nationals and foreign visitors. For those who want to view the country from a height without having to climb the mountain themselves, it is always possible to take in the view from a balloon. Which of the following statements is true? A) Most of the hotels in Switzerland are big in size. B) The hotels in Switzerland offer exactly the same service. C) Most of the hotels in Switzerland offer first class service. D) The hotels in Swizerland are accustomed to learn from the world.
A: C
(Question)
What if our babies could somehow tell us what they're thinking about, what they want, and what makes them unhappy? Robyn Holt, researcher for Baby Talk New Zealand, says they can. Holt heard about baby sign language through an advertisement and decided to go along to a workshop . "Sign language is something that's always interested me, and I thought, it could be really cool to try this with a baby because we are always guessing all the time what they actually want." Holt started using baby sign language with her baby son Benjamin, now 12, and within two weeks he started to sign the sign for milk. She has since used it with her two younger sons Dominic, 8, and Matthew, 3. Baby sign language is nothing new: the practice (which is based on adult sign language) has been out in America for more than 30 years. But it is enjoying a rebirth in New Zealand. The idea behind baby sign language is that babies do have the ability to communicate their needs if they are given the right tools to do so. Although many mothers develop an intuition about whether their baby's crying is from hunger, tiredness, or pain, baby sign language creates a direct form of communication that unlocks _ . When babies are between 6-months and 12 to 13-months, parents can begin to teach them sign language: use the sign for milk while feeding, and also talk about milk, so that the child begins to make the link in their brain. Then they can begin to add other signs, i.e. food, sick or pain. "I know of one parent. Her child was signing the sign for hurt by his mouth, and she realised his first teeth were growing. It makes life so much easier," said Holt. Holt mentioned a parent and her child to show baby sign language is _ . A) helpful B) difficult C) interesting D) special
(Answer)
A