When you go to the doctor, you like to come away with a prescription.It makes you feel better to know you will get some medicine.But the doctor knows that medicine is not always needed.Sometimes all a sick person needs is some reassurance that all will be well.In such cases the doctor may prescribe a placebo. A placebo is a sugar pill,a harmless shot,or ail empty capsule.Even though they have no medicine in them , these things seem to make people well.The patient thinks it is medicine and begins to get better.How does this happen? The study of the placebo opens up new knowledge about the way the human body can heal itself.It is as if there was a doctor in each of us.The doctor will heal the body for us if we let it.But it is not yet known just how the placebo works to heal the body.Some people say it works because the human mind fools itself.These people say that if the mind is fooled into thinking it got medicine,then it will act as if it did,and the body will feel better. Placebos do not always work.The success of this treatment seems to rest a lot with the relationship between the patient and the doctor.If the patient has a lot of trust in the doctor and if the doctor really wants to help the patient,then the placebo is more likely to work.So in a way, the doctor is the most powerful placebo of all. A placebo can also have bad effects.If patients expect a bad reaction to medicine,then they will also show a bad reaction to the placebo.This would seem to show that a lot of how you react to medicine is in your mind rather than in your body.Some doctors still think that if the placebo can have bad effects it should never be used.They think there is still not enough known about _ . The strange power of the placebo does seem to suggest that the human mind is stronger than we think it is.There are people who say you can heal your body by using your mind.And the interesting thing is that even people who swear this is not possible have been healed by a placebo. Why is the doctor sometimes the most powerful placebo? A) The patient needs help badly. B) The patient believes in the doctor. C) The doctor knows better about your body. D) The doctor has carefully studied medicine.
B
Cities with high levels of homeownership--in the range of 75%, like Detroit and St. Lous -had on average considerably lower levels of economic activity and much lower wages and incomes. Far too many people in financial problems are trapped in homes they can't sell, unable to move on to new centers of opportunity. The cities and regions with the lowest levels of homeownership--in the range of 55% to 60% like Los Angeles and New York--had healthier economies and higher incomes. They also had higher levels of happiness and well-being. I was shocked to read these interesting points that Richard Florida made in his recent article. Let me try to understand. The people in Detroit and St. Louis are less happy than the people in New York, and Los Angeles. And, the reason is because of home ownership rates? First, to compare them to New York City (the economic capital of the world), Los Angeles (the entertainment capital of the world) seems unfair. Most people in almost any other city in the world might be less happy! Next, let's try a different way of determining whether renters are happier than homeowners. Why don't we ask them? Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey 2010 reported: 75% of current renters believe owning a home makes more sense. 67% plan to buy a home at some point in the future. When they asked current renters for the major reason to buy a house, these were their answers (they could pick several answers): 78% said it was a good place to raise children. 75% said because they would feel safe. 70% said because you have control your own space. If you believe renters are happier, you would also have to believe the majority enjoy living in a less safe environment, which wouldn't be a good place to raise children and would be a place where they have less control of their space. ks5u In his article, Richard Florida tried to express that _ . A) people in Los Angeles are happier than those in St. Louis B) Renting a house is better than owning a house C) Detroit's economy is healthier than New York's economy D) New York and Los Angeles are happiest cities
B
*Question*
They stood outside the door - two children in shabby outgrown coats. "Any old papers, lady?" I was busy, I wanted to say no until I saw the snow on their clothes. And their little sandals were also covered with snow. "Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa." There was no conversation. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and toast with jam to strengthen them against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household. The silence in the front room got me to look inside. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady, are you rich?" "Am I rich? Mercy, no! " I looked at my shabby sofa. The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully. "Your cups match your saucers, she said." They left then, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn't said thank you. They didn't need to. They had done more than that. Plain blue cups and saucers. But they matched. I tasted the potatoes and looked at the meat. Potatoes and meat, the roof over my head, my man with a good steady job - these things matched, too. I moved the chairs back from the fire and tidied the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. I let them be. I wanted them there in case I ever forget again how very rich I am. The best title of the story would be "_." A) Any Old Papers, Lady? B) Lady, Are You Rich? C) Two Matched Cups and Saucers D) A Rich Lady and Two Children
**Answer**
B