Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: "It hurts me more than you,''and "This is for your own good.''These are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin,clean my room,stay home and do homework. That was before we entered the permissive period in educafion in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school.The schools and the educators made it easy on us.They thought that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators,turned on the television,left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation. Now teachers,faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years,are realizing we've made a terrible mistake.One such teacher is Sharon Klompus who says of her students-"so passive"-and-wonders what happened.Nothing was demanded of them,she believes. Television,says Klompus,contributes to children's passivity."We're not training kids to work any more," says Klompus."we're talking about a generation of kids who've never been hurt or hungry.They have learned somebody will always do it for them. Instead of saying 'go look it up',you tell them the answer.It takes greater energy to say no to a kid." Yes,it does.It takes energy and it takes work. It's time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work.It's time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it's for their own good.It's time to start telling them no again. Question: We learn from the passage that the author's mother used to lay emphasis on _ - 1earning Latin - natural development - discipline - education at school
discipline

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Traffic jam and cities, it seems, go hand in hand. Everyone complains about being stuck in traffic; but, like the weather, no one seems to do anything about it. In particular, traffic engineers, transportation planners, and public officials responsible for transportation systems in large cities are frequently criticized for failing to solve traffic jam. But is traffic jam a sign of failure? Long queues at restaurants or theater box offices are seen as signs of success. Should transportation systems be viewed any differently? I think we should recognize that traffic jam is an unpreventable by-product of successful cities, and view the "traffic problem" in a different light. Cities exist because they promote social interactions and economic transactions.Traffic jam occurs where there are lots of people but limited spaces. Culturally and economically successful cities have the worst traffic problems, while _ cities don't have much traffic. New York and Los Angeles are America's most crowded cities. But if you want access to major brokerage houses , you will find them easier to reach in crowded New York than in any other large cities. And if your firm needs access to post-production film editors or satellite-guidance engineers, you will reach them more quickly through the crowded freeways of LA than through less crowded roads elsewhere. Despite traffic jam, a larger number and wider variety of social interactions and economic transactions can be made perfect in large, crowded cities than elsewhere. Seen in this sight, traffic jam is an unfortunate consequence of prosperity, not a cause of economic decline and urban decay. So while we can consider traffic jam as increasing costs on the areas of big cities, the costs of inaccessibility in uncrowded places are almost certainly greater. There is no doubt that traffic jam brings the terrible economic and environmental damage in places like Bangkok, Jakarta, and Lagos. But mobility is far higher and traffic jam levels are far lower here in the US, even in our most... Question: According to this article, which statement about "New York" and "Los Angeles" is true? - The traffic jam in the two cities has been worsened. - New York and Los Angeles are the least successful cities in the US. - It is easier to reach major brokerage houses in the two cities than in other cities. - Despite the traffic jam in LA, you'll find a satellite-guidance engineer more quickly there.
Despite the traffic jam in LA, you'll find a satellite-guidance engineer more quickly there.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Herta Muller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature.The award was announced in Stockholm on Thursday. Ms.Muller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987.She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Gunter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901.She is the 12th woman to win the literature prize.But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V.S.Naipaul, Ms.Muller is ly unknown outside of literary circles in Germany. "I am very surprised and still cannot believe it," Ms.Muller said in a statement delivered by her publisher in Germany."I can't say anything more at the moment." She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels "The Land of Green Plums" and "The Appointment." At the news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms.Muller, wearing all black and sitting on a leopard-print chair, appeared nervous with all the cameras flashing on her. When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Boll, Ms.Muller remained philosophical."I am now nothing better and I'm nothing worse," she said, adding: "My inner thing is writing.That's what I can hold on to." Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter England, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms.Muller was honored for her "very, very distinct special language" and because "she has really a story to tell about cruelty and repression in a village much like the one Muller grew up in." The awards ceremony is planned for Dec.10 in Stockholm.As the winner, Ms.Muller will receive about $1.4 million. Question: Ms.Muller was surprised at the news about her winning the award because _ . - she was born a Romanian and became a famous German writer - she had missed a lot of chances to win the prize - she had expected to win the prize eagerly for long - she thought she was just an unknown writer in this field
she thought she was just an unknown writer in this field