(Q).
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Robots are common in today's world. They manufacture cars, work in space, explore oceans, clean up oil spills and investigate dangerous environments. And now, scientists at the University of Manchester are using a robot as a laboratory partner. The researchers at the university created the robot in 2009 and named it Adam. Despite the name, Adam is not a humanoid robot. It is about the size of a car. Adam was built to do science and make discoveries. Ross King is the leader of the University of Manchester research team. He says the robot made a discovery about yeast , a kind of fungus used in science as a model for human cells. "Adam hypothesized certain functions of genes within yeast and experimentally tested these hypothesizes and confirmed them. So it both hypothesized and confirmed new scientific knowledge." Adam's success as a scientist led to the creation of another robot scientist named Eve. Researchers developed Eve to design and test drugs for tropical and neglected diseases. These diseases kill and infect millions of people each year. Drug development is slow and costly. Experts say it can take more than 10 years and about $1 billion to discover and develop new medicines. Drug manufacturers are unlikely to get their investment money back. So the University of Manchester developed a low-cost test that shows whether or not a chemical is likely to be made into an effective medicine. Mr. King says that other drug testing methods were not very effective. "How it works conventionally is you use robotics as well and you have a large collection of possible drugs. You test every single compound. And you start at the beginning of your library and continue until the end, and stop. So it's not a very intelligent process. The robotics doesn't learn anything as it goes along, even if it's tested a million compounds, it still doesn't have any expectation of what will happen next when it tests a new compound." Mr. King says that Eve is different because the robot learns as it tests different compounds. He says the... Question: What'sthemainideaofthepassage _ ? Options: A: theusesofrobots B: robotisusedinscienceresearches C: scientistsarereplacedbyrobots D: howtomakearobot
(A).
B

(Q).
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: How can we reduce the risk? There are four general approaches to dealing with volcanic dangers. We can try to keep the danger from occurring-often an impossible task. We can try to change its path or reduce its impact on existing development. We can take steps to protect future development. We can also do our best to have disaster response plans in place before they are needed. Removing the Threat Clearly, there is no way to stop an eruption. We can, however, attempt to reduce the eruption's effects by strengthening structures, for example, building protective works such as walls to make lava flow away from developed areas. Such efforts can be and have been successful, but are of limited use in a large-scale eruption. Planning for the Future Protecting future development from volcanic dangers is a simple task. Before building houses, we should judge the risk. If the risk seems too great, a safer location should be found. This type of planning is very effective, but all too often, people are drawn to the lush ,rolling land of a quiet volcano. Disaster Preparedness When a volcano comes to life, a few weeks may not be enough time to avoid a tragedy. Planning is the key to saving lives. Well before the warning signs occur, people must be educated about volcanic dangers. Escape plans must be in place. Communication between scientists, officials, the media, and the general public should be practiced. Emergency measures must be thought out and agreed upon. If you doubt the importance of these efforts, take another look at past volcanic tragedies, such as the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz. Communication failures left the town of Armero unprepared for escape. When a deadly mudflow came down the slope , 21,000 people--90 percent of the town's people--died. Question: The passage is mainly about _ . Options: A: why volcanoes can erupt suddenly B: who can predict the eruption of volcanoes C: where the volcanoes are most active D: how we can reduce the risk of volcanoes
(A).
D

(Q).
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: There was a 17% fall in the number of first year undergraduates at UK universities in the first year of higher tuition fees, official figures show. In 2012-13 UK universities were allowed to _ their yearly fees to PS9,000. England saw a 12% fall in new full-time undergraduate students overall. The government acknowledged the fall but stressed that demand for full time higher education has already "returned to record levels". A spokesperson for Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the figures were influenced by a higher number of students taking up places the previous year, rather than having a gap year. "A reduction in entrants in 2012 was well documented and the numbers were affected by the significant number of students who opted not to defer their place from the year before," she said. 'Direct consequence' The decline had not continued into the current year, she added. "Application rates for some of the most disadvantaged young people have risen to an all time high in England and more students than ever before are being successful in securing a place at their first choice institution." The figures, collated by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), are official confirmation of other indications that there was a fall in the number of people going to university last year. Previously released figures had shown declines in applications and offers of places, and the admissions body Ucas also reported a fall. Question: What is the attitude of the spokesperson for Department for Business, Innovation and Skills? Options: A: contradictory B: positive C: negative D: indifferent
(A).
B