Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: On the old-time farm in America, there were chickens, cows, pigs and horses. But there were very few machines. Most of the work was done by the farm family. Sometimes more workmen were needed in busy seasons. Work done by horses took up 79 percent; by men, 15 percent; and machine work only took up 6 percent. Today all that has changed. On many modern farms machines now will do 96 percent of the work, while man does 3 percent. As for horses, they do 1 percent of the whole work. The children go to school by bus every morning; the parents work on the farm or in the house and other people's help is hardly needed. Their work has been replaced by a whole army of farm machines. Question: What has changed the farmer's work? - The horses. - The pigs. - The cows. - The machines.
The machines.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Every pet owner loves his pet .There is no argument here. But when we asked our readers whether they would clone their beloved animals , the responses were split almost down the middle . Of the 228 readers who answered it ,108 would clone, 111 would not and nine weighed each side without offering an opinion . Clearly, from readers' response, this is an issue that reaches deeply into both the joy and eventual sadness of owning a pet. It speaks, as well, to people's widely differing expectations over the developing scientific procedure Most of the readers who favored the idea strongly believed it would produce at least a close copy of the original; many felt the process would actually return an exact copy. Those on the other side, however, held little hope that clone could truly recreate a pet; many simply did not wish to go against the natural law of life and death. Both sides expressed equal love for their animals. More of them owned "the best dog/cat in the world". They thought of their pets as their "best friend" or "a member of the family". They told moving stories of pets' heroism, intelligence and selfless devotion. No wonder the loss is so disturbing---and the cloning so attractive. "People become very close to their animals, and the loss can be just as hard to bear as when a friend or family member dies," says Gary Kowalski, author of goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet. "For me, cloning feels like an attempt to turn death away...It's understandable. Death is always painful. It's difficult to deal with. It's hard to accept." But would cloning reduce the blow? This question seems to be at the heart of this problem. Question: As far as the cloning of pets is concerned, a recent survey shows that, of all pet owners, _ . - a lot more of them are for it - a lot more of them are against it - very few of them are willing to tell their opinions - about half of them are for it and the other half against it
about half of them are for it and the other half against it

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: As the price of a college degree continues to rise, there's growing evidence that the monetary payoff isn't quite as big as often advertised. The best estimate now is that a college degree is worth about $300,000 in today's dollars--nowhere near the million figure that is often quoted. "That million number has driven me crazy!" says Sandy Baum, a Skidmore economist who studied the value of a college degree for the College Board last year. Baum's research showed that college graduates earn, on average, about $20,000 a year more than those who finished their educations at high school. Add that up over a 40-year working life and the total differential is about $800,000, she figures. But since much of that bonus is earned many years from now, taking away the impact of inflation means that$800,000 in future dollars is worth only about $450,000 in today's dollars. Then, if you remove the cost of a college degree--about ,$30,000 in tuition and books for students who get no aid and attend public in-state universities--and the money a student could have earned at a job instead of attending school, the real net value in today's dollars is somewhere in the $300,000 range, a number confirmed by other studies. But, especially these days, that still makes a college degree one of the most _ investments a person can make, Baum notes. Better yet, college graduates can go on to earn advanced degrees, which return even bigger payoffs. The average holder of a bachelor's degree earns about$51,000 a year, Baum calculates. But those who've gone on to earn MBAs, law degrees, or other professional degrees earn about $100,000 a year. In addition, Baum found that there are plenty of other rewards for a degree. The quality of the jobs college graduates get is far better, for example. College graduates are more likely to get jobs with health insurance. And it is easier for them to find and hold jobs. The unemployment rate for college graduates was just 2.2 percent last year, half the unemployment level of those with only high school... Question: What can be inferred from Para 1 ? - The payoff of a college degree is still big enough to match the advertised. - It's more and more difficult to get a college degree. - The return of a college degree is less than often quoted. - A college degree is worth about one million dollars.
The return of a college degree is less than often quoted.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: On a cold winter Sunday, the little man came up to me as I was about to enter the telephone box and asked me whether I had a match. "I'm sorry,"I said."I don't smoke, so I haven't any. You'd better ask someone else." He looked rather disappointed, hesitated, and then turned away. I watched him walk slowly down the street before I picked up the telephone directory to look up the number I meant to dial. I'm not used to a public call box, so, at my first attempt to get through, the warning pips( ) had stopped before I realized I had to insert a coin. When I was at last able to speak, I was told that the person whom I urgently wanted to give a message to had just gone out. Swearing slightly under my breath, I got out of the box and came face to face with the little man. As he raised his hat again, I could see he was quite bald, and a thin line, resembling a dueling( ) scar, crossed one cheek. "Excuse my troubling you again." he said nervously."May I walk along with you a little way? I must tell you the truth. I need help desperately. " He had an unusually deep voice which suggested a strange combination of shyness and self-confidence. I was conscious of a fairly strong foreign accent and I wondered what country he had actually come from. I said that I had to catch a train in twenty minutes' time, but that he might accompany me to the station. "I'm going to shock you,"he said suddenly, after a moment's silence."Can you lend me five pounds? I have no money at all."I have come across many strange characters during my life and plenty of people have tried to borrow money from me. I have generally managed to avoid lending them any. But, perhaps because of the very directness of his appeal, I somehow had the impression that his need might be desperately urgent. "I'm sorry," I replied,"I'm afraid I can't lend you anything, as I'm not in the habit of carrying much money about with me. Don't you think the police might be the best people to ask for help?" He hesitated,"I dare not go to the police," he said quietly. "If I do... Question: The main reason why the author hadn't lent the little man any money was that _ . - he never lent others any money - he happened not to carry any money - he did not trust the little man - he was afraid he mightn't get it back
he did not trust the little man