Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by "small talk". Small talk means the little things we talk about at start of a conversation. In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather: "Nice day, isn't it?" But there is something special about small talk. It must be about something which both people have the same opinion about. The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something. This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable. People usually agree about the weather, so it is a safer topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk in English. The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place. At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching: "Great game, isn't it?" At bus stops, people may comment about the transport system: "The bus service is terrible, isn't it?" Greetings and small talk are important parts of conversation in any language. The way people greet each other and the things they talk about, however, may be different from one language to another. This shows that there is much more to learn when we learn a language than just the vocabulary and the grammar of the language. We also have to learn the social behavior of the people who speak it. Question: The passage suggests that when we learn a language , _ . Options: A: we should grasp the importance of the language B: we should know the culture of the language C: we should only master the grammar and vocabulary D: we should learn about the transport system of the country
B

(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: One day a mime is visiting the zoo and tries to earn some money as a street performer. As soon as he starts to draw a crowd, a zookeeper pulls him into his office. The zookeeper explains that the zoo's most popular attraction, a gorilla , has died suddenly and the keeper fears that attendance at the zoo will fall off. He offers the mime a job to dress up as the gorilla. The mime accepts. The next morning the mime puts on the gorilla suit and enters the cage before the crowd comes. He soon discovers he can sleep, play and make fun of people and he draws bigger crowds than he ever did as a mime -- the job he likes but loses. However, with days going by, he begins to notice that the people are paying more attention to the lion in the cage next to his. Not wanting to lose the attention of his audience, he climbs to the top of his cage, crawls across a partition , and dangles from the top to the lion's cage. The lion gets angry at this. The scene is _ to the crowd. At the end of the day he is given a raise for being such a good attraction -- well, this continues for some time. The crowds grow larger, and the mime's pay keeps going up. Then one day when he is dangling over the lion he slides and falls. The mime is terrified. He starts screaming "Help me!", but the lion is quick. The mime soon finds himself flat on his back looking up at the angry lion and the lion says, "Shut up you fool! Do you want to get us both fired?" Question: The mime's first contact with the lion is to _ . Options: A: find pleasure for himself B: win back his audience C: get his pay raised D: get the lion's attention
(Answer)
B

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: "I don't think I can do this any more." "Yes, you can. You only have five more radiation treatments to go. " I held my wife Becky close. Ever since the breast cancer diagnosis , she had tried hard to be strong for the kids and for me. When her diagnosis came, my first thought was there was no way I could lose my wife. The doctors assured us the cancer was discovered early so we were feeling positive. Becky had received an operation and was recovering from it. After six weeks of radiation therapy , she was facing her final five treatments. She was weak and tired, in low spirits. Seeing her suffering, I felt so helpless and powerless. As soon as I was outside, long-held frustration and anger erupted in me like a volcano. I took a hammer and suddenly was swinging as hard as I could, beating heavily on the front porch . While doing so, I imagined I was beating my wife's cancer. With all my strength, I destroyed the porch. During the treatment, my wife had been very brave. She said she had it easy, but I don't think it was easy for her. Seeing the porch gone, Becky shook her head at the window. I came into the room, not knowing how she would react to what I had done. "Becky, are you mad at me?" She looked at me in surprise. "For what?" I pointed at the gate. "For tearing down the porch." She laughed. "Look how sunny this room is now. I love that it's bright in here." "You comforted me in my darker hour, Vince. You've found a way to deal with your own frustration. By destroying the porch, you let the sunshine in." As I looked around the brightened room, I realized the light that filled the space was the light of hope that shone so bright after the darkness. We never did re-build the porch. Question: How did the author's wife feel about him seeing the porch gone? Options: A: Sympathetic B: Angry C: Understanding D: Happy
Ans: C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In meditation ,people sit quietly and focus their attention on their breath .As they breathe in and out ,they attend to their feelings .As thoughts go through their minds. They let _ go. Breathe .Let go .Breathe .Let go . According to a recent study at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre,Massachusetts. Three months of training in this kind of meditation causes a market change in how the brain allocates attention. It appears that the ability to let go thoughts that come into mind frees the brain to attend to more rapidly changing things and events in the outside world. Expert mediators are better than other people at catching such fast-changing stimuli( ),like facial expressions. The study provides evidence for changes in the workings of the brain with mental training. People can learn and improve abilities of all sorts with practice, everything from driving to playing the piano. The study has shown that meditation is good for the brain. It appears to reduce pressure and promote a sense of well-being. In an experiment, 17 volunteers with no meditation experience in the experimental group spent three months meditating 10 to 12 hours a day .A control group also with no meditation experience meditated for 20 minutes a day over the same period .Both groups were then given the tests with two numbers in a group of letters. As both group looked for the numbers , their brain activity was recorded. Everyone could catch the first number .But the brain recordings showed that the less experienced mediators tended to grasp the first number and hang onto it, so they missed the second number .Those with more experience gave less attention to the first number .as if letting it go ,which led to an increased ability to grasp the second number ,This shows that attention can change with practice. Just ask Daniel Levision , who meditated for three months as part of the study ."I am a much better listener," he said . " I do not get lost in my own personal reaction to what people are saying." Question: The study proves that _ . Options: A: meditation improves one's health B: brain activity can be recorded C: human attention can be trained D: mediators have a good sense of hearing
C