Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Chinese people around the world are celebrating their most important holiday, Chinese New Year. But for one man in Taiwan, it's all about business as he washes dirty banknotes for gifts. According to Chinese tradition, parents give their children clean, fresh banknotes at the start of the new year. But such notes are in high demand during the time just before the holiday period, and Yao Guancheng noticed _ . Yao Guancheng said, " When we first started this business it was for family members who liked to collect antique banknotes. But later on , it suddenly occurred to me that this service would come in handy for the Chinese New Year. It is one of our customs to put banknotes inside little red envelopes in order to bring our children good luck." "To do that , people change old notes for new ones at the banks. But here in Taiwan, there are all sorts of restrictions as to how much you can change, what days you can do that and which banks you can go to . That's inconvenient. So I thought: why not give people an alternative ?" He doesn't just leave the money in water for quite a long time. He uses special chemicals that are a closely guarded secret. His services don't come cheap; he charges about$10 for washing twenty banknotes. But during the time just before the new year holiday, he's been in demand , cleaning people's banknotes and in the process, giving a new , cleaner image to the term "money laundering -an illegal process by which criminals attempt to hide money from government officials because it has been earned illegally or taxes should be paid on it" Question: It can be inferred that Yao Guancheng's service is _ . Options: A: very cheap B: in demand all the year round C: convenient D: equal to money laundering
C

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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Have you ever wondered what you will be when you grow up? Perhaps you have thought of becoming an engineer or an environmentalist. Here's good news: you can combine all of these career goals by designing, building and operating a solar-powered house. That is what students from 20 universities did as they competed in the U.S. Department of Energy 2009 Solar Decathlon . Like a game show where teams compete against each other, the Solar Decathlon's student teams competed against each other in ten separate events to see who could build the best solar-powered house. The team from Germany took the top honor. The contest is held on the National Mall in Washington D.C., and is open to the public. In order to win, the Decathlon's teams have to successfully host a dinner party, do the laundry, run the dishwasher, and maintain a comfortable temperature in their solar-powered houses. They also have to make their houses look attractive. Team Germany's winning "Cube House" produced a surplus of power, even during three days of rain. This is the fourth time the Solar Decathlon has been held. The houses keep getting better and better. "The Department of Energy does research on solar and building technologies. In the 1990s, we were seeking expertise to help design houses that would integrate solar systems in a reliable way. I came up with the idea of having a competition to challenge students at architecture and engineering schools to design solar-powered houses from the ground up. I thought that having a competition would motivate these students to be creative. The new generation of our country should be innovative . They may come up with solutions that would help our country," said Richard J. King, the Decathlon's Director. Question: Richard came up with the idea of having a competition mainly to _ . Options: A: raise funds to design solar-powered buildings B: motivate students to be creative C: integrate solar systems with buildings D: develop new kinds of energy
(Answer)
B

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Can trees talk? Yes, but not in words. Scientists have reasons to believe that trees do communicate with each other. Not long ago, researchers learned some surprising things. First a willow tree attacked in the woods by caterpillars changed the chemistry of its leaves and made them taste so terrible that they got tired of the leaves and stopped eating them. Then even more astonishing, the tree sent out a special smell---a signal causing its neighbors to change the chemistry of their own leaves and make them less tasty. Communication, of course, doesn't need to be in words. We can talk to each other by smiling, raising our shoulders and moving our hands. We know that birds and animals use a whole vocabulary of songs, sounds, and movements. Bees dance their signals, flying in certain patterns that tell other bees where to find nectar for honey. So why shouldn't trees have ways of sending messages? Question: According to the passage, the willow tree was able to communicate with other trees by _ . Options: A: waving its branches B: giving off a special smell C: dropping its leaves D: changing the colour of its trunk
Ans: B

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: There are good Santas and there are bad Santas. The good Santas all realize one thing: In the mind of a child, Santa Claus is perfect. That's difficult. And so they come from around the world to attend the Charles W. Howard School in Midland, Mich. The school offers a three-day, 40-hour course for Santas hoping to be excellent. A former Macy's Santa named Charles Howard founded the Michigan school in 1937. "Many people will think if you have a suit and you're a Santa," said Tom Valent, the school's current dean. "It's more than that." The school teaches everything from breathing techniques for carol singing to the beard maintenance. There are lessons in child psychology, sign language and even media training for talk-show appearances and call-in shows. Santas also need to make sure they know all the names of the reindeer . What's harder to deal with, however, is children who ask for Christmas gifts like bringing daddy home or making mommy happy again. After spending time in the classroom, Weir went to the mall to test his training. However, at one point, his hat fell off, and he was unsure how to react. "You're the real Santa," Valent said. "Pick that hat up, slip it back on, keep smiling and do your job. You've got to stay on top of your game. Even the last one at night, when you're tired, you've got to remember: This one's forever, so do a good job." Question: According to Weir's performance, we can conclude that _ . Options: A: Weir was short of experience B: Weir was not fit for the job as a Santa C: Weir did very badly in the game D: Weir was not a good student in school
A