Ques: Article: Cast your mind back to the past twenty years and hardly did anyone have their own email account. The Internet had just taken off in 1991 and people were only using office and PCbased email exchanges. In the mid 1990s external email providers appeared. The most famous of these was Hotmail, the first free email provider and webbased email service. Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith launched Hotmail on July 4, 1996. And Microsoft took note of and bought Hotmail for $400 million on December 30, 1997, a nice birthday present for Bhatia who turned 29 that day. It was relaunched as MSN Hotmail and in 2007 was relaunched again as Windows Live Hotmail. Fast forward the present day and most of us have at least a personal webbased email account. It seems impossible to live without them. One of the biggest advantages of email is the fact that communication has become so much easier, especially with those across different time zones. Email takes seconds to send a message whereas letters, as we used to communicate by, could take weeks. Of course there was the fax, that beeping invention from the 1980s, but it wasn't as secure as email and you never knew if the person on the other end had picked up your fax or if it had got lost somewhere in the office. In conclusion, one of the best inventions from the 1990s has to be email. But sometimes people are too closely connected to their email and have a _ to check it several times a day. At work, people have become lazy and instead of going to speak to the person sitting next to them, they send an email,causing an in box to pile up with more time spent reading email and responding rather than working. Clearly, an invention that saved time because of its quick and speedy connection can now also cause us to waste a lot of time. Question: The earliest web-based email came into being probably _ . Yes or no, is the answer "in 1996"?
Ans: Yes

Ques: Article: April 23 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. Organizations in Britain have planned numerous events to honor him. In Stratford-upon-Avon, his birthplace, the tourism organization has a great number of free events, including performances of Shakespeare's plays, and a dazzling fireworks display. And the BBC is broadcasting a live show from Stratfore-upon-Avon, celebrating Shakespeare's widespread influence on the world. In England's capital, the London Shakespeare Centre and King's College London are holding a series of public performances, exhibitions and activities. It isn't just England that honors the anniversary of the death of this extraordinary writer. In Washington, D. C., the Folger Shakespeare Library, which houses the world's largest collection of documents relating to William Shakespeare, is displaying a series of exhibitions. Shakespeare is probably the most famous author who ever lived an is considered a genius by most. He wrote around 37 plays and 154 sonnets , and his work has been translated into over one hundred languages! He penned beautiful metaphors , serious dramas and amusing tales. Shakespeare also invented many new terms and phrases. If someone's behavior suggested they were not being honest and should not be trusted, Shakespeare called their actions suspicious. If someone was being silly and perhaps looking like a fool, Shakespeare found their actions laughable. And Shakespeare called people who offered their opinions on the quality of something critics. Today, for instance, food critics and film critics give audiences their opinions of food and film. The familiar phrase "break the ice" comes from Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew. The "ice is broken" when a difficult conversation or meeting is calmed by some basic introduction, such as a simple game. More common words coined by Shakespeare include road, gossip, lonely, bump and hurry. Four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare surely lives on, in everyday speech, as the most famous writer of all time! Question: According to the next, a simply game to make a difficult conversation easy is called _ . Yes or no, is the answer "an ice-breaker"?
Ans: No

Ques: Article: Australia -a huge island continent that lies to the south of Asia.Australia-more than two hundred years old, a nation that is still growing. Its big cities lie on the southeast coast, this is where most Australians live.Australians prefer to own their own houses, though some live in apartments.Australians are a suburban people.The suburbs surround the cities for many miles, and so efficient transport is of great importance.As the economy grows, so do its industries- a higher level of production, a wider range of products. The Australian works hard, but he likes his leisure.The climate makes outdoor activities the most popular. Canberra, the capital of Australia, is a planned modem city located inland.Australia is governed by a parliamentary democracy.The representatives of other countries have their embassies here.Australia wants to strengthen relations with her neighbors. Australia is a strange land, a land of vast expanses- fertile valleys, snow fields and deserts- also a land with unique animal, many that can not be found on any other continent in the world today. Much of the continent is dry, but man has utilized the land, made it productive, with its tools, with its technology.This is the driest continent of all, and water is a precious possession, more precious than all other natural resources.Large dams are built to collect the water, there to irrigate the fields of pastures and crops. But Australia is changing.The land of wool and wheat is now a land of large-scale industry and mining.The costs of developing the new mineral discoveries are enormous, but the rewards are great too. Australia -- a young and developing nation.Australia -- a nation that wants to communicate with its neighbors. Question: Which of the following statements about Australia is wrong? Yes or no, is the answer "Australia prefers to live in the downtown of big cities."?
Ans: Yes

Ques: Article: Friendship is one of the basic bonds between human beings. While the characteristics of friendship might vary from one country to another, people from all cultures not only enjoy friends but need them. Many studies have shown that teenagers who have no friends often suffer from psychological disorders. It has been shown that teenagers, perhaps more than any other age group, need companionship and a sense of belonging. The negative consequences of loneliness have also been observed among the elderly. The death of a spouse often leaves a widow or a widower totally bereft . If, however, they are surrounded by friends and relatives and if they are able to articulate their feelings, they are more likely to recover from their grief. "No man is an island." In other words, we are all parts of society. We all need the love, admiration, respect and moral support of other people. If we are fortunate, our friends will provide us with all of these necessary aspects of life. As most people observe, there are many levels of friendship. The degree or intensity of friendship varies depending on the personality of the individuals involved and the context of the relationships. Extroverts enjoy being surrounded by many people whereas introverts are perhaps content with fewer but more intense friendships. Everyone is not equally open with all their friends. The degree of intimacy is determined by many factors. Close friends can be formed at any stage in one's life but they are usually very rare. Not very many people have more than a few really close friends. Irrespective of the level of intimacy, all friendships are based on reciprocity , honesty and a certain amount of love and affection. Question: The word "irrespective"(Last sentence, Para. 5) means _ . Yes or no, is the answer "regardless"?
Ans:
No