To American visitors, Iceland is a very interesting country, partly because it is different in so many ways from what he or she is used to seeing at home. There are quite a few things that are not done, or that do not exist on the island - quite a few "No's". There is no pollution, for instance. No dogs are permitted in Reykjavik, the capital. There is no television on Thursdays or during the entire month of July, and only three hours of black-and-white TV the rest of the time. There is no hard liquor on Wednesdays and no beer at any time. There are no handguns; only one jail of thirty-five cells in the entire land - an admirable figure, even for a small country of 313,376 people. There is no army, air force or navy. There is no tipping for anything. There are no large stores open on Saturdays or Sundays. Since Iceland is situated just under the Arctic Circle, there is no darkness in summer and do daylight in winter. But thanks to Gulf Stream, the climate is rather mild, with temperatures ranging from 34 degrees Fahrenheit to 52 degrees in July. The rules on television, liquor, and guns are the result of governmental decision. But the absence of pollution is due in great part to the fact that Iceland gets its power from the enormous geyser and the thousands of hot springs that come out of the ground. They provide all the energy needed by the country. In fact, Iceland uses only 3 percent of all its available power. Iceland has been described as a democratic independent country where more fish are caught and more books published per person than anywhere else in the world. The Icelanders have always felt a particular love for literature. They composed their first works in the ninth and tenth centuries AD. These works were poems and tales about the kings, heroes, and heroines of Iceland and Norway. At first the stories were memorized and passed from generation to generation. The Icelanders have never stopped writing ever since. "Rather shoeless than bookless," they proudly say. "Rather shoeless than bookless" means _ . A) they regard books more important than shoes. B) they would rather have shoes on than write books C) they prefer traveling to reading D) they prefer not to have shoes or books
A
(Question)
Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends . A new device called Bow-Lingual "translates" dog barks into English , Korea or Japanese. Bow-Lingual's Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks . They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions : happiness , sadness , frustration , anger , assertion and desire . Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog's collar . The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner . When the dogs barks , the unit displays translated phrases . Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual. "Who would pay US$ 120 to read a dog's mind?" they ask . But those who have purchased Bow-Lingual praise the device . Pet owner Keiko Egawa , of Japan , says it helps her empathize with her dog , Harry . "Before we go to the park , he always says he wants to play," says Egawa , "and after a walk , he always says he is hungry." Bow -Lingual is not yet available in Chinese . So you'd better keep studying Studio Classroom , or soon your dog may know more English than you do ! The writer of this passage is most likely to be _ . A) a dog owner B) a reporter C) an advertiser D) an expert on dog barks
(Answer)
B
Ques: About twenty years ago I had the pleasure of teaching a disabled young woman. Not only was she good at math and science, but she was also extremely talented in art. She could draw and paint beautifully. When Audrey graduated from university she got two degrees, one in fine arts and one in chemistry. Not too many people do well in two such different areas of study. Just before her high school graduation, Audrey gave me a wonderful gift. It was a watercolor1 painting of a mother and her baby. A tear fell from the mother's eye as she looked lovingly at her child. Beneath the painting Audrey had written these words: "The deep love from Mother, through me, touches another." What a beautiful gift! I had the piece of art framed(...) and hung in my office. Years passed with many moves from one office to another and I lost the painting. Last year, after about eight years of not knowing where it was, I received a phone from a former colleague who said she had something of mine. It was the picture Audrey had painted for me 18 years ealier. When cleaning out a storage room she had discovered my gift. I was struck that the precious gift came back. I knew Audrey very well. When she was four years old Audrey had a serious disease. What's worse, her father left the house. It was her mother who brought her up with much trouble. She survived the disease but was disabled. To any other it is just a painting, but to me it shows how a mother's love has helped develop a talent and how its power pushes me ahead. What made Audrey different from others was that she _ . A) could draw and paint beautifullly B) was good at math and chemistry C) got two degrees in two different fields D) was a student in a key university
Ans: C
Ques: They are most likely to be healthy, wealthy and wise, according to the old saying. But those who are early to bed and early to rise do not always have the upper hand, researchers say. They have revealed that night owls are generally brighter and wealthier than those able to get up early in the morning. 1 Experts from the University of Madrid carried out tests on around 1,000 teenagers and found that those who preferred to stay up late demonstrated the kind of intelligence associated with honored jobs and higher incomes. 2 The researchers examined the habits and body clocks of the youngsters to determine whether they liked to stay up late and sleep in later in the morning, or preferred to go to bed early and were at their peak in the morning. 3 School performance and inductive intelligence, or problem solving, were measured and academic grades in the major subjects were also taken into account. The results showed that evening types scored higher than morning types on inductive reasoning, which has been shown to be a good estimate of general intelligence and a strong indicator of academic performance. 4 They also had a greater capacity to think conceptually as well as analytically. Such abilities have been linked to innovative thinking, more admired occupations and better incomes. Famous night owls include President Obama, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, Keith Richards and Elvis Presley. George W Bush, who is regularly in bed by 10pm, Thomas Edison, Napoleon, Condoleezza Rice, who wakes at 4.30am, and Ernest Hemingway are among those known as larks . Jim Horne, professor of psychophysiology at Loughborough University, said: 'Evening types tend to be the more active and creative types, the poets, artists and inventors, while the morning types are the deducers , as often seen with civil servants and accountants.' A previous study of US Air Force recruits found evening types were much better at thinking laterally to solve problems than larks. The sentence 'Larks or 'morning people', however, often acquired better exam results, possibly because lessons are held at the wrong time of day for night owls.' can be put in _ . A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4
Ans:
B