Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: In this century the traditional American family is constantly faced with the threat of breakdown. Some people suggest that one little - noticed cause may be the introduction of the TV dinner. Before the appearance of television seats, the American dinner was a big event for the family. In many homes dinner time may be the only time when everyone got together. A typical dinner was usually in three periods In the preparation period, the children and Father frequently helped with setting while Mother put the last touches on the roast. In the eating period, family members shared the day's experiences and more than food was eaten. In this period,families got to know one another and made joint decisions around the dinner table, and thus the family solidarity was strengthened. In the cleaning - up period,children or Father again gave their hands, so that their meaning to the home community was clear. Unfortunately, all of these have been abandoned by a product--the television set. By the beginning of the 1980s, the typical American family dinner was just twenty minutes long. The speed - up of this once - leisurely experiences is clearly connected to the overall pace of modern life and maybe a model of the modern life is the TV dinners--meals designed to be used between the opening and closing credits of a half - hour program. The once family affair has now become nothing more than the use of a fork and knife. Question: In the past, Americans tended to_. - spend more time eating their food at dinner table - eat more food than they have today - spend more time talking about their day's experience at dinner table - talk so much that they forgot to eat
spend more time talking about their day's experience at dinner table

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled,pain-free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness.If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness.But in fact,the opposite is true:more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain. As a result,many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness.They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement,religious commitment,self improvement. Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying.If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment.For commitment is in fact quite painful.The single life is filled with fun,adventure,excitement.Marriage has such moments,but they are not its most distinguishing features. Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or a three-day vacation.I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild. Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations.It liberates time:now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness.It liberates money:buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless.And it liberates us from envy:we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all. Question: Raising children,in the author's opinion,is _ . - a moral duty - a thankless job - a source of inevitable pain - a rewarding task
a rewarding task

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: It was several years since Adolf Hitler came into power in Germany. And now his army was marching into some parts of Europe. He must be in the prime of his career. One day Hitler went to an exhibition where the works of school children were on show. He seemed to have great interest in the exhibits--inventions as well as carvings, drawings. After having walked around the hall and examined everything, he said he was ready to meet the young artists. And soon a group of children came into the room to salute(-----) him. "Well, well. You did very good work." nodded Hitler in satisfaction. "I promise on my honor I'd satisfy you with whatever you want. What'd you wish to be if I were your father?" "A sailor sailing the sea." one of the boys answered. "Good. I'll have you join my navy and some day you will rule the oceans." "Ask for anything? What'd you wish to be if I were your father?" he asked a second boy. "A painter as great as Rembruant." "Good. You are to be sent to the Fine Art School and surely you will make an even greater painter." When Hitler caught sight of a sad-looking boy he frowned , then quickly forced a smile, "There my boy, in spite of my point of view towards the Jews, I'd do you a favor and your dream will come true. What'd you wish to be if I were your father?" The boy looked straight at the man. "An orphan(the child who has no parents)." he murmured. Question: Judging by what the boy said we can see that _ . - the boy's parents had died - the boy had no brothers or sisters - the boy hated Hitler very much - the boy wanted himself to be an orphan
the boy hated Hitler very much