Reading poems is not exactly an everyday activity for most people. In fact, many people never read a poem once they get out of high school. It is worth reminding ourselves that this has not always been the case in prefix = st1 /America. In the nine-tenth century, a usual American activity was to sit around the fireside in the evening and read poems aloud. It is true that there was no television at the time, nor movie theaters, nor World Wide Web, to provide _ However, poems were a source of pleasure, of self - education, of connection to other people or to the world beyond one ' s own community. Reading them was a social act as well as an individual one, and perhaps even more social than individual. Writing poems to share with friends and relations was, like reading poems by the fireside, another way in which poetry has a place in everyday life. How did things change? Why are most Americans no longer comfortable with poetry , and why do most people today think that a poem has nothing to tell them and that they can do well without poems? There are, I believe, three factors: poets, teachers, and we ourselves. Of these, the least important is the third: the world surrounding the poem has betrayed us more than we have betrayed the poem. Early in the twentieth century, poetry in English headed into directions unfavor-able to reading of poetry. Readers decided that poems were not for the fireside or the easy chair at night, and that they belonged where other difficult-to-read things belonged. Poets failed the reader, so did teachers. They want their students to know something about the skills of a poem, they want their students to see that poems mean something. Yet what usually occurs when teachers push these concerns on their high school students is that young people decide poems are unpleasant crossword puzzles. Reading poems is thought to be a social act in the nineteenth century because _ . A) it built a like among people B) it helped unite a community C) it was a source of self- education D) it was a source of pleasure
A
(Question)
In modern society, people can hardly do without mobile phone or computer. The youth of today are even more looking forward to Apple Corp's products. The iPad is an Apple tablet computer. The device sits somewhere between a laptop and a smart phone, according to Apple's chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, and does certain things better than both of them, like surfing the Web, reading e-books and playing videos. The iPad went on sale on April 3, 2010, and Apple said it had shipped 500,000 units in the first week. The handheld device puts Apple on a direct collision course with the Kindle from Amazon, which Mr. Jobs ever considered as pioneering the category. It is common knowledge that media companies hope the iPad will finally lead to available ways for them to charge for news, books and other materials. The half-inch thick, 1.5-pound device features a 9.7-inch multi-touch screen and is powered by a customized Apple microchip, which is called A4. It has been designed with an exposed screen and without a camera or separate keyboard. The iPad has the same operating system as the iPhone and also has access to its 140,000 applications. The price of the device starts at $499 for the most basic model, with a Wi-Fi wireless connection. More expensive models with more memory and with 3G wireless access will cost $629 to $829, depending on storage size. Because Apple is attempting to popularize a new kind of computing device, acceptance among consumers is expected to be slower than with previous Apple devices. Critics assume that some buyers are waiting for future versions of the iPad to appear, perhaps with a camera or USB ports . On its first day on sale, iPad users downloaded more than one million applications from the company's AppStore and more than 250,000 electronic books from its iBookstore. A new wave of apps is expected in response to the iPad. For an application developer, having an application accepted for a highly desired Apple product means reaching a passionate group of consumers. The potential... The different prices of the iPad are determined by _ . A) the size of the memory B) the size of the screen C) the speed of the microchip D) the Wi-Fi wireless connection
(Answer)
A
Ques:A huge cloud of dust rose and an overpass disappeared. This was the scene in Zhuzhou,Hunan Province on May 17.Nine people were killed and 16 injured. Things were similar last year in the Sichuan earthquake. Thousands of people were buried in the ruins and lost their lives. What if we could have warned them? People are always _ to find a way of preventing buildings' collapse. Better materials and technology help,but they are not a solution. Just like humans,a building has its own life cycle from "birth" to "death".If we know when a building is going to collapse,we can repair it in advance or get out of it before it falls. Now,scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks. The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes or bridge supports. The research was led by Nancy Sottos,a professor at the university's Beckman Institute,and Douglas Davis,a graduate research assistant. The secret behind the colorchanging material is a type of molecule .A molecule is a group of atoms held together by chemical bonds. Imagine you and your friends standing in a circle,holding hands. Each person stands for one atom,your hands represent the bonds,and the entire circle represents a molecule. If one person lets go of his or her hands,the molecule changes color. The research team put the molecule into a soft material. When the researchers stretched the material,it turned bright red for a few seconds before it broke into two pieces. When they repeatedly stretched and relaxed the material,without breaking it,it only turned a little red. The major problem is that light can get rid of the red color. When the team shone bright light on the molecule,the broken bond was fixed,and the color disappeared. If the bright light keeps the red color from appearing,the material's warning system will be useless. Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the colorchanging molecules can be used outside the lab. What can we infer from the passage? A) The colorchanging molecules are certain to be used outside the lab. B) There will be no collapse with the help of the colorchanging material. C) There is a long way to go before the material can be applied. D) The problem caused by bright light will be solved by scientists.

Ans:
C