Charlotte Hollins faces a battle. The 23-year-old British farmer and her 21-year-old brother Ben are fighting to save farm that their father worked on since he was 14. Although confident they will succeed, she is aware of farming's many challenges. "You don't often get a day off. Supermarkets put a lot of pressure on farmers to keep prices low. With fewer people working on farms it can be isolating," she said. "There is a high rate of suicide and farming will never make you rich!" Like others around the world, Charlotte's generation tend to leave the farm for cities. Oliver Robinson, 25, grew up in Yorkshire. But he never considered staying on his father and grandfather's land. "I'm sure Dad hoped I'd stay," he said. "I guess it's a nice, straightforward life, but it doesn't appeal to me. For young, ambitious people, farm life is hard." For Robinson, farming doesn't offer much "in terms of money or lifestyle". Hollins agrees that economic factors stop people from enjoying the rewards of farming. He describes it as a career that provides "for a vital human need", allowing people to work "outdoors with nature." Farming is a big political issue in the UK. The "Buy British" campaigns urge consumers not to purchase cheaper imported foods. The 2001 foot and mouth crisis closed thousands of farms, stopped meat exports, and raised public consciousness about the troubles on UK farms. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's 2005 campaign to get children eating healthily also highlighted the issue. This national concern gives hope to farmers competing with powerful supermarkets. While most people buy food from the big supermarkets, hundreds of independent Farmers' Markets are becoming popular. "I started going to Farmers' Markets in direct defiance of the big supermarkets. I seriously objected to the super-sizing of everything-what exactly do they put on our apples to make them so big and red? It's terrible," said Londoner Michaela Samson, 31. What happened in 2001 to the British beef farmers? A) British people ate more British beef. B) To be a beef farmer became profitable. C) Diseaes dramatically reduced the amount of beef available. D) Foreign farmers stopped selling beef to Britain.
C
(Question)
My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks. It was very _ work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I've never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn't want to work. I was only six years old, but I was doing a man's job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem , one of the most important things a person can have. When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle. The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity . I learned working in the field -- except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick . Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? A) He wanted to be a successful golfer. B) He wanted to run a golf course near his house. C) He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation. D) He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.
(Answer)
A
Question: What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science? We all know that science plays an important role in our societies. However, many people believe that our progress depends on two different aspects of science. The first aspect is the application of the machines, products and systems of knowledge that scientists and technologists develop. The second is the application of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work. What are these special methods of thinking and acting? First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is curious - he wants to find out how and why the universe works. He usually pays attention to problems which he notices have no satisfying explanation, and looks for relationships even if the data available seem to be unconnected. Moreover, he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves. He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective and uses the facts he observes to the fullest. For example, trained observers obtain a very large amount of information about a star mainly from the accurate analysis of the simple lines that appear in a spectrum . He does not accept statements which are not based on the most complete evidence available. He rejects authority as the only basis for truth. Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively. Furthermore, he does not readily accept his own idea, since he knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation. Lastly, he is full of imagination since he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete. Furthermore, he needs imagination if he wants to guess how processes work and how events take place. These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful... Many people believe that science helps society to progress through _ A) knowledge only. B) more than one aspect. C) technology only. D) the use of machines.
Answer:
B