Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Computer games have been criticised for quite some time over a whole range of issues. Some people say they are overly violent and encourage violent behaviour particularly in children. Others say that they make children unsociable and are bad for their eyes. Some have even attributed falling standards of literacy and a lack of interest in reading on them. Now, however, it seems that computer games have also become a feminist issue. Game manufacturers have, for some time, been looking to increase the number of female game players. The vast majority of computer games still sell to a mainly male market. Perhaps this is because the violent nature of many of the games appeals more to males or perhaps because many of the main characters in the games are male. Manufacturers' attempts to produce more female characters increase their share of the female gaming market which has met with serious criticism from many women's groups. While heroines such as Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider game are seen as providing positive role models of strong women, many believe that the character's unrealistic Barbies are subconsciously setting unattainable standards in the minds of young women. Perhaps a stronger criticism is that although many games now include female characters, their role is often secondary and they support the main, male, action characters within the games. Of course the nature of many of the games remains violent and destructive and this in itself could well continue to put off female gamers. There are now, however, a number of web sites springing up on the World Wide Web to help women deal with this issue. Sites such as Game Girlz, Women Gamers and Game Gal offer game reviews, articles, discussion forums and even employment opportunities for women interested in becoming part of the rapidly expanding games industry. The games are reviewed by women from a very female perspective. Some rate the games from one to ten across a range of criteria which include the appearance of the female characters, the degree of... Question: Manufacturers want to produce more female characters in order to _ . Options: A: increase sales in the male market B: help women learn how to play computer games C: encourage more women to buy computer games D: increase the number of male game players
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A new research has uncovered that culture is a determining factor when people interpret facial emotions .The study reveals that in cultures where emotional control is the standard,such as Japan,the focus is placed on the eyes to interpret emotions. Whereas in cultures where emotion is openly expressed,such as the United States,the focus is on the mouth to interpret emotions. "These findings go against the popular theory that the facial expressions of basic emotions can be universally recognized," said University of Alberta researcher Dr.Takahiko Masuda." A person's culture plays a very strong role in determining how he will read emotions and needs to be considered when interpreting the facial expressions." These cultural differences are even noticeable in computer emoticons ,which are used to convey a writer's emotions by email and text message. The Japanese emotions for happiness and sadness vary in terms of how the eyes are drawn ,while the American emotions vary with the direction of the mouth. In the United States the emoticons:)and:) show a happy face,whereas the emoticons:(and:(show a sad face. However,the Japanese tend to use the symbol ('') to indicate a happy face,and (;;) to indicate a sad face. "We think it is quite interesting and appropriate that culture tends to mask its emotions. The Japanese would focus on a person's eyes when detecting his or her emotions,as eyes tend to be quite subtle ,"said Masuda. "In the United States,where an open emotion is quite common,it makes sense to focus on the mouth,which is the most expressive feature on a person's face." Question: If a Japanese wants to detect whether a smile is true or false,he will probably _ . Options: A: read the whole face B: focus on the mouth C: look into the eyes D: judge by the voice
C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The Venice Carnival is the largest and the most important Venetian festival. It is a festival that celebrates the passage from winter to spring, a time when seemingly anything is possible, including the illusion that the people at the bottom become the most powerful by wearing masks on their faces. The Venice Carnival could date back to 1296. It was confirmed on the day before Lent, a public holiday, but it had no direct religious connection at that time. However, the participants were not allowed to wear masks around the city at night; men could not enter convents if they pretended to be women, and celebrations within the convents were strictly forbidden. People who broke the rules could be put into prison. The laws were not relaxed until the late 17thcentury, when the carnival-goers were allowed to wear masks throughout the carnival. Participants would wear a white mask in old days, while costumes have become even wilder today. St. Mark's Square is the center for the carnival, while Campo San Polo and Sestiere are two other popular places where events take place. Most of the events are free, along with several unusual masked balls for which visitors will have to buy tickets in advance. The 2012 Venetian Carnival was celebrated from February 11 to 21. There were the liveliest celebrations of parties, performances, show, music, dances, dinner sets along streets, and hotels. It attracted a great number of visitors around the world. Many travelers booked Venice hotels and prepared costumes and masks well ahead of time so that they couldn't be made fun of by local people. Question: In the Venice Carnival people wearing masks _ . Options: A: are usually rich B: like to daydream C: can imagine they have great power D: frighten those without masks
A: C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Several weeks ago, kidsPost did a story on "The Art of Video Games" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The exhibition has created debate with some people saying that as fun as video games are ,they are not works of art. Other people say that videos games may be a new form of art and that they belong to in museums. We asked readers for their opinions on the topic. Here are a few of the letters we received. A video game is like a painting on a screen. In order to make a video game, you have to think of something original to reach the players. This is the point of Art. ---Mary Pottanat,13 I believe video games are not a form of art. Art should be a visual and creative expression of feelings. Although it is arguable that video games are visual ,they do not express feelings in any way. ---Prannab Kirshnan,12 However exciting video games are, they are not art. Painting is art, but not video games. Art has beauty and culture that no technology could ever compare to. Even though you can create art in some video games, the " Mona Lisa" wasn't painted with Nintendo. ---Caroline Kaplan,10 Art is a way of communicating ideas to the public in a way that is fun to them. The "public", who in this case are kids and adults, are finding these video games from different time periods interesting. Video games would not have been art if it had not been for the kids and adults attracted by "the art of video games". ---Ryan Puthumana,10 Question: Who's the author? Options: A: An artist. B: A video game creator. C: Someone who works at KidsPost. D: Someone who works in a museum.
A: C