Liverpool city council want to clear the city of fat pigeons . They say that people are feeding the birds, which makes them fat. The pigeons get bigger because they normally eat seeds and insects for their main food, not high-fat junk food they are eating in the city centre. The council want people to know that everyone who feeds the pigeons makes the streets crowded with these birds. They hope to encourage the birds to move away from the city centre and into parks and open spaces. Ten robotic birds have been brought into the city centre to scare the pigeons away and visitors are asked not to give the pigeons any food. The mechanical birds--known as 'robops'--will sit on the roofs of buildings. They can be moved around to different places. They look like a peregrine falcon, which is a bird that kills pigeons. They even make noises and flap their wings to scare the pigeons. They hope that the pigeons will go away before the city becomes the European Capital of Culture in two years. Which of the following is probably true according to passage? A) The robots will fly around the city center like real birds. B) Pigeons get fat because they eat seeds and insects. C) Liverpool is the European Capital of Culture. D) The pigeons like the food that people give them.
D
(Question)
When looking at Western Europe,we don't usually think about poverty--but in fact,some people in modern--day Britain are so hard up that they can't afford to buy food. Back in 2008,the financial crisis caused a lot of unemployment.Then there were the cuts to the welfare system in 2013 which added to the problem--and many British people fell into debt.It's estimated that 500,000 people in the UK have turned to food banks,just to get by. Steph Hagen,who works in a Nottingham food bank,says, "People do not go to a food bank because it's an open door.It's a case where they go to it because they need to.With our food bank--we are an independent one.and we have limited stocks--everyone who comes through our door has no income." There are checks to make sure nobody is abusing the system.If a doctor or a social worker thinks someone needs to use a food bank--even for a short time--they can give them vouchers .Then the people in need take _ along to the food bank and they get handouts for three days. Churches and individual donors provide most of the food in the banks.But some businesses might help out too. And what sort of food is offered in food banks? Hagen says, "Basically,we've got porridge.We do occasionally get fresh produce but it's very rare,especially in the winter months.It's like tinned fruit,tinned ready meals.We have to give out 'no-cooking' food parcels because people can't afford the gas and electricity". Community spirit has a lot to do with food banks.Volunteers say they are a great meeting place for people who are lonely and depressed.And when facing a crisis,some beneficiaries might need to feed not only their belly--but also their soul. According to the text,the food bank is a place _ . A) which is funded by the government B) where people can get food randomly C) which helps poor people live through crisis D) where there is enough food supplies
(Answer)
C
Ques: Parents whose children show a special interest in a sport feel very difficult to make a decision about their children's careers. Should they allow their children to train to become top sportsmen and sportswomen? For many children it means starting schoolwork very young, and going out with friends and other interests have to take a second place. It's very difficult to explain to a young child why he or she has to train five hours a day, even at the weekend, when most of his or her friends are playing. Another problem is of course money. In many countries money for training is available from government for the very best young sportsmen and sportswomen. If this help can not be given, it means that it is the parents who have to find the time and the money to support their child's development and sports clothes, transport to competitions, special equipment, etc. All can be very expensive. Many parents are worried that it is dangerous to start serious training in a sport at an early age. Some doctors agree that young muscles may he damaged by training before they are properly developed. Professional trainers, however, believe that it is only by training when young that you can reach the top as a successful sports person. It is clear that very few people do reach the top, and both parents and children should be prepared for failure even after many years of training. According to the passage, parents whose children show a special interest in a sport _ . A) feel uncertain if they should let their children train to be sportsmen or sportswomen B) try to get financial support from the government for their children's training C) have to get medical advice from doctors about training methods D) prefer their children to be trained as young as possible
Ans: A
For some minutes, all was quiet in the street. Then from across the street someone came walking. It looked like a man of middle height, dressed in a big raincoat, a soft hat and rubber-soled boots or shoes, and making little sound while walking. No one was in sight. It was a street with two rows of about fifty small houses and there were three lamps on either side. The lamp nearest to the child's house could be seen clearly, but the others were almost hidden by the smoky air. A car passed the end of the street and its lights showed faintly,but clearly enough to show the smooth skin of a woman's face. The car disappeared as the woman, wrapped up in her coat, reached the doorway of the child's house. She put a key in the lock quickly, pushed the door open and stepped inside, then closed the door without looking round. She began to breathe hard. She leaned against the door for a moment, then straightened up as if with an effort, and walked towards the door of the front room, the passage leading to the kitchen, and the narrow staircase. She hesitated outside the door, then went up the stairs quickly but with hardly a sound. There was enough light from the narrow hall to show the four doors leading off a small landing . She pushed each door open in turn and shone a torch inside, and the light fell upon beds, walls, furniture, a bathroom hand-basin, a mirror which flashed brightness back; but this was not what the woman was looking for. She turned away and went downstairs, and hesitated again at the foot of the stairs, then turned towards the kitchen. Clearly there was nothing there, or in the small washroom that she wanted. Two rooms remained; the front room and a smaller one next to it. She opened the front room door. After a moment, she saw the child's bed and the child. When she was upstairs, the woman _ . A) saw that there was a wash-basin in each room B) noticed a mirror which she was looking for C) found a torch in one of the rooms D) opened four different doors
D