Question: Today's modern life discourages people from taking time to prepare their own meals. Eating in the car and grabbing a quick bite in a restaurant are ever more popular ways of dining. It takes a little extra effort and time to cook your own food, but it's a worthwhile pursuit that can benefit your health, wallet and family. People across the country are waking up to the fact that the food offered by most fast food restaurants isn't particularly healthy. While these restaurants have made attempts lately to add healthier meals to their menus, it's still _ a dish cooked with fresh ingredients and personal care. Nutritionists who study what is called "the French paradox"--- meaning the fact that French people have low obesity rates despite their diet containing lots of "unhealthy" ingredients such as butter---partially account for this circumstance by the fact that many French people use fresh ingredients. Taking time to eat at a leisurely pace also helps you get better nutrition and you are less likely to pack on the pounds. Even a quick meal will usually cost at least five dollars per person at a restaurant. Compare this to the amount of pasta, vegetables or meat available for the same money at your home, and it quickly becomes apparent that the cost of eating out adds up. Experimenting with new ingredients or foreign recipes will encourage children to try new foods and learn about dishes from around the world. Many couples also find that preparing a meal together can be a romantic experience equal to dinner in a classy, low-lit restaurant. Make sure to spend meal times talking and sharing events from the day and you may find it's a great way to get to know your family better. Why is "the French paradox" referred to in the passage? A) To show the French diet is fairly delicious. B) To illustrate the French have a healthy diet. C) To stress the importance of using fresh food ingredients. D) To prove the French diet makes people fat easily.
Answer: C

Question: Drunken driving -sometimes called America's socially accepted form of murder--has become a national epidemic . Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers,adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past ten years. A drunken driver is usually referred to as one with 0.10-blood alcohol content or roughly three beer glasses of wine or shots of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image and judges were in most courts,but the drunken killing has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies,especially concerning young children,that public opinion is no longer so tolerant. Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21,reversing a trend in the 1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18,the number of people killed by 18-20 years old drivers more than doubled,so the state recently upped it back to 21. Reformers,however,fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop 'responsible attitudes' about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink. Though new laws have led to increased arrests and tests in many areas already,to a marked drop in accidents,some states are also punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A bar in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who was 'obviously drunk' and later drove off the road,killing a 9-year-old boy. As the accidents continue to occur daily in every state,some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years national prohibition of alcohol that began in 1919,which President Hoover called the 'noble experiment'. They forgot that legal prohibition didn't stop drinking,but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally,there is no easy solution. Which of the following best shows the writer's opinion of drunken driving? A) It may lead to organized crime. B) It is difficult to solve this problem. C) The new laws can stop heavy drinking. D) There should be no bars to serve drinks.
Answer: B

Question: A decades-old tradition, illustrated in a modem children's book, links the sweetness of honey with the joy of learning to read. The grandpa held a jar of honey so that all the family could see. He then dipped a spoon into it and put some honey on the cover of a small book. The little girl had just turned five. Stand up, little one, "he asked the girl softly. "I did this for your mother, your uncles, your old brother, and now you ! " Then, he handed the book to her. "Taste f " She touched the honey with her finger and put it into her mouth. " What is the taste?" the grandpa asked. The little girl answered, " Sweet ! " Then all. the family said in a single voice, "Yes, and so is knowledge, but knowledge is from the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to go after it through the pages of a book ! " The little girl knew that the promise to read was at last hers. Soon she was going to learn to read. This is the beginning of a profoundly moving children's book entitled Thank You, Mr. Falker. In this book, Patricia Polacco writes of her own passion to read, inspired by the honey on the book. It wasn't until fifth grade that she met her beloved teacher who provided the help that she needed to finally unlock the magic of the written world. The child learning to read is admitted into a collective memory by way of books. And with the printed words that are active with. meaning, the child bees acquainted with a common past which he or she renews, to a greater or lesser degree, in every reading. Much as the author of the book Thank You, Mr. Falker puts it, " Almost as if it were magic, or as if light poured into her brain, the words and sentences started to take shape on the page as they never had before-And she understood the whole thing---Then she went into the living room and found the book on a shelf, the very book that her grandpa had shown her so many years ago. She spooned honey on the cover and tasted the sweetness---Then she held the book, honey and all, close to her chest. She could feel... The book entitled Thank You, Mr. Falker is about A) the early life of Mr. Falker B) the magic power of oral words on children C) Polacco's early experience with reading D) how the honey on the book makes children feel happy
Answer:
C