Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: "I don't believe in Santa Claus!" Trogmire announced. Tremor looked shocked. "Why not?" he asked. "Because he never leaves me any gifts at all," Trogmire growled. Tremor thought about the evidence for a few seconds. "Maybe," he suggested, "it's because when Santa checked his list, your name wasn't in the 'nice' column." "So, he could at least bring me a lump of coal!" Trogmire replied. "And," he went on, "Troubled doesn't believe in Santa, either." "Right," Tremor said, "because he saw his parents putting the 'From Santa' presents under the tree. But I know the truth about that. My mother found out from Troubled's mother. When Troubled's parents got an e-mail from Santa, saying that he would never bring Troubled another gift, they didn't want to tell him the truth. So now they buy presents and pretend they're from Santa." "What did Troubled do to get Santa so mad?" Trogmire questioned. "I think it had something to do with the time he put glue paper all over the living room floor on Christmas Eve, and left a sign that said, 'Trapped like a rat!' hanging over the fireplace." said Tremor. "I guess Santa doesn't have a sense of humour," sighed Trogmire. "Well, at least I'm not the only one who Santa scratched off his name list." Question: Why doesn't Santa leave presents for Trogmire or Troubled? - Their parents won't let him leave gifts. - He can't find their homes. - He often forgets their names. - They have behaved badly.
They have behaved badly.
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: It is common for older people to forget things. Now an American study has found that memory starts to fail when we are young adults. People younger than thirty years of age usually do not know that they are starting to forget information. But scientists from the University of Michigan say the loss of memory has usually already started. Researchers say people do not observe this slow reduction in mental ability until the loss affects their everyday activities. Denise Park led the new study. She directs the Centre for Aging and Cognition at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Her team studied more than 350 men and women between the ages of twenty and ninety years. The study identified people in their middle twenties with memory problems. She says young adults do not know they are forgetting things because their brains have more information than they need. But she says that people in their twenties and thirties are losing memory at the same rate as people in their sixties and seventies. Ms. Park says people between the ages of sixty and seventy may note the decrease in their mental abilities. They begin to observe that they are having more trouble remembering and learning new information. The study found that older adults are more likely to remember false information as being true. For example, they remembered false medical claims as being true. Younger people remembered hearing the information. But they were more likely to remember that it was false. Ms. Park is now using modern imaging equipment to study what happens in the brains of people of different ages. She is studying what parts of the brain older adults use for different activities compared to younger adults. Ms. Park says mental performance is a direct result of brain activity and brain structure. She says keeping the brain active is important. She hopes future studies will identify ways to improve the operation of our aging minds. Question: Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE? - Not until the loss of memory affects their daily activities, do people notice the decrease in their mental abilities. - People begin to lose memory in their twenties. - Older people tend to remember false information as being true. - Younger people find it easier to remember the information that is proven false.
Younger people find it easier to remember the information that is proven false.
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Born in 1983 in Arizona, US, Jessica has learned to live her life with her feet. She was born without arms, and no doctors could figure out why. There were many questions at the time about whether Jessica would be able to live a "normal" life. However, Jessica ' s father said , "I have never shed a tear about her birth condition. " With the support of her parents and family, Jessica became confident in herself as an adult and continued to explore the world with her feet. As a child, Jessica studied dance in her home town. When the first performance arrived, she asked to be put in the back row. Her dance teacher told her there was no back row. Nervously, she took the stage with the other students and performed her routine. When she finished, the applause from the audience gave her encouragement and the confidence to continue dancing for 14 years. After graduating from high school, Jessica attended the University of Arizona, where she earned a bachelor' s degree in Psychology. When talking about her major, she frequently explainsthat psychology has a great effect on her life, helping her out of a physical limitation. During college, Jessica signed up for a club of Taekwondo and learned all of the color1 belt material. The instructors created a course that would be accessible to any future armless students. Jessica became the first armless person to earn a black belt in the club. Jessica' s most famous accomplishment was learning how to fly. It took three states, four airplanes, two flight instructors and a discouraging year to find the right aircraft. She received the Cuinness World Record for being the first person permitted to fly an airplane with only her feet. Now Jessica works as a motivational lecturer. She travels the world sharing her story and encouraging people to be creative with the slogan "Think outside the shoe." Question: What ' s Jessica ' s greatest achievement? - Flying an airplane with her feet. - Finding the right aircraft. - Speaking as a motivational lecturer. - Traveling around the world.
Flying an airplane with her feet.
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Dogs can be worried and pessimistic just like people, researchers report in a new study in Current Biology. And they aren't talking about basset hounds : those dogs just look as if they expect the worst. What the scientists say is that dogs that exhibit anxiety when left home alone by their owners may have bigger problems -- they may be in a permanent bad mood. This pessimistic outlook may not otherwise be easily apparent in a dog's other characteristics, like running speed or learning ability, the study reports. Dogs are similar to humans in the role that emotional state plays in decision making, said Michael Mendel, a veterinary scientist at the University of Bristol and the study's lead author. The study's researchers looked at 24 dogs in shelters in Britain. They placed the dogs in isolated settings and observed their reactions -- many barked, jumped on furniture and scratched at the door. Then they placed bowls in two rooms. One bowl contained food, while another was empty. After training the dogs to understand that bowls can sometimes be empty, and sometimes full, they began to place bowls in ambiguous locations. Dogs that quickly raced to the locations were more optimistic, and in search of food. Those that did not were deemed pessimistic. The more separation anxiety a dog expressed while in isolation, the more likely the dog was to have a pessimistic reaction, the researchers found. The study carries an important message for dog owners, Dr. Mendel said. Dogs that express serious anxiety when alone may need treatment, as it could be a sign of unhappiness and instability. Question: What can we learn from the passage? - Dogs will be optimistic as long as they are left alone. - Dogs must be in a permanent bad mood when their owners left. - Dogs that express anxiety don't need treatment. - Dogs may easily show their pessimistic outlook in learning ability.
Dogs may easily show their pessimistic outlook in learning ability.
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