Museum of Fine Arts, Boston HOURS The MFA is open 7 days a week. Monday and Tuesday: 10 am - 4:45 pm Wednesday - Friday: 10 am - 9:45 pm Saturday and Sunday: 10 am - 4:45 pm HOLIDAYS AND CLOSINGS The Museum will be closed on the following holidays: New Year's Day, Patriots' Day (third Monday in April), Independence Day (July 4), Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. The Museum will close early on Wednesday, at 4:45 pm, June 11, and Thursday, July 24. ADMISSION Adults: $25 Seniors (65+): $23 Students (18+): $23 Youths 7 - 17*: FREE* Children 6 and under: FREE *Weekdays after 3 pm, weekends, and Boston public school holidays; otherwise $10. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION Take the T! Because our limited parking fills up quickly - especially during popular exhibitions, holidays, and school vacation weeks - we encourage you to take advantage of the MBTA, Boston's public transportation system (known by natives as the "T"). Subway Take the Green Line E train to the Museum of Fine Arts stop, or the Orange Line train to the Ruggles stop. Bus Take the 39 bus to the Museum of Fine Arts stop, or the 8, 47, or CT2 buses to the Ruggles stop. The MFA strives to maintain a safe, comfortable, and respectful environment for all visitors. We also take our role as guardians of the objects in our collection very seriously. Please enjoy all that the Museum has to offer and observe the policies listed here to help protect and preserve the art on view in the Museum. When Visiting the MFA Please Refrain from the Following: Touching any art objects Getting closer than 12 inches to any unprotected artwork Gesturing within 2 feet of any artwork Smoking Chewing gum Running, yelling, or disruptive behavior Cell phone usage in the galleries Flash photography To get to the museum, you are advised to arrive _ . A) on foot. B) by bike. C) by car. D) by bus.
D
(Question)
To most people, noise pollution is a jet flying over their head. For one Spanish woman, it is a neighbor playing the piano. The woman has taken her neighbor to court. Now she wants to send her neighbor to prison for over seven years on the charges of psychological damage and noise pollution. In a country known for its noisiness, the case has raised eyebrows. Neighbors often complain about street noise in Spain, but people seeking prison time for someone practicing the piano is unheard of. At the trial, Sonia Bosom says she has been suffering noise pollution up to now due to the practice sessions of Laia Martin, who lives below her. Martin, 27, didn't admit that she played at home that often, saying she took regular classes in other towns and mostly practiced at home on the weekends. On the first day of the trial, the newspaper reported that Bosom told the court she now hated pianos so much that she couldn't even stand seeing them in a film. Bosom says years of hearing constant playing has caused her "psychological injury". Medical reports show she has suffered from a variety of problems, including insomnia , anxiety, and panic attacks. She says tests by local authorities have found that the sound levels made by the piano are up to 10 decibels higher than the limit. City authorities have asked the family several times to either stop the piano playing or soundproof the room. The family told the court they carried out soundproofing work twice but the complaints continued. The court hasn't made a final decision. A spokeswoman says the trial will end before May. How did Laia Martin respond to the complaints? A) She stopped playing the piano. B) She soundproofed the room. C) She didn't admit she played at home. D) She took her neighbor to court.
(Answer)
B
Ques: For many blind people, computers are inaccessible. It can cost $1,000 to purchase "screen reader" software, but two blind computer programmers from Australia have solved this problem. Queensland University of Technology (QUT) graduate James Teh and business partner Michael Curran developed a free, open-source program, called NVDA, which provides a voice to read the words on a computer screen as the cursor moves over them. NVDA won the blind inventors an award in the grand final program of the ABC's New Inventors, which aired on September 23. They took home the award for an invention that "might make a real difference to people's lives or the environment." "A sighted person takes for granted that they can sit down at any computer and use it," Mr Teh said. "We really are in the information age -- everything is online these days. So access to computers for the blind is very important, which is why we wanted our software to be free." Mr Teh, who majored in software engineering at QUT, said blind students typically didn't have the money to purchase "screen reader" technology, at the time in their life when they most needed it. Now NVDA could be downloaded on to anyone's personal computer free of charge. "It can also be copied to a USB stick, which can be used on any PC at school or university, with no installation required," he said. Mr Teh and Mr Curran have drawn on their own experience as blind computer users to develop a product which has some unique features. For example, as the mouse moves up and down the screen, a sound becomes higher and lower to let you know where the cursor is located. NVDA has been translated into 27 languages, thanks to volunteer translators. To date, there have been over 50,000 downloads. Mr Teh and Mr Curran have been working on the project since 2006. They worked on their product without any pay for two years. When Mozilla offered some funding in 2008, Mr Teh was able to quit his day job and work full-time developing NVDA. Why did James Teh and Michael Curran want their software to be free? A) They got funding from Mozilla. B) They belonged to a volunteer group. C) They wanted to help the blind. D) They wanted people to give up "screen reader" software.
Ans: C
Ques: Where is it possible to drive from Rome to Moscow, Madrid, Paris, Vienna, and Stockholm without going to Europe? The answer is in the state of Maine! Throughout the United States there are many towns and cities that have been named after not only European cities but other countries as well, such as China, Poland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Just how many New World place names are recycled from the Old World names has never been _ , but one researcher found forty-one Londons, fifty-six Berlins, twenty-four Dublins, thirty-two Athenses, and twenty-seven Moscows, among others! Reasons for European place names differ. Some were in memory of settlers' former homes, others in honor of historic events. Founded in 1818 by John Coffee, Robert Beaty, John D. Carroll, and John Read, Athens is one of the oldest incorporated cities in the State of Alabama. The town was first called Athenson, and the name was then shortened to Athens, after the ancient city in Greece. More interestingly, some names were given by mistake. For instance, the people of Moscow, Kansas, wanted their city to follow the name of the explorer Moscoso. They shortened his name to Mosco, and an official in Washington, thinking the Kansans couldn't spell, added a 'W'. The best title for the passage is _ . A) The Story of Moscow, Kansas B) American Cities and Their Names C) Interesting Names D) Old World Place Names in America
Ans:
D