Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Los Angeles: Love for Mom is necessary, but buying flowers on her big day may not be. A slump in flower sales since late last year was likely to continue through Mother's Day, another example of Americans cutting back on spending due to recession fears, which is a period of reduced trade and business activity, and increasing food and gasoline prices. "If you look at what has happened on Valentine's Day and Christmas, the market for flowers has cooled," said Eric Beder, an analyst at Brean Murray. "Growth has slowed in the past two quarters. Mother's Day will probably be a slow quarter, too." US floral sales for Mother's Day, celebrated yesterday, will fall thirteen percent this year to $2 billion, with consumers spending an average of $17.65, according to the National Federation estimates. Mother's Day, which accounts for a one-quarter of annual holiday purchases, according to the Society of American Florists, is traditionally the day when flowers are delivered to the doorsteps of many mothers. But this year, the shop-owners are concerned. Gabriel Soto, who owns a flower shop beneath an office high-rise in the Los financial district, is expecting lower sales -- and has ordered 30 percent fewer flowers than normal this Mother's Day. Last month, Soto, who also operates website downtown-flowers.net, closed another store in a nearby building that was headquarters to a mortgage company. After workers lost their jobs due to the housing crisis, orders decreased. Question: According to the author, Mother's Day should be an occasion of _ . Options: A: a large family get-together B: a big annual holiday purchase C: a great love showed to mothers D: a celebration among Americans
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: An old lady in a plane had a blanket over her head and she did not want to take it off. The air hostess spoke to her, but the old lady said, "I have never been in a plane before, and I am frightened. I am going to keep this blanket over my head until we are back on the ground again!" Then the captain came. He said, "Madam, I am the captain of this plane. The weather is fine, there are no clouds in the sky, and everything is going very well."But she continued to hide. So the captain turned and started to go back. Then the old lady looked out from under the blanket with one eye and said, "I am sorry, young man, but I don't like planes and I am never going to fly again. But I'll say one thing," She continued kindly, "You and your wife keep your plane very clean!" Question: the old lady had never been _ .before. Options: A: abroad B: home C: in a plane D: in hospital
C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I had the meanest mother in the world.While other kids ate candy for breakfast.I had to have cereal, eggs and toast.Others had cakes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich.As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids'.But at least I was not alone in my suffering.My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did. My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times.She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing.We had to wear clean clothes every day.Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. The worst is yet to come.We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning.So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law.She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us.Through the years, our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing.My mother, however, would only be satisfied with black marks.None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout . She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults.Using this as a background, I'm now trying to bring up my three children.I'm filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world. Question: From the passage we can learn that the writer's mother was _ . Options: A: not generous at all B: very cruel to her children C: very mean with money matters D: very strict with her children
A: D

(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: When us teenager Jake Olson isn't playing football or golf for his high school, he's often offering inspiration through his new book about his own life. These activities might be too much for the average 16-year-old to deal with, but Jake is blind. When people ask him how he can possibly play golf without being able to see the ball, he says he is thankful for his father's guidance. It seems apparent that his early experience playing sports as a person with sight and muscle memory-- repeating behaviors over and over until they become second nature -- have also enabled Jake to hit the ball quite well. Jake was born with a rare kind of eye cancer that took away the vision from his left eye when he was an infant and eventually his right eye, in 2009, when he was 12 years old. Rather than letting the disease hold him back, Jake used his loss of sight and his faith as sources of motivation . "If I was going to sit on the couch all day feeling sorry for myself, I wasn't going to do anything. I decided right then and there that I wasn't going to let it stop me and that I was going to go out and persevere ," he said. It was with that mind-set that the student from Orange Lutheran High School in California was able to write his first book, Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life. "It's about opening the readers' eyes to their true potential in life and making sure that they use all the abilities that they have," Jake said. Jake's father, Brian Olson, said the family is impressed with what he has done with his life, including showing people that they can get through hardships. "Your darkest hour can soon become your brightest, and with every setback, there's a setup," Jake said. "In every one of us, there's more potential than we can ever imagine, and it really is a choice." Question: We can learn from the article that Jake Olson _ . Options: A: was born a blind child B: could have been a golf master C: has great muscle memory D: is trying to find the cure for his disease
(Answer)
C