Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A new study suggests that the roundtheclock availability that cell phones have brought to people's lives may _ family life. The study,which followed more than 1,300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone throughout the study period were more likely to report negative "spillover" between work and home life--and,in turn,less satisfaction with their family life. Spillover essentially means that the line between work and home begins to become unclear. Work life may invade home life when a parent is taking jobrelated calls at home,for instance--or family issues may start to take up work time. For example,a child may call mum at work,telling her "microwave exploded",explained Noelle Chesley,an assistant professor of sociology at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee and the author of the study. The problem with cell phones seems to be that they are allowing for even more spillover between work and home. This may be especially true for working women,the study found. Among men,consistent use of mobile phones seemed to allow more work issues to creep into family time. But for women,the spillover tended to go in both directions. Being "connected" meant that work cut into home time,and family issues came into work life. Cell phones seem to be opening more lines for stressful exchanges among family members. But there may be ways to control the spillover,according to Chesley. Employers, she said,could look at their policies on contacting employees after hours to make sure their expectations are "reasonable".For their part,employees could decide that cell phones go off during family time, Chesley said. Question: We can learn from the passage that _ . Options: A: cell phones affect men as much as women B: cell phones seem to be convenient to families C: cell phones make the line between work and home unclear D: we can do nothing to solve the problem
C

(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A team of researchers in the UK has shown that children who were taken to the library more often and owned more books at two years old achieved higher scores in school tests when they began primary school. The research also showed that although social background has a noticeable effect on a child's readiness for school, attending pre-school and having their parents teach them a wide range of activities have a positive effect---while extended exposure to television lowers their scores. "One message coming through loud and clear is that how a child learns in his very early years is critical for a smooth transition into the educational system," said Professor James Law. "This is a very positive message, as it gets us away from the belief that a child's educational future is pre-determined by standard measures of socio-economic disadvantage, such as income, housing, or the mother's education." Data from the study shows that children from a positive communication environment had a better expressive vocabulary by their second birthday. These children went on to achieve higher scores in language, reading and maths tests when they entered school. In the early years, the communication environment was a better predictor of children's success with language than their general social background. Most children develop speech and language effortlessly, but some are slow to acquire these skills and go on to struggle with literacy and academic skills throughout their schooling. This project set out to uncover what factors contributed to these problems. Professor Sue Roulstone said, "These findings are an encouragement to all parents to provide a positive communication environment for their children from the very start of their lives. The project did identify particular aspects of the communication environment, such as having children's books around and not having the television on too much. But the main message is that, as parents, we can have an impact on how our children learn to talk by providing a range of... Question: According to the passage, what is the most important factor contributing to children's success at school? _ . Options: A: Their general social background. B: Being taken to a library as early as possible. C: Being involved in various activities. D: Their communication environment.
(Answer)
D

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: "Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him,and let him know that you trust him." These words are from the black American educator,Booker Washington. He was saying that,"If you want people to grow up,you have to stop treating them like children." In America,families are close but children are encouraged to be independent,to make their own decisions,even at a very early age. It's not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose,for example,buying clothes,school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards! That's a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit cards. From an early age,American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision making. At the dinner table,teenagers will be listened to on any topic,from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way, teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals:they are learning how to stand on their own two feet. Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose. "Super Girl" Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the "Super Girl" television contest. She was not the traditional "nice,young Chinese girl". With her short,spiky hair and boy-like clothes, she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet...and she won! There is an old saying,"Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength." If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be. Question: The author implies that many Chinese children _ . Options: A: are more independent than Americans B: should become interested in America C: are happy with their present situation D: are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones
Ans: D

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Prices for the Lunar New Year's eve dinners in 2007, the most important dinner for the Chinese people, will be 5 to 9 percent higher as restaurant reservations boom for the festival, Shanghai Morning Post reported on Thursday. This year, the Lunar New Year's eve festival falls on February 17. The tradition meal, know as nianyefan, is for family reunions in prefix = st1 /Chinaand to enjoy a homecoming feast, similar to Christmas dinners in the west. "Agricultural products are more expensive than previous years, and this directly leads to the prices increase of nianyefan," Xia Xiangqing, a senior official with the Shanghai Restaurants Association, told the newspaper, "Labour and transport also cost more." Up till a few years ago, almost every family in the city ate at home or the home of a close , with restaurants shutting down for the evening. However, most families in the city now prefer to head out to a restaurant on that night to save the trouble of cooking and cleaning at home. In fact, "if you haven't reserved a table yet, you may be out of luck as most of the city's restaurants are already booked before the new year," Xia said. "In the past, restaurants decided everything," Xia said. "They sometimes refused to return the customers deposit if they wanted to cancel their reservation." Xia also told the newspaper yesterday that the association is working on some standards for nianyefan to avoid complaints from customers. Question: If the price of dinner in a retaurant is 600 yuan normally, it will be _ yuan for the Lunar New Year's eve in 2007 at least. Options: A: 300 B: 540 C: 630 D: 654
C