A Groundbreaking Event It was an unforgettable field trip. Twenty-six fifth-graders from George Bancroft Elementary School, in Washington, D.C., went to the White House on Friday. They used shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows to help First Lady Michelle Obama break ground on a new vegetable garden. This White House garden is the first since World War II. In the 1940s, First lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a White House "Victory Garden" to encourage Americans to grow gardens at home. Mrs. Obama's new garden is an L-shaped patch near the fountain on the South Lawn. Vegetables to be planted include lettuce, peas, collard greens, onions and spinach. A herb garden will grow garlic, sage and cilantro. These herbs are used in Mexican food, an Obama family favourite. White House chefs will prepare meals for the First Family with food from the garden and some of the produce will be donated to Miriam's Kitchen, a soup kitchen near the White House. Health food is important to Mrs. Obama. She said that the purpose of the garden is to make sure that her family, the White House staff, and guests eat fresh vegetables. Mrs. Obama has also said that she hopes the new White House garden will help educate Americans about the importance of fresh, nutritious food at a time when obesity is a national crisis. A diet high in natural, unprocessed foods helps people maintain a healthy weight. Mrs. Obama said she has found that her daughters, Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13, like vegetables more if they have been involved in growing them. "If they have been involved in planting and picking the vegetables, they are much more curious about giving them a try," she said. When Bancroft students go back to the White House this summer they will get to taste the vegetables they helped to grow. After they help to harvest the crops, they will cook them in the White House kitchen and then eat them. Why did Mrs. Obama plan to plant the garden? A) Because she wanted her children to become gardeners. B) Because she wanted to know what gardening is like. C) Because she wanted to become a second Eleanor Roosevelt. D) Because she wanted people in the white house to eat a healthy food.
D
Antonia left Athens and came to America to make her fortune. She wanted to be a famous actress, so she went to live in Hollywood, California. At first, Antonia had very little money, so she was forced to watch every penny while _ of movie agents' offices. For over a year, she worked only in small parts. She found life extremely hard. She had to take buses or walk everywhere, and she ate only one meal a day. Even though she worked nights as a waitress, Antonia could not really make ends meet. Suddenly, one day, the star of a film became ill, and the director asked Antonia to take the part. Her acting was superb. After the first show of the film, she became an overnight success. Everyone gave her mad notice, and she received many offers for future starring roles. Since then, Antonia has changed her whole way of life. Now she wears expensive furs and drives a Rolls-Royce. She lives in a twenty-seven room house in Beverly Hills, with seven servants. All her needs are cared for. For Antonia, America is truly the land of streets paved with gold. Through her hard work, she has earned the fame she desired so much. What changed Antonia's way of life? A) Wearing expensive furs. B) Her good fortune. C) Her superb acting. D) Her experience as a waitress.
C
Q: A class with tens or even hundreds of thousands of students might sound like a teacher's bad dream. But a big idea in higher education these days is the massive open online course, or MOOC. Some universities offer free, non-credit MOOCs available to anyone in the world. Others charge for courses and provide credits. The idea is still developing. So far, most massive open online courses are in computer science, technology, mechanics and engineering. For example, students around the world are taking a free course called "Building a Computer Search Engine." Two computer scientists, Sebastian Thrun and David Evans, are offering this course throughudacity.com. There are no education requirements for the course. The students watch short videos. Then, says Mr. Evans, they take informal quizzes after the videos each week for six weeks. DAVID EVANS: "Quizzes are part of the lecture to keep students engaged and keep them thinking, for students to be able to check that they understood what we covered. Those are not graded and students try those as often as they wish. They can repeatedly watch the videos and take the quizzes whenever they want." Students receive homework. They join online groups to exchange questions and answers about the course. The teachers hold office hours to answer questions that the students have voted to send them. They also present their own questions and observations to the students in order to help them make a deeper impression of the course. The students take a final examination to show where they rate in the class Everyone who finishes the course receives a grade and proof of completion. Top students get letters documenting their work. Mr. Thrun started Udacity, which supports free MOOCs.Udacityhopes to make a profit in the future by connecting possible employers with interested students. On his Stanford homepage he says he wants to " _ " education. "Education", he says, should be free, accessible for all, anywhere and any time What would be the best title for the passage? A) Enjoy online education, which is more popular B) Join Udacity, which supports free online courses. C) Take an online course to study computer. D) Get a free education in huge online classes.
A: D
Question: Although it was autumn, the snow was already beginning to fall in Tibet. Our legs were so heavy and cold that they felt like blocks of ice. Have you ever seen snowmen ride bicycles? That's what we looked like! Along the way children dressed in long wool coats stopped to look at us. In the late afternoon we found it was so cold that our water bottles froze. However, the lakes shone like glass in the setting sun and looked wonderful. Wang Wei rode in front of me as usual. She is very reliable and I knew I didn't need to encourage her. To climb the mountains was hard work but as we looked around us, we were surprised by the view. We seemed to be able to see for miles. At one point we were so high that we found ourselves cycling through clouds. Then we began going down the hills. It was great fun especially as it gradually became much warmer. In the valleys colorful butterflies flew around us and we saw many yaks and sheep eating green grass. At this point we had to change our caps, coats, gloves and trousers for T-shirts and shorts. Where did they see yaks and sheep eating green grass? A) On the top of the mountain. B) In the valleys. C) Along the river. D) Halfway up the mountain
Answer: B
Q: Hilton Universal City Outdoor swimming pool; rooms with two double beds (sleep 4); mini-fridges in rooms; on-site restaurants and 24-hour room service with children's menu and snack cafe; fee car parking; the hotel is walking distance to Universal Studios and City Walk with lots of restaurants. Holiday Inn Universal Studios Hollywood Rooms with two queen beds (sleep 4), a mini-fridge, a microwave and a game table; on-site restaurants serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with family-friendly food; outdoor swimming pool; fee car parking. Holiday Inn Express Universal City Indoor swimming pool; rooms with two queen beds (sleep 4); breakfast is included in the room rate; free car parking; coin-operated laundry. Magic Castle Hotel Breakfast is included in the room rate; snacks (such as cookies and ice cream); one or two bedroom suites (sleep 4); suites have fully-equipped kitchen, living and dining areas; restaurants in the neighborhood; fee car parking; outdoor swimming pool. If you like to swim indoors, you can choose _ . A) Hilton Universal City B) Holiday Inn Universal Studios Hollywood C) Holiday Inn Express Universal City D) Magic Castle Hotel
A: C