Where we live, on the eastern shore of Maryland, the gentle waters run in and out like fingers slimming at the tips. The Canada geese know this place, as do the white swans and ducks. In the autumn, they come home for the winter. Once or twice each year, snow and frozen rain move into the area. When this happens, if the river is at its narrowest, there is a freeze which hardens the water to the ice. One morning, a friend of mine set the breakfast table beside the huge window, which overlooked the Tred Avon River. Suddenly she leaned forward and cried out, "There is a goose out there." We saw the figure of a large Canada goose, very iii, its wings folded tight to its sides, its feet frozen to the ice. Then from the dark sky, she saw a line of swans. They floated from the top of the sky downward and at last landed on the ice. My friend was on her feet now, with one unbelieving hand against her mouth. As the swans surrounded the frozen goose, she feared what life it still had might be pecked out by those great swan beaks. Instead, those beaks began to work on the ice. The long necks were lifted and curved down, again and again. It went on for a long time. At last, the goose's head lifted. Its body pulled. Then the goose was free and standing on the ice. And the swans stood in the air watching. Then, as if it had cried, "I cannot fly," four of the swans came down around it. Their powerful beaks chipped off the ice and held in the feathers. Slowly, the goose spread its wings as far as they could go, and moved slowly into the sky. This is a true story. I just think of it in the bad moments, and from it comes only one hopeful question:" If so for birds, why not for man?" What happened to the Canada goose? A) It was deserted by other geese. B) It was stuck in the ice. C) It was wounded and couldn't fly. D) It was lost in the water.
B
(Question)
Cities alarmed by deaths and injuries of pedestrians are taking efforts to make crosswalks safer for people on foot, especially seniors and children who need more time to cross streets. A pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident in the USA every 110 minutes;one is injured every nine minutes, according to official data. Crosswalk can be especially dangerous for the elderly. Among people 70 and older, 36% of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred in crosswalks, compared with 21% of those younger than 70, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Federal Highway Administration(FHWA)advises that next year states increase by nearly 15% the amount of time traffic lights provide for pedestrians to cross the street after the flashing orange hand appears . FHWA spokesman Doug Hecox says reasons for the change include an aging population that needs more time to cross, health-conscious Americans walking more, children encouraged to walk to prevent getting overweight and high gas prices pushing people to walk instead of driving. Pedestrian deaths went down by 12% from 5,449 in 1996 to 4,784 in 2006. But among those in 2006, 471 were killed in crosswalks, down slightly from 488 ten years earlier, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says . The report from NHTSA suggests that _ . A) fewer people were injured in crosswalks B) crosswalk safety has been greatly improved C) much has been done to reduce traffic accidents D) pedestrian deaths in crosswalk remain a serious problem
(Answer)
D
Ques: Need a solid excuse to dust off your running shoes? Joggers have been found to live an average of six years longer than those who don't jog. However, you'll have to run for at least one hour a week for benefit, according to a new study in Denmark. Researchers found that jogging was associated with a 44 per cent reduction in the risk of death for those over 35 years compared with deaths among those who did not run. The same benefit applied to both men and women. The 44 per cent reduction translates to an 'age-adjusted survival benefit' of 6.2 years in men and 5.6 years in women, according to Dr. Peter Schnohr, chief cardiologist from the Copenhagen City Heart study. Furthermore, the jogger's lives are not only longer but happier too as those who ran reported an overall sense of well-being, said Schnohr. The results of our research allow us to definitively answer the question of whether jogging is good for your health,' Schnohr said in a statement. 'We can say with certainty that regular jogging increases longevity. The good news is that you don't actually need to do that much to reap the benefits,' he continued. The study also found that the optimum benefit of jogging was for those who jogged at a slow-to-average pace for between an hour and two and a half hours spread over two or three weekly sessions. Researchers then compared deaths among the joggers among the non-joggers in the main study pool of almost 20,000. Over 35 years, 122 joggers died compared with 10,158 non-joggers. All the participants involved with the Copenhagen City Heart Study had their cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose, and BMI, measured and they were questioned about smoking, alcohol consumption, education, and income. Why do joggers live more happily? A) Because they taste part sense of happiness. B) Because they taste overall sense of hardship. C) Because they taste whole sense of happiness. D) Because they taste part sense of success.
Ans: C
Question: The British Museum first opened in the 18th Century largely based on the collections of the scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The current neoclassical building was founded nearly a century later and is quadrangular with four wings and a great classical appearance. Inside is a courtyard, the Great Court, covered with a special modern addition--a spiraling glass and steel roof which was designed by Norman Foster and completed in 2000. The courtyard surrounds the round Reading Room with a copper domed ceiling the same size as the dome of St Peter's in Rome. The museum, one of the oldest in the world, is Britain's largest museum, and widely considered to be one of the world's greatest museums of human history and culture. The permanent collection is made up of over 8 million objects spanning the history of the world's cultures from the stone tools of early man to twentieth-century prints. The collection includes controversial items including the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Greece, Egyptian mummies and the Rosetta Stone. The expansion of the museum over the years has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions including the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. The British Library previously occupied the Reading Room but in 1997 moved to a new site next to St Pancras Station on Euston Road. There are frequent special exhibitions of international significance. Opening Times: The museum is open daily from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. On Fridays it stays open until 8:30 pm. Entry to the museum is free, although a charge may be made for entry to temporary exhibitions. Address: Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Nearest Underground Station: Tottenham Court Road (5-minute walk), Russell Square (6-minute walk) and Holborn (7-minute walk).Website: http://www. britishmuseum. org/. What's the writer's purpose in mentioning St Peter's? A) To tell us an interesting story. B) To introduce its great history. C) To compare it to the Reading Room. D) To show the size of the Reading Room's dome.
Answer:
D