Ques: What was your favorite sport during your childhood? Maybe running around the playground or jumping rope for hours would bring you pleasure. At that time you weren't thinking of health, you were just thinking of entertainment . But in this age of high-tech home equipment, the simple joy of jumping rope has been forgotten. I think rediscovering it probably will give you a total-body exercise. Although considered an excellent form of exercise, jumping rope has never been widely accepted because of two reasons. First, most people consider jumping rope to be an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise, but they also believe that it is simply too difficult. In other words, they don't think they'll be able to continue jumping for the near 20 minutes in order to achieve a beneficial physical effect. Second, many people regard it as a little boring and overly repetitive --not as something fun or enjoyable. _ . Instead of doing the usual two-foot bounce over and over again, players good at rope-jumping often change their pattern every 10 or 20 jumps. A single bounce, a double -bounce, a skip, a knee-up, side swings, as well as a variety of other easy-to-learn free-style rope-jumping . Nowadays researchers are discovering that jumping rope also prepares the brain for learning. It is an exercise allowing both brain hemispheres to perform equally to each other . In a word, jumping rope can be a life-long activity requiring little equipment, time and space, yet leading to a much healthier life. What is the author's attitude towards rope jumping? A) He strongly argues against it. B) He is sitting on the fence of it . C) He is for it. D) He knows little about it .
Ans: C

Ques: The host: Now it's time for our You Must Read This program. Today we'll hear from Lauren Groff. She came across a book when she was going to have her first child and was worried about the future. Lauren Groff: Staring into darkness, I wanted to read about happiness.1n fact, books full of joy are hard to find because happiness is nearly impossible to write about. So, when I found Elizabeth and Her German Garden, by Elizabeth Von Arnim, I felt as if someone suddenly opened a curtain and revealed a window where I had thought there was a wall. Elizabeth and Her German Garden feels as if it rose out of Von Arnim's deep unhappiness in the way she was supposed to fit into her world Still, what a cool drink this novel is. It has a few characters: the narrator, a countess named Elizabeth, her husband, her three tiny daughters, various servants and some visitors. There is also Elizabeth's garden. whick we see in all its seasonal richness. That is only the book's surface, however. There are great things hidden in the book. Eliza- beth is always comparing herself and the women around her and finding their fixed social roles disappointing. Her happiness, when it comes, arrives as an act of will. She has fought hard to achieve delight and I think it is more valuable for her struggle. I appreciate Elizabeth for showing me a way through my darkest time, by revealing that an act of focused attention can lift a person out of a long, dark period in their lives. Anyone can get a little happiness from living, even by reading a few pages of a book. The host : That's Lauren Groff. Her latest novel is Arcadia. The book she recommended is Elizabeth and Her German Garden. What can we learn about Arcadia? A) It is the next novel to be recommended. B) It is a novel written by Lauren Groff. C) It is Elizabeth Von Arnim's latest novel. D) It is recommended in the last program.
Ans: B

Ques: I was telling my boy Sonny the story of the hare and the tortoise . At the end I said, " Son, remember: Be slow and steady , and that will win the race. Don't you think there's something to learn from the tortoise?" Sonny opened his eyes wide, "Do you mean next time when I'm entering for the 60-metre race I should wish that Billy, Tony and Sandy would all fall asleep halfway?" I was shocked, "But the tortoise didn't wish that the hare would fall asleep!" "He must have wished that," Sonny said, "Otherwise how could he be so foolish as to race with the hare? He knew very well the hare ran a hundred times faster than he himself did." "He didn't have such a wish," I insisted. "He won the race by perseverance , by pushing on steadily." Sonny thought a while. "That's a lie," he said. "He won it because he was lucky. If the hare hadn't happened to fall asleep, the tortoise would never have won the race. He could be as steady as you like, or a hundred times steadier, but he'd never have won the race. That's for sure." I gave up. Today's children are not like what we used to be. They're just hopeless. Billy, Tony and Sandy must be _ . A) boys who were unknown to Sonny's father B) boys who Sonny has run races with before C) boys who Sonny has never raced with before D) boys who Sonny did not expect to race with again
Ans: B

Ques: The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him. "Empty your pockets please, Alfred," Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice. Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he had been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste. "I'm disappointed in you, Alfred!" said the little gray-haired man. "Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It's the first time I've ever done such a thing," Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man's sympathy. Mr Carr's brow furrowed as he reached for the telephone, "Do you take me for a fool? Let's see what the police have to say. But first I'll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail." "Do whatever you want," Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police. Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs. Higgins finally arrived . She was very calm, quiet and friendly. "Is Alfred in trouble?" she asked. "He's been stealing from the store," the old man coolly replied. Mrs. Higgins pulled out her hand and touched Mr. Carr's arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. "What do you want to do, Mr.Carr?" The woman's calm and gentle manner _ the once-angry store-owner, "I was going to get a cop. But I don't want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again and I will let it go." Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins' hand. Mrs. Higgins thanked the old ma for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, "Go to bed, you fool." In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother's actions. "She was smooth!" he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw. His mother's... What impressed Alfred most about his mother at the drugstore was _ . A) how angry she was B) how effective she handled Mr. Carr. C) that she was able to save him D) that she didn't cry
Ans:
B