Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Telephone, television, radio, telegraph and the Internet all help people communicate with each other. As a result, ideas and news of events spread quickly all over the world. For example, within seconds, people can know the results of an election in another country. An international football match comes into the homes of everyone with a television set. News of a disaster such as an earthquake or a flood can bring help from distant countries within hours. Help is on the way. Because of modern technology like the satellites that travel around the world, information travels fast. How has this speed of communication changed the world? To many people, the world has become smaller. Of course this does not mean that the world is actually physically smaller. It means that the world seems smaller. Two hundred years ago, communication between the continents took a long time. All news was carried on ships that took weeks or even months to cross the ocean. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it took six weeks for news from Europe to reach America. This time difference influenced people's actions. For example, one battle, or fight, in the War of 1812 between England and the United States could have been avoided. A peace agreement had already been signed. Peace was made in England, but the news of peace took six weeks to reach America. During these six weeks, the large and serious Battle of New Orleans was fought. Many people lost their lives after a peace treaty had been signed. They would not have died if news had come in time. In the past, communication took much more time than it does now. There was a good reason why the world seemed so much larger than it does today. Question: The New Orleans Battle could have been avoided if the peace agreement had been signed _ . Answer:
OPTIONS:
- by important people
- in 1812
- in America
- in England
in America

Read the following article and answer the question. Article: If you are not comfortable with school learning, there is another option for you--cyberschool. Cyberschool can also provide a comprehensive teaching service that offers academic guidance and assistance. This is in order to promote the learning process and create a formal, wellstructured environment for learning to take place. The center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public "cyberschools" and that is about twice as many as two years ago. The money for students to attend a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools. They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well. Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools. They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school. Whatever the judgment of cyberschools, they are getting more and more popular. Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessary. Even though cyberschools are therefore not technically a school, mostly they offer a fully complete and comprehensive program that covers a full school day to children up to Grade 9, after which schooling is no longer mandatory . Question: Cyberschools are getting popular because . Answer:
OPTIONS:
- they are less expensive for students
- their students can work at their own speed
- their graduates are more successful in society
- they serve students in a wider age range

Answer: their students can work at their own speed

Question: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Scientists study the ocean in many different ways. Although many marine scientists focus on animals in the ocean, others seek to gain a better understanding of the ocean's chemical and physical components . Scientists are learning a great deal about the natural and human-caused processes that shape the ocean and its many life forms. Much of the present research focuses on how human activity influences the ocean. Clean water is a limited resource, and ocean pollution does harm to plant and animal health. Some scientists are now studying ocean water to find out just how contaminated it is. Scientists are also working on new methods to estimate the presence of poisons in the ocean, which will help them develop better techniques for cleaning up the water. Others look at how sea living things get used to poisons because poisonous sea life has an effect on humans too. For example, some seafood is poisoned, which may cause a threat to humans who eat it. Another type of marine scientist tries to learn more about the history of the ocean. Understanding the ocean's past tells scientists more about its patterns and cycles today and in the future. The ocean's past, which is recorded by deposits in the ocean floor, helps scientists understand such important matters as global climate change and other environmental differences. The more researchers learn about the history of the ocean and its relation to climatic and environmental changes, the more likely that they will one day understand what causes such changes. Other scientists are concerned with understanding how ocean systems work. The word systems refers to all the conditions and elements that are continually changing the ocean. Understanding these systems is necessary to protect the ocean and ensure the safety of its life forms. The cycles of ocean life also have an enormous effect on human life; for example, studying coastal waters is important because they provide much of the fish that humans eat. Marine geologists are earth scientists who work along the ocean... Question: Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage? Answer:
OPTIONS:
- Saving the ocean from destruction
- Learning about the ocean
- Finding out the history of the ocean
- Researching the floor of the ocean
Answer: Learning about the ocean

Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Nuclearpowered aircraft carriers are considered one of the most important marine weapons in the 20th century. So far, only two countries in the world, the USA and France, have ever produced them. But these fearful fighting machines are about to enter Asia. The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclearpowered aircraft carriers will be sent to Japan to replace the diesel powered carrier Kitty Hawk in 2008. In an agreement on October 30, the two countries also planned to level up their military cooperation and the USA called for Japan to take a larger role in alliance military moves. It will be the first time that a nuclearpowered carrier is based in Japan. Bombed by US forces in World War II at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only world country to have been attacked by a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclearpowered weapons are based. "A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause billions of dollars in damage," said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka. His group has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan opposed to the nuclear carrier. The 44yearold Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's oldest active ship, has been based in Yokosuka since 1998. It had returned to the US to be decommissioned in 2008. The new carrier will travel faster, be capable of supporting longer operations and carry with it the Navy's most modern technology. Experts pointed that this change is not only to strengthen the USJapan military alliance but also to keep the military power of China and North Korea within limits. However, even Japanese experts don't believe that the two countries are threats to the region. "There is no need for Japan to have a nuclear carrier as defense," said Tetsuo Maeda, an international relations professor at Tokyo International University. He said that the change of ship indicates an increased military capability in the region, much more than what is needed. Question: From the story, we learn that _ . Answer:
OPTIONS:
- no other countries except the USA and France possess aircraft carriers
- Japan has long planned to increase its military capability with new weapons
- Japan will be the first country in Asia to have a nuclear aircraft carrier
- Japan will be the third country to produce a nuclearpowered aircraft carrier
Japan will be the first country in Asia to have a nuclear aircraft carrier