There is a story of a country where the rate of inflation is so high that clever people pay for a taxi ride before, instead of after the trip. The story may or may not be true. But inflation was up so fast that by the end of 1923, they were 50 billion percent higher-- a rise of almost 2500% a month. There was so much paper money, and it had so little value that people carried bags full of money around to pay for things. One woman tells the story of standing outside a shop with a basket full of 500, 000 mark notes . She wanted to buy just one piece of meat, and she hoped she had enough money. But when she was looking, a thief robbed her. He didn't take her money; however, he threw it away and took the basket instead. At first workers demanded to be paid every day. But as the situation became worse, they had to be paid twice a day. but they had to run out and spend the money at once, or it would lose its value. People bought anything that was for sale but food was almost impossible to find. Farm workers refused to take money. They wanted to be paid in potatoes instead. New policies ended the inflation in 1923 when the government introduced a new money. But about half of the German people lost everything in those three and a half years. The thief stole the basket instead of the money in it because he thought _ . A) the basket was what he needed most B) the money was of no value C) the basket was more valuable than the money D) he couldn't" t buy a piece of meat with the money
C
The piano on which Mozart wrote all of his late works returned home to Vienna for the first time since his death in 1791.The piano will stand in his former Vienna home, now a museum, for two weeks, ending in a concert of the works by Mozart. Mozart bought the instrument from Anton Walter, the most famous piano maker of his time, in 1782.He wrote more than 50 works for the piano on it, many of them in the apartment in Vienna.After Mozart's death, Constanze, Mozart's wife, gave the instrument to their elder surviving son, Carl Thomas, who donated it to the Mozarteum Salzburg on what would have been the composer's 100th birthday.The piano is now part of the permanent exhibition in the Austrian city of Salzburg. " It was very hard to let it go," said Matthias Schulz, director of the Mozarteum Salzburg." If we didn' t know it was in the best hands, we wouldn' t have done it." The piano is much smaller and lighter than modern concert ones.Its sound is fresher and brighter than that of a modern piano, with lighter action and hammers . Piano restorer Josef Meingast, who has looked after the Mozart piano since 1975, said it was superior to any of its surviving copies.Meingast said he had to fight to replace the existing strings , dating from a 1973 restoration, with softer ones that produce a rounder sound thought to be more similar to what Mozart would have produced. Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov, who planned to give a concert of Mozart' s music on the piano on November 7, said he was privileged to play such an instrument.It's easily the biggest day of a musician' s life." According to the passage, the piano _ . A) is now being owned by the Mozart family B) has been kept by Carl Thomas since Mozart died C) is much bigger and heavier than modern ones D) is part of the permanent exhibition in the city of Salzburg
D
Q: English is fast becoming the only language of a new generation of educated Arabs. This isn't a good thing for the region or the rest of the world. The journalism school at the AUD is the only modern program in the Middle East that allows students to study in Arabic. Still, many students arrive with poorly written Arabic and the formal spoken language and require refresher Arabic language courses. Literacy in the Gulf States is 98%, according to UNESCO. But that literacy is increasingly in English, not Arabic. This English bias starts early, with children in private "model" schools in the United Arab Emirates studying all their subjects, including math and science, in English. But the trend appears to be taking hold regionwide. In Saudi Arabia, many upper-middle-class families speak English at home -- not just at work . One Arabic official told me his own children do not speak Arabic fluently. He said he put them in English schools to help ensure they'd have great career prospects. But now he says he regrets that his children don't feel comfortable speaking the language of their forefathers. Why is there the anxiety among these elites? I am continually told that what I've experienced anecdotally is true: The wealthier the family, the less likely its members speak Arabic at home. If people in the same country don't speak the same language, how can they work across class lines to solve the problems of high unemployment that affect even oil-rich Saudi Arabia? For executives trying to build local businesses, the English bias is a challenge. The dean of the AUD's school of journalism, Ali Al Jaber, told me, "If you can't address your own people, then you can't be successful." Sure, English is the world's business language. More Chinese are learning English right now than there are Americans in the U.S. But China has struck a bilingual balance. Its research universities teach some of the world's brightest minds in Chinese. Professor Wardeh finds much for Arab nations to admire in _ . We can know from the passage that _ . A) the popularity of English in Saudi Arabia is a good thing B) there is no problem of unemployment in Saudi Arabia C) the poor in Saudi Arabia are more likely to speak Arabic D) the English bias doesn't affect the local business
A: C
SYDNEY (AFP) Nick Bryant reports: "It gives me great pleasure to introduce the new caretaker of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, from the United Kingdom, Ben Southall." A global recruitment drive with the trappings of a TV reality show made it truly a tourism marketing campaign. The best job in the world's competition finally has a winner, Ben Southall, a 34-year-old charity worker from Britain. He beat 34,000 candidates from 200 countries in an online competition that became something of an Internet phenomenon. "To go away now as the island caretaker for Tourism Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef is an extreme honour. I hope I can fill the boots as much as everybody is expecting, my swimming hopefully is up to standard and I look forward to all of the new roles and responsibilities that the task involves." [Ben Southall] For a disappointing Australian tourism industry currently in the _ , this has been an unexpected encouragement. Tourism Queensland deliberately chose the middle of winter of the northern globe to launch the campaign back in January, but didn't expect anywhere near the global response. They think the only countries where people didn't visit their website was North Korea and a few African nations. What's said to be the best job in the world comes with a $110,000 (about 750,000 yuan) contract for six months' work, a luxury beachside home and a plunge pool. In return, the island caretaker will be expected to stroll the white sands, enjoy the sun, diving and taking care of the reef, "maybe clean the pool"-- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs , photo diaries and video updates. For the losers meanwhile, there's the worst of long journeys home. It can be inferred from the report that _ . A) it's the easiest job in the world B) The journey home of the losers of the competition will be dangerous C) the organizers of the activity knew North Koreans would never be interested in the job D) you need to surf the Internet regularly to know what Ben Southall is doing there
D