Henry Ford, the famous U.S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, "The business of America is business." By this he meant that the U.S. way of life is based on the values of the business world. Few would argue with Ford's statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as"the entertainment industry"or"show business." The positive side of Henry Ford's statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U.S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system creates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life. The negative side of Henry Ford's statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business--referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the fight to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing--the laying off of thousands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high--creates feelings of insecurity for many. A company's efforts to keep expenses low and profits high may result in _ . A) reduction in the number of employees B) improvement of working conditions C) fewer disputes between labor and management D) a rise in workers' wages
A
April 2009, in the state of Georgia, USA, twenty thousand people watched high school students from twenty- eight countries compete with robots they had built. More than ten thousand students and more than five hundred robots took part in the competition. Almost 1,700 high school teams took part in the competition called LUNACY. In January, the organization sent the same robots to each team. The teams had six weeks to build robots that could compete in the LUNACY game. The playing area consisted of six robots, three on each team. Each robot had a trailer connected to it. The robots had to pick up large balls and throw them into the trailers of opposing robots. The robots were moving on a platform where they could move smoothly. A team from the USA won the LUNACY competition. American inventor Dean Kamen started the competition in 1989 to increase young people's interest in science and technology. The organization holds robotic competitions around the world. It offers programs that help young people learn about science, technology, engineering and maths, and at the same time build life skills. Many companies provide support for the organization. Mr. Kamen says the goal is more than building robots. He says the student competitors showed they could solve difficult technological problems and, he says that it is good news because the world needs creative thinkers to solve the increasingly difficult problems of the future. Which part of a website might this passage be from? A) Sports. B) Science. C) Entertainment. D) Customs.
B
Q: Full of beauty, happiness and a healthy love of life, the Bulgarian festivals and customs date back to old time when man tried to live in peace with nature. The merriest and richest festivals are Christmas and the New Year, when the socalled "sourvakari" makes the round of house with wishes for health and wealth. Other main festivals include "ladouvane" -- a holiday for young girls on New Year's Day or Midsummer Day (24th June), Shrovetide and Mummers' Games which mark the start of spring, and "lazrouvane" -- a traditional festival for love and family, health and richness.And among them, the widely popular and typical Bulgarian customs and festivals are "martenitsas" and rosepicking. Every year on March 1st, the Bulgarians give each other "martenitsas" -- a small doll made of white and red strings, a symbol of the beginning of spring, health and happiness. In late May and early June every year, the rosepicking season starts in the Valley of Roses which is between the Balkan Range and the Sredna Gora Mountains. Rosepicking starts at dawn, before sunrise and before the pleasant smell of the rose has disappeared. The Bulgarian rose produces 70 percent of the world's rose oil which is used by the very wellknown perfume company as a basic element of its products. This is the time of the Festival of Roses, celebrated with carnivals, happy activities, folk songs and dances in Karlovo and Kazanluk on the first Sunday in June. The passage is mainly about _ . A) Christmas and the New Year in Bulgaria B) the origin of Bulgarian festivals and customs C) rosepicking and perfume industry in Bulgaria D) typical customs and festivals of Bulgaria
A: D
Night after night, she came to tuck me in , even long after my childhood years. Following her longstanding custom, she'd lean down and push my long hair out of the way, then kiss my forehead. I don't remember when it first started annoying me -- her hands pushing my hair that way. But it did annoy me, for they felt work-worn and rough against my young skin. Finally, one night, I shouted at her: "Don't do that anymore -- your hands are too rough!" She didn't say anything in reply. But never again did my mother close out my day with that familiar expression of her love. Lying awake long afterward, my words rang in my mind. But pride overwhelmed my conscience, and I didn't tell her I was sorry. Time after time, with the passing years, my thoughts returned to that night. I missed my mother's hands, missed her goodnight kiss upon my forehead. Sometimes the incident seemed very close, sometimes far away. But always it appeared in the back of my mind. Well, the years have passed, and I'm not a little girl any more. Mom is in her mid-seventies, and those hands I once thought to be so rough are still doing things for me and my family. She's been our doctor, reaching for medicine to calm a young girl's stomach or ease the pain of a boy's injured knee. She cooks the best fried chicken in the world...gets stains out of blue jeans like I never could...and still insists on dishing out ice cream at any hour of the day or night. Through the years, my mother's hands have put in countless hours of toil, and most of hers were before automatic washers! Now, my own children are grown and gone. Mom no longer has Dad, and on special occasions, I find myself drawn next door to spend the night with her. So it was that late on Thanksgiving Eve, as I drifted into sleep in the bedroom of my youth, a familiar hand hesitantly stole across my face to brush the hair from my forehead. Then a kiss, ever so gently, touched my brow. In my memory, for the thousandth time, I recalled the night my surly young voice complained: "Don't do that any... We can learn from the passage that _ . A) The author lived separately from her mother B) The author's father has passed away C) The author alone took care of her children D) The author's mother never kissed her again since that night
B