One of the major problems in our economy is inflation , a situation in which prices are going up faster than salary . Thus, a person has to work more hours to pay for the same thing. For example, let's say that this year a loaf of bread costs $1.00 and average salary in the United Sates is $10.00 per hour. That means a person could earn enough money to buy a loaf of bread in one-tenth of an hour, or six minutes. Then, halfway through the year, the price of the bread goes up to $1.25, while salary stay the same. That means that a person now has to work one-eighth of an hour--seven and a half minutes to buy the same loaf of bread. Now let's say that at the end of the year, salary go up to $11.00 per hour, but the price of bread goes up to $1.50. Now a person has to work more than one-seventh of an hour--over eight minutes--to buy loaves of bread, employees will have less money left over to buy other things, Inflation means that the same money buys fewer things and everybody's standard of living goes down, even if salaries are going up. Some kinds of inflation are worse than others. Moderate inflation does not distort relative prices or incomes seriously. Galloping inflation happens rapidly, say at a rate of 100percent or more within a year. And then there's hyperinflation--inflation so serious that people try to get rid of their currency before prices rise further and make the money worthless. Times of hyperinflation are usually characterized by social and political disorder. What happens when prices go up but salaries remain the same? A) The government will do more about the economy B) Workers might lose their jobs if they show dissatisfaction C) People will save money rather than spend it. D) People must work longer to buy the same things
D
Animation means making things which are lifeless come alive and move. Since earliest times, people have always been astonished by movement. But not until this century have we managed to take control of movement, to record it, and in the case of animation, to retranslate it and recreate it. To do all this, we use a movie camera and a projector . In the world of cartoon animation, nothing is impossible. You can make the characters do exactly what you want them to do. A famous early cartoon character was Felix the Cat, created by Pat Sullivan in America in the early nineteen twenties. Felix was a wonderful cat. He could do all sorts of things no natural cat could do like taking off his tail, using it as a handle and then putting it back. Most of the great early animators lived and worked in America, the home of the moving picture industry. The famous Walt Disney cartoon characters came to life after 1928. Popeye the Sailor and his girl friend Olive Oyo were born at Max Ficischer in 1933. But to be an animator, you don't have to be a professional . It is possible for anyone to make a simple animated film without using a camera at all. All you have to do is to draw directly on to an empty film and then run the film through a projector. What does the passage mainly discuss? A) Animal world B) Movie camera C) Cartoon making D) Movement
C
Q: At the Presbyterian Church in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe, 15-year-old Lovemore and other children crowd around tables in a small room, answering questions in their workbooks. Their uniforms are clean and worn with pride, and in many ways it would be difficult to distinguish this classroom from any other. These children, like Lovemore, live at the Mbare bus station, a crowded, dirty and dangerous place for anyone, especially at night. Lovemore said that he started to face problems once his mother died and his father stopped paying school fees. When Lovemore's father remarried, Lovemore was forced onto the street, no longer welcome at home. After meeting a worker from the Presbyterian Children's Club (PCC), Lovemore felt encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to get an education. Since joining the program, he is always at the top of his class. He spends his mornings at the PCC, where he receives his only meals for the day. At night, he sleeps on the ground at the bus station. The few clothes he owns are hidden in secret places around town so that no one will steal them. At the end of each day, Lovemore and his classmates take their books with them to study at night in the market square. "We read by the street lights, but sometimes the guards drive us away." Each year, the top three students are given a chance to go to formal school. Those who successfully complete their grade-seven exams will be given a PCC scholarship to attend a boarding school , proving there is hope for forgotten children like Lovemore. Started in 1996, the program provides free education, basic meals, health care and clothing to more than 70 children. "There are people who care here, and other kids like me," Lovemore said. "It feels like this is my family." What can be inferred from the passage? A) Lovemore is eager to learn. B) Lovemore is attending a boarding school. C) Lovemore doesn't want to go back home. D) Lovemore is helping more than 70 children.
A: A
Q: The small unframed painting called "Fisherman" was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $ 27000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession. Pitt said, "I didn't know it was so valuable. I'm not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought 'Fisherman' in Italy in 1970 for $140.the picture was dirty, and I couldn't see the artist's signature. But anyway it wasn't the picture that I like. I bought it because of the frame." "It's most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I'll never part with it." "When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn't know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $ 140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then." "Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone's signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale." As a result of his explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department. Pitt was not happy. "I told the truth as I knew it then," he said, "What else could I say?" And then the judge agreed with him. "The Customs Department is to be responsible (blame)," he said, "for making a true valuation of goods bought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty. From the passage we can infer that if Maveleone had been a well-know artist _ . A) the painting would have cost much more than $ 140 B) he wouldn't have sold his painting at such a low price C) the customs officer wouldn't have valued the painting at $ 140 D) Pitt wouldn't have had the intention to buy any of his paintings
A: C