*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: It was your birthday, and you just opened your biggest gift -- a smooth silver laptop. You can't wait to instant-message your friends with the news, but first you have to get rid of your old desktop computer. Do you just throw away the monitor and keyboard in the trash? Not anymore! Three states, that is, California, Maine, and Maryland, recently passed laws prohibiting people from throwing away electronic waste, or e-waste, includes televisions, computers, and cell phones. Although they don't make you sick when you use them, they do when they are destroyed, for they contain heavy metals that can be harmful to human bodies. For example, cell phone batteries contain a kind of chemical causing damage to kidneys and deserted computer monitors can damage brains. And flat TV screens may cause injury to the nervous system. Those metals can leak into the ground or give off pollutants when burned. It is required that e-waste be placed at special sites rather than usual landfills. Several other states are considering similar laws and California is also pushing for a law banning the application of such dangerous substances. Government officials are not the only people taking aim at e-waste; environmentalists are also urging people to recycle their outdated equipment. "It is just a waste ... to not recycle," Patrick, an associate professor of occupational and environmental health at university of Iowa, told The Daily Iowan, "Allowing dangerous chemicals to leak into the environment for decades seems irresponsible." What Can You Do? Reduce. Be a responsible shopper, and take care of your electronics so they will last longer. Re-use. Donate or sell your old high-tech equipment. Recycle. To find a responsible recycler, contact a local or state environmental group. Question: What can we know from Patrick's words? - Waste can't be recycled. - Waste can be made use of by recycling - We have to recycle e-waste to protect the environment. - Protecting the environment is important.
**Answer**
We have to recycle e-waste to protect the environment.

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Huckleberry Finn,the great character from the Mark Twain book,did not like school.He preferred floating down the Mississippi River on a raft and looking for adventure.That's why generations of schoolboys have loved reading Huckleberry Finn:they feel the same way about[ school as he did. For many boys,being forced to sit all day in a school room is like being punished for a crime they did not commit.There are endless hours of boredom spent learning things they have no interest in.That's why many boys do poorly in school and many give up on education altogether. Ironically ,the whole idea for schools was invented for boys.If a boy wanted to grow up to be a useful man,he had to be educated.By and by,people realized that educating girls was a good idea,too.And,ironically again,it was discovered that the school system suits girls just fine;so fine that girls now do much better than boys in school. No one really knows why that is.Some say that girls mature quicker than boys and adapt better to school life.Some also say that the school system and the curriculum have changed to encourage girls but _ . Educators are now trying to find ways to get boys to be more successful in school.There are suggestions to separate the sexes and teach boys separately.There are also suggestions to change[ the curriculum to make it more interesting for boys. Whatever the changes are,boys still will be boys,and dreams of floating down the Mississippi River will always be an attractive choice to just sitting in a classroom. Question: Many boys do poorly in school because _ . - they give up on education - they're punished for a crime they did not commit - they have no interest in the things they're learning - they prefer floating down the Mississippi River on a raft
**Answer**
they have no interest in the things they're learning

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Our world is a noisy place, but quiet places remain. Eight years ago, audio engineer Gordon Hempton identified the quietest place in the continental United States. He calls the place "One Square Inch of Silence." He has used his symbolic spot in a northwestern rain forest to campaign against noise pollution. But the self-described "Sound Tracker" is now going deaf. For Gordon Hempton, it started with an experience known to many people. "I was lying in the bed in the springtime about a year ago. The sun was shining. The birds could be singing. They should be singing. But I was hearing none. I knew my life was going to be different." Hempton's eyes get watery as he describes his cruel situation. More than 20 years ago he trademarked his nickname as "The Sound Tracker." Sharp hearing defined his career as an Emmy award winning sound recordist. It also led to his activism against noise pollution. He has circled the globe three times in search of the perfect sounds of nature. Hempton says his hearing loss is quickly getting worse but he has to finish his project. "I am running a race to finish the Quiet Planet collection." That's the title of a planned 19-volume set of nature recordings. The sound tracks could be licensed for use in movies, video games, exhibits, plays and the like. Volunteer assistants now help Hempton review and edit sound files and identify imperfections. The exact cause of his hearing loss is not clear. Doctors say it may be the result of an infection, or a tumor or a combination of things. Hempton is self-employed. His health care plan does not pay for hearing loss treatment. So, for now, he's directing his attention to completing his "greatest hits" album. "After I get it finished, I have an economic cash flow to get my hearing back. That's the first thing on my to-do list." He's hopeful his hearing loss can be recovered. Question: What contributed most to his successful career? - Travelling experiences. - His reliable assistants. - His sharp hearing. - The sounds of nature.
**Answer**
His sharp hearing.

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard. "I'll be the first millionaire in Coleford!" Richard used to boast. "And you'll be sorry that you knew me," George would reply "because I'll surely be the best lawyer in our town!" After graduation, George never became a lawyer and Richard was anybody but a millionaire .... Instead, it happened that both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street, while it was hard to make much money from books then, which made the competition between them worse. Eventually, Richard closed down his, dreaming of making a fortune elsewhere. Now, with only one bookshop in the town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his former rival . Perhaps he missed him? George was very interested in old dictionaries, and he had recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was quite delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished -- the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading: "Bookends Company has bought ten bookstores from its competitors. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in this country." Question: What happened to George and Richard in the end? - Both George and Richard became millionaires by selling books. - Both of them realized their original ambitions, which were the same. - George established a successful business while Richard was missing. - Richard became a millionaire while George had no great success.
**Answer**
Richard became a millionaire while George had no great success.