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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Poems are essential to human beings. We can't live without them. We need poems, and the fact that we consider them not worth our time, is something that leaves us impoverished . If we don't read poems we are denying ourselves something important. Poems can help us get in touch with our- selves. In one of those fragments of poetry which many people know, John Donne wrote " No man is an island". He means we all live connected to one another. But, at the same time, we all actually are islands, each occupying a consciousness different from everyone else. How do we really know what someone else is thinking or feeling? And, to turn it around, we should keep most of what we think and feel deep inside us, away from the scrutiny of others. This is the province of poetry, for it reveals what is inside a fellow human being's heart and mind. In some cases what they have to say will be important, maybe so important that it will alter your life or transform your sense of who you are and what you are capable of. But poems are not infallible : sometimes they can seem silly or just plain wrong. We don't have to bow down in reverence to a poem: if we don't like what the poet is saying or how he or she is saying it, there is no reason to hide our own feelings. If a poem doesn't seem to speak to you or me -- and we have made a serious attempt to listen -- then we are surely justified in deciding you have better things to do than to read that poem again. Question: By saying "No man is an island", John Donne really means _ . Options: A: humans tend to separate from each other B: poems can keep people close C: we should focus on our inner feelings D: we can't be separated from each other
(Answer)
D

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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Englishmen speak British English and Americans speak American English. A student is learning to speak British English. He often asks himself, "Can Americans understand me when I speak British English?" Learners often ask "What's the difference between British English and American English?"Certainly there are some differences between British and American English. The Englishmen say "Have you a pen?" While Americans say "Do you have a pen?" The pronunciation is sometimes different. Americans often sound "r" in words like "bird" and "hurt". The British speakers don't sound the "r" in these words. There are differences in spelling. For example, "colour" and "neighbour" are British while "color" and "neighbor" are American. These differences in grammar, pronunciation and spelling are not important, however. For the most part, British and American English are the same language. When Englishmen and Americans are talking with each other, they don't need an interpreter . Maybe some day they need, but not now. Question: "Have you a pen" and "Do you have a pen?" show a difference in _ Options: A: grammar B: spelling C: pronunciation D: listening
(Answer)
A

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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Everybody may have seen the film "Death on the Nile (n. )", but nobody can imagine that the writer of the story, Agatha Christie, saved a baby in a most unusual way. In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Deleville. Doctors there were unable to find out the cause of her illness, so she was sent to a famous hospital in London, where there were many excellent doctors. The baby was so seriously ill that a team of doctors hurried to examine the baby without delay. The doctors, too, were puzzled by the baby's illness and they also became discouraged. Just then a nurse asked to speak to them. "I think the baby is suffering from thallium (n. ) poisoning. " said the nurse. "A few days ago, I read a story 'A Pale Horse' written by Agatha Christie. Someone uses thallium poison, and all the symptoms are written in the book. They are exactly the same as the baby's." "You're very good at observing things," said a doctor, "and you may be right. We'll carry out some tests and find out whether the cause is thallium poisoning or not." The tests proved that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium. Once they knew the cause, the doctors were able to give her correct treatment. The baby soon got well and was sent back to Deleville A week later, it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide (n. ) used in Deleville. Question: When the baby was first sent to the hospital in London, her illness was considered to be _ . Options: A: quite easy to treat B: the result of thallium poisoning C: a common one D: extraordinarily serious
(Answer)
D