Read the article and select the best answer. Article: We are not who we think we are. The American self-image is spread with the golden glow of opportunity. We think of the United States as a land of unlimited possibility, not so much a classless society but as a place where class is mutable--a place where brains, energy and ambition are what counts, not the circumstances of one's birth. The Economic Mobility Project, an ambitious research led by Pew Charitable Trusts, looked at the economic fortunes of a large group of families over time, comparing the income of parents in the late 1960s with the income of their children in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Here is the finding: "The 'rags to riches' story is much more common in Hollywood than on Main Street. Only 6 percent of children born to parents with family income at the very bottom move to the top. That is right, just 6 percent of children born to parents who ranked in the bottom of the study sample, in terms of income, were able to bootstrap their way into the top . Meanwhile, an incredible 42 percent of children born into that lowest are still stuck at the bottom, having been unable to climb a single rung of the income ladder. It is noted that even in Britain---a nation we think of as burdened with a hidebound class system-children who are born poor have a better chance of moving up. When the studies were released, most reporters focused on the finding that African-Americans born to middle-class or upper middle-class families are earning slightly less, in inflation-adjusted dollars, than did their parents. One of the studies indicates, in fact, that most of the financial gains white families have made in the past three decades can be attributed to the entry of white women into the labor force. This is much less true for African-Americans. The picture that emerges from all the quintiles, correlations and percentages is of a nation in which, overall, "the current generation of adults is better off than the previous one", as one of the studies notes. The median income of the families in the sample group was... Question: Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? Options: A: The US is a land where brains, energy and ambition are what counts. B: Inequality persists between whites and blacks in financial gains. C: Middle-class families earn slightly less with inflation considered. D: Children in lowest-income families manage to climb a single rung of the ladder.
B

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place.Now it is an ecological disaster area.Nauru's heartbreaking story could have one good consequence -- other countries might learn from its mistakes. For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived in the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization.The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798.He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship.He called the island Pleasant Island. However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first.The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol.These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island.A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900. Nauru's real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate on the island.In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which was a very important fertilizer for farming.The company began mining the phosphate. A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine.When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer of soil.Then it takes away the material it wants.Strip mining totally destroys the land.Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon. In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world.Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate. Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars.In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses.Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem -- their phosphate was running out.Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing.By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined.Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island.This will probably never happen. Question: Which of the following was a cause of Nauru's financial problem? Options: A: Its phosphate mining cost much money B: It spent too much repairing the island C: Its leaders misused the money D: It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.
C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: We all enjoy the colors of autumn leaves. Did you ever wonder how and why a fall leaf changes color? Where do the yellows and oranges come from? To answer those questions, we first have to understand what leaves are and what they do. Leaves are nature's food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose, which is a kind of sugar. Plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing. The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar is called photosynthesis, which means " putting together with light. " A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color. As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter. During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small a-mounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. Covered up by the green chlorophyll, we just can't see them in summer. The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves. It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful colors we enjoy in the fall. Question: The writer asked two questions in the beginning in order to_. Options: A: persuade readers to believe something B: introduce the topic of the passage C: get the readers excited D: offer something to think over
A: B

(Question)
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A woman in blue jeans stood at the window of expensive shop. Though she hesitated for a moment, she finally went in and asked to see a dress that was in the window. The assistant who served her did not like the way she was dressed. Glancing at her scornfully , he told her the dress was sold. The woman walked out of the shop angrily and decided to punish the assistant the next day. She returned to the shop the following morning dressed in a fur coat, with a handbag in one hand and a long umbrella in the other. After searching out the rude assistant she asked for the same dress. Not realizing who she was, the assistant was eager to serve her this time. With great difficulty, he climbed into the shop window to get the dress. As soon as she saw it, the woman said she did not like it. She enjoy herself making the assistant bring almost everything in the window before finally buying the dress she had first asked for. Question: The woman went to the shop again the next day in order to _ . Options: A: get the dress she loved B: teach the assistant a lesson C: ask for the same dress D: search out the rude assistant
(Answer)
B