I was stuck in O'hare airport on an extremely long weather delay, pacing up and down the waiting hall for some exercise, when I passed a wine bar for the twentieth time or so. But this time there was a young woman behind the piano, playing what I could only describe as absolutely beautiful classical music. She had not been there ten minutes earlier when I passed. I sat down at an empty table for four very near the piano, and began to be warmed by her music and a bit by the wine! She played so effortlessly and with such beauty in every note. Her music immediately brought a huge smile to my face! Soon, on a break, I thanked her and she told me that after a long day traveling, and now also facing long weather delays, she "just needed to _ ." Wow! Her version of blowing off steam was a gift to get. As I sat alone drinking my wine, absorbed in this young woman's celebration of her musical passion, two women approached my table and asked if they could join me. I invited them to sit and we immediately began sharing our love of music and celebrating the happiness the piano music was bringing us at that moment. The two women and I began to talk about our travels, life journeys, and passions. Hearing that unbelievable piano music, and then meeting such interesting women, who generously shared with me their wisdom, perspectives, and feelings of love for each other, was truly joyous. Faced with an 11-hour travel day -- to get what normally takes 45 minutes -- could have been physically and emotionally exhausting. Rather, by accident of walking by a wine bar at the right moment, and having a couple of seats open at my table, my life was filled with joy. I will cherish those moments for some time to come. This experience highlights the critical need in our lives to stop and listen to the music, to invite others to sit at your life table, to open yourself up to a stranger or two, sharing some of your deepest perspectives and experiences. Be open to noticing, absorbing, and also contributing to the joy around you! How long was the author's travel supposed to take without weather delay? A) 10 minutes. B) 20 minutes. C) 45 minutes. D) 11 hours.
C
(Question)
In recent years, advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and machines are being developed every day to extend life. However, some people, including some doctors, are not in favor of these life extending measures, and they argue that people should have the right to die when they want. They say that the quality of life is as important as life itself and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become unbearable . They saw that people should be allowed to die with dignity and to decide when they want to die. Others argue that life under any conditions is better than death and that the duty of doctors is always to extend life as long as possible. And so the battle goes on and on without a definite answer. The best title for this passage is _ . A) The Right to Live B) The Right to Die C) The Doctor's Duty D) Life Is Better Than Death
(Answer)
B
Ques: One of the greatest sources of unhappiness, in my experience, is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are. When we see something we don't like, we wish it could be different. We cry out for something better. That may be human nature,or perhaps it's something ingrained in our culture. The root of the unhappiness isn't necessarily that we want things to be different.However, it's that we decided we didn't like it in the first place. We've judged it as bad,rather than saying, "It's not bad or good, and it just is it." In one of my books, I said, "You should expect people to mess up and expect things to go differently than you planned". Some readers said it's too sorrowful to expect things to go wrong.However, it's only negative if you see it as negative and judge it as bad. Instead,you could accept it as the way the world works and try to understand why that is. This can be applied to whatever you do:how other people act at work,how politics works and how depressing the news media can be.Accept these things as they are,and try to understand why they're that way. _ will save you a lot of sadness,because you'll no longer say, "Oh, I wish bad things didn't happen!'' Does it mean you can never change things? Not at all. But change things not because you can't accept things as they are, but because you enjoy the process of changing, learning and growing. Can we make this world a better place? You can say that you'll continue to try to do things to help others, to grow as a person, to make a difference in this world. That's the correct path you choose to take,because you enjoy that path. Therefore, when you find yourself judging and wishing for difference, try a different approach: accept, and understand. It might lead to some interesting results. What is the main theme of the passage? A) Expecting things to be different gives us hope. B) Accepting can make our life happier and better. C) Traditional culture becomes root of unhappiness. D) Judging good or bad is important for our world.
Ans: B
When the Japanese attacked America's ships at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941,they did it secretly.The makers of the movie Pearl Harbor have behaved differently. The noise about Pearl Harbor,made by Disney,has reached its highest point with its premiere before the movie opens in cinemas across the US at the start of the Memorial Day holiday weekend,a time to recall national heroes who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. As Ben Affleck is the main star,the movie seems sure to become a success in the United States at least. At almost three hours in length,it promises to be a good old Hollywood movie.There is a love story.Affleck and his co-star,Josh Hartnett,both fall in love with the navy nurse,Kate Beckinsale and,of course,there is much human courage and love of country. It's certain that Disney will be accused of "changing" history.The showing of actual events in a movie always causes arguments. Bits of the story are deliberately not mentioned in the movie.It does not address the theory held by some historians that President Franklin Roosevelt knew about Japan's intention to attack the ships in Pearl Harbor.It is said he did nothing,as he was aware that such a blow would allow him to take America into the Second World War. Japan remains sensitive about being accused of wartime atrocities .And Disney is sensitive about its business in Japan,where it has a theme park. Not all the reviews of the movie have been full of praise.A reviewer for Newsweek,who was given an early preview,acknowledged that the 40-minute sequence showing the attack itself was powerful.The attack comes quite late in the movie,however,and the reviewer was less impressed with the characters and the love story. "Almost every line of the dialogue sounds like it comes from an old movie," the reviewer wrote. From the passage we can infer that the Memorial Day refers to _ . A) the day when the United States was founded B) the day when people honour their ancestors C) a day when people honour those who died in wars D) a day when people celebrate the victories of World War II
C