Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The oil from palms has a wide variety of uses and is found in food, soaps and shampoos. An international team found a gene that made some of the trees produce more oil than others. Dr Rajinder Singh, from government agency the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, said, "The oil palm has three fruit forms: a thick-shelled type --the Dura; those that don't have any shell--the Pisifera; a third form produced as a cross between the thick shell and the one without the shell--the Tenera, which are more of the fleshy fruit to produce the oil," and the researchers identified the gene producing this trait. While oil palm growers attempt to grow only the thin-shelled Tenera variety, up to 10% of the seeds can be contaminated , and turn out to be the other less oily plants. Prof. Martienssen, from the Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, said, "We can now use that gene in genetic testing, which will allow growers as well as producers to know exactly what sort of tree they are planting before it produces fruit. It takes a long time for these trees to produce fruit, but by being able to predict exactly what sort of fruit that trees will produce, it will greatly assist growers." The researchers say this could offer a more sustainable form of agriculture. Prof. Martienssen said, "This finding gives us huge hope. We hope to maximize land usage and produce a lot more on the same amount of land, because we do not want to destroy the rainforest any more." However, the environmental group WWF-UK said that the global demand for oil palm was growing rapidly, making the expansion of plantations inevitable. Adam Harrison, the organization's food and agriculture policy officer, said, "In a sense it does not matter if a 'good' variety replaces forest or a 'bad' one, the wildlife and communities that need access to that land will suffer. So for palm oil to be sustainable, the process of allocating land needs to be controlled. There is an abundance of low-carbon, low-wildlife and conflict-free land available and there is no more need for forest... Question: What can we infer from the passage? Options: A: The plantation of oil palms has decreased in recent years. B: The Dura produces less oil than other two types of palm fruit. C: It takes less time to produce fruit, Pisifera, than other two types of fruit. D: The researchers are trying to produce more palms with the fruit, Tenera.
D

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Many things -- genetics, environment, the food you eat, illness, sleep, even the seasons -- influence your emotional state. But at the heart of it is how you regard yourself. If you have a healthy level of self-esteem, you not only cope with life's challenges better than people with low self-esteem, but you're probably more content, confident, and successful. You're probably also healthier. Studies show that positive self-esteem actually helps inoculate (......) people against depression and anxiety, conditions that may present increased risk of everything from colds to heart diseases. Most people's good sense of worth is rooted in their childhood -- in the early approval of their parents, teachers, and friends. But as we get older, most of us judge ourselves by our sense of how effectively we're managing in the world, especially in the areas of love and work. Our ability to love and to be loved can give us a sense of purpose and deep fulfillment. We can also find satisfaction and pride in work-related accomplishments and the people we meet and work with can reinforce our sense of self and our role in life. Once midlife comes along, however, our self-esteem can take a turn in response to changes in our lives. Marital relationship may change, children may leave home , and we may begin to scale back our work as we approach retirement. Of course, the view in the mirror may not be what it used to be, either. If you find your self-esteem eroding a bit, try to build it up again. As the saying goes, it's better to try something and fail than to be successful at not trying anything . Focus on goals that are linked to activities you're really interested in, so you'll enjoy a sense of purpose and gain pleasure from the pursuit whether or not you achieve your goal in full. Question: The author wrote the article to _ Options: A: criticize some scientists' new ideas B: suggest developing healthy self-esteem C: advise struggling for great ideas. D: recommend ways to avoid diseases
B

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Warm water freezes more quickly than cold water. Sir Francis Bacon said that almost four hundred years ago. But few people believed him until 1970. In that year Canadian scientist Geoge Kell proved the English physicist was right. Dr Kell filled one open bowl with cold water. He filled another with warm water. He put both bowls to the same low temperature. The warm water froze first. The lack of covers on the bowls was the secret . Some of the warm water changed into vapor. It evaporated into the air. This meant that less of the warm water was left to freeze. And so the warm water froze faster than the cold water. Question: Sir Francis Bacon was _ . Options: A: an American scientist B: a Canadian scientist C: a French scientist D: an English scientist
A: D

(Q).
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: One of the keys to being successful is persistence .Once you have determined exactly what you want to achieve, you must take active action in order to succeed. One of the things you'll notice on your journey towards your goal are roadblocks. That is, you will come across obstacles to discourage your progress. Actually, they are a part of life. Everyone would have every success they ever wanted if there were no obstacles. Your job is to be persistent and work through those obstacles. If you find little or no obstacles along the way, chances are that you are not really challenging yourself. And when you do reach your goal, you won't experience the feeling of "sweet success". Make your goal a challenging one! If you take the time to study any successful person, you will learn that the vast majority of them have had more "failures" than they have had "successes". This is because successful people are persistent; the more they stumble and fall, the more they get right back up and get going again. On the other hand, people that don't get back up and try again, never reach success. For example, Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before he got financing for his dream of creating the "Happiest Place on Earth". Today, due to his persistence, millions of people have shared "the joy of Disney". Having known these facts, keep in mind that you must constantly reevaluate your circumstances and the approach you are using to reach your goal. There is no sense in being persistent at something that you are doing incorrectly! Sometimes you have to modify your approach along the way. Every time you do something you learn from it, and therefore find a better way to do it the next time. Today is the day to begin your journey, using consistency and persistency, towards tomorrow's successes! Question: What's the text mainly about? Options: A: Persistence makes for success B: Overcome obstacles C: Challenge yourself D: Failure is the mother of success
(A).
A