*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Winter begins in the north on December 22nd. People and animals have been doing what they always do to prepare for the colder months. Squirrels , for example, have been busy gathering nuts from trees. Well, scientists have been busy gathering information about what the squirrels do with the food they collect. They examined differences between red squirrels and gray squirrels in the American state of Indiana. The scientists wanted to know how these differences could affect the growth of black walnut trees. The black walnut is the nut of choice for both kinds of squirrels. The black walnut tree is also a central part of some hardwood forests. Rob Swihart of Purdue University did the study with Jake Goheen, a former Purdue student now at the University of New Mexico. The two researchers estimate that several times as many walnuts grow when gathered by gray squirrels as compared to red squirrels. Gray squirrels and red squirrels do not store nuts and seeds in the same way. Gray squirrels bury nuts one at a time in a number of places. But they seldom remember where they buried every nut. So some nuts remain in the ground. Conditions are right for them to develop and grow the following spring. Red squirrels, however, store large groups of nuts above ground. Professor Swihart calls " _ ". Gray squirrels are native to Indiana. But Professor Swihart says their numbers began to decrease as more forests were cut for agriculture. Red squirrels began to spread through the state during the past century. The researchers say red squirrels are native to forests that stay green all year, unlike walnut trees. They say the cleaning of forest land for agriculture has helped red squirrels invade Indiana. Jake Goheen calls them a sign of an environmental problem more than a cause. Question: The study done by Rob Swihart and Jake Goheen is to _ . - find out the living conditions for squirrels - learn squirrels' influence on black walnut trees - do something to get rid of squirrels - save the forests in the American state of Indiana
**Answer**
learn squirrels' influence on black walnut trees

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: One of the candidates TIME's editors are choosing as the Person of the Year 2012 is a beautiful, little, dark-haired girl from remote, rural Pakistan who simply wanted to go to school. On October 9, 2012, 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in Pakistan.She survived the attack and was sent by helicopter to have a bullet removed from her head in a hospital 6,000 miles away in Birmingham, England. Malala has now become the most famous teenager on earth, a symbol of women's rights and has even been nominated for next year's Nobel Peace Prize. However, Malala is no shallow, empty-headed, media-created idol -she is a real flesh-and-blood young woman who has already challenged the fearsome Taliban militants .Reportedly, she wants to return to Pakistan, where her life would be in constant danger.Such courage would be rare for such a young girl. Malala began writing an anonymous blog for BBC when she was only 11 years old, criticizing the Taliban for their activities in her hometown and advocating for women's education in Pakistan. "I have a new dream," she once said."I must be a politician to save this country.There are so many crises in our country.I want to remove these crises." How many little girls have uttered something so mature, selfless and elegant as that She also possesses extraordinary courage ?years ago, militants had been threatening her life.In response to these threats, Malala calmly responded: "I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly.Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong. Education is our basic right." Question: What does Malala call for in her country? - Peace for all people. - Research into crises. - Women's right to education. - Equality of men and women.
**Answer**
Women's right to education.

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Have you read The Ugly Little Boy? Well, here is the plot. A Neanderthal child is brought to the present day as a result of time travel experiments. Edith Fellowes, a children's nurse is asked to take care of him. She is at first driven back by his appearance, but soon begins to consider him as her own child, learns to love him and realizes that he is far cleverer than she at first thought. She names him Timmie and tries to make sure that he has the best possible childhood. She becomes angry when the newspapers refer to him as an "ape-boy". Edith's love for Timmie brings her into conflict with her employer, in whose eyes Timmie is more of an experimental animal than a human being. In the end, her employer thinks that his organization has finished all the experiments with Timmie. He wants to move on to the next project, which is to send Timmie to his own time. Miss Fellowes fights the decision, knowing that now he could not survive as he has got used to modern living habits and speech. She decides to take the boy out of the time travel machine, but when that plan fails, she returns to the ancient past with Timmie. Edith Fellowes goes back to the past with Timmie, cares for him and shares his fate. There is a conflict between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon. But when Edith shows up, things start to change. Both groups regard her as a goddess because of her different appearance and worship her. Timmie grows up to be her assistant. Because of them, the Neanderthals in the book do not become extinct but co-exist with the Cro-Magnons. Question: What is implied in the passage? - Timmie fails to get used to the life in his own time. - Edith's appearance prevents Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon from having a conflict. - Timmie is the cause of the conflict between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon. - Edith looks very beautiful in the eyes of the ancient people.
**Answer**
Edith's appearance prevents Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon from having a conflict.