Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Tourists were surprised to see a woman driving a huge orange tractor down one of Rome's main avenues. Italy's political leaders are said to have been even more puzzled to see that the tractor was followed by about 200,000 women in a parading procession that took more than three hours _ . Shouting slogans, waving flags and dancing to drumbeats, the women had come to the capital from all over Italy to demonstrate for 'a job for each of us, a different type of job'. Women, who make up 52 % of Italy's population, today represent only 35% of Italy's total workforce and 33% of the total number of Italian with jobs. However, their presence in the workplace is increasing. The employment of women is expanding considerably in services, next to the public administration and commerce as their principle workplace. Official statistics also show that women have also made significant progress in self-employment. More and more women are going into business for themselves. Many young women are turning to business. It is also a fact that today many prejudices have disappeared, so that banks and other financial institutes make judgments on purely business considerations without caring if it is a man or woman. Such changes are occurring in other professions too. The number of women doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers and university professors has increased. Some of the changes are immediately visible. For example, women have appeared on the scene for the first time as state police, railway workers and street cleaners. However, the present situation is far from satisfactory though some progress has been made. A breakthrough in equal opportunities for women is now demanded. Question: Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage ? Options: A: There are more women than men in Italy. B: In Italy women are completely employed in services. C: In Italy women are still at a disadvantage in employment. D: In Italy about two-thirds of the jobs are held by men.
Answer: B

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: When I was in the third grade, I was picked to be the princess in the school play. For weeks my mother had helped me practice my lines. But once on stage, every word disappeared from my head. Then my teacher told me she had written a narrator's part for the play, and asked me to change roles. Though I didn't tell my mother what had happened that day, she sensed my unhappiness and asked if I wanted to take a walk in the yard. It was a lovely spring day. We could see dandelions popping through the grass in bunches, as if a painter had touched our landscape with bits of gold. I watched my mother carelessly bend down by one of the bunches. "I think I am going to dig up all these weeds," she said. "From now on, we'll have only roses in this garden." "But I like dandelions," I protested. "All flowers are beautiful-even dandelions!" My mother looked at me seriously. "Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn't it?" she asked thoughtfully. I nodded. "And that is true of people, too," she added. When I realized that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry and told her the fact. "But you will be a beautiful narrator," she said, reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her. Over the next few weeks, with her continuous encouragement, I learned to take pride in the role. The big day finally came. A few minutes before the play, my teacher came over to me. "Your mother asked me to give this to you," she said, handing me a dandelion. After the play, I took home the flower, laughing that I was perhaps the only person who would keep such a weed. Question: What is the main idea of the story? Options: A: Everybody can find his or her own way to success. B: Everybody should learn to play different roles C: Everybody has his or her own value in the world. D: Everybody has some unforgettable memory.
Answer: C

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Like lots of small-business owners, Lola Gonzalez had to decide to cut down her company's nine-person staff when the economic recovery began to fail last spring. Unlike other companies, she picked an unlikely employee to lay off : herself. Her business began to have problems in 2008 after going through her books One day, her husband, Marcos, told her she had to reduce her payroll by one person. Gonzalez said at a meeting, "I want you all to know that I have to lay somebody off and it's been a very difficult decision. And that person is me." Employees first froze in amazement and then burst into laughter until they realized she was serious. Gonzalez 's employees said they were grateful for her kindness. Her reason was simple. Although she ran the business and her employees did the legwork , she thought she could find work more easily than her staff. Sure enough, she soon got a job as a social worker for a non-profit organization called Devereux Kids. She enjoys her social-worker job now, but the salary cut has required some lifestyle changes. She and Marcos no longer eat out daily; they no longer pay for their son's car and mobile phone, and they changed their car to a smaller one to save $300 a month. Her business has picked up a bit recently and Marcos has begun to work part-time at Gonzalez's company. Gonzalez says she has no plan to return to work at her company until the economic situation becomes better, perhaps in a year. Her employees, however, will get Christmas bonuses this year. Question: How many workers are there in Gonzalez's company at present? Options: A: 8. B: 9. C: 10. D: 11.
Answer:
B