Minimalism is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features. As for me, minimalism functions well not in art or design, but in my daily life. When I was packing for university, I found it extremely difficult to let go of some of the things I owned. I knew I couldn't take everything with me, but I kept asking myself "how could I possibly throw this away?", "what if I need it one day?", and "what about all of the memories?" Now that I've moved, and left that stuff behind, I don't even miss it. Whether or not I got rid of it, it barely makes a bit of difference to me now. I've learned that over time people forget, or their need for a particular object eventually disappears. Either they store it away or they get rid of it. You might think nostalgically about the toys you cared about when you were a child, but what is making you smile now is not the thing itself but the memory of it. 1've heard it a hundred times, "you don't need things to make you happy." It takes something life-changing like moving across the country to realize how true this is. Speaking of which, for a lot of people, minimalism is about able to move. It's about being able to go almost anywhere at any time because you don't have many possessions to carry. When you keep things you don't need they become a burden that ties you to a place. Moving to university was a good time to let go of a lot of stuff. And when I visit for the holidays, I'll probably get rid of even more, to lighten the burden. _ There are some things that are irreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for some reason or another, since we are humans. But after we keep those, how much is left that we don't really need? Hence, minimalism. And why does minimalism bring happiness? That was a bit of a roundabout way of saying that, it's because what really makes me happy is freedom. And the key to freedom is minimalism because minimalism reduces our... By saying "there are exceptions", the writer means _ A) little is left if we keep what we cherish most in our life B) minimalism should be practised accordingly in different situations C) minimalism is a method difficult to employ in reality D) life is full of exceptions so it's difficult to preserve what we value
B
(Question)
A group of foreign residents married to Japanese talked about their children's names. Nicole Despres Students services manager, 40 (American) We have no intention to live outside Japan so it made sense for the kids to take my Japanese husband's family name. However, we did want to have a Western name too, so all three of them now have both a Western and Japanese name. We agreed there would be no strange names, spelling or unusual kanji(Chinese characters in the Japanese language). All names had to be easy to say and familiar in both Japanese and English. John McCracken Company general manager, 27(American) My son's name is Aiden. In part because my wife and I met in university and as she was studying Irish history and I have some links to Scotland and Ireland, I wanted a unique Gaelic name. We settled for Aiden as we found kanji that can be used in Japan that means "legendary hero" Paula Murakami College women's Association of Japan, 53(American) My husband was very excited about choosing names, so I decided to let him choose. He wanted their first names to be Japanese and camp up with names that included the kanji character in his own name. Our boys, Hiroki and Kenta, never had any problems while living on the U.S. West Coast with Japanese names, and I think both as children and as adults, they love their names. Jeff Ruiz Recording engineer, 42(Mexican) My son's name is Lenny. My wife chose it together with me as we were looking for a name that works in both worlds -- mine in Mexico, and hers in Japan -- and the name Lenny is common everywhere. In Japanese we write the name in katakana as that is easy for Japanese people who seem to like names in two or three characters. What do we know about the people mentioned in the passage? A) Nicole and her husband had an agreement on how to name the children. B) Jeff will remain in Japan as his wife is not used to Mexican life. C) The four couples have decided to live with the children in Japan forever. D) Paula and her family would love to live on the U.S. West Coast.
(Answer)
A
Ques: I know my son seems very naughty. He cannot concentrate on reading, he makes silly mistakes in his homework or often fails his exams. Whenever such things happen, his teacher shouts,"Ask your parents to come here." And then I have to go with my tail between my legs to find out what's going on with my son and to listen to the teacher scold him. I really feel sorry for my son's mistakes and usually feel personally responsible. But I can't help feeling angry with him after a meeting with his teacher. Gradually, I have realized that anger will do him no good, and that actually he needs my help. On the other hand, I think that to educate our "little emperors ",there needs to be more understanding and cooperation between teachers and parents. In the writer's opinion _ will do good to the naughty child. A) scolding B) anger C) teacher's meeting with the parent D) helping the child to realize his mistake
Ans: D
Ques:In Shanghai's Grand Theater, a fashionable, mainly young audience applauds enthusiastically as Guo Yong takes center stage.He holds a large bushy tree branch with leaves.Blowing on one of the leaves, he produces a sound like the singing of birds as he plays a traditional Buyi folk song.Some other musicians are also playing the traditional instruments from various ethnic groups in China. It's the first time such music has ever been performed in the Grand Theater.But all this is the efforts of Zhu Zheqin, a Cantoneseborn singer, who has made it her mission to help preserve China's traditional ethnic music. In 2009, after being appointed a United Nations Development Program ambassador, Zhu traveled through some of China's remotest regions in an attempt to document the traditional music of various minority groups.In the course of the fourmonth trip, she recorded more than a thousand songs.But she noticed that many of the best musicians were old, and some of the music was at risk of dying out. "I was shocked by the beauty of what I heard--it was so good," she says."But it needed support.I hope to let people see the beauty of these things in the contemporary times." So Zhu decided to introduce some of the musicians to a wider audience.By doing this, she hopes to rekindle the interest of the younger generation."Young people don't like this music much; they prefer pop music and love songs.They think these songs are something their grandma sings.This kind of repackaging gives young people a new door into their heritage." Zhu believes China needs to look again at its own roots."China today is basically all Western art; in our conservatories Western classical music is the top," she says."For China to really contribute to the world, we need to go on our own path.So what can represent China today?" The answer, she suggests, is to move from "made in China" to "created in China". Which of the following is true of Zhu Zheqin? A) She teaches music in a conservatory. B) She is helping preserve Chinese ethnic music. C) She works as an official in the United Nations. D) She's created all the music for the Grand Theater.

Ans:
B