Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Charles Dickens was one of the most beloved storytellers in the English language. His novels made him famous in his own time, and continue as classics in ours. Dickens began his literary career with almost no formal education. He was born in Landport, on Feb. 7, 1812, the second of eight children. When he was 12, his father was sent to debtor's prison. Dickens was forced to quit school and work in a London blacking factory. He would rework that terrible experience into his fiction for the rest of his life. "He was a social reformer," says actor Simon Callow, author of a new biography called Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World. "He knew what poverty was. He knew what it was to be rejected, to be cast aside, to live in squalor ." And so Dickens wrote with great sympathy for the suffering of innocent and vulnerable children - characters like David Copperfield, Little Dorrit and the orphan, Oliver Twist: With his slice of bread in his hand, and his little brown parish cap on his head, Oliver was now led away from the wretched home, where one kind word or look never lighted the gloom of his infant days. Yet he burst into an agony of childish grief as the cottage gate closed after him. Wretched as were the little companions in,misery he was now leaving behind him, they were the only friends he had ever had. His first book Sketches by Boz came out in 1836. With the appearance of Oliver Twist in London periodicals in 1837, the 25-year-old Dickens became the most popular writer in England. But his first love was theater, and he considered becoming an actor. "When he was actually writing, he became his characters," says Peter Ackroyd, author of Dickens: Public Life and Private Passion. "He would get up from his desk, go over to the mirror and mouth the words - do the expressions, grimaces , whatever, and then laugh, chuckle to himself, then go back to his desk and write it down." Dickens created 989 named characters, which increased his popularity.... Question: The author quotes Dickens' description of Oliver Twist mainly to show Options: A: that Dickens was full of pity for poor children B: that Dickens knew well about poor children C: what real poverty was like in his days D: what kind of life Oliver Twist lived
A

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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Can you remember the first time you learned to ride a bike or drive a car? Learning these skills changed your life forever and opened up new horizons.Learning about computers can be like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car.Once you have invested the time to master the skills, you will never go back to the old days.The new technology is simply too convenient and too powerful. Technological developments through the years have enabled us to do more with less effort We have continuously looked for better ways of doing things.Each invention and new development has allowed us to extend our capabilities.Today we see one of the most dramatic technologies ever developed--the computer.It extends the capabilities of our minds. Computers have saved organizations millions of dollars.Furthermore, these same computer systems have opened up new opportunities that would have gone undiscovered or neglected. The computer may multiply what we can do, and the return on investment is high.The growth of computer usage is surprising.On the other hand, the computer can do serious damage.Invasion of privacy, fraud , and computer-related mistakes are just a few shocking examples. The computer is like a double-edged sword.It has the ability to cut us free from some activities, but it can also cut deep into profits, personal privacy, and our society in general.How it is used is not a function of technology.It is strictly a function of how people decide to use or misuse this new technology.The choice is yours, and only through a knowledge of computer systems will you be able to avoid the dangers while enjoying the many benefits of the computer age. Question: This passage is probably written to _ . Options: A: warn people of the bad effect of computers B: encourage people to use computers more C: tell people to use computers wisely and properly D: prevent people from using computers
(Answer)
C

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Limit the use of private cars, improve public transport and encourage the use of bicycles to control traffic congestion during the 2008 Olympics, experts from foreign countries advised Beijing on Friday. Professor Nigel Wilson, of the civil and environmental engineering department of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he was "supportive to the limiting of private cars during the Olympic Games", saying that in foreign countries, the method is also adopted during big events, but he was unsure about the approach. The government planned to keep an average of more than one million cars off the roads to improve traffic flow during the Olympics, said Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Traffic Committee, at the China Planning Network First Urban Transportation Congress. Sharing Wilson's view, Dr. Yoshitsugu Hayashi, dean of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies of Nagoya University, believed the reduction in car use should be achieved not by banning, but through _ . "Drivers who don't use their private cars could be given points," he said, "and the points could be exchanged for goods from online shopping." Wetzel stressed limiting the use of company cars. "Governmental officials should also be encouraged to use public transportation or ride bicycles," he said, adding that he himself is a bicycle-rider in London. Matthew Martimo, director of Traffic Engineering with Citilabs, said the bicycle was China's advantage. "Limiting private cars is an idea worth trying but it is just a temporary solution," he said. "The real cause of congestion is high density of people in Beijing and many have cars." Beijing, with a population of 15 million, is home to more than three million automobiles, and the number is rising by 1,000 a day. Professor Wilson said the Olympic Games was a great opportunity for Beijing to think about traffic problems and develop transportation, adding that the city had already been making public transport more efficient. Beijing has promised to stretch its 114-kilometer... Question: Which of the following may be the reason for the traffic congestion in Beijing? Options: A: The 2008 Beijing Olympic games. B: The number of cars in Beijing is rising by 1,000 a day. C: The large population in Beijing and the large number of cars. D: Public transport in Beijing is not efficient.
Ans: C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows that. Yet many people do not seem to know that memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong. If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame, and few of us know that it is just his own fault. Have you ever found that some people can't read or write but they have better memories? This is because they cannot read or write and they have to remember things; they cannot write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember days, names, songs and stories; so their memory is the whole time being exercised. So if you want to have a good memory, learn from the people: practise remembering. Question: Some people can't read or write, but they usually have better memories, because _ . Options: A: they can't write everything in a little notebook B: they have to use their memories all the time C: they have saved much trouble D: they have saved much time to remember things
B