Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16thcentury when English rulers fried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921. The British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two "Irelands". Northern Ireland. In the north, is part of the united kingdom. The republic of Ireland. In the south. Is an independent country. In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes ,was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of bunger. This, and a shortage of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851. For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace. The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly, Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were "the greatest talkers since the Greeks", Since independence, Ireland has revived its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different are as have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc. what can be the best title for the text? A) Life in Ireland B) A very difficult history C) Ireland, past and present D) the independence of Ireland
C
My mother-in-law, Dorothy, is showing me the red notebook that's almost as precious to her as my husband's baby pictures. Inside the notebook is a list of the books she has read since 2007. For some people waking up in the middle of the night is a terrible thing. But for my mother-in-law, that time is a gift. At 87, she is getting the education she never had by working her way through great literature. She has now read close to 100 books, including every single novel by Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, Henry James and Thomas Mann. My mother-in-law discusses her passion with the enthusiasm of a young girl, although she can also be a very tough critic, writing "VG' for " very good" in the margins next to her favorites. So far, only a handful of books have received the top prize. Born in Ridgefield, Conn, Dorothy was the youngest daughter of an Italian gardener. She taught herself English by reading The New York Times. Eager to come to Manhattan, she became a nurse, married a dentist and spent the next several decades keeping the house and raising a family. In her later years, she put her nursing skills to good use by taking care of my father-in-law, who had lung cancer. There were many trips to the emergency room in the middle of the night and then a long hospital stay. She stayed awake to watch over him for 15 hours a day. Always a light sleeper, she developed sleeplessness as a result of the stress. It worsened after he died. Deeply sad and lonely for the first time in her life, she began waking up around 2am. Julian and Sylvia, the elderly couple next door suggest she read literature. And so Julian, a great lover of literature, became her "professor", providing books from his large library. Suddenly turned onto a world of amazing characters. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . A) the books Dorothy has read were bought by her husband. B) the couple next door are college professors. C) the author loves literature too. D) Dorothy was a great wife.
D
Q: As a little child,1 was always plump .In college I started blowing up. It got out of control when l went to law school. I'd made a decision a thousand times: I'm going to lose weight now. But what motivated me to get serious about it was turning 30.1 weighed 414 pounds.1 was always tired. Some of my family members have suffered from heart disease, and l was frightened. I also wanted to look better. So after my birthday,1 walked into the office of a weight loss doctor. She was very understanding. Her focus was on balanced meals and she wanted me to exercise. Walking was all I could do at first. I started by walking a few blocks and gradually increased the distance, until one weekend, I heard myself saying, "Wow, this seems pretty easy." So I started to run. 1 was losing nine or ten pounds a month, and I had more energy. I started to think about the New York City Marathon. For years,1 watched the runners and thought, "This looks like fun, but I could never do that." But now I realized that maybe I could.I joined the New York Road Runners.I ran a l0km, then a half marathon.I still wasn't confident I could run a full 26 miles. But I told myself I was going to do it, no matter what. By my 33rd birthday,1 was down to 180 pounds. I started formally training for the marathon. And on the morning of November l, I stood on the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island with more than 40,000 0ther runners, waiting for the event to start. It was unbelievable to have the audience cheering me on, handing me cups of water. And I crossed the finish line. My friends sprayed(......)me with beer, as if I'd won the Super Bowl. And at that moment,I knew: If I set my mind to something, nothing is impossible. Which of the following sayings can best summarize the passage? A) A good beginning is half done. B) Pride comes before a fall. C) Practice makes perfect. D) Where there is a will, there is a way.
A: C
(Question)
Wind , water, fire and ice-these powerful natural forces have shaped the land of America in the past. They are still changing it today. The Colorado River slowly cut down through stone to make the Grand Canyon . Long ago, ice sheets cut Yosemite Valley and the Great Lakes, and glaciers are still on the move in Alaska. Wind and rain storm hit the land from time to time. Fires sometimes burn down forests and destroy the homes of wild animals. This happened in Yellowstone Park in 1988. Dead volcanic mountains such as Haleakala on Maui and Carter Lakein Oregon are beautiful to look at. But there are several active volcanoes in the US, especially along the Pacific Coast. There are also many earthquakes in this area. Scientists can do nothing to control earthquakes or volcanoes. This was shown clearly on May 18, 1980. At 8:32 that morning, Mount St Helens in Washington state broke out. The top of the mountain was blown off. Over 60 people -campers, scientists, journalists, forest workers--were killed. Hundreds of square miles of forests were knocked down. In towns over 100 miles away, day suddenly became night. An ash cloud hid the sun for many hours. Towns and fields in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho were covered with dirty gray ash. Scientists knew that Mt St Helens might erupt soon. But no one could say when. And no one expected the terrible strength of the eruption. Many people were surprised and unready. Harry R. Truman, 84, owned a small hotel in Mt St Helens. Scientists had asked people to move away because the volcano was becoming dangerous. But Harry Truman would not leave his home. Now _ is covered with many feet of dirty ash. A small cross stands above the place where Harry probably died. Perhaps it is better that he did not see the destruction of Mt St Helens, the once beautiful lake, and the forests. But slowly, life is returning to the dead area around the mountain. Grass and small plants are beginning to grow again. Deer and birds have been seen. The land will never be the same as it once was.... Choose the best title for this passage. A) Wind, water, fire and ice B) Volcano's beauty and danger C) The power of nature D) Natural force shape beautiful land of America
(Answer)
C