(Q).
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Two of the most dangerous storms which hit America are hurricanes and tornadoes. They are very much feared by anyone who may live in the path of their destruction and cause millions of dollars of damage to life and property every year. If one should travel inland across the Great Plains and the Prairie states of America, one will mostly not experience a hurricane, but there is another kind of storm in the Midwest which is equally feared. It is called a tornado. Tornados are violent low-pressured storms with an intense updraft near their center which is capable of lifting quite heavy objects from the ground. A tornado,therefore, is a dark, funnel-shaped cloud containing violently rotating air. It can pick up trees and cars right into the air and even uplift heavier objects such as homes and railway cars. Like a vacuum cleaner across a rug, it sucks up into anything which may lie in its path. These storms occur most often during the summer months and are noticeable by their strong wind and lack of rain. The sky turns black as dust is sucked up into the air. Tornadoes travel normally around 60 kilometers per hour and the winds can reach 800 kilometers per hour in the most violent storms. Tornados are most frequent in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and especially in the central plains area of the Mississippi basin where about 150 occur each year. Tornados may also strike the southern states in winter and have even seen known to develop in the northeast. Both hurricanes and tornados cause millions of dollars worth of damage each year. Today they can be predicted more easily than in the past, but they cannot be stopped or ignored. When they come, they must be endured with the hope that one survives their fury and wraths. Question: A tornado can be compared to _ . - a washing machine - a jet plane - a fire fighting truck - a vacuum cleaner
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a vacuum cleaner

(Q).
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The day my fiance fell to his death, it started to snow, just like the bottom hadn't fallen out of my world when he fell off the roof. His body, when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it pile up. One morning, I shuffled downstairs and was surprised to see a snowplow clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman shoveling my walk. I dropped to my knees, crawled through the living room, and back upstairs so those good Samaritans would not see me. I was _ . My first thought was, how would I ever repay them? I didn't have the strength to brush my hair, let alone shovel someone's walk. Before Jon's death, I took pride in the fact that I rarely asked for help or favors. I defined myself by my competence and independence. How could I respect myself if all I did was sit on the couch everyday and watch the snow fall? Learning how to receive the love and support that came my way wasn't easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried because I couldn't even help them set the table. "I'm not usually this lazy," I swept. Finally, my friend Kathy sat down with me and said, "Mary, cooking for you is not a burden. It makes me feel good to be able to do something for you." Over and over, I heard similar words of comfort from the people who supported me during those dark days. One very wise man told me, "You are not doing nothing. Being fully open to your grief may be the hardest work you will ever do." In many ways I have changed for the better. I have been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom that comes from facing one's worst fear and walking away whole. Question: What made the author feel sad? - Her fiance's sudden death. - Constant heavy snow. - Her fiance abandoning her. - Her job being refused again.
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Her fiance's sudden death.

(Q).
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: On April 10, 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted with great force. Fifty cubic kilometers of magma flew from its peak and a blanket of ash as thick as one centimeter fell over more than 500,000 square kilometers of Indonesia and the Java Sea. The eruption destroyed Tambora's peak and formed a hole six by seven kilometers wide. The eruption and resulting tsunamis killed 10,000 people. The agricultural loss and disease brought about by the thick ash caused the deaths of 82,000 more. Indonesia was rocked again in 1883. On August 26, a small volcano on an uninhabited island between Sumatra and Java, erupted. The eruption produced an ash cloud 80 kilometers high and was heard in Australia--4,800 kilometers away. The eruption also caused a tsunami, which pounded the shores of Java and Sumatra--killing 36,000 people. In 1902, St. Pierre was a thriving community and the largest town on the French colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea. Mont Pelee cast a shadow over the town from where it stood, eight kilometers to the north. The townspeople were used to the light continuous sounds of the mountain, but in May, 1902 Pelee started to get really unstable. Clouds of steam and ash poured from the volcano and on May 8, Pelee erupted. Superheated gas and steaming volcanic ash flew out, pouring down the mountain at high speed. Within seconds, the deadly gas cloud had destroyed the town of St. Pierre and incinerated everyone in it -- except one prisoner in a basement cell. It was the worst volcano disaster of the 20th century. Question: How many people died because of the eruption on April 10, 1815 ? - About 10,000. - More than 82,000. - About 36,000. - More than 92,000.
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More than 92,000.