A new study suggests that listening to music in the office improves the speed and accuracy of tasks such as data entry, proof reading and problem solving. In an office-based experiment, 88 per cent of participants were found to produce their most accurate work when listening to music. The study also found that 81 per cent completed their fastest work when music was played. And it matters what type of music you listen to. For instance, if you're doing your tax returns, then classical music is the most effective as it improves maths skills. Listening to Jessie Jor Justin Bieber could also improve your speed, with 58 per cent of participants completing data entry tasks faster while listening to pop songs. During proof-reading, dance music, such as David Guetta, had the biggest positive impact with participants increasing their speed by 20 per cent compared to tests undertaken with no music at all. Dance music also had a positive effect on spell-checking with a 75 per cent pass rate compared to 68 per cent when no music was played at all. The research, undertaken by Brighton-based Mind lab International, suggests that silent offices may be the least productive. 'The Music Works experiment revealed a positive _ between music and productivity - overall it showed that when listening to music, nine out of 10 people performed better,' said Dr David Lewis, chairman of Mind lab International. The main purpose of the passage is to _ A) describe and argue B) inform and explain C) compare and evaluate D) discuss and assess
B
Expressions about water are mostly as common as water itself. The expression "to be in hot water" is one of them. It is a very old expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle. That no longer happens. But we still get "in hot water". When we are in hot water, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble, serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he walks in the house with dirty shoes. "Being in deep water" is almost the same as being in hot water. When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who can not swim being thrown in water over his head. You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you don't have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest in stocks without knowing anything about the stock market. "To keep your head above water" is a color1ful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job. "Water over the dam" is another expression about past events. It is something that is finished, and cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water has floated over a dam and cannot be brought back again. When a friend is troubled by a mistake she has made, you might tell her to forget about it. You say it is water over the dam. Another common expression "to hold water" is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about. It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container. If it can hold water, it is strong and has no holes in it. If your argument can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes; if it does not hold water, then, it is weak and not worth... We can see from this passage that many of the expressions using water have _ meanings. A) funny B) unpleasant C) close D) moral
B
Q: The mobile phone has been a part of our lives since the 1980s. It enables us to stay in contact with our family and friends at all times and in most areas. However, because of the quick acceptance and extensive usage of mobiles in our lives, we have missed out on an important step, namely, the appropriate use. Driving a car Do not use your phone while you are driving ! You could concentrate on your conversation and forget to look where you are going, or you could take your eyes off the road to look at the phone's display or to press in a number. Either way, you could cause a terrible accident. In a restaurant There is probably nothing more annoying than a diner receiving or making a call near you when you are in a restaurant. The icy glares you receive should be warning enough that it is not appreciated. Turn you phone off and enough that it is not appreciated. Turn you phone off and use your message service to return calls after you leave. At the cinema Do not give way to the desire to call a friend if the film is boring, or if you want to find out what happens. You could become the target of all the angry cinema customers. At the theatre There is no more icy glare than that of a theatre goer who has paid a lot of money to see a show and hears your phone playing a tone. It goes without saying that you will be seen as a socially unacceptable person in this situation. In hospitals This is probably the most important place to make sure your phone is switched off. Your phone can disturb life-saving electronic equipment in hospitals, so it is necessary that your phone is switched off before you enter. On planes Your phone might disturb navigational equipment and cause a horrible accident so you should switch it off before boarding a plane. According to the passage, the most annoying thing in a restaurant is that _ . A) you receive icy glares B) a nearby diner is answering a phone call C) you have to use the message service D) you can not return calls until after you leave
A: B
Q: Storms brought a tornado and 2-mch-thin hail ( ) to Wyoming on Thursday, a day after thunderstorms hit parts of Wyoming and Colorado with golf ball-sized hail and heavy rain.Three homes were heavily damaged by the tornado on Thursday, and 10 to 12 other buildings also had damage.One person was treated at a hospital for a cut on the head.Some power lines were also down to the ground.The tornado touched down briefly near Wheatland, north of Cheyenne, in a populated area, officials said. Hail, the size of golf balls, was reported in the Wheatland area, and 2-inch-thin hail was reported in Laramie.Forecasters said thunderstorms that can _ tornadoes could develop and flooding was possible.Citizens should be careful. A fire, which is believed to have been started by lightning on Sunday night, has burned about 3,500 acres about 20 miles northwest of Wheatland.About 120 firefighters, aided by helicopters and air tankers, were on the scene.The rain provided some help for firefighters who fully controlled a 227-acre wildfire in northern Colorado, but the weather in the beginning hurt efforts to control a 6,000-acre blaze in Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest.Storms passed close to the Wyoming fire but mostly brought winds that fanned the flames.Rain and hail fell later but didn't make a big difference, said fire spokeswoman Beth Hermanson. Kyle Fredin, working for the National Weather Service in Denver, said the beginning of June is the peak time for such severe weather in Colorado.Most of the state has been experiencing moderate-to-extreme drought conditions. According to what Kyle Fredin said, we can infer that _ . A) Colorado has never experienced such severe weather before B) it's not strange that a storm hit Colorado at the beginning of June C) moderate-to-extreme drought conditions often lead to thunderstorms D) Colorado will be frequently hit by severe weather in the following months
A: B