Read the following article and answer the question. Article: I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother's idea. She wanted me to "make something" of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition. With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home. " How many did you sell, my boy?" my mother asked. " None." " Where did you go?" " The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues." " What did you do?" " Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post." " You just stood there?" " Didn't sell a single one." " My God, Russell!" Uncle Allen put in, " Well, I've decided to take the Post." I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned. Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home. One day, I told my mother I'd changed my mind. I didn't want to make a success in the magazine business. " If you think you can change your mind like this," she replied, " you'll become a good-for-nothing." She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me. My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father's plain workman's life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband's people for true life and love. Question: What is the text mainly about? Answer:

OPTIONS:
- The early life of a journalist.
- The early success of a journalist.
- The happy childhood of the writer.
- The important role of the writer in his family.

Answer: The early life of a journalist.

Read the following article and answer the question. Article: The year 2009 is the Year of Ox. The ox is a representative of the fanning culture of China. In the farming economy , oxen are the major animals pulling plows . Of course, the good of oxen is not limited to plowing. In fact, they are seen as "boats on land" for their ability to carry loads. Besides, the whole body of an ox is full of treasures. Their meat and milk are food full of nutrition, and their skin can be used to make clothes and shoes. With all these qualities, oxen are regarded as generous creatures. In the past, oxen played an important role in the spiritual life of the Chinese. Even today, oxen still play a special part in some folk activities. For example, some people who1ire in southwest China will cook cattle bone soup and share it among family members when holding the ceremony for children who reach 13. They believe that the cattle bone soup represents the blood relationship among family members. In order to express their love for oxen, people in some other areas will run to shake off diseases on the 16th day of the first month by the lunar calendar , and during their run they will take their oxen along, which indicates they regard the creature as human. Because of the contribution of oxen in their lives, the Chinese people are very grateful to the animal. In addition, the use of oxen in ceremonies and the thanks people owe to oxen help to develop various traditional customs, which becomes an important part of the folk culture of the Chinese nation. Question: Which of the following helps to develop traditional customs? Answer:

OPTIONS:
- The special role of oxen in frowning.
- People's respect and love for oxen.
- The practical value of an ox's body.
- The contribution of oxen to the economy.

Answer: People's respect and love for oxen.

Read the following article and answer the question. Article: President Abraham Lincoln's first call for volunteers to fight in the Civil War was for whites only.The Civil War was a white man's war,northern whites insisted.Its purpose was to preserve the Union.It was not being fought to end slavery.But by September of 1862,the _ toward black volunteers had changed.Lincoln had hoped that the war would be short,but it had already lasted for a year and a half.Union manpower had fallen dangerously. Lincoln had a plan.He issued the Emancipation Proclamation.It stated that as of January 1,1863,all slaves living in the rebellious southern states would be forever free.And starting immediately,Union armies would accept black volunteers. The southern rebels'response to Lincoln's call for black troops was a deadly one.Captives of any Union regiment with black troops were to be given "no quarter".They were to be put to death immediately. AfricanAmerican troops throughout the war distinguished themselves in battle at places like Milliken's Bend,Fort Wagner,and the Crater at St.Petersburg.As to their conduct on the battlefield,Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson wrote,"Nobody knows anything about these men who has not seen them in battle.No officer in this regiment now doubts that the successful process of the war lies in the unlimited employment of black troops." By the war's end,186,000 black men had participated.They made up nearly 10 percent of Union forces.These black soldiers saw action in more than 250 battles.Black soldiers also gave their lives.By the war's end,about 38,000 black soldiers had died.They died from disease,in battle,and after capture by rebel troops. Question: Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? Answer:

OPTIONS:
- The Civil War's purpose was to drive the black away.
- The Civil War ended just in one year with the help of the blacks.
- All slaves were set free by September of 1862.
- Black captives of any Union regiment were killed after Lincoln's call.

Answer:
Black captives of any Union regiment were killed after Lincoln's call.