An insect bee stands out on the logo of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, despite "Bee" being unrelated to the name of the insect. "Bee" refers to "a gathering", where people join together in an activity. The National Spelling Bee was formed in 1925 as a collection of many local spelling bees,organized by Louisville. With competitions, cash prizes, and a trip to the nation's capital, it was hoped the Bee would _ "general interest among pupils in a dull subject". Mark Neuhauser won the first National Spelling Bee held that year, by successfully spelling "gladiolus".In 2014,there were two winners of the Bee--a conclusion that has only happened three other times in Bee history, and not since 1962. Sriram Hathwar, a 14yearold from New York and Ansun Sujoe, a 13yearold from Texas shared the excitement as cochampions after 22 rounds of spelling. Each took home over $30,000 in cash, scholarships and bonds. The Spelling Bee has been held every year except for 19431945 due to World War II.Later, the Scripps Company acquired the rights to the program in 1941. The bee is held in late May or early June of each year.It is open to students who have not yet completed the eighth grade, reached their 15th birthday, nor won a previous National Spelling Bee.Its goal is educational:not only to encourage children to perfect the art of spelling, but also to help enlarge their vocabularies and widen their knowledge of the English language. When did Mark win the National Spelling Bee? A) In 1925. B) In 1941. C) In 1962. D) In 2014.
A
(Question)
BEIJING - For the first time in decades, Chinese drivers will enjoy a toll-free journey home during the upcoming eight-day holiday, which begins on Sunday.An 820-km drive from Beijing to the coastal city of Dalian takes travelers through four toll stations and costs a total of 380 yuan ( $ 60) in toll fees, while a sleeper train is just 240 yuan. Amid growing calls, the State Council, or China's cabinet , issued a tollfree road policy in August, allowing passenger cars with seven seats or less to travel forfree on toll roads during four major holidays.The first toll-free holiday will be the upcoming eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday. The removal of toll fees will not only make travel cheaper and more convenient, but will also _ the service industry, as people will spend more money on related services, such as food and accommodation. Hu Fangjun, an expert from the China Academy of Transportation Sciences, said companies funded by the toll fees will lose about 20 billion yuan each year throughout the four extended holidays due to the toll-free policy. However, new revenues earned from increasing spending during the longest holiday season will likely compensate for the losses. The companies that run the toll booths are largely state-owned, while the sector has been named as one of the most profitable in China. Roads are public. Every citizen has the right to be on the road. The toll-free policy during holidays will give the roads back to the public. and is also a way of returning wealth to the people, which will eventually boost the public's trust toward the government. China's financial revenues have enjoyed rapid growth for decades. The government is capable of offering more welfare to its people. We can infer from the text that _ . A) the removal of toll fees will cause more traffic problems B) the toll-ree road policy will encourage people to travel more C) the revenues will be cut down because of the toll-free road policy D) the public will get more benefit from the government
(Answer)
D
Ques: There are a lot of public libraries in Britain. These libraries have more than one hundred and fifteen million books, not including those libraries of public schools. Public libraries not only lend books, music records but also help children, patients in hospitals and others to get special play readings, film shows and so on. The first public libraries were founded in about the year 1850. Today's public libraries usually have a reading-room, a lending room and a reference room. The greatest and most famous library in Britain is that of the British Library in London. It was founded in 1973 and has over 10, 000, 000 books. It has nearly every magazine, newspaper and book published in Britain and other parts across the world. The "reference room" means a place for people to _ . A) borrow books B) look up something C) read magazines D) lend records
Ans: C
Question: The flag, the most common symbol of a nation in the modern world, is also one of the most ancient. With a clear symbolic meaning, the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings, ships and other vehicles related to a country. The national flag as we know it today is in no way a primitive artifact. It is, rather, the product of thousands of years' development. Historians believe that it had two major ancestors, of which the earlier served to show wind direction. Early human beings used very fragile houses and boats. Often strong winds would tear roofs from houses or cause high waves that endangered travelers. People's food supplies were similarly _ . Even after they had learned how to plant grains, they still needed help from nature to ensure good harvests. Therefore they feared and depended on the power of the wind, which could bring warmth from one direction and cold from another. Using a simple piece of cloth tied to the top of a post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods, such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire. The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable. Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems before carrying them into battle. They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves. These flags developed very slowly into modern flags. The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked. The king of China around 1000 B.C. was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him. This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past, but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India, then across Arab lands, and finally to Europe, where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag. What does the author know of the first national flag? A) He knows when it was sent to Europe. B) He believes it was made in Egypt. C) He thinks it came from China. D) He doubts where it started.
Answer:
D