Read the article and select the best answer. Article: On the island of New Zealand, there is a grasshopper-like species of insect that is found nowhere else on earth. New Zealanders have given it the nickname weta, which is a native Maori word meaning "god of bad looks". It's easy to see why anyone would call this insect a bad-looking bug. Most people feel disgusted at the sight of these bulky ,slow-moving creatures. Wetas are natural creatures; they come out of their caves and holes only after dark. A gaint weta can grow to over three inches long and weigh as much as 1.5 ounces. Giant wetas can hop up to two feet at a time. Some of them live in trees, and others live in caves. They are very long-lived for insects, and some adult wetas can live as long as two years. Just like their cousins grasshoppers and crickets, wetas are able to "sing" by rubbing their leg parts together, or against their lower bodies. Most people probably don't feel sympathy for these endangered creatures, but they do need protecting. The slow and clumsy wetas have been around on the island since the times of the dinosaurs, and have evolved and survived in an environment where they had no enemies until rats came to the island with European immigrants. Since rats love to hunt and eat wetas, the rat population on the island has grown into a real problem for many of the native species that are unaccustomed to _ presence, and poses a serious threat to the native weta population. Question: Which of the following descriptions of wetas is accurate? Options: A: They are quick in movement. B: They are decreasing in number. C: They are very active in the daytime. D: They have a short lifespan for insects.
B

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Your House Will Take Care of You In Old Age Have you ever thought what your life would be like in old age? Everyone talks about the "aging" society with large numbers of elderly people needing home care. Now German researchers have set up a "smart"house, programmed to help the elderly live at home with dignity. Scientists at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute say the house combines existing technology with future-oriented technology. For example, the "smart"bathroom has a touch screen mirror that can remind people to take their medicine, wash their hands or brush their teeth. The hardware behind Fraunhofer's electronic bathroom is not new, and the software runs on a regular personal computer. When the medicine cabinet is opened, a display in the middle of the mirror tells the person how many pills to take. The mirror is linked to a care provider, who can remotely check whether a patient at home is actually taking medicine and brushing his or her teeth. As many elderly people have arthritic conditions that make it difficult to operate water taps, the mirror also has displays that turn the water tap on or off or control the water temperature. The bathroom is only the start. Kitchens, bedrooms and all other parts of the intelligent"home will become "user-friendly"to meet all kinds of individual needs. Sensors in doors, toilets, taps, light switches and carpets detect every activity and record them electronically. Doctors or care staff can see from the computer records what personal hygiene tasks have been completed, how often the elderly person visits the bathroom or uses the toilet. In case of an emergency, the computer automatically alerts the chosen contact person or calls the care center. Question: How is the passage mainly developed? Options: A: By inferring. B: By comparing. C: By listing examples. D: By introducing a practical method.
C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Who cares if money can't buy you love? But it can still be your best friend forever. That's one of the surprising findings in a new research paper, "The Power of Money", published in me journal Psychological Science. Like any best friend forever, money demonstrated to researchers its ability to _ us, reduce our sense of social exclusion and even reduce life's painful moments. "I was surprised" says Katherine Vohs, one of the researchers and professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. "The findings were surprising because no one had connected the meaning of money to pain. The money wasn't buying the subjects more friends; it was only psychologically helpful." In the research ,students were told they would be participating in a test of finger dexterity . One group was given some paper money to count, while the other group was given blank pieces of paper. Once the counting was complete, all the test subjects were asked to dip their fingers into bowls of water heated to 122 degrees--roughly the temperature of a very hot bath. Result? Those who had been counting money reported less pain than those who had not. Subjects also were asked about their feelings. Those who handled actual money reported feeling stronger even 10 minutes after they put down the cash. Combined with previous experiments, the findings confirmed what researchers have long doubted, that money acts as a general panacea in the brain, giving us social self-confidence and reducing physical pain without having to spend a dime on aspirin. But can we get the same effect by using credit cards? "No, credit cards do not have the same effect, " Vohs says. "They are scary for most people, and they in fact represent debt m many ways." The findings could have an interesting effect in the business world, where recent trends have been to issue non-monetary rewards and bonuses instead of what was thought of as "cold, hard cash". Question: What's Katherine Vohs's attitude towards the result of the study? Options: A: He found it totally unexpected. B: He had no doubt about it. C: He thought it needed further experiments. D: He thought it was not convincing.
A: A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: You may have never heard of Lanthanum, Cerium or Neodymium, but these elements and others known as "rare earth" play a major role in modern technology. They can actually be found in many places on the earth, but not in quantities that can be mined. Only a few countries -- China, America, India, Australia, Brazil and Malaysia have any that can be mined enough to be traded. Even though some of these elements such as Cerium are as abundant as Copper, they are not found in concentrated amounts on the earth's surface. They are often mixed together with other metals, which makes extraction of these elements an expensive and an environmentally messy process. It was due to this reason that the term "rare earth" was invented. Rare earth metals are used widely in our life. Rechargeable car batteries, computers, iPhones, DVD players, computer monitors, televisions, lighting, lasers, glass polishing, and superconductors all use quantities of rare earth metals. Also, with the advancement in "green" technology like solar panels, these shiny materials are becoming more important than ever. An average electric car uses 10 pounds of Lanthanum for its rechargeable battery! America has large deposits of rare earths and has one of the first mines. It was opened in Southern California in 1940. The element "Europium" was the first metal to be separated in quantity for use in color televisions. However, in the 1980's and 1990's, as China started producing these elements in Inner Mongolia, the mines in America and elsewhere could not keep pace. The mine in Mountain Pass, California also failed environmental regulations and shut down in 2002. Now, recognizing the importance of having more than one supplier of this important resource, other rare earth owning countries like India and Australia are either dusting off their rare earth mines or speeding up their production. It is believed that the debate over rare earths will become louder in the coming months and years. Question: What can we learn about rare earths? Options: A: They are actually as abundant as Copper. B: They can be mined easily as other metals. C: They can only be found in a few countries. D: They are not really as rare as they are named.
D