Problem: OPTIONS:
- send postcards as the gifts to the class
- make phone calls to all the classmates
- buy gifts for some of the classmates
- give each classmate a picture as a gift
Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Ask a question! Email it to Letters@Highlights.com. Gift Giving I'm going to China and everyone in my class is asking me to buy them something. What should I do? Reply from the Highlights Editor: Your classmates are probably just excited about your trip. Most likely they don't expect you to buy gifts for everyone. Sending a few postcards to the entire class during your trip would be a wonderful way to share your experiences. The pictures on the cards and your words of description will be the best gift of all. Dog Begging My dog always begs for food at the dinner table. I really want to feed him, but my mom says I can't. I'm afraid he won't like me anymore. What should I do? Reply from the Highlights Editor: Your dog loves you for many more reasons than just for what you feed him. You can show him that you care about him by playing with him, by petting him and speaking kindly to him and by making sure he has fresh water. It might be best if your dog is not near the dinner table while you are eating. You could teach him to stay in another room. Being Bilingual My aunt insists that we speak our language(Tagalog) at home and English outside the house. Do you think she is right? Reply from the Highlights Editor: It is a great gift to have someone in your family who is willing to take the time to teach you another language. It's a good way to keep family traditions alive, and it helps develop your language skills. Your ability to use both English and Tagalog will help you learn a third and fourth language later in life. So it sounds like a great idea! Question: The Highlights editor suggests the student who is going to China _ . Answer:
Answer: send postcards as the gifts to the class
Problem: OPTIONS:
- began before mass production became popular
- is intended to encourage consumers to buy more things
- results in higher prices of items
- requires factories to produce high-quality products
Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: I once had a house guest from Cuba. During his visit, I happened to throw an old broken blender in the trash. The next day it was sitting on my counter - in working order. In his world, people simply cannot afford to replace an item which doesn't work properly. They take the time and figure out how to fix it. In Cuba, they are still driving cars from the 1960's, mainly because they do not have a choice. In contrast, the U.S. is a "throw-away society." Statistics show that each American produces six pounds of trash per day. I believe a combination of factors has contributed to this phenomenon. "Planned obsolescence " is not a secret. It is a manufacturing philosophy developed in the 1920's and 1930's, when mass production became popular. The goal is to make a product or part that will fail, or become less desirable over time or after a certain amount of use. This pressures the consumer to buy again. Planned obsolescence does keep costs down. Instead of making an expensive product that will last a long time, businesses produce more affordable, disposable items. Some electronic items have become so inexpensive that it is cheaper to replace them than to repair them.[:&&Z&X&X&K] Busy people often value their time and convenience more than money. If a car starts to have mechanical problems, replacing it with a newer, more reliable model may be more appealing than tolerating it being in the garage for a week. In addition, advertising trains consumers to want what is new and improved. It convinces them that the more they have, the happier they will be. Unlike people in many developing countries, we live in a world of abundance. A study by Dr. Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona also found that in the U.S., 40-50 percent of all food ready for harvest is wasted. Abundance and waste soon became closely associated in the American way of life. Question: According to the article, planned obsolescence _ . Answer:
Answer: is intended to encourage consumers to buy more things
Problem: OPTIONS:
- He could stay at home looking after his grandchildren.
- He can make friends with famous film directors.
- He needn't worry about his financial problems.
- He needn't spend time writing another book.
Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: War Horse author Michael Morpurgo is being interviewed: Reporter:How did War Horse become so successful? Michael:War Horse was published in 1982,and it did not sell very well.But my publishers kept it in print,along with all my books.I am very grateful to Egmont and I'm sure now they are very grateful to themselves. The book was discovered 21 years later,by accident.I was on Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 in 2003 when my work was becoming better known.One of the listeners was the mother of a director called Tom Morris,and after reading War Horse herself she told her son to read it.Two years later the play came out,and it was a huge hit that went to the West End,Broadway and now Canada and Australia,then a nationwide American tour in June this year. In 2009 kathy kennedy,the producer who worked with Steven Spielberg,walked into the New London Theatre to see the play because her daughter liked it very much.She then phoned Spielberg and told him this would be his next film!The way it all happened is better than any of my stories.War Horse has now sold over 1 million copies. Reporter:Has War Horse changed your life? Michael:It has made all the difference in the world.The most important gift it has given us is not to have to worry about money,because there has always been a slight anxiety.It has allowed us to ensure our grandchildren's education.There is a disadvantage to it as well,which is an assumption that I am super rich.I'm not,actually.It is very nice and completely unexpected but I have got to go on writing.If I were younger,I think,it would go to my head.Now I am too old for anything to go to my head.It is not the same as winning the lottery . Question: What change made Michael feel most valuable because of War Horse? Answer:
Answer:
He needn't worry about his financial problems.