Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In the future your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car! For each prediction that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn't consider how people would want to use the technology. Or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let's look at some predictions from the not - too - distant past. Robot Helpers Where's the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he's probably not coming anytime soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other Manufacturing environments. Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people's home. So why hasn't happened? Probably because robots are still too expensive and Clumsy. And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too _ . At home we seem to be doing fine without them. Telephones of tomorrow? In 1964 an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn't caught on yet. Why? The technology worked fine, but it overlooked something obvious: peoples desire for privacy. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just stepped out of the shower? Probably not - it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology is available doesn't always mean people will want to use it. And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It's not so crazy anymore! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination. Keep watching the news - or perhaps the sky outside your window - to see what the future will bring. Question: Which of the following is probably not the author's belief? Options: A: predictions needn't consider people's practical use of technology. B: The future isn't always easy to guess. C: Not past predictions have come true. D: Many of the high-tech things our parents thought we'd be using by now simply never appeared.
Answer: A

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Thomas James Hanson will remember for a long time the snowstorm that hit the state of New York on November 22. The 47-year-old man from Niagara Falls was stuck in his car on the highway for almost eight days after his vehicle was accidentally pushed to the side of the road and covered with snow by workers employed to remove the snow from the streets. Driving on the Interstate Highway 190 during the worst of the snowstorm, Mr. Hanson decided to pull over his old 1993 Volkswagen Passat to the side of the road and wait for the weather conditions to improve. He remained motionless for approximately five hours before a snow plow arrived to clear the way. Unfortunately for the poor man, the driver of the gigantic snow removal vehicle did not see the small car, pushing it into the ditch and covering it with more than 2 meters of snow. Fortunately for the father of two children, the snow that was stacked over his vehicle was not very dense and allowed for enough fresh air to get through to enable him to survive. He was able to drink Thomas Hans water that he obtained by melting snow with his lighter in an aluminum coffee cup, and he ate the few items of groceries he had bought before going home. "If I had known I would be stuck for eight days, I would have bought more than a jar of dill pickles , a bottle of ketchup and two sticks of beef jerky ," said the survivor with a smile.on had almost lost all hope of being rescued when his car was hit once again this morning by another snow plow, which revealed the poor man's location. Question: What caused Thomas James Hanson to fall into the ditch according to the passage? Options: A: His drunk driving. B: The strong wind. C: The slippery road. D: A snow removal vehicle.
Answer: D

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A recent National Public Radio program examined the disappearance of some of the first words we were probably taught - "please" and "thank you." Other polite phrases are also disappearing. "You're welcome" has been replaced by "sure," "no problem," "you bet" or "enjoy." Are we becoming ruder, or are patterns of speech merely updating for changing times? Peter Post, director of the program, argues about people stopping using "you're welcome". He says, "Thank you" is an expression of appreciation one person offers another. To respond "No problem" is to ignore this acceptance as really being undeserved. By responding with a simple "you're welcome," Post adds, a person admits the thanks and shows appreciation for the person giving it. Whatever polite vocabulary you believe is fading, sociologist Gregory E. Smith says that such fading is a sign that we're becoming ruder as a society. "Saying please and thank you, asking permission, offering help, and following up on solutions to problems are no longer as important," he says. In 2011, 76 percent of people surveyed said Americans are becoming less civil. But could it be that it's simply the words we're using that are changing? Actually, the principles of respect, consideration and honesty are universal and timeless, but manners do change. For example, it's important to greet people when you see them, though the form of greeting has changed over time. "How do you do," for instance, became "Hello, how are you?" which changed into "Hello, how are things," or "How's it going?". As for "no problem", if the appreciation is expressed in a sincere manner, many Americans think they do not see its use as a loss of politeness. Question: Peter Post thinks using "You're welcome" to reply to "Thank you" is _ . Options: A: more appropriate B: a bit outdated C: less polite D: really undeserved
Answer:
A