Read the article and select the best answer. Article: An unemployed man is desperate to support his family. His wife watches TV all day and his three teenage kids have dropped out of high school to hang around with the local toughs. He applies for a cleaner's job at a large firm and easily passes an aptitude test. The human resources manager tells him, "You will be hired at minimum wage, $5.15 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address so that we can contact you easily. Our system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise you when to start and where to report on your first day." Greatly surprised, the man protests that he has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this, the manager replies, "You must understand that to a company like ours that means you virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail address you can hardly expect to be employed by a high tech firm. Good day." Unable to believe what he heard, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past a farmers' market and sees a stand selling beautiful tomatoes. He buys a crate , carries it to a busy corner and displays the tomatoes. In less than two hours he sells all the tomatoes and makes 100% profit. From that day on, he repeats the tomato business and becomes increasingly successful as time goes on. By the end of the fifth year he owns a fleet of nice trucks and a warehouse. The tomato company has put hundreds of homeless and jobless people to work and the business grossed a million dollars. Planning for the future, he decides to buy some life insurance. The insurance adviser asks him for his e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically. When the man replies that he doesn't have time to mess with a computer and has no e-mail address, the insurance salesman is surprised, " No computer? No Internet? Just think where you would be if you'd had all of that five years ago!" "Ha! If I'd had all of that five years ago, I would be sweeping floors at Microsoft and making $5.15 an hour!" the man replies. Question: The man applies for a cleaner's job _ . Options: A: but he can't accept it because the pay is too low B: and he gets it though the pay is only $5.15 an hour C: but he was turned down because he doesn't have an e-mail address D: but he misses the chance because they fail to contact him
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A hobby can be almost anything a person likes to do in his spare time. Hobbyists raise pets, build model ships, weave baskets, watch birds, hunt animals, climb mountains, raise flowers, fish, ski, skate, and swim. Hobbyists also paint pictures, attend concerts and plays, and perform on musical instruments. They collect everything from books to butterflies, and from shells to stamps. People take up hobbies because these activities offer enjoyment, friendship, knowledge, and relaxation. Sometimes they even produce financial profit . Hobbies help people balance between work and play. Hobbies also offer interesting activities for persons who have retired. Anyone, rich or poor, old or young, sick or well, can follow a satisfying hobby, regardless of his age, position, or income. Hobbies can help a person's mental and physical health. Doctors have found that hobbies are valuable in helping patients _ physical or mental illness. Hobbies give bedridden or wheel-chair patients something to do, and provide interests that keep them from thinking about themselves. Many hospitals treat patients by having them take up interesting hobbies or pastimes. In early times, most people were too engaged in making a living to have many hobbies. But some persons who had leisure did enjoy hobbies. The ancient Egyptians played games with balls made of wood or pottery. People today have more time than ever before for hobbies. Machines have reduced the amount of time they must spent on their jobs. Hobbies provide variety for workers who do the same monotonous tasks all day long. More people are retiring than ever before, and at an earlier age. Those who have developed hobbies never need to worry about what to do with their newly found leisure hours. Sir William Osier, a famous Canadian doctor, expressed the value of hobbies by saying, "No man is really happy or safe without a hobby." Question: In early times, most people spent less time on their hobbies, because _ . Options: A: they were busy in making a living B: they suffered from illnesses. C: they were brave and hard-working D: they were not interested in them.
A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In 1953, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary, then 33, joined a British Qomolangma expedition led by Colonel John Hunt. Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans were the first team to attempt the summit . Despite a violent storm, they reached the South Summit -- at 28,700 feet (8,748 meters) -- by 1 p.m. on May 26. But both men knew they would run out of oxygen if they went on. They agreed to turn back. Two days later, Hillary and Norgay, set out from Camp IX at 25,900 feet to make the next attempt. At 27,900 feet they made a temporary camp on a six foot wide rock to spend the night. At 6:30 the next morning, cheered by clearing skies, the team moved out. Roped together, cutting steps with their ice axes, they inched up a steep, knife-edged ridge southeast of the summit. They reached the South Summit by 9:00 a.m. Farther up, they met a 40-foot icy rock face, which was later named the Hillary Step. "...looking up at the rock step at 29,000 feet, it really did look extremely difficult to overcome," said Hillary. But they found a narrow crack on the surface of the rock, just large enough to move inside on hands and knees, and managed to climb it by supporting feet against one side and backs against the other. Hillary said, "That was really the first moment during the whole of the expedition that I was confident that we were going to get to the top." The last few yards to the summit were relatively easy. "Then I realized that the ridge, instead of rising ahead, now dropped sharply away," Hillary said. "I looked upward to see a narrow ridge running up to a sharp point. ...and we stood on the summit." It was 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. Question: What is the passage mainly about? Options: A: The climbing history of Qomolangma. B: The life and achievements of Edmund Hillary. C: How Hillary and Norgay conquered Qomolangma. D: How the Hillary Step got its name.
C