Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: There seems to be a general assumption that brilliant people cannot stand routine ; that they need a varied , exciting life in order to do their best . It is also assumed that dull people are particularly suited for dull work . We are told that the reason the present-day young complain so loudly about the dullness of jobs is that they are better educated and brighter than the young of the past . Actually , there is no evidence that people who achieve a lot desire , let alone live , colorful lives . The opposite is nearer the truth . Einstein worked out his theory of relativity while serving as a clerk in a Swiss patent office . Immanuel Kant's daily life was a dull routine . The housewives of Konigsberg set their clocks when they saw him pass , on his way to the university . He took the same walk each morning , rain or shine . The greatest distance Kant ever traveled was sixty miles from Konigsberg . It may be true that work on the assembly line dulls the abilities and empties the mind , and the cure is only fewer hours of work at higher pay . But during fifty years as a workingman , I have found dull routine coexisting with an active mind . While doing dull , repetitive work by the water , I could talk with my partners and compose sentences in my mind , all at the same time . Chances are that had my work been too interesting I could not have done any thinking and composing at work or even on my own time after returning from work . People who find dull jobs unbearable are often dull people who do not know what to do with themselves at leisure . Children and mature people will get used to dull routine , while the adolescent , who has lost the child's ability for concentration and is without the inner resources of the mature , needs excitement and novelty to get rid of boredom . Question: How does the author feel about his repetitive work by the water ? Options: A: It made his mind empty . B: It was well-paid but too demanding . C: It worked well with his active mind . D: It was too interesting to think of anything else .
A: C

Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: A beautiful woman took a plane on business. She found her seat and sat down next to a young man. The man was just thinking of making a few dollars on the plane. When he saw the woman, he got an idea. "Hey! Would you like to play a game?" he asked the woman. "No, thank you. I just want to take a nap ," the woman answered. "It's really easy. All you have to do is to answer the questions that I ask you. If you don't know the answer, you give me five dollars. If I don't know the answer to your question, then I'll give you five dollars." "No," the woman still refused. "OK. If I don't know the answer to your question, I'll give you five hundred dollars. How about that?" the man said. Then the woman became interested and decided to join in the game. "OK. How many moons does Jupiter have?" asked the young man. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five-dollar bill. "What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back with four?" the woman asked. Then the young man took out his computer and searched the Internet for an answer. Minutes later, the young man handed five hundred dollars to the woman. After a few hours, the young man really wanted to know the answer to the question. So he asked the woman, "What is the answer to your question?" The woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five-dollar bill. Question: Why did the man ask the woman to play a game? Options: A: He wanted to show his kindness. B: He wanted to have a pleasant journey. C: He wanted to earn some money from it. D: He wanted to make friends with the woman.
A: C

Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: The best example of something is often called the "gold standard." It sets the standard against which other things are measured. In economics, the term describes how major trading nations once used gold to set currency values and exchange rates. Many nations continued to use the gold standard until the last century. In the United States, people could exchange paper money for gold from the eighteen seventies until nineteen thirty-three. Then-President Richard Nixon finally disconnected the dollar from the value of gold in nineteen seventy-one. From time to time, some politicians call for a return to the gold standard. In 1978, the International Monetary Fund ended an official gold price. The IMF also ended the required use of gold in _ with its member countries. Since that time, gold prices have grown and continued to be high. But people keep buying. Some people are "gold bugs." These are investors who say people should buy gold to protect against inflation . People have valued gold for thousands of years. The soft, dense metal polishes to a bright yellow shine and resists most chemical reactions. It makes a good material for money, political power -- and, more recently, electrical power. If you own a device like a mobile phone or a computer, you might own a little gold in the wiring. The gold standard was the subject of one of the best-known speeches in American political history. William Bryan wanted the country to use both gold and silver as money. The idea was to devalue the dollar and make it easier for farmers to pay their debts. So he delivered a speech, which made him famous. He was a presidential candidate three times. But he never won. Question: After the IMF ended the official gold price, the gold prices _ . Options: A: stayed the same B: began to drop C: increased D: increased a little at first and kept drop
A: C

Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: When I was eight, I saw a movie about an island that had an erupting volcano and jungles filled with wild animals. The island was ruled by a beautiful woman called Tondalaya, the Fire Goddess of the Volcano. It was a low-budget movie, but to me, it represented the perfect life. But through the years, Tondalaya was forgotten. The week I turned 50, my marriage came to a sudden end. My house, furniture and everything I'd owned was sold to pay debts that I didn't even know existed. In a week I had lost my husband, my home and my parents who had refused to accept a divorce in the family. I'd lost everything except my four teenage children. I used every penny I had to buy five plane tickets from Missouri to Hawaii. Everyone said I was crazy to think I could just run off to an island and survive. I was afraid they were right. I worked 18 hours a day and lost 30 pounds because I lived on one meal a day. One night as I walked alone on the beach, I saw the red orange lava pouring out of Kilauea Volcano in the distance. It was time to live my imagination! The next day, I quit my job, bought some art supplies and began doing what I loved. I hadn't painted a picture in 15 years. I wondered if I could still paint. My hands trembled the first time I picked up a brush. But before an hour had passed, I was lost in the colors spreading across the canvas in front of me. And as soon as I started believing in myself, other people started believing in me, too. The first painting sold for $1,500. The past six years have been filled with adventures. My children and I have gone swimming with dolphins, watched whales and hiked around the crater rim of the volcano. We wake up every morning with the ocean in front of us and the volcano behind us. The dream I had more than 40 years is now reality. I'm living freely and happily ever after. Question: Which of the following is the writer's dream? Options: A: Living in nature with animals. B: Becoming a successful painter. C: Getting close to wildlife. D: Living a free and happy life.
A: D