Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Coffee has a history dating back to at least the 9th century and has been a catalyst for social interaction across cultures and eras. Originally discovered in Ethiopia, coffee beans were brought into the Middle East by Arab traders, spreading to Egypt, Yemen, Persia, Turkey, and North Africa by the 15th century. Muslim merchants eventually brought the beans to the thriving port city of Venice, where they sold them to wealthy Italian buyers. Soon, the Dutch began importing and growing coffee in places like Java and Ceylon (largely through slave labor), and the British East India Trading Company was popularizing the beverage in England. Coffee spread across Europe and even reached America. Where there has been coffee, there has been the coffeehouse. From the 15th century Middle Eastern establishments where men gathered to listen to music, play chess, and hear recitations from works of literature, to Paris' Cafe le Procope where luminaries of the French Enlightenment such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot came to enjoy a hot cup of joe, coffeehouses have traditionally served as centers of social interaction, places where people can come to relax, chat, and exchange ideas. The modern coffee shop is modeled on the espresso and pastry-centered Italian coffeehouses that arose with the establishment of Italian-American immigrant communities in major US cities such as New York City's Little Italy and Greenwich Village, Boston's North End, and San Francisco's North Beach. New York coffee shops were often frequented by the Beats in the 1950's. It wasn't long before Seattle and other parts of the Pacific Northwest were developing coffee shops as part of a thriving counterculture scene. The Seattle-based Starbucks took this model and brought it into mainstream culture. Although coffeehouses today continue to serve their traditional purpose as lively social hubs in many communities, they have noticeably adapted to the times. Rediscovering their purpose as centers of information exchange and communication, many coffee... Question: We can infer from the passage _ . Answer:

OPTIONS:
- Starbucks has beaten all the competitors
- there are no changes in the development of coffee culture
- the taste of coffee has changed a lot
- Starbucks has some effect on the development of coffee culture

A: Starbucks has some effect on the development of coffee culture

Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: It was one of the happiest times of my life. I was 29 and had just received my bachelor's degree, graduating with honors despite working two jobs and being a wife and mother. My parents and five - year - old son were in the audience when I walked onto the stage at prefix = st1 /AshlandUniversityto get my diploma. I was so excited and proud to be starting a teaching career and contributing more to my family's well - being. But when I got home that evening, there was a note from my husband written on the back of an envelope. It basically said he'd come to get his clothes and wouldn't be back. We'd been having trouble, but the finality of that note still came as a shock. He had emptied our bank account. We were horribly in debt. I had quit my previous jobs in expectation of interviewing for a teaching position. I was embarrassed, scared, and angry and felt I had failed. But I had my son, and I was about to bring a new life into the world, so despite my deep sadness, I had to go on. The next morning, I woke up, put my feet on the floor, took a deep breath, fixed breakfast, and basically did everything I always did. I used my routine to keep me moving. One small step after one small step was the way I bounced back. And in the seven years since, I've continued moving forward. I got a job as a kindergarten teacher, earned a master' s degree in education. I certainly would never have chosen to put them through this, but I'm glad it happened to me when looking back. It helped me find my voice and myself a lot sooner. It helped me grow independent, confident, and strong--things I' m hopefully developing gradually now in my child. Question: It was one of the author's happiest times because _ . Answer:

OPTIONS:
- she became a good wife and got two jobs
- she had just received her bachelor's degree
- she had been a teacher at AshlandUniversity
- she was proud to be loved by her family

A: she had just received her bachelor's degree

Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a lot of antique shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair. The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth...So I decided that my approach must be wrong. I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, "Would you like to buy a chair?" He looked it over carefully and said, "Yes. How much do you want for it, sir?" "Twenty pounds,"I said, "OK,"he said. "I'll give you twenty pounds." "It's got a slightly broken leg,"I said. "Yes, I saw that, it's nothing." Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. "What will you do with it?" I asked. "Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done." "I'11 buy it." I said. "What do you mean?" "You've just sold it to me." he said. "Yes, I know but I've changed my mind. I am sorry. I'll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.""You must be crazy. "he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. "I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair." "You're right."I said. "And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, 'Would you mend this chair for me?'" "I wouldn't have agreed to do it," he said. "We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I'll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver?" He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing. Question: From the text, we can learn that the writer was _ . Answer:

OPTIONS:
- honest
- careful
- smart
- funny

A:
smart