Swimming is one of those activities that can be learned early in life. Little children can learn to swim as soon as they walk. In fact, you need the same skills in walking as in swimming. However, I believe that five is the best age to learn. By five or six, a child knows fear of water, a very important thing to know. It's wise to be afraid, to recognize true danger. Young ones understand that the water can sometimes be very dangerous. To really benefit from swimming, every swimmer should learn, as soon as possible, these four basic strokes; butterfly, backstroke, Breaststroke, and crawl. I feel that one of these-the breaststroke-is different from the others, since some young swimmers use this stroke naturally, without any training. In swimming there are certain rules every swimmer should follow: 1). Never swim alone! No matter how good you are in the water, don't risk drowning by swimming alone. If you swim by yourself, with no life guards or friends with you, you may get into trouble. 2). Don't go beyond your abilities. Most swimmers know enough not to swim too far from the bank or the beach, Showing off by doing dangerous tricks is no good. Swim safely and you will continue to swim and alive. 3). Don't smoke. Swimming depends on a healthy body; good lungs are part of it. 4). Work at any activity that builds muscles. According to the passage, you should not swim alone because _ . A) you might drown B) your parents would not be happy C) something in the water might attack D) the water is too cold
A
(Question)
The rumors had been spreading for months but it still came as a shock when the hospital would be closing. It had served this poor neighborhood for nearly 100 years but it would close because of the health care crisis. The day after the announcement co-workers found out that pretzels had been _ . Soft pretzels are the lifeblood of this city. So losing access to soft pretzels is no small matter. A week later, I decided to cheer up my co-workers by picking up some soft pretzels at a local store. I arrived just as it opened so I was the only customer. But I only had $6 in my wallet. I was working inside a large office at the hospital and knew I'd need more than the half dozen pretzels my six dollars would buy. A man's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Can I help you?" I said, "I only have $6. I'm not sure how many pretzels I need. You see, I work at a hospital and it's closing and they stopped selling pretzels." The man's smile disappeared. "What hospital?" "Oh, Northeastern Hospital." The guy looked deeply shocked. "I used to sell medical supplies and that was one of my hospitals." Then he turned around and grabbed a box of 25 pretzels and slid them across the counter. I was surprised by his generosity and started to reach for my wallet, "Oh I can pay. Please let me ..." The guy smiled, "Just tell them Joe Sullivan said to do something nice for someone else." And so that day everyone in medical records was treated to a soft pretzel. Word spread fast as people came asking, "Is it really true?" It was as if I'd carried in a box of gold. It mattered to them that a stranger cared. To buy 25 pretzels, the author should pay _ . A) $25 B) $12.5 C) $12 D) $50
(Answer)
A
Ques: Lots of people have hobbies. Some people collect old coins or foreign stamps; some do needlework; others spend most of their spare time on a particular sport. A lot of people enjoy reading. But reading tastes differ widely. Some people only read newspapers or comics, some like reading novels, while others prefer books on astronomy, wildlife, or technological discoveries. If I happen to be interested in horses or precious stones, I cannot expect everyone else to share my enthusiasm. If I watch all the sports programs on TV with great pleasure, I must put up with the fact that other people find sports boring. Is there nothing that interests us all? Is there nothing that concerns everyone--no matter who they are or where they live in the world? Yes, dear Sophie, there are questions that certainly should interest everyone. They are precisely the questions this course is about. What is the most important thing in life? If we ask someone living on the edge of starvation, the answer is food. If we ask someone dying of cold, the answer is warmth. If we put the same question to someone who feels lonely and isolated, the answer will probably be the company of other people. But when these basic needs have been satisfied--will there still be something that everybody needs? Philosophers think so. They believe that man cannot live by bread alone. Of course everyone needs food. And everyone needs love and care. But there is something else--apart from that--which everyone needs, and that is to figure out who we are and why we are here. Being interested in why we are here is not a "casual" interest like collecting stamps. People who ask such questions are taking part in a debate that has gone on as long as man has lived on this planet. How the universe, the earth, and life came into being is a bigger and more important question than who won the most gold medals in the last Olympics. The author believes that _ . A) no existing subject can interest everyone in the world B) different people may have different interests and concerns C) everyone has to figure out who we are and why we are here D) people in modern society pay more attention to philosophical questions
Ans: C
A teenager has gained a six-figure sum for a vampire novel she wrote after being inspired by the Twilight. Abigail Gibbs, 18, who started writing the book aged 14, released chapters of her novel online, where the book eventually received 17 million hits. Harper Collins in Britain has now signed this talented author following her extraordinary Internet success. Miss Gibbs, from Brixham, Devon, who is about to start studying English at Oxford University, is the first author to be discovered on Wattpad. Wattpad is an online library which allows subscribers to upload or read other people's stories. Miss Gibbs also said Stephenie Meyer's famous Twilight books had influenced her novel, The Dark Heroine. "I read the Twilight and did really enjoy it. At first, my parents were a bit opposed to my writing because I was staying up till 3 a.m. on school nights and they were worried that I might fall behind." Miss Gibbs finished her book at the age of 16. She posted each chapter after she had written it on the Internet site, until she got to five chapters before the end when she stopped. "I had signed with an agent and he basically said, 'Don't post anymore so as to keep the readers' anxiety". That was tough because I disappeared in the site for a year and there were a lot of fans asking where I was. I have had so many requests from fans to upload the last five chapters; some people even said they were going to write their own endings." Her fans can buy the e-book for PS2.99, or wait for the paperback book priced at PS6.99 in shops next month. Why did Gibbs stop posting the last five chapters of the story online? A) She would rewrite it later. B) She had to finish her university education first. C) She wanted readers to write their own ending. D) She hoped to attract readers' more interest.
D