*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Looking for some inspiration or the "write" kind of ideas for your creative stories? To start with, some writers describe winter by using their five senses or their imagination. Others write on their favorite winter activity. Whatever you choose to write about, working on a winter story can always help to improve your writing skills. Now read the following story and see if it helps get rid of any icy writing block you' ve been struggling with. A Winter Adventure Beep, beep. Beep-beep: the alarm clock rang. Slowly, I got out of warm bed down onto the wooden floor which the winter had thrown its cold upon. The bitter cold temperature penetrated my socks and I hurried to put my feet in shoes. Looking out of the window, I watched the white snow, soft and thick, drop onto rooftops and trees. Half an hour later, finishing the last of my hot chocolate, I prepared to enter the _ that waited for me outside. I buttoned my jacket and fastened my boots. Hat on, I opened the door and was greeted by the winter coldness. In the depths of winter, the early morning did not have the rush of the rest of the year. Most of my neighbours were put off by the cold, and stayed in bed until the sun had climbed higher into the sky. Unseen by those who remained locked inside their homes, warm in their beds, I enjoyed being alone with the beauty of the wintertime. Those indoors were unable to appreciate the snow-scapes, ice crystals, frost and the crisp breeze. For them, the coming of winter meant just the arrival of the cold. Appreciation depends on contrasts. One cannot love the warmth of April if one has not known the freezing cold of winter. Later that year, the heat of the sun on my skin would be all the more wonderful for my memories of that cold morning and others like it. Question: Which of these statements is true according to the story A Winter Adventure? - Of all the seasons, the writer loves winter most. - The writer regrets that he went out on the freezing cold winter morning. - The writer believes contrast makes our experiences of the seasons lovelier. - The writer values the autumn and summer more than the winter
**Answer**
The writer believes contrast makes our experiences of the seasons lovelier.

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: As an effect of the high fuel prices spent on bus transportation, some American schools are changing to a four-day week. That means longer days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule. Having been approved for three years and beginning in the fall, students in the Maccray school district in Minnesota will be in school from Tuesday to Friday. Each school day will be 65 minutes longer. Officials say the district expects to save about sixty-five thousand dollars a year in transportation costs. In new Mexico, the first school district changed to a four-day week in 1974 because of the Arab oil boycott . Now, 17 out of 89 districts use it. In Custer, South Dakota, students have been going to school four days a week since 1995. Superintendent Tim Creal says the change has saved about one million dollars over just the past eight years. He sees other benefits, too. Students get more instructional time, and activities that used to take up class time are now held on non-school days. He says that in the future, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school. High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes. A four-day school week sounds like a great idea for students and teachers, but working parents may have to pay for child care for that fifth day. Question: According to Tim Creal, what makes it possible to have even fewer days in school? - The increasing number of private tutors. - The development of teaching methods. - The increase in the number of online classes. - The growth in the income of Americans.
**Answer**
The increase in the number of online classes.

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Recently, some concerns have been raised about the health of the world's banana plants. Many media reports have said that bananas may completely disappear in the coming ten years. Bananas are one of the world's most important food crops. They are also the fourth most valuable export. Bananas do not grow from seeds. Instead, they grow from existing plants. Bananas are threatened by disease because all the plants on a farm are copies of each other. They all share the same genetic weaknesses. For example, the Cavendish banana is most popular in American markets. It is an important export crop. However, some kinds of fungus organisms easily infect the Cavendish. Black Sigatoka disease affects the leaves of Cavendish banana plants. The disease is controlled on large farms by putting chemicals on the plant's leaves. Farmers put anti-fungal chemicals on their crops up to once a week. Another fungal disease is more serious. Panama disease attacks the roots of the banana plant. There is no chemical treatment for this disease. Infected plants must be destroyed. Panama disease has affected crops in Southeast Asia, Australia and South Africa. There is concern that it may spread to bananas grown in the Americas. This could threaten an important export product for Central and South America. The International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain, whose headquarter lies in France, supports research on bananas. The group says that more research must be done to develop improved kinds of bananas. The group says that fungal diseases mainly affect only one kind of banana. In fact, there are five-hundred different kinds of bananas. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says the Cavendish banana represents only ten percent of world production. The UN agency says farmers should grow different kinds of bananas. This protects against diseases that affect only one kind. Experts warn that disease may cause the Cavendish banana to disappear. This has already happened to one popular banana because of its... Question: Panama disease _ . - doesn't belong to fungal disease. - has spread to bananas in the world. - affects the leaves of banana plants. - destroys the bananas more seriously than Black Sigatoka disease.
**Answer**
destroys the bananas more seriously than Black Sigatoka disease.