Like any good mother,when Karen found out that another baby was on the way,she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son,Michael,prepare for a new baby.They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl,and day after day,night after night,Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's stomach. Finally,Michael's little sister is born.But she is in serious condition.With alarm in the night,the ambulance rushes _ to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital,Knoxville,Tennessee.The days go by.The little girl gets worse.The pediatric specialist tells the parents,"There is very little hope.Be prepared for the worst." Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot.They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby,but now they plan a funeral.Michael,keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister,"I want to sing to her,"he says. Karen makes up her mind.She will take Michael whether they like it or not.If he doesn't see his sister now,he may never see her alive. She dresses him in an oversized suit and marches him into ICU.He looks like a walking laundry basket,but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and shouts,"Get that kid out of here now! No children are allowed.Never disturb patients here."The mother rises up strongly and said,"He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!" Karen leads Michael to his sister's bedside.He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live.And he begins to sing.In the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old,Michael sings:"You are my sunshine,my only sunshine,you make me happy when skies are gray..."Instantly the baby girl responds.The pulse rate becomes calm and steady. The next day,the very next day,the little girl is well enough to go home! Woman's Day magazine called it"the miracle of a brother's song."The medical staff just called it a miracle.Karen called it a miracle of God's love! Never give up on the people you love. What do we know about the little sister after she was born? A) She was driven to St.Mary's shop. B) A doctor came to see her in her house. C) She was very thin and couldn't speak. D) She was in great danger.
D
It's generally believed that people act the way they do because of their personalities and attitudes. They recycle their garbage because they care about the environment. They pay $5 for a caramel brulee latte because they like expensive coffee drinks. It's undeniable that behavior comes from our inner dispositions , but in many instances we also draw inferences about who we are, as suggested by the social psychologist Daryl Bern, by observing our own behavior. We can be strangers to ourselves. If we knew our own minds, why should we need to guess what our preferences are from our behavior? If our minds were an open book, we would know exactly how much we care about the environment or like lattes. Actually, we often need to look to our behavior to figure out who we are. Moreover, we don't just use our behavior to learn about our particular types of character --- we infer characters that weren't there before. Our behavior is often shaped by little pressures around us, which we fail to recognize. _ Maybe we buy lattes in order to impress the people around us. We should not mistakenly believe that we always behave as a result of some inner disposition. Whatever pressures there can be or inferences one can make, people become what they do, though it may not be in compliance with their true desires. Therefore, we should all bear in mind Kurt Vonnegut's advice: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." According to the passage, personalities and attitudes are commonly believed to _ . A) determine one's behavior B) reflect one's taste C) influence one's surroundings D) result from one's habits
A
Q: One of the greatest gifts one generation can give to other generations is the wisdom it has gained from experience. This idea has inspired the award-winning photographer Andrew Zuckerman. He interviewed and took photos of fifty over-sixty-five-year-olds all over the world. His project explores various aspects of their lives. The photos and interviews are now available on our website. Click on the introductions to read the complete interviews. Let us now have a culture of peace. ----Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Spain Federico Mayor Zaragoza obtained a doctorate in pharmacy from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1958. After many years spent in politics, he became Director-General of UNESCO in 1987. In 1999, he created the Foundation for a culture of Peace, of which he is now the president. In addition to many scientific publications, he has published four collections of poems and several books of essays. Writing is a discovery. ----Nadine Gordimer, South Africa Due to a weak heart, Nadine Gordimer attended school and university briefly. She read widely and began writing at an early age. She published her first short story at the age of fifteen, and has completed a large number of works, which have been translated into forty languages. In 1991, Gordimer won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Jazz is about the only form of art today. ----Dave Brubeck, USA Dave Brubeck studied music at the University of the Pacific and graduated in 1942. After World War Two he was encouraged to play jazz. In 1951, he recorded his first album . Brubeck's 1959 album has become a jazz standard. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. For more figures CLICK HERE. Who most probably said "My education has been the library and books" in the interview when reflecting on his/her experience? A) Nadine Gordimer. B) Federico Mayor Zaragoza. C) Andrew Zuckerman. D) Dave Brubeck.
A: A
(Question)
I came to India a year ago to find a village in which I could live and write but it was many months before I settled down happily in this Himalayan community.I wasted a lot of time looking for the "typical" village, yet no such thing exists. Conditions vary too widely.But the villages I stayed in had much in common--poverty, dirt, ignorance. Often the villagers themselves were puzzled, suspicious. Why had I come? I had put aside my work as a political journalist because my ideas had changed. I had come to believe that what was happening in the Third World was more important than anything else. But to understand how three quarters of the world's people live, and how their future might affect ours, I felt that I first had to try and share their way of life.In the end I chose a mountain village because it was a little cooler than those in the plains. I took the bus from town along a bumpy road. Then came a rough walk down a steep path to the river. After this I began the climb into the Mils. Whenever I stopped to catch my breath, there was a magnificent view. After several hours' walk the village came into view. Before coming to India, the writer _ . A) had been a successful politician B) had made a decision to work for India C) had studied India culture for some months D) had worked for newspapers and magazines
(Answer)
D