There are some topics that readers never grow bored with, and the search for a suitable partner is one of them. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, first published in 1813, tells the story of five young women, all of whom are looking for a husband. In order to fully understand the novel, the readers must know that at the time when Jane Austen was writing, if a family was not rich, the daughters needed to marry well in order to live a comfortable, independent life. That is the reason why Mrs Bennet, the mother of the five girls, is so eager to have her daughters married. The heroine of the story is Elizabeth Bennet, and as in all good romantic novels, she and Darcy, the man she finally marries, remain separate until the very end of the story. The wealthy Darcy is a proud, unsociable man, and when Elizabeth hears that he has insulted both her and her family, she dislikes him very much. Poor Darcy then falls head over heels in love with Elizabeth, and has to work terribly hard to persuade her to change her mind about him. He succeeds of course, and they live happily ever after. Set at the turn of the 19th century, the novel is still attractive to modern readers. It has become one of the most popular novels and receives great attention from literary scholars .Modern interest in the book has resulted in a number of dramas and a lot of novels and stories modeling after Austen's memorable characters or themes. To date, the book has sold some 20 million copies worldwide. Jane Austen is rightly famous for her style. Her sentences have a wonderful rhythm , and she makes such clever, true comments about people. It is not surprising that Pride and Prejudice has lasted. What do we know about Elizabeth and Darcy? A) They both come from poor families and wish to marry rich. B) They've experienced ups and downs but get married in the end. C) They get separated from each other shortly after being married. D) Darcy falls over and gets hurt but Elizabeth still loves him.
B
China is home to the invention of silk and has a long tradition of producing fine materials for clothing. Not all clothing in ancient or contemporary( ) China is made of silk, however. In fact, silk was only available to the wealthy classes for much of China's history. Until the introduction of cotton during the Ming Dynasty, from the 14th to the 17th century, the poorer classes wore rough clothing made from fibers . In ancient China, the tunic was particularly popular . Called hanfu , both men and women could be seen wearing tunics made of different materials. Women's tunics were long and loose , extending all the way down to their feet and often _ with a belt or rope to get tighter . Men's tunics were shorter, usually only extending down to their knees. During the winter, both men and women would wear cotton jackets for warmth. In the winter, men would also wear pants or ankle-length skirts into their clothes to keep warm and protect their legs against the cold winter conditions. Contemporary Chinese clothing is now made of many of the same materials as contemporary clothing found in other countries. Much of the traditional Chinese clothing produced now is made of cotton and silk, but generally contemporary Chinese clothing also contains synthetic fibers in with the cotton and silk, such as nylon . In addition, linen is now commonly used in contemporary Chinese clothing, especially during the summer months because it is light and breathable. What can we know from the text? A) Linen is only used to make Chinese summer clothing. B) Nylon was one material for ancient Chinese clothing. C) Lots of contemporary Chinese clothing is made from synthetic fibers. D) The materials for contemporary Chinese clothing are produced by other countries.
C
Q: Yuan Guiren, Minister of Education, announced some measures to reform the NCEE, known as Gaokao, for this year in a media conference. The first measure is to balance the recruiting quota around the nation, with particular emphasis on recruiting more students in central and western provinces. In addition to this, Yuan said that 200,000 places would be available in the universities in eastern China for students from western China. The third measure is to cancel some policies that allow students with special talents to receive extra points on their final result of the NCEE. "All national-level bonus marks for Gaokao will be cancelled in 2015, while over 60 percent of the province-level bonuses will be cut. Ten provinces have already canceled the policies while other provinces have cut down 63 percent of the policies," said Yuan. The policy was originally introduced to be aimed at making Gaokao fairer because some students have special abilities but fail to get high scores in the national exams. Yet, it has been abused by corrupt officials to get the bonus marks for their children. This is a good example of corruption ruining a good policy. Additionally, all students can recommend themselves for independent recruitment in some education institutions without any restrictions. Schools can also recommend their students to some universities. The date for independent recruitment is scheduled for after the NCEE in 2015, and universities will be required to publicize their recruiting requirements, processes and results. The last measure mentioned by Yuan is to gradually unify the NCEE around the nation. Students in three more provinces will sit for the same exams in 2015. Seven more provinces, totaling 25 provinces, will use the same exam format in 2016. The passage is most probably taken from a(n) _ . A) opening address B) historical book C) news report D) science report
A: C
Q: Thinking is something you choose to do as a fish chooses to live in water. To be human is to think. But thinking may come naturally without your knowing how you do it. Thinking about thinking is the key to critical thinking. When you think critically, you take control of your thinking processes . Otherwise, you might be controlled by the ideas of others. Indeed, critical thinking is at the heart of education. The word "critical" here has a special meaning. It does not mean taking one view against another view, as when someone criticizes another person for doing something wrong. The nature of critical thinking is thinking beyond the easily seen--beyond the pictures on TV, the untrue reports in the newspapers, and the faulty reasoning . Critical thinking is an attitude as much as an activity. If you are curious about life and desire to dig deeper into it, you are a critical thinker; if you find pleasure in deep thinking about different ideas, characters, and facts, you are a critical thinker. Activities of the mind and higher-order reasoning are processes of deep and careful consideration. They take time, and do not go hand in hand with the fast speed in today's world, fast foods, instant coffee, and self-developing film. If you are among the people who believe that speed is a measure of intelligence, you may learn _ from a story about Albert Einstein. The first time Banish Hoffman, a scientist, was to discuss his work with Albert Einstein, Hoffman was too nervous to speak. But Einstein immediately put Hoffman at ease by saying, "Please go slowly, I don't understand things quickly." Critical thinking is important to us because if we do not think critically, _ . A) it will be hard for us to think naturally and fast B) we will follow the ideas of others naturally C) we might be controlled by other people's ideas D) we might be fooled by other people's ideas
A: C