I was feeling a little blue because my mother had been laid off from her job and she had lots of bills to pay. It left me wondering what was going to happen to us now. But it reassured me some when my mother told me she was relieved to be leaving since her boss wasn't the nicest person to be around. I got off the college shuttle bus and started walking. That's when I heard piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people and the traffic. I walked a little slower so I could find out where it was coming from. Through the crowd I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a carriage next to her. She was singing songs about love, keeping on trying, and not underestimating the power within yourself. The way she was singing comforted me a bit. I stood there watching her play for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take courage to perform on your own in the middle of a crowded New York ferry terminal. So I stood there listening. She must have felt my presence because she would occasionally look in my direction. By now I was telling myself that if she could perform in front of hundreds of people she didn't know then I could at least tell her how good she sounded. I walked over and put some money in her carriage and she said, "Thank you." Instead of continuing my way home, I said to her, "I have been going through a rough time lately, but you've made me hopeful again." "I'm happy that I could help," she replied. "Why are you so sad?" "Well, my mum told me she had got fired from her job, and that made me sad. I'm not so sure what to do ..." "You see, here's the problem," she explained. "The way you were walking, your head was down. Don't look defeated, because opportunity comes in different ways and if your head is down you might never see it. You should smile more ... lift your head up." I smiled faintly, amazed by how she was encouraging me. So, I asked her, "Why are you playing the piano in the middle of a crowded place? I've seen you do this more than once." She explained to me that she sees a... Which do you think is the best title of the passage? A) An Unforgettable Experience B) A Heart Touched By A Musical Soul C) Music Can Do Wonders D) A Good Deed Helped Me Out
B
(Question)
"The Lord of the Rings", one of the best sellers in the new millennium , was made up of three parts--"The Fellow Ship of the Ring", "Two Towers", and "The Return of the King". Millions upon millions of people have read it in over 25 different languages, but fewer know about the author and the history of the composition of the creative masterwork. John Ronald Refuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892. His parents died when he was a child. Living in England with his aunt, Tolkien and his cousins made up play languages, a hobby that led to Tolkien's becoming skilled in Welsh, Greek, Gothic, Old Norse and Anglo--Saxon. After graduating from Oxford, Tolkien served in World War I. In 1917, while recovering from trench fever he began composing the mythology for The Rings. As a professor of Anglo-Saxon in the 1930s at Oxford, Tolkien was part of an informal discussion group called the Inklings, which included several writers. The group was soon 1istening to chapters of Tolkien's imaginative work "The Hobbit". Hobbit was a name Tolkien created for people that could best be described as half-sized members of the English rural class. Hobbits live in hillside holes. One of them,Bilbo Baggins, looks for treasures with a group of dwarves . On the way, he meets the twisted, pitiful creature Gollum, from whom he sees a golden ring that makes the holder invisible. One of Tolkien's students persuaded her employer, publisher Allen & Unwind, to look at a draft . The chairman of the firm, Stanley Unwind, thought that the best judge for a Children's book would be his ten-year-old son. The boy earned a shilling for reporting back that the adventure was exciting, and "The Hobbit" was published in 1937. It sold so well that Unwind asked for a continuation. Over a dozen years later, in 1954, Tolkien produced "The Lord of the Rings", a series of books so creative that they hold readers both new and old -- after their publication. What is mainly discussed in the text? A) "The Lord of the Rings" and its writer. B) A completely new masterwork in the new millennium. C) A famous professor at Oxford University. D) The power of the magic ring.
(Answer)
A
Ques: At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper. It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime. "I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down," says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization. Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a on-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers. Does all this mean environmental concerns have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away. "I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling ," said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity. The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste. What would be the best title for the text? A) Computers and Printers B) E-mail and the Business World C) Internet Revolution and Environment D) Modern Technology and New Markets
Ans:
C