Question: In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people. I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth depended on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs . The development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten. However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the common players, they are strongly against competition. Most of them are young people who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these youngsters, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to find failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: " I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try." What is not usually accepted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-worth depends on how well one performs in the competition. Both are afraid of not being valued. We can discover a new meaning in competition only as this kind of fear begins to disappear. What does this passage mainly talk about? A) Competition helps to set up self-respect. B) Opinions about competition are different among people. C) Competition is harmful to personal quality development. D) Failures are necessary experience in competition.
Answer: B

Question: The Round Bird is not like any other birds. He has a big round body but with little wings. He can not fly but he expects to play with other birds in the sky. Every day and in many ways, he tries to fly. And he tries again and again. But nothing works. Then he thinks it will be better use the tree. It is very hard for a little bird to do so, but he climbs up the tree! The Round Bird really wants to learn to fly. A few minutes later, he sits on a branch and gets ready to jump and flap his wings. He practices many times and flap some more, but they don't work! In the end, he climbs down the tree and starts thinking seriously. After thinking for a long time, he knows that although he really wants to fly and tries hard, there are some birds are not able to do. He can't fly because of his body and his little wings. But he knows that there are still some things he is able to. Then the only job for the Round Bird is to find those special things that only special birds like him can do. Which of the words had the same meaning as "flap"? A) Swing. B) Break. C) Nod D) Show.
Answer: A

Question: My 6-year-old granddaughter Caitlin and I stopped at a shop for a chocolate cake. As we were going out of the door, a young teenage boy was coming in. The boy had no hair on the sides of his head and some blue hair on top. He held a skateboard under one arm and a basketball under the other. Caitlin, who was walking in front of me, stopped when she saw the teen. I thought she'd be scared of him. I was WRONG. She backed up against the door and opened it as wide as it would go. I walked to the other side and let the boy pass. He said: "Thank you very much." On our way to the car, I talked with Caitlin about holding open the door for the boy. I wanted to make sure whether she was troubled by his appearance. But the only thing Caitlin noticed about the teen was the fact that his arms were full. "He would have had a hard time to open the door." I saw the shaved head and the blue hair. She saw a person carrying something under each arm and walking toward a closed door. In the future, I hope to get on her level and raise my sights. What made Grandma feel uncomfortable? A) The skateboard under the teen's arm. B) The terrible taste of the chocolate cake. C) The strange appearance of the teen. D) The rude action of the teen.
Answer:
C