A story tells that a senior villager led some other villagers carrying salt day and night to a town in order to trade rice as food the winter.One night they camped in a wilderness with a starry sky above.The senior villager,obeying the tradition passed down from forefathers,took out three blocks of salt and threw them into the campfire,probably to predict the changes of weather in the mountains. All eagerly waited for the old man's"weather report":if the salt in the fire produced crackling sound,they would have good weather in store;if no sound was produced,it then meant the good weather would soon end and a storm would come at any moment. The senior villager looked serious.The salt in the campfire made no sound at all.Convinced by this bad sign,he urged the whole team to set out immediately after daybreak.A young man in the group,however,insisted that they should not start in such a hurry,considering it superstitious to"forecast weather by using salt. It was not until the next afternoon that the young man caught up on the wisdom of the old man when the weather suddenly changed,with cold winds blowing and a snowstorm raging.In fact,the method used by the clan head could be well explained by modem science:whether or not salt produces sound in campfire depends on air humidity .That is to say,when a storm approaches,due to high humidity,the dampened salt blocks will not produce any sound in fire. "The weather report"they got that night _ . A) had a bad sign B) gave wrong information C) was superstitious at that time D) was scientific according to modem science
D
On March 28th, the New York Times will begin charging all but the most infrequent users to read articles online. In a letter to readers, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the publisher of the paper, laid out the details of the paywall, which he said will go into effect immediately in Canada and on March 28th for the rest of the world. He called the move "an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in the Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform." Sulzberger said that readers will be able to read 20 articles per month at no charge. Once they click on the 21st piece, however, they'll be presented with three payment options: $ 15 for four weeks of online and mobile application access, $ 20 for access to the site and the iPad application, or $ 35 for access to everything. People who already receive the printed paper through home delivery will enjoy free and unlimited access to the Times on all platforms. These details largely agree with earlier reports on how the paywall would work. The Times had made it clear that it did not want to imitate the total paywalls put into effect by papers such as The Times of London and Newsday, which block access to all contents unless the reader pays. The paper also signaled that it wants to stay relevant in the social media world. According to Sulzberger's announcement, people who come to the Times site from Facebook, Twitter or from blogs will be able to read those articles even if they have gone over their monthly limit. However, Sulzberger said that a limit will be placed on "some search engines", meaning that after readers have accessed a certain number of articles from search engines, any further articles they access from there will be added to their monthly count. It was reported that the only search engine that will be affected this way is Google, where there will be a five-article limit. This marks a clear attempt by the Times to close what could be a giant loophole , since so... What challenge may the paywall bring to the New York Times? A) It may bring the Times more competition with the other media B) It may stop the Times connecting to the global network C) It may block the readers from the other websites D) It may result in huge drops in papers' online readership
D
Q: Maurice Sendak's children's book,Where the Wild Things Are,published in 1963,has become very successful throughout the years and was made into a movie earlier this year. The book's main character is a boy named Max who gets into trouble with his mother and is sent to bed without any supper.Before long,Max's room magically becomes a forest,and he sails away to a land where monsters live.Max isn't scared,though,and becomes king of the wild things,but after a while,he begins feeling homesick.Max sails back home and his supper is still hot when he arrives in his bedroom. Many teachers and professors like this story and use it to help children develop creativity and imagination. Melina Davis,an education professor,said she likes how the book contains a couple of pages that have only pictures on them. "This allows children to shape the story themselves," she said. The book contains a few of larger words that some parents worry may confuse children,but experts say those words help improve children's reading skills and challenge them. Davis said the book is well written which helps kids get involved in the story. "The book talks about what all children go through,like 'I was naughty but my mommy still loves me'" Davis said. The book also encourages children to face their fears."I think it's really good to show that Max is friends with the monsters," Davis said."Kids can find out monsters aren't always the thing under the bed that's going to scare them.I think this is good because it shows that the children can go to scary places but still have a positive experience." Since the book has been successful throughout the years,a movie was recently made and many people are excited to see it.Davis said she thinks the movie will be wonderful but it might be a little scary for younger children."You don't want bad dreams over a book that's extremely wonderful'" Davis said. What's the author's purpose in writing the passage? A) To suggest ways to improve children's reading. B) To comment on a famous children's book. C) To encourage children to read scary stories. D) To introduce a movie based on a children's book.
A: B
Q: China news, Beijing, June 5 -- The Horizon Research Group conducted a survey about Chinese parents and their children in May last year and this year. Based on a random sampling method, the survey, done in May last year, investigated about 1,095 people living in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xinjiang, Jinzhong, and Luzhou. All these people were aged between 18 and 60. The survey shows that 55.5% of the parents did not know who their children's best friends were. Fathers, in particular, knew even less about their children than mothers, as the survey shows only 33.8% of fathers knew who their children's best friends were while 50.8% of mothers did so, China Youth Daily reported. Parents with little education were less concerned with their children's life, or whom their children played with. The survey shows that among parents that graduated from primary schools or without any educational background, only 33.1% knew who their children's best friends were. Among parents that had received middle school education, the related proportion reached 45.5%. This year's survey was also based on random sampling. In May 2007, the Horizon Research Group investigated some 1,456 families in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Xi'an, Chengdu and Harbin. The survey shows that children under the age of 12 play for less time with their playmates than their parents did when they were young. The survey also shows that most children at present spend only 21.9% of their time playing with their friends, while their parents spent 36.8% of their time with their playmates when they were young. Nowadays, most children spend more time with their grandparents or babysitters than with their parents. What can be inferred from the passage? A) Parents need to take their responsibilities for their children. B) Parents should provide better conditions for their children. C) Parents don't play an important part in the growth of their children now. D) Parents should let their children have more friends.
A: A