"Can I see my baby?" asked the happy new mother. The bundle was placed in her arms and when she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she held her breath-the baby had been born without ears. Time, however, proved that the baby's hearing was perfect except his appearance. One day when he rushed home from school and threw himself into his mother's arms,. he cried out bitterly, "A boy, a big boy ... called me-a f - freak. " She sighed, knowing that his life was to be endless of heartbreaks. He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president but for that. He developed a gift for literature and music. The boy's father had a talk with the family doctor. Could nothing be done? "I believe we could transplant on a pair of outer ears, if they could be donated , " the doctor decided. So the search began for a person who would' make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by. Then, " You ' re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it' s a secret." said the father. The operation was brilliantly successful. His talents blossomed into genius. School and college became a series of successes. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. "But I must know! " he urged his father. "Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him. " "I do not believe you could," said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know .... not yet. " The years kept the secret, but the day did come ... one of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother' s casket . Slowly and tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish - brown hair to let out the secret. The story is mainly about _ . A) how a boy had new ears through an operation B) what a devoted parent privately did for the child C) how a disabled boy turned into a useful person D) why a donator made a sacrifice to a bright boy
B
Yesterday my old neighbor knocked on my door angrily. Obviously, my cat, Rocco, had left a turd in his perfect flower beds. Fortunately, I wasn't home when this happened, so he angrily complained to my friend and neighbor Kate about this. She was kind enough to listen to him and to go down into the garden with him to have a look. She even took a picture. When I got home later, Kate had left a message on my answering machine about the incident. Hearing it was about my cat again, my stomach turned. Several weeks before, he'd gotten so upset that he threatened to put rat traps on the ground, hoping that would frighten me into keeping my cat indoors. So, I was a little _ this time. But I couldn't help but laugh when Kate told me the whole story. I understood what gardening meant to him. Since my old neighbor retired ten years ago, he had spent all of his time on his garden. So when I saw him in the garden later on, I went to talk to him. To my surprise, it turned out quite nice. I was really surprised to find that I had the grace not to respond to his bad words. Instead, I engaged him in a conversation on the beautiful flowers he'd planted, the color combinations and the care he took to create such a sense of order. I tried to convey my understanding and appreciation without complimenting or talking down to him. I was really amazed by how that turned out. We hadn't had a conversation like that for over a year! The story happened _ . A) between family members B) between strangers C) between friends D) between neighbors
D
Q: Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing. Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits. When you think of forgiveness, you probably don't think of it as being a health or medical problem. Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can change your well-being. When cartoon book characters like the incredible Hulk get angry, they change colours and often gain special power. In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous. That's why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, says holding on to anger and hatred can harm your physical and mental health. Two new studies seem to show the same idea. The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression . They also have fewer headaches, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping. So it doesn't matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or other things. Learning to let it go is important. Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help. Or just ask yourself if it's worth hurting yourself by staying angry with someone else. Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it's OK. Instead, it's a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past. The author of the passage tries to make his viewpoint clear _ . A) by raising his own examples. B) based on his own experience. C) by mentioning some studies. D) by mentioning some typical patients.
A: C
Students who date in middle school have significantly worse study skills. They are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol and tobacco use as their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia. "Romantic relationships are a trademark of adolescence, but very few studies have examined how adolescents differ in the development of these relationships," said Pamela Orpinas, study author and professor in the College of Public Health and head of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior.[: _ Z _ X _ X _ K] Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from 6th to 12th grade. Each year, the group of students completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires about the students' academic efforts. He found some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had consistently the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school. "At all points in time, teachers rated the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills," according to the journal article. Study skills refer to behaviors that lead to academic success such as doing work for extra credit being well organized, finishing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters. "Dating a classmate may have the same emotional complications of dating a co-worker," Orpinas said, "When the couple break up, they have to continue to see each other in class and perhaps witness the ex-partner dating someone else. It is reasonable to think this could be linked to depression and divert attention from studying." "Dating should not be considered a ceremony of growth in middle school," Orpinas concluded. According to the passage, students who date in middle school may _ A) have poorer academic performances B) be more likely to hurl others C) enjoy better school lives D) are less likely to use alcohol and tobacco
A