Britain has laws to make sure that women have the same chances as men in education, jobs and training. But it's still unusual to find women doing dirty or heavy jobs. Nikki Henriques is a car _ engineer in London. She used to be a secretary. Barty Philips, a journalist with "The Observer", a Sunday newspaper, asked her why she wanted to work with cars. "My first reason was independence ," she said. "I also wanted to use my hands, and I like learning about how things work. Many people prefer to have a woman repair their cars, too." Nikki didn't find it easy to become a car maintenance engineer. She went to a Government Skill Centre--a special sort of college where people can learn a new job for twenty weeks. "For ten weeks I was the only woman among four hundred men, and some of them were rude to me. It was also very tiring--from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, with only 30 minutes for lunch." Now Nikki works free-lance, that is, she's self-employed, working for herself and not for a garage or a company. Barty Phillips also spoke to Rose, who works as a general builder in Sheffield, an industrial town in the north of England. Like Nikki, Rose used to be a secretary. "I didn't enjoy it at all." she said. "I wanted to do more practical work, and I wanted to be self-employed." Rose joined a women's building co-operative, and she learnt her job from other people and from experience. However, many of the women in her group have been specially trained. Most of the jobs they do are improvements to buildings and general repairs. "People often say, 'Oh, women aren't strong enough,' but I don't think strength is important." said Rose, "The important thing is to get used to doing a different sort of work." Rose would like more women to come into the building industry. "Everything built at the moment is a product of man's world. If women become builders, they will be able to understand the production of their house and their towns." There are laws in Britain to help women _ . A) get higher pay than men B) enjoy more freedom than men C) do whatever they like to do D) have equal chances with men in education and work
D
(Question)
A young girl is calling a neighbor a superhero because of what he did when she was trapped beneath a car. Nick Harris said he didn't know where he found the strength, but somehow he managed to lift a car off the 6yearold girl last week,earning himself the title of superman. "I just think it' s a Christmas miracle,"Harris said. Harris said he has tried time and again to recreate the surprising show of strength because instinct sent him running to the 6yearold' s aid. "I just ran over there,saw the tire on her,and lifted the car up to get her out from underneath the car,"Harris said. "I don't know how I did it. I've tried three or four times since then." Harris was dropping off his daughter at Eugene Field Elementary Friday morning when he saw a car back out of a driveway,pinning the girl under its tire. That girl turned out to be his daughter's best friend. "I was expecting her to have bad injuries,"Harris said. "I've had broken toes, because a car just backed over my foot. And here this whole car was on top of her. I wasn't expecting it to turn out as wonderful as it did." The first grader was flown to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City by an air ambulance ,but didn't have to stay long. "They all call me superman now,"Harris said. "I'm just a dad. I'm just a dad that was in the right place at the right time. And I was finally able to help and I did something good." Where did the accident happen? A) Near Children's Mercy Hospital. B) Around his neighbor's home. C) Outside a supermarket. D) At a school gate.
(Answer)
D
Ques: Tensions have erupted over some barren rocks in the Pacific that you may never have heard of, but stay tuned--this is a boundary dispute that could get ugly and some day have far-reaching consequences for China, Japan, Taiwan and the United States. The islands in dispute are called the Senkaku chain by Japan, the Diaoyu islands by China, and the Diaoyutai by Taiwan. All three claim the islands, which are really just five small islands and three barren rocks northeast of Taiwan, 200 miles off the Chinese coast. The latest conflict occurred when a Chinese fishing boat collided with two Japanese naval ships trying to stop it near the islands. The Japanese prevented the Chinese captain from leaving the place for questioning and the two countries have been exchanging angry protests. The reason to worry is that nationalists in both China and Taiwan see the islands as unquestionably theirs and think that their government has been weak in claiming this authority. So far, wiser heads have generally won the argument on each side, but at some point a weakened Chinese leader might try to gain the legal right with the public by pushing the issue and recovering the islands. It would be a dangerous game and would have a disastrous impact on China-Japan relations, but if successful it would raise the popularity of the Chinese government. In reality, of course, there is zero chance that the U.S. will honor its treaty with Japan over a few barren rocks. We're not going to risk a nuclear conflict with China over some islands that may well be China's. But if we don't help, our security relationship with Japan will be at the breaking point. So which country has a better claim to the islands? My feeling is that it's China, although the answer isn't clear-cut. Chinese navigational records show the islands as Chinese for many centuries, and a 1783 Japanese map shows them as Chinese as well. Japan _ to "discover" the islands only in 1884 and took control of them by force only in 1895 when it also grabbed Taiwan. The best approach... What can be inferred according to the passage? A) The claim from both sides has become more insistent. B) Japan has navy and ability to power the Diaoyu Islands. C) China is developing so quickly that it will declare a war on Japan. D) The dispute between China and Japan has put the U.S. in a dilemma.
Ans:
D