Every five minutes my children ask me for the "latest thing". They tell me that all their friends have it already and they can't live without it. Our house is full of Game Boys, Play Station CDs and a million other "latest things". But, the one "latest things" we have refused to buy is a mobile phone. Our twelve-year-old son wants one, and we've said "no". He says he'll only use it for texting and he really needs it for emergencies. We don't want him to have a mobile phone, because it may be bad for children's health. Unfortunately, when I say, "As your father, I don't want you to have a mobile phone, because you might get a brain tumour ," he tells me that he doesn't mind. Why do twelve-year-old boys only want things that are bad for them? We've already told him that he can't listen to rap music--the words are disgusting . And I've said no to beer with his meals. Right now I'm saying no to everything. Then a few weeks ago he asked for something called a BB gun. He says everybody's got one. Of course they have. He shows me a website full of them and tells me it only fires plastic pellets . Finally, I say yes. I can't believe I've said no to phones and yes to guns. In October our son becomes a teenager, and I pray that research will find that mobile phones are safe...even better, that young people may become less moody--and more interested in personal hygiene . Until _ , I'm saying no. Which of the following is NOT the reason why the father said yes to a BB gun for his son? A) Many other children have one. B) The father wants to satisfy his son. C) The father thinks that his son can't live without the gun. D) The father is told gun is safe for children to play with
C
(Question)
It does not matter who wins. We are told that from day one. Usually, that statement is followed by some remark about being a loser. If we do not care who wins, then why do we compete? Fun, experience, the chance to meet new people --- these are the reasons we try to outdo each other. People will compete over anything. Every Christmas, my neighbors and I have a little Christmas light competition. It is heaven for the electric company, but I think we give Will Rogers Airport a scare. It is bright enough to land a plane in our front yards. I admit that last year my neighbors won, but only because they bought every strand of lights Wal-Mart had before I could get there. Personal competitions are great, but we get a little carried away. I cannot stand to see coaches shout at kids playing sports. Who cares if someone messes up and the other team advances? I'm tired of people competing just to win. It happens not only in sports, but in music competitions, too. People auditioning for chair placement in certain bands can get really unfriendly. This year I did not audition for a certain band, but I went to auditions anyway. This was the first time I actually had the opportunity to comprehend the whole picture. Other times I've been the person who was nervous and anxious. This time, I sat back and observed everyone else. I came to the realization that the people who aren't so good are terrified of the good people, and the good people are scared stiff that the bad people have taken lessons and can now show them up. Unless a person is on the outside looking in, I don't think anyone realizes _ . Maybe competing is human nature, but we shouldn't let it influence our judgment. Being disrespectful to opponents , letting competition become our life, and becoming so involved that we close ourselves off from friends and family is not the meaning of competition. A little competition is healthy, so it shouldn't hurt anyone. If it does, someone somewhere needs to back off, find the good thing hidden inside, and try it again.... Which of the following opinions does the author probably accept? A) Competition for the job is fierce. B) Winning or losing is none of people's concern. C) Competition is healthy, but it can get out of hand. D) The disadvantages of competition outweigh the benefits.
(Answer)
C
Ques: Having good social relationships -- friends, marriage or children -- may be every bit as important to a healthy life as quitting smoking, losing weight or taking certain medicines. U. S. researchers reported on Tuesday. People with strong social relationships were SO percent less likely to die early than people without such support, the team at Brigham Young University in Utah found. They suggest that the government look at ways to help people keep social relationships as a way of keeping the population healthy. "A lack of social relationships was equal to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day," psychologist Julianne Holt-Lunstad, who led the study, said in a telephone interview. Her team conducted a study that examined social relationships and their effects on health. They looked at 148 studies that covered more than 308,000 people, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine at www.plosmedicine.org. Having low levels of social relationships was equal to being an alcoholic, was more harmful than not exercising and was twice as harmful as obesity. Social relationships had a bigger effect on early death than getting an injection to prevent pneumonia ,than taking drugs for high blood pressure and far more important than living in air pollution, they found. "I certainly don't want to _ these other risk factors because of course they are very important," Holt-Lunstad said. We need to start taking social relationships just as seriously. " But Holt-Lundstad said there was some evidence that assigning caretakers does not help improve people's health. "Naturally occurring relationships may be different than the support received from someone who is hired for that purpose." she said. What conclusion can we draw from the text? A) The support from hired caretakers is more natural. B) The love from our family members has better effect. C) Air pollution does more harm to people than poor social relationships. D) Poor social relationships are the biggest reason for people's early death.
Ans:
B