Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Dear Editor, I am writing to ask what has happened to our youth. They are not as polite, hard-working or clever as my generation. I will give you two examples. Last Friday, I got on the underground at 9.15a.m. It was very busy so there were no free seats. There were some teenagers sitting on the seats nearest me. I didn't know why they were not at school. They were talking loudly and laughing. It was difficult to read my newspaper with all the noise. A heavily pregnant woman and her daughter got on at the next stop, with lots of shopping bags. I expected the teenagers to let them sit down. They saw the woman but did nothing. I had to ask them to give her a seat. They reluctantly did so but give me a rude look. I got off at the next stop and was glad that the teenagers didn't follow me. Last Saturday, I had dinner with my friend's family. I was expecting to meet his children, who I hadn't seen for ten years. During dinner, we started talking about world politics. It soon became clear that they didn't know much. They couldn't tell me the name of the King of Spain or the President of Italy. All they knew about was the Internet and which singers were the most beautiful. In my day, students knew the kings, queens and presidents of every country in Europe. I worry about the future of Germany. How could these young people become responsible workers and parents? They sit around Macdonald's after instead of going to the library like I did at their age. Maybe they have too much money. Perhaps another reader can give us an idea about what to do with this"lost generation". Franz Vogts Hamburg Question: By saying "lost generation", Mr. Vogts refers to _ . - the fact that he is angry with young people today. - the people at his age - his worry about these young people - today's young people
today's young people
------
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Of all the animals in the animal kingdom, which one (aside from man) is the cleverest? There are several ways of measuring the intelligence of animals. In one test a scientist sets three same cans on a table. While the animal watches, he puts food under one of the cans. Then he leads the animal away. Some time later, he brings it back to see if it remembers which can has the food. No smelling is allowed; the animal must go directly to the correct can or it fails. This is called a delayed-response test. The idea is to find out how long an animal's memory can keep information. The scientists would try showing the cans to the animal one hour later, or two hours later, or even a full day later. They discovered that chimpanzees and elephants have the best memory, and were able to remember the correct can for at least twenty hours. No other animal is close. Dogs came next, but they only remember for nine hours. To settle the matter, the scientists designed a huge maze and ran the chimps and elephants through it. The maze was very difficult, with many blind paths and dead ends. It took the chimps ten minutes to find their way out. The elephants needed half an hour. Even allowing for the elephants' slower rate of speed, the test shows that chimpanzees are the cleverest animals. From this and other tests, the scientists drew the following conclusion: an animal's intelligence depends on the size of its brain in proportion to the size of its body. The elephant's brain weighs ten pounds. But this is only 1/600th of its 6,000 pounds body. A chimp's brain weighs about one pound, or 1/120th of its total body weight. So in proportion to its body size, the chimp has four times as much brain as the elephant----more brain for less body. The chimp is the champ! Question: The main idea of this passage is that _ . - there are several ways of measuring the intelligence of animals - chimps and elephants have the best memory - intelligence tests show that the chimp is the cleverest animal - the scientists designed a huge maze and ran the chimps and elephants through it
intelligence tests show that the chimp is the cleverest animal
------
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman Laurent Clerc. He and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet founded America's first school for the deaf. When Laurent Clerc was one year old, he fell into a fire. As a result, he lost both his hearing and his sense of smell. At the age of 12, Laurent entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher. Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was studying to be a minister when he met a young deaf girl, Alice Cogswell. He was upset to learn that there were no schools for the deaf in America. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. However, he was unable to get help. He met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to Paris to learn at the Royal Institution for the Deaf. Gallaudet went to the Royal Institution for the Deaf, where Clerc became his Sign Language teacher. The two worked and studied well together. When the time came for Gallaudet to return to America, he asked Clerc to come with him. The two men set sail on June 18, 1816. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, Clerc and Gallaudet put the time to good use. They discussed the school for the deaf which they planned to open. On the long trip, they had many conversations about education and deafness. The year after they arrived, they founded a school for the deaf in Harford, Connecticut. Question: The main idea of this passage could best be stated as _ . - Clerc was an intelligent man - Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was grateful to Clerc for all that he taught him - Clerc would teach the deaf in America rather than in Paris - Clerc, an educated Frenchman, made a difference to American Deaf Education
Clerc, an educated Frenchman, made a difference to American Deaf Education
------