Carnival does not take place only in Louisiana. There are many celebrations around the world. In Brazil, the celebration is supposed to go on from the Saturday before Mardi Gras to Mardi Gras Day, but in some Brazilian cities the celebration can last seven or eight days. Just like New Orleans, not many important things are decided in Brazil from New Year's Day to Mardi Gras Day because everyone is preparing for or celebrating carnival. Most Brazilian parades have a subject, which could be political and historical. The parades had to have a subject related to Brazil until 1996. Some cities in Brazil do not have a street carnival but they might have an indoor ball. Bolivia has carnival parades for children and then more parades for adults. The children dress up in costumes and march in the streets. The adults make traditional dance groups and dance in the streets. But the main part of Bolivia's carnival is getting wet. Almost everyone gets wet from water balloons and water buckets. In Oruru, Bolivia, their carnival is held in the last ten days of the carnival season. People there participate in crafts and dancing, but their main carnival event is a ceremonial parade that lasts for twenty hours and parades for four kilometers. Over 20,000 dancers are involved as well as 10,000 musicians. This parade attracts at least 400,000 people. The carnival in Venice, Italy is often regarded as the most carefully prepared carnival and lasts the ten days before Lent . Many events are held in the canals including shows, concerts, dances, and water processions . The official ending to the celebration is the ball held in St. Mark's Square. Which of the following areas or countries prepares the most carefully for their carnival according to the passage? A) Louisiana. B) Bolivia. C) Venice. D) Brazil.
C
(Question)
Edward Wilson is America's, if not the world's, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world's natural resources. How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity of our earth. Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environment protection, Henry David Thoreau. He compares today's Walden Pond with that of Thoreau's day. Wilson will use such comparisons for the rest of the book. The problem is clear: man has done great damage to his home over the years. Can the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future? Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today. Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it. A mere hundred species are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load. Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas. At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may as well read and act on the ideas in this book. We learn from the text that Wilson cares most about _ . A) the environment for plants B) the biodiversity of our earth C) the waste of natural resources D) the importance of human values
(Answer)
B
Ques: The air bag is a piece of safety equipment in cars. It was first designed by John W. Hetrick in 1952. Like many inventions, he came up with the idea as a result of an event that had occurred in his life. He says: "In the spring of 1952, my wife, my seven-year-old daughter, Joan, and I were out for a Sunday drive in our 1948 Chrysler Windsor. About three miles outside Newport we were watching for deer jumping across the road. Suddenly, there was a large rock in our path. I hit the brakes and we went into a ditch . "As I applied the brakes, both my wife and I threw our hands up to keep our daughter from hitting the car. There was soft mud in the ditch, so the car wasn't damaged, and no one was hurt." "During the ride home I couldn't stop thinking about the accident. I asked myself,'Why couldn't some object come out to stop you from striking the inside of the car?'As soon as I got home that night I drew some sketches . Each evening for the following two weeks, I'd add or reduce something from the sketches." Hetrick applied an event he had observed while in the Navy to the design of the air bag. He was repairing a torpedo which had a cloth covering. When the compressed air that was in the torpedo was let out, the covering was suddenly filled with air and was shot to the ceiling. With this knowledge, he developed his design until he was able to obtain a patent on the invention on August 5, 1952. The idea was similar to the air bag designs of today. Compressed air is stored in a container and when a traffic accident occurs and the car slows down at a rapid enough rate, the air will be released into the air bag. The idea was _ , but Hetrick's air bag never would have functioned properly. It was really a breakthrough, but it would require years and years of designing and testing by some top car designers before it could be used. The car accident Hetrick was involved in _ . A) damaged his car B) happened in 1948 C) was caused by a deer D) caused no harm to his family
Ans: D
Question: Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn't exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin's work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer. One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball . He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room. Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin. On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forget Merlin's grand entrance for a long time! People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he _ . A) often gave others surprises B) was a gifted musician C) invented the roller skates D) was full of imagination
Answer:
D