Read the following article and answer the question. Article: My grandmother was a master gardener. She could make anything bloom . Even me. For most of her life, she lived on a farm in the mountains of North Carolina, where she raised four children, buried a husband, and watched the changing of the seasons. After my parents divorced , my dad moved back to the farm. I visited on weekends or holidays. While my dad ate my grandmother's vegetables, I breathed in her flowers. I was a skinny kid, but her flowers filled a thousand hungry places in my soul. When my regular farm tasks were done, I was free to climb the mountain, singing songs and gathering flowers. Sometimes the plants scratched me. My grandmother would say: "Beauty has a price. I hope it was worth it." "Yes, ma'am," I'd say. "It was." Then I'd scratch some more. I loved gathering flowers on my own. But what I loved best was gathering them with her. I walked behind her like a sponge with legs, trying to soak it all up. At the end of the day, we'd sort the flowers and make bouquets : One for the living room, one for the kitchen, and three for the bedrooms. Even then, as a child, I knew what I needed most from my grandmother was not her flowers, but her time. She's been gone for years, but sometimes, when I reach down to pick a flower or pull a weed, I see her hand, not mine. I thought I'd grow up to be a gardener too. I told myself, someday, when my children had children, I'd be a gardening grandma. Then the grandbabies started showing up, and I discovered I'd much rather chase after them than go digging. The truth is, I'm no gardener. I'm a picker, not a planter. I differ from my grandmother in lots of ways, but this: I will always carry within me a heart she made from her own. They don't need to plant a garden. My children are my flowers. Delight and complete me with a beauty that is worth any price. All I need to do is care for them with time, water them with love, and hope that someday, when they hold their first grandchild, they might see my hand. Question: The author liked gathering flowers with her grandmother mainly because _ . Answer:
OPTIONS:
- her grandmother taught her everything about flowers
- her grandmother would never let the flowers scratch her
- spending time with her grandmother was good for her emotional needs
- her grandmother let her decide where to put the flowers in the house
spending time with her grandmother was good for her emotional needs
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Read the following article and answer the question. Article: It was very cold and I had been watching a homeless man make himself comfortable in a "shelter" on the river bank. His "shelter" was a tarpaulin tied to rocks to keep the wind from blowing it away. He had been living there for over a month. I never saw him with warm clothing or food. I knew what I wanted to do. When I told my parents what I wanted to do they were _ . They said I could be putting myself at risk, taking a box to a homeless person at night! But I knew, in my deep heart, that I would be safe. I got a box. My parents watched as I added warm gloves, a heavy blanket ... into the box until it was full! Then, I put a Christmas card on top. It said, "Even though we hardly know each other, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas!" I put ten one-dollar bills inside it as well. My father insisted he went there with me as it was 10 pm on Christmas Eve. I said he could drive me but he had to stay in the car. He agreed. I took the box and walked towards his "house". I called, "Sir, I have a Christmas box for you!" "Go away!" he shouted. "Sir," I repeated. "Go away!" he shouted. "Why?" I asked him. He walked over and I expected to see an angry face. Instead I saw two of the most beautiful, gentle, blue eyes I have ever seen. "Merry Christmas!" I said. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Because you matter to me," I said. With that I gave him the box. Tears came to his eyes and he thanked me. I got back to the car and watched him carry the box like it was filled with gold. I didn't want to embarrass him by watching him any more so Dad and I left. Question: Why did the author ask his father to stay in the car? Answer:
OPTIONS:
- Because he wanted to prove he was brave.
- Because he believed the homeless man was bad.
- Because he wanted to protect his father from being hurt.
- Because he didn't want the homeless man to feel bad.
Because he didn't want the homeless man to feel bad.
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Read the following article and answer the question. Article: English is the native or official language of one-fifth of the land area of the world. It is spoken in North America, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. In South Africa and India it is one of the official languages. More people study English than any other language. In many countries, the textbooks in universities are in English. Many university classes are taught in English even though the native language is not English. English is the language of international communication. It is the language of international business, research, and science. More than three-fourths of the world's mail is written in English. More than half of the scientific research journals are in English. Most other languages have borrowed many English words. Why did English become the international language? In the middle of the nineteenth century, French was the international language. The Britain became very powerful in the world. England started colonies in North America and India in the seventeenth century. By 1900 England also had colonies in other parts of Asia, Africa and the South Pacific. The people in the colonies had to use English. Slowly it became more important than French internationally. After the Second World War, the United States became very powerful, and even more people began to learn English. Is English a good international language? It has more words than any other language. The grammar is simpler than in other major languages. However, English spelling is difficult. Foreigners all have trouble spelling English. So do native speakers! Since 1880, people have invented over fifty artificial (not natural) languages. No one speaks them as a native language. However, none of them has ever become popular. Some people don't want to study English, but it is the international language. There is no way to change that now. Question: England started a colony in India in the _ . Answer:
OPTIONS:
- 1600s
- 1800s
- 1700s
- 1900s
1600s
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