Few of us haven't read Cinderella , the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone's heart--we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity . Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school. Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenager pop singer, Joey Parker, appears. Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not--kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey's paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Of course, there is a wicked stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn't get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her. The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies. "The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point," writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson, "The focus is firmly on following your dream." The passage is mainly about _ . A) an introduction to a novel B) a review about a film C) a passage about dreams D) an advertisement of Cinderella
B
(Question)
WASHINGTON---At least four more U.S. air-traffic controllers are caught nodding off on the job at three separate airports across the nation, the government said Wednesday. The controller working alone in the tower fell asleep and was out of communication for 16 minutes while a medical flight carrying a patient was trying to land at about 2 A.M. Wednesday at Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. The FAA announced that it is also investigating a controller who fell asleep Monday at Boeing King County International Airport in Seattle and two controllers who were unresponsive at Preston Smith International Airport in Lubbock, Texas, on March 29.The agency had earlier revealed that an air-traffic supervisor fell asleep March 23 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and a controller slept for five hours at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee on Feb.19. "I am sick of this," Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, said in a statement. "We can't have an aviation system where some of the people responsible for safety are asleep at the switch." As the incidents pile up, sleep experts say it demonstrates that the agency faces a systemic issue with the thousands of people expected to work through the night in safety-critical jobs. Scientific research shows that workers on midnight shifts make more errors because it is so difficult for the body to adapt to sleeping during the day, they say. ks5u The agency will add an extra controller at the 27 towers staffed with one worker on the midnight shift, the FAA statement said. Agency chief Randy Babbitt and the controllers' union president, Paul Rinaldi, will visit facilities around the country next week to reinforce the need for "the highest professional standards," according to the FAA. Doug Church, a spokesman for Rinaldi of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, didn't immediately return a telephone call for comment.... Which statement is true? A) A controller fell asleep without communication for 16 minutes in Knoxville, Tennessee B) A medical flight carrying a patient failed to land with the controller asleep. C) Jay Rockefeller pays little attention to sleeping at the switch D) Mica refused to support the decision to staff more controllers on the midnight shift.
(Answer)
D
Ques: When the population of the port town began to suffer from poisoning, the police came to find the cause of poisoning. They thought someone was poisoning the people on purpose, but no one knew how _ was possible. Soon people held the view that the pork was poisoned. It was a popular food everyone ate and it could have possibly made everyone sick. Anyone who had possession of pork would throw it out. Even the poorest of the poor wouldn't eat pork. Signs were posted on poles and letters were sent to everyone to warn people of the pork. Shortly afterwards, even policemen in high positions were also getting sick. Soon it became political and popular. Politicians rushed to the town to talk about politics and promised how they would find the solution if they were elected. Everyone was so sick that they didn't care about politics. Everyone was in a position where he or she didn't know what to do anymore. They went to the post office to mail posts out asking for help. The poor town didn't know how to deal with the situation. One day, a well-known scientist from New York came to the town with a huge box containing many instruments and his possessions. He went to pools and the port and made measurements. He was quiet and polite. Then one day he made a speech at a newspaper meeting-room to announce his findings. "I am sorry to say your water supply is so heavily polluted; it is poisoned. I know who has been poisoning you all for such a long time. It is you who have been poisoning yourselves with pollution. A great deal of rubbish has been thrown into the water day after day. No one here has taken good care of the environment. It is no wonder all of you have been sick." Shocked at the news, the people present were lost in thought. Which is the real cause of the poison? A) The pork was poisoned. B) Someone was poisoning the people on purpose. C) People didn't care about politics. D) The water supply was polluted.
Ans: D
Studies show farmland in Africa is often lacking in important nutrients. But researchers say combining different farming methods may help. Since the world food crisis several years ago, researchers have directed more of their attention to small farms. Most farms in areas south of the Sahara Desert are only about one or two hectares. One of the goals is to increase production without necessarily clearing more land to grow additional crops. American researchers say that can happen with greater use of an agricultural system called perennation. It mixes food crops with trees and perennial plants - those that return year after year. Mr. Reganold, who is with Washington State University, says poor soil may have resulted from years of weathering that washed away many nutrients. He says some farmers may have done more harm than good. He estimates that up to two billion dollars worth of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium is lost from African soil each year. The scientist says the word perennation defines three systems that are already used in Africa. The oldest of the three is called evergreen agriculture. This is where farmers plant trees with their crops. John Reganold says farmers in Africa have been doing this for sixty years, but it seems to be growing in popularity. The method is gaining widespread use in countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso, Malawi and Zambia. The trees are planted among maize, millet or sorghum crops. They not only add nitrogen to the soil through their roots, but also through their leaves when they fall off and break down. At other times of the year, the trees can protect plants from strong sunlight. Mr. Reganold was one of three researchers who wrote a report about perennation. It was published in the journal Nature. We can infer from the passage that _ . A) perennation will be widely used by farmers in Africa B) American government will help African countries increase food production C) African countries is short of farmland D) some farmers are destroying their farmland in Africa on purpose
A