I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Work is a very important part of life in the United States. When the early Protestant immigrants came to this country, they brought the idea that work was the way to God and heaven. This attitude, the Protestant Work Ethic , still influences America today. Work is not only important for economic benefits, the salary, but also for social and psychological needs, the feeling of doing something for the good of the society. Americans spend most of their lives working, being productive. For most Americans, their work defines(...) them: they are what they do. What happens then, when a person can no longer work? Almost all Americans stop working at age sixty-five or seventy and retire. Because work is such an important part of life in this culture, retirement can be very difficult. Retirees often feel that they are useless and unproductive. Of course, some people are happy to retire; but leaving one's job, whatever it is, is a difficult change, even for those who look forward to retiring. Many retirees do not know how to use their time or they feel lost without their jobs. Retirements can also bring financial problems. Many people rely on Social Security checks every month. During their working years, employees contribute a certain percentage of their salaries to the government. Each employer also gives a certain percentage to the government. When people retire, they receive this money as income. These checks do not provide enough money to live on, however, because prices are increasing very rapidly. Senior citizens, those over sixty-five, have to have savings in the bank or other retirement plans to make ends meet. The rate of inflation is forcing prices higher each year; Social Security checks alone cannot cover these growing expenses. The government offers some assistance , Medicare(health care)and welfare(general assistance), but many senior citizens have to change their life styles after retirement. They have to spend carefully to be sure that they can afford to buy food, fuel and other necessities. Of... Question: The author believes that work first became important to Americans because of _ . Options: A: religion B: economy C: psychology D: family
A
I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Because phones have caused many problems, many head teachers have ordered that pupils must keep their phones switched off at school. Others have told pupils to leave them at home. However, Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young at the University of Nottingham believes it is time that phone bans were reassessed--because mobile phones can be a powerful learning aid, they say. "At the start of the study, even pupils were often surprised at the thought that mobile phones could be used for learning," Dr Hartnell-Young says. "After their hands-on experience, almost all pupils said they had enjoyed the project and felt more motivated. "Some teachers also had to reassess their views. "Using this technology gives them more freedom to express themselves without needing to be constantly governed." one said. Other teachers found that pupils who lacked confidence gained most from the project. However, they recognized that greater use of mobile phones in schools could prove troublesome. Increased temptation to steal phones was one worry. "I thought, well, four of these smart phones are going to end up on e-BAY tomorrow," one teacher said. A few teachers remained concerned that phones could prove a distraction for some pupils. Allowing pupils to access school emails via mobiles would also bring risks if passwords were shared, they said. Dr Hartnell-Young says that the teachers' worries are understandable. "While the eventual aim should be to cancel overall bans on phones we do not recommend immediate, whole-school change," she said. "Instead we believe that teachers, students and the wider community should work together to develop policies that will enable this powerful new learning tool to be used safely. We hope that, in future, mobile phone use will be as natural as using any other technology in school." Question: The author wrote the passage mainly to _ . Options: A: attract readers to care about phone bans B: explain why phone bans should be carried out C: reassess views whether phones can be used in school D: to tell us phone use will be more popular in school
C
Q: I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Different kinds of soil conservation methods are used by farmers to protect their land from damage by farming and the forces of nature. One important form of soil conservation is the use of windbreaks. Windbreaks are barriers formed by trees and other plants with many leaves. Farmers plant them in lines around their fields. Windbreaks stop the wind from blowing soil away. They also keep the wind from destroying or damaging crops. They are very important for growing grains, such as wheat. There have been studies done on windbreaks in parts of West Africa, for example. They found that grain harvests can be twenty percent higher in fields protected by windbreaks compared to fields without such protection. However, windbreaks seem to work best when they allow a little wind to pass through. If the wall of trees and plants stops wind completely, then violent air motions will take place close to the ground. These motions will lift soil into the air where it will be blown away. For this reason, a windbreak is best if it has only sixty to eighty percent of the trees and plants needed to make a solid line. There should be at least two lines in each windbreak. One line should be large trees. The second line, right next to it, can be shorter trees and other plants with leaves. Locally grown trees and plants are best for windbreaks. Question: What is a windbreak according to the passage? Options: A: A windbreak is a concrete wall to prevent the strong winds. B: A windbreak is a wood with different kinds of trees. C: A windbreak is a wall of trees to hold soil in place. D: A windbreak is a wall of wind to fight wind from the opposite way.
A: C
*Question*
I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Plants may not have eyes and ears,but they can recognize their siblings ,and researchers at the University of Delaware have discovered how.The ID system lies in the roots and the chemical signals they secrete . Canadian researchers published that sea rocket,a common seashore plant,can recognize its siblings.Susan Dudley observed that when siblings are grown next to each other in the soil,they "play nice" and don't send out more roots to compete.However,the moment one of the plants is thrown in with strangers,it begins competing with them by rapidly growing more roots to take up the water and mineral nutrients in the soil. After reading Dudley's study,Bais decided to find the method behind the sibling recognition.Working in his laboratory,Bais and his doctoral student Meredith Biedrzycki set up a study with wild populations of Arabidopsis thaliana.In a series of experiments,young seedlings were exposed to liquid media containing the root secretions from siblings,from strangers,or only their own secretions.The length of the longest lateral root was measured.The exposure of plants to the root secretions of strangers induced greater lateral root formation than exposure of plants to sibling secretions.Strangers planted next to each other are often shorter,because so much of their energy is directed at root growth.Because siblings aren't competing against each other,their roots are often much shallower . Biedrzycki did the _ laboratory research,observing more than 3,000 plants involved in the study every day for seven continuous days and documenting the root patterns."Arabidopsis roots are nearly translucent when they are young and were also twisted when I removed them from plates,"Biedrzycki notes."This manuscript is very important for my research since the focus of my thesis project is understanding the biochemical ways behind root secretions." The research also may have implications for the home gardener."Often we'll put plants in the ground next to each other and when they don't do well,we blame the... Question: Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? Options: A: A Great Biology Researcher B: Plants Recognize Their Siblings C: Plants' Roots and Secretions D: A Research on Plants
**Answer**
B