The earliest newspapers started in ancient Rome. They were handwritten news sheets. The first printed newspapers appeared in China during the Tang dynasty, which were printed from carved wooden blocks. Modern papers first appeared in Venice, Italy in the middle of the 14th century. The newspapers of today, with advertising and a mixture of political, economic, and social news and comments, were started in Britain in the mid-18th century. The main function of newspapers is to report news. Many newspapers also provide special information to readers, such as weather reports and television timetables. They also provide comments on politics, economics, arts and culture. Almost all newspapers depend on advertising to make money. Nearly six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a newspaper every day. Seven out of ten read a paper each weekend. Readers search newspapers for de-tailed background information and analysis . This is what television and radio news reports seldom offer. Newspapers tell readers what happened, and they also help readers understand what caused an event and how it will affect the world around them. The workers at large newspaper companies work under a lot of pressure to bring news to readers as soon as possible. Reporters, photographers, artists, and editors collect articles in just a few hours. Page designers select articles, photos, advertisements, and eye-catching headlines to make the pages, and then rush their work to the printer. Printing workers may work overnight around printing presses to _ more than 60,000 copies per hour. We can infer everything from the passage EXCEPT that _ . A) newspapers will become less popular because of the development of TV B) few newspapers have no advertising C) many adults in America read newspapers every day D) people can read about many different issues in newspapers
A
(Question)
Dear Mom, Clear My Calendar September is around the corner, and some of us are already complaining about summer's end. But parents have a special reason to do so. The end of summer means the start of school. And these days, planning a young child's schedule is a big challenge. The challenge is no longer finding activities to fill a child's day; it is saying no to the hundreds of options available. Our mailbox is filled with brochures urging us to sign our kids up for classes from cooking to martial arts . Educators are themselves discouraged by the number of special classes that many children attend. In the name of "enrichment," three-year-olds not only go to preschool in the morning but study French or gymnastics after lunch. One teacher tells of a four-year-old asking for help in the toilet before hurrying off to tennis. Another teacher says that children sometimes hold on to her at pickup time. What happened to unstructured time? A generous explanation is that we enjoy giving children opportunities we never had. The truth however is that many parents have doubts about how much time they spend away from their families. And one way to reduce this guilt is to believe that time spent in these classes is somehow more beneficial to children than the time we know we should be giving them ourselves. David Elkind, an expert on children, suggests that the 1960s gave birth to the belief that earlier is better. Parents hope that early music lessons, for example will build a child's confidence. The truth, however, is that any time children are asked to do too much, too soon, they are at greater risk for feelings of failure. A child's time does not have to be planned to be meaningful. Remember the lazy days of summer? Some children sleep late and play with the kids across the street until it's time to come home for dinner. However, with the majority of mothers working, fewer children enjoy that idle time now. Come September, children across the country will finish a full day of kindergarten, only to attend an... According to the author, what is the real reason for parents to send their children to after-school classes? A) Parents want to make up for their own regrets. B) After-school classes develop children's potential. C) Parents have doubt about their own ability to guide children. D) After-school classes give parents an excuse for being absent.
(Answer)
D
Ques: Bottled water is a _ on the environment: The US public goes through about 50 billion water bottles a year, and most of those plastic containers are not recycled, according to Elizabeth Royte's bookBottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. Transporting the bottles and keeping them cold also burns fuels, which give off greenhouse gases. And groundwater pumping by bottled water companies draws heavily on underground aquifers and harms watersheds , according to the Sierra Club. And some studies suggest it takes up to three liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water. Yet more than $100 billion is spent every year on bottled water globally. In many cities in developing countries where there is not a safe source of tap water, bottled water becomes a trusted choice. In the US, tap water is controlled by the government and often examined for dangerous polluted substances. Each American drinks 79 liters of bottled water per year on average, according to the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University's Earth Institute in New York. The bottled water industry is so successful that it has outpaced milk, coffee, and juice in the number of gallons of drinks sold -- putting it behind only beer and soda. Though the sale and consumption of bottled water is still on the rise, certain policymakers have taken steps to reduce it and encourage people to drink tap water. In September 2009, the Australian town of Bundanoon became the first town in the world to completely ban bottled water from its stores' shelves, building water fountains around the town instead. Among US cities that have taken action are San Francisco and Seattle, which no longer buy water for city use, and Chicago, which added a five-cent tax on each bottle. Several restaurants in those cities have also given up bottled water for tap water. Other cities are also considering taking action. Which of the following statements about the US is TRUE? A) More than $100 billion is spent every year on bottled water in the US. B) About 79 billion water bottles a year are gone through by the US public. C) In Chicago, you have to pay 5 cents as tax if you buy a bottle of water. D) An American drinks 50 liters of bottled water every year on average.
Ans: C
I have always been interested in making things. When I was a child, I enjoyed drawing, but I also liked making things out of clay . I won a prize for one of my paintings when I was fourteen. That may be why I went to art school four years later. But I studied painting at first, not pottery . I like being a potter because I like to work with my hands and feel the clay. I'm happy working by myself and being near my home. I don't like mass-produced things, because they are made by machines. I think crafts are very important and crafts-people make things cleverly with hands. They make our lives color1ful. When I left school, I got some money. I hope to become a full-time crafts-woman. This work-place is small, but I wish to move to a larger one next year. When entering art school, the writer was about _ . A) 14 B) 16 C) 18 D) 21
C