For pet owners, the hundreds of pet food recalls taking place each year has raised a lot of alarm. "Most people are caring pet owners, and they want to do what helps protect their pet," explains Will Post, founder and CEO, Hound & Gatos Pet Foods Corporation. "Yet the problem is that most are not sure what that means and how to go about it. The more they learn about pet food, the better able they will be to make an informed decision that will keep their pet healthier and safer." Here are several tips that consumers may want to keep in mind when it comes to choosing a pet food that will help reduce the risks. Get to know the company. Most people may know a company name simply because they spend millions on advertising. But that doesn't mean they know much about the company or their morals. Research companies to find one that offers high standards, quality products, and great customer service. Ask questions. Don't be afraid to get in touch with a pet food company and ask them where something was made, where ingredients came from, or any other questions. They should have no problem answering questions about their products, or with being able to provide proof of their quality standards. Read reviews. Do some searches to read some reviews about various brands of pet food. Keep in mind that some reviews can be one-sided and even planted by the company itself, so look for fair third-party sources giving the review. Investigate ingredients. The source of ingredients is of major concern when it comes to reducing the risks of pet food recalls and keeping pets healthy. Read the labels and ask questions to determine where the ingredients are coming from. Understand pet foods. Cat and dog food should contain 100 percent protein, which will supply them with the nutrients their bodies require. The problem with many commercial pet foods is that it is full of numerous fillers, such as cheap fillers and grains. Who are the intended readers of the passage? A) People in general. B) Food companies. C) Pet shop owners. D) Pet owners.
D
(Question)
In the case of mobile phones, change is everything. Recent research indicates that the mobile phone is changing not only our culture, but our very bodies as well. First, let's talk about culture. The difference between the mobile phone and its parent, the fixed-line phone, is that a mobile number corresponds to a person, while a landline goes to a place. If you call my mobile, you get me. If you call my fixed-line phone, you get whoever answers it. This has several implications . The most common one, however, and perhaps the thing that has changed our culture forever, is the "meeting" influence. People no longer need to make firm plans about when and where to meet. Twenty years ago, a Friday night would need to be arranged in advance. You needed enough time to allow everyone to get from their place of work to the first meeting place. Now,however, a night out can be arranged on the run. It is no longer "see you there at 8",but "text me around 8 and we'll see where we all are." Texting changes people as well. In their paper, "Insights into the Social and Psychological Effects of SMS Text Messaging", two British researchers distinguished between two types of mobile phone users: the "talkers" and the "texters"-those who prefer voice to text messages and those who prefer text to voice. They found that the mobile phone's individuality and privacy gave texters the ability to express a whole new outer personality. Texters were likely to report that their family would be surprised if they were to read their texts. This suggests that texting allowed texters to present a self-image that differed from the one familiar to those who knew them well. Another scientist wrote of the changes that mobiles have brought to body language. There are two kinds that people use while speaking on the phone. There is the "speakeasy": the head is held high, in a self-confident way, chatting away. And there is the "spacemaker": these people focus on themselves and keep out other people. Who can blame them? Phone meetings get cancelled or... We can infer from the passage that the texts sent by texters are A) quite revealing B) well written C) unacceptable by others D) shocking to others
(Answer)
A
When different species of birds flock together, their flight formations are determined by social dynamics both between and within species. New research from the Universities of Cambridge and Exeter reveals for the first time that, contrary to current models used to explain the movement of flocks, the differences between bird species and social relationships between individuals play a critical role in determining the dynamics of mixed-species flocks. The unified behaviour of bird flocks has puzzled scientists for hundreds of years. One naturalist from the turn of the century even suggested telepathy may be involved. There have since been more logical explanations, including mathematical models that show that repeated interactions among individuals following simple rules can _ coordinated group movements. However, these models usually rely on the assumption that individuals within groups are identical and interact independently, which may not reflect reality. Jolle Jolles, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and author of the paper, said:"Spectacular collective behaviour can be found in a large range of animal species, and we now know that often these complex coordinated group movements may be the result of individuals following simple rules. However, rarely are the individual characteristics and social relationships within them taken into account. Our research highlights that these striking displays of group behaviour are much more complex." By analysing high-resolution photographs of mixed flocks of rooks and jackdaws (both from the corvid family), the researchers found that rather than individuals interacting in a consistent fashion throughout the flock, interactions depended on social dynamics between the different species as well as relationships within a species. The researchers discovered that birds prefer to fly close to members of their own species, and that the larger and more dominant rooks take the lead by flying near the front of flocks. Additionally, the... Birds may prefer to fly the closest to _ . A) the largest one B) the most dynamic one C) the lifelong partner D) the friendly partner
C