In Britain, it's bottoms up from the week before Christmas till the last firework explodes in the sky announcing the new year. The last Friday before Christmas, popularly known as 'Mad Friday', is one of the busiest periods for the country's pubs and clubs. But it's not just the bars that get busy. Ambulances and A&E departments around Britain get packed out too. Head injuries, cuts, falls...it's easy to end up hurting yourself or others when self-control disappear and your head is spinning due to alcoho1 revelers have been warned by the health authorities about the dangers of deadly drinking but drinking crazily seems to be part of the festivities for some. The charity Alcohol Concern is running a campaign of restriction by encouraging people to have a dry January. Jackie Ballard, the charity's Chief Executive, believes the campaign has been successful in recent years. She says, "More than two-thirds of people even six months later are drinking at reduced levels having had a month off drink. But also a study has shown the impact it has on people's health reducing their blood pressure and blood sugar levels." The study by the University of Sussex followed up nearly 900 participants in Alcohol Concern's Dry January campaign and found out that 72%of them had kept harmful drinking sessions down and 4%were still not drinking. Moderation seems to be the key to everything. The official recommendation for women is not to regularly drink more than 2 to 3 units of alcohol a day. The limit for men is 3 to 4 units of alcohol -- no more than a pint of 5.2%ABV lager, beer or cider. What is the official suggestion of drinking alcohol? A) Women shouldn't drink any alcohol. B) People should stay away from alcohol. C) Moderate alcohol drinking can be accepted. D) Men may drink 3 to 4 units of alcohol at least.
C
Mr and Mrs Smith had always spent their summer holidays in New Jersey in the past, staying in a small inn at the foot of a hill. One year, however, Mr. Smith made a lot of money in his business, so they decided to go to London and stay at a really good hotel while they went touring around that famous city. They flew to London and arrived at their hotel late one evening. They expected that they would have to go to bed hungry, because in that small inn in New Jersey, no meals were served after seven. They were therefore surprised when the man who received them in the hall asked whether they would take dinner there that night. "Are you still serving dinner?" asked Mr Smith. "Yes, certainly, sir," answered the man. "We serve it until half past nine." "What are the times of meals then?" asked Mr Smith. "Well, sir," answered the man, "We serve breakfast from seven to half past eleven in the morning, lunch from twelve to three in the afternoon, tea from four to five, and dinner from six to half past nine." "But that hardly leaves any time for us to see the sights of London!" said Mrs Smith. Mrs. Smith _ . A) thought she would have plenty of time to see the sights B) was afraid they would have no time to tour around London C) thought the hotel was not as good as the small inn D) thought the hotel was much better than the small inn for its good meals
B
Q: Pregnancy and childbirth kill more than 536,000 women a year. More than half of the cases happened in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. In fact, most of the deaths are preventable with basic medical care. The five leading causes are bleeding, infection, high blood pressure, longtime labor and bad abortions . Mothers' deaths from such causes were largely reduced nearly a century ago in developed countries. Experts say that what kill many women are "the three delays"-- the woman's delay in deciding to go to the hospital, the time she loses traveling there and the hospital's delay in starting treatment. Only about 15 percent of births have dangerous complications . Women lack education and information about birth control. Husbands and inlaws, may decide where a woman gives birth and insist that she stay at home to save money. However, there is no single solution to a problem with so many factors--shortages of doctors, nurses, drugs, equipment, roads and transportation--though hospital officials are trying many things now. One _ measure to solve the problem for the present has been to train assistant medical officers, to perform certain operations. Some African countries are now struggling to train more assistants and midwives , and provide places for pregnant women to stay near hospitals. But there is a long way to go. Only 20 percent of women in the continent give birth at the hospital. More than 50 percent stay at home to give birth, and the rest go to local clinics that cannot handle emergencies. Which is not included in the five leading causes of women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth? A) Infection. B) High blood pressure. C) Traveling long distances. D) Bleeding.
A: C
(Question)
The pickle jar , as I can remember, sat beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When ready for bed, Dad would toss any coins in his pockets into the jar. As they dropped, they landed with a merry jingle. Whenever the jar was full, Dad would roll up the coins. Every time he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would smile proudly and say,"All for my son's college." We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone. Dad would show me the coins in his change, saying "When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again." He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. "You might have to get to college on loose change," he said. "But you'll get there." As years passed, I went to college, got married and took a job. Once, while visiting my parents, I noticed the jar was gone. It had served its purpose. My dad was a man of few words and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance or faith. The jar had taught me those far better than the most flowery of words could have done. Soon, my daughter Jessica was born. We spent Christmas that year with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other, taking turns holding their first grandchild. When Jessica began crying, my wife Susan took her from Dad's arms to put her in my parents' room. Susan came back, tears in her eyes and led me into the room. "Look," she said softly. To my amazement, there, next to the dresser, stood the old pickle jar, as if never removed, the bottom already covered with coins. I walked over to it, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out several coins. Choked by emotion, I dropped them into the jar. Dad had slipped quietly into the room when I looked up. Our eyes locked, but neither of us spoke, because we knew nothing had to be said. Which words best describe the author's father? A) Humorous and patient. B) Quiet but loving. C) Generous and talkative. D) Proud but strict.
(Answer)
B