instruction:
In this task, you're given an article, a question which often contains a blank and four options (associated with "A", "B", "C", "D"). Your task is to find the correct answer (from the given options) for the question from the given article and return one of the options from "A", "B", "C", and "D". Do not generate anything else apart from one of the following characters: "A", "B", "C", "D". There is only one correct answer for each question.
question:
Article: Shoppers who have cut back on purchases in the worrying U.S. economy are likely to continue their conservative shopping habits even if the economy improves, according to a new study. That signals continued bad news for retailers , who have been struggling to respond to a great cutback in spending as consumers have opened their wallets only for basic items, while cutting back on unimportant purchases. The report, which estimates retail sales growth to be flat this year, found that three-quarters of respondents to a monthly survey of 4,000 consumers said they had shifted their shopping behaviors because of the economy. Most said they were making do with less or going without some favorite items. "The habits learned during this economic crisis have the potential to permanently change the mind-set of consumers," the report said. "The vast majority of shoppers who are changing their near-term shopping behavior say they plan to continue them as the economy improves." To ease the consumer discomfort, smart retailers will focus on downsizing, the report said, as adding stores to an already crowded retail landscape is out of fashion. It came up with smaller initiatives to build shopping buzz, such as limited editions of products or having existing stores target local markets. The report also forecast that retailers will increasingly focus on private brands to attract cost-conscious shoppers, while adding complementary categories of goods to their stores to make one-stop shops for consumers. While warehouse clubs and super centers are expected to fare the best in the weak environment in 2009, discount department stores and supermarkets will be the weakest, the report warned. Sales of clothes, though expected to rebound in 2010, will be the hardest hit and slowest to recover.
Question: The current shopping behavior in the US is becoming _ .
Options: (A) arbitrary (B) protective (C) conservative (D) aggressive
answer:
C

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Article: It's nine o'clock on a Tuesday night.You are trying to finish your maths assignment. You have only two problems left to go.Almost done!You are looking forward to a nice snack and your favorite TV show.You read the next problem and groan.You don,t have a clue how to do it .You may check your notes from class .Or you may try reading your text-book .But the problem might as well be written in a foreign language. Does this sound familiar? Most people who have taken any kind of maths class have had this experience.What do you do when you get stuck? Perhaps you call a friend.Or you ask a family member for help.But what if it's late at night? Years ago there were very few ways to get help if you were stuck on a maths problem. Maths is different from other school subjects.You often cannot find what to do in a book.A dictionary or even an encyclopedia probably won't help you.You need someone to show you the steps.Learning most kinds of maths is something like learning to play a musical instrument.You need a coach to show you what to do. In many areas there are homework telephone lines.These hot lines have volunteers.They can help you do homework in all subjects.A maths volunteer can explain the steps in a maths problem that has you stumped* Today you can also get help on the Internet.There are several homework help programs and Web pages .In some,you leave your question on a message board.Or you write it in an e-mail note.In other maths-help programs there are live volunteer teachers.You can wait for a real maths teacher to help you do the problem.
Question: This passage is mostly concerned with _ .
Options: (A) why maths is difficult to do (B) ways of getting help with maths homework (C) using reference books to do maths homework (D) using a computer to do maths
answer:
B

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Article: Accidents happen, but when they destroy the delicate balance of nature and cause the whole world to suffer, they become disasters, and we should do all we can to prevent them from happening again. Bhopal chemical leak, December 1984, Bhopal, India An explosion in the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, released a deadly gas called methyl isocyanate , which is used to make pesticides. The gas formed a cloud that killed 2500 people; another 50000- 100000 people became ill. Trees and plants in the area became yellow and brittle. The explosion was caused by a mechanical failure that was not noticed in time to stop it. Exxon Valdez oil spill, March 1989, Alaska, U.S. On March 24, 1989, 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into Prince William Sound from the tanker Exxon Valdez when its hull hit a reef and tore open. The oil, which is not yet cleaned up after billions of dollars have been spent and the millions of birds, fish, and other wildlife have died, was caused by human error and could have been avoided. Chernobyl, April 1986, USSR At 1:23 A.M. on Saturday, April 26, 1986, the reactor blew at nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, ripping open the core, blowing the roof off the building, starting more than 30 fires, and allowing radioactive material to leak into the air. Some 31 people were killed and 200 people were treated for radiation poisoning. Still at risk are 135000 people from the 179 villages within 20 miles, of the plant who were exposed to the radiation before being evacuated. Glaring violations of safety rules were at the bottom of this tragic event. Love Canal, 1953, New York, U.S. Love Canal, a small town in upstate New York near Niagara Falls, was destroyed by waste from chemical plants. Beginning in 1947, chemical companies could legally dump their waste products into the canal. The area developed a foul smell, trees lost their bark, and leaves fell throughout the year. A health survey found that the drinking water contained excessive levels of 82 industrial chemicals, 7 of which were thought to cause cancer. The people of Love Canal had an unusually high rate of cancer and birth defects. Eventually, many of the houses had to be abandoned. Today, the town has been partly cleaned up and some families have moved back to the area. Three Mile Island, 1979, Pennsylvania, U.S. On March 28, 1979, the worst accident in U.S. nuclear reactor history occurred at the Three Mile Island power station, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. No one was killed, and very little radioactivity was released into the air when coolant (the fluid that keeps a machine cool) escaped from the reactor core due to a combination of mechanical failure and human error. After 10 years and $ 1 billion in cleanup costs, the lower extremes of the reactor are still so radioactive that workers must use remote - control equipment to remove the remaining fragment of fuel core.
Question: This passage mainly discusses _ .
Options: (A) accidents that affected many living things (B) air pollution (C) water pollution (D) what people are doing to prevent environmental disasters
answer:
A