Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The small unframed painting called "Fisherman" was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $ 27000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession. Pitt said, "I didn't know it was so valuable. I'm not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought 'Fisherman' in Italy in 1970 for $140.the picture was dirty, and I couldn't see the artist's signature. But anyway it wasn't the picture that I like. I bought it because of the frame." "It's most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I'll never part with it." "When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn't know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $ 140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then." "Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone's signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale." As a result of his explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department. Pitt was not happy. "I told the truth as I knew it then," he said, "What else could I say?" And then the judge agreed with him. "The Customs Department is to be responsible (blame)," he said, "for making a true valuation of goods bought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty. Question: Which of the following statements is true to the story? In the end _ . - Pitt was asked to pay the correct amount of duty. - Pitt sold the frame of the painting at an even higher price. - The Customs Department had no right to revalue the painting. - Pitt's wife was regarded as an expert because of her wise suggestion.
The Customs Department had no right to revalue the painting.

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Farmers could grow more rice and shaky Internet communications could work better someday, thanks to prize-winning discoveries by teenage scientists showed at a national science fair on Monday. High school scientists from across the United States showed off work in genetics, molecular biology, mathematics and other fields that judges said rose to the professional level. "It just blows me away. They're all just unimaginable," said Joel Spencer, aprefix = st1 /New YorkUniversityprofessor who served as judge at the Sidemen's Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Research done by finalists in the nationwide competition could lead to faster Internet speeds, more effective antibacterial drugs and better energy conservation. One team researched black holes in outer space, while another examined more than 700 fossils to better understand why dinosaurs died out. Juliet Girard and Roshan Prabhu won $ 100,000 scholarship for their work proving genes that help some kinds of wild rice flower earlier than others. Drawing on a database that described the genetic makeup of rice, the two students, fromJersey City,New Jersey, identified two genetic sections that directed wild rice to blossom an average of 10 days earlier than the ordinary short-grain rice that feeds much of the world. Their discovery could allow genetic engineers to develop a new strain that would take less time to reach maturity, allowing farmers to produce more and extending the growing region into colder climates. Steven Byrnes of Lexington,Massachusetts, took the top individual prize for his theory describing outcomes in a two-player game called Chomp. Question: _ competed at the national science fair. - Some university scientists - A lot of high school students - Some farmers and computer designers. - School science teachers from across theUSA
A lot of high school students

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Anyone can try to lead a group, but not every individual is cut out for leadership. The better leaders possess a few qualities that can mean the difference between the success and failure of the group. These aret he qualities the leader of higher rank will look for when choosing a leader for a group, or when evaluating the performance of a leader. They're also the qualities team members want in a group leader, and appreciate when they find them. Take Responsibility Group leaders might share tasks around a group as necessary, but eventually a group leader needs to be able to accept that responsibility lies on her shoulders. That means that if things go wrong in a group project, she's the one who must accept the consequences and work out what mistakes were made. The group leader won't always have the power to control everything group members do, but she should be ready to admit any mistakes the group has made as a result of her leadership. Concern for Members The group leader has a commitment to the task or project at hand, but perhaps more importantly, he has a real concern for each and every person who is part of his group. This means getting to know the strengths, weaknesses and goals of team members, as well as making time to build the group through collective activities. The group leader should make sure that everyone is included, even if an individual is new to a group. Good Listener The group leader needs to be able to listen to the suggestions, complaints and ideas of group members. Not only will this allow complaints to be addressed and potentially suitable ideas to be put into practice, but a leader who listens will also encourage group members to share their concerns and thoughts,creating an atmosphere of free speech and productivity. Question: The passage is mainly about _ . - choosing a good leader for a group. - assessing the performance of a leader. - qualities of a good group leader. - team members' appreciation of a leader.
A: qualities of a good group leader.

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: How to avoid common life mistakes? 1. Don't do things you don't like Whenever you do things you don't like, you will start to hate yourself a bit more. You will hate yourself for not being consistent. For doing things you know that you don't want to do, another stress is right there. 2. Do less This is one of the hardest things, especially for me. I'm doing too many things at the same time. In itself, doing many different things to figure out what works and what doesn't isn't that had. It's actually quite good. But at some point you need to let go of the things that don't work and focus on the things that work. And that's the hardest part, at least for me. I always try to make everything work. And if you always try to make everything work, you'll usually end up with nothing working at all. 3. Get rid of complicated things There are many complicated things in life. Complicated relationships, complicated jobs, complicated whatever. What all of these things do is that they steal our focus. They add an additional stress layer to our lives and take over some of our brain's bandwidth(;). We desperately need to navigate bandwidth in this crazy and complex world. 4. Read books, not blogs Blogs consist of too much information for our brains to process. Blogs usually leave out the story our brains need. Our brains need a story to remember things. Don't believe me? Try it. What parts of this blog post do you remember? Probably none. All that blogs do is that they clutter our brains with useless information we forget immediately after we read them. A waste of time. There are a number of personal traits which all of us should develop in our earlier life. Question: Young people will hate themselves when _ . - they avoid doing things they dislike - their stress level is high - they know what they dislike doing - their actions conflict with their ideas
A: their actions conflict with their ideas