The world is not coming to an end on December 21st, 2012, the US space agency announced to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie. The latest big screen 2012 was based on stories according to the Mayan calendar.It showed that by the end of 2012, a Planet X will collide with the earth. Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet's existence, but the US space agency considered such stories as tricks."There is no basis in fact for these claims," NASA said in its website."If such a collision were real, scientists would have been tracking it for at least the last decade, and we would see _ with our eyes now.Obviously, it doesn't exist and there will be no threat to the earth in 2012," it insisted."After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years," added NASA. There is another planet, Eris, floating in space.But the small planet will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the earth, according to NASA. And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our plant would be very little."And while comets and asteroids have always hit the earth, big hits are very rare," NASA noted.The last major collision was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting the end of dinosaurs . "We are sure that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs," the space agency said. What do we know about Eris according to the passage? A) It doesn't exist in the universe. B) It won't threaten the earth. C) It is too far to be seen. D) It is similar to the earth.
B
(Question)
Planetary changes which will have an influence on many are drawing near because of the poor ecological state of the planet. Actually change has already begun through climate changes, but most humans haven't noticed this yet. Climate change has begun to influence the world already and will begin to worsen within the next few years. Around 2020 most people will begin to see that the results of climate change will be far more serious than now understood. As the planet is under big geological stresses, which are continuously increasing, it will in the future no longer be able to support its population. Scarcity of resources, over-farming, lack of clean air, not enough clean drinking water and drought are some of the issues that will all play a much greater role in the near future. Humans have caused large ecological devastation . The lifestyles of many people are improving at a fast speed; however, this will finally result in a lack of some precious resources. When this scarcity begins to happen, people will no longer be able to have sustainable lifestyles. It's important to understand that everyone plays a role in the whole process of life. Each person's decision can finally affect the future. These decisions, all combined, can have good effect on what the future will be like for humans. So the future depends on the choices we make at the present moment. While more and more people are becoming aware of climate change and other environmental problems related to global warming, not all are fully understanding how far-reaching its effects will be. Unfortunately, most of the humans are aware that the planet isn't functioning well, but they don't understand that this is creating a major problem for the future survival of humans. So, every person should make the necessary changes to reduce their influence on the environment and help create a more sustainable future. Which is the best title for the text? A) The Causes of Planetary Changes. B) The Influence of Ecological Devastation C) The Ways of Building a Sustainable Future D) Environmental Damage and the Human Future
(Answer)
D
Ques: Most of us think that when we step under a shower we're getting clean.We are, but we're also giving a home to lots of tiny little creatures we didn't even know about. A showerhead carries thousands of bacteria called Mycobacterium.These can cause problems like coughs and tiredness, and a general feeling of poorliness .When you turn on the water, the bacteria go from the showerhead onto and into your body. This is a finding of Norman R.Pace and his team at the University of Colorado, in the US.The scientists investigated bacteria in all kinds of human environment, including showers. Pace's team looked at 45 showerheads in nine American cities.They discovered that 30 percent of them had large amounts of flying Mycobacterium. But Pace said that they pose few threats to the health.Only those with a frail immune system might need to worry. He told the New York Times that the bactertia are not as unpleasant as might be thought.He said that having a shower is no more dangerous than anything else we do in the morning. But for those who feel sick about the idea of all those microorganisms , he had some advice. Let the water run for 30 seconds before getting into the shower.Why? The number of bacteria is smaller than when the water is just turned on.If that seems like a waste of water, he added that you could also change your showerhead every few months. But Pace had good news too.He has also been testing the air in US subways.Apart from iron particles , which are ground off the track by the wheels of trains, subway air is fresh.The reason is that a train's movement pumps fresh outdoor air into the tunnels . Pace explained that he wanted to understand the natural microbial environments of public places.This kind of knowledge might help _ the microbes to be used in a bioterrorist attack. According to the research of Pace's team, which of the following contributes to fresh air in US subways? A) Train wheels. B) Iron particles. C) The movement of the trains. D) Air conditioners on the trains.
Ans: C
Ques:A study of a million UK women, published today in The Lancet, has shown that happiness itself has no direct effect on mortality, and that the widespread but mistaken belief that unhappiness and stress directly cause ill health came from studies that had simply confused cause and effect. Life-threatening poor health can cause unhappiness, and for this reason unhappiness is associated with increased mortality. In addition, smokers tend to be unhappier than non-smokers. However, after taking account of previous ill health, smoking, and other lifestyle and socio-economic factors, the investigators found that unhappiness itself was no longer associated with increased mortality. The lead author, Dr Bette Liu, now at the University of New South Wales, Australia said: "Illness makes you unhappy, but unhappiness itself doesn't make you ill. We found no direct effect of unhappiness or stress on mortality, even in a ten-year study of a million women." As in other studies, unhappiness was associated with deprivation, smoking, lack of exercise, and not living with a partner. The strongest associations, however, were that the women who were already in poor health tended to say that they were unhappy, stressed, not in control, and not relaxed. The main analyses included 700 000 women, average age 59 years, and over the next 10 years these women were followed by electronic record linkage for mortality, during which time 30 000 of the women died. After allowing for any differences already present in health and lifestyle, the overall death rate among those who were unhappy was the same as the death rate among those who were generally happy. The study is so large that it rules out unhappiness being a direct cause of any material increase in overall mortality in women. This was true for overall mortality, for cancer mortality, and for heart disease mortality, and it was true for stress as well as for unhappiness. It's wrongly believed that _ . A) unhappiness itself is not associated with increased mortality B) there is no direct link between unhappiness and mortality C) ill health directly causes unhappiness and stress D) ill health directly results from unhappiness and stress

Ans:
D