Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: If you have ever been discouraged because of failure , please read on. Usually, achieving what you set out to do is not the important thing. Let me explain. Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. "What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "We plan to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" one of the brothers answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders , worms and a lot of insects. He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the visitors who were laughing at them. Then he said quietly and confidently, "Even if we don't dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!" Their goal was far too difficult, but it made them dig. And that is what a goal is for--to make us move in the direction we have chosen. In other words, it sets us to digging! But not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end successfully. Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say, "Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!" And I believe it is the joy in the journey, in the end, that truly matters. Question: The writer told us the story to _ . - advise us to treats our failures fairly - persuade us to make an aim for our lives - encourage us to learn from the two brothers - prove that failure helps us make achievements
advise us to treats our failures fairly
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: My grandfather died more than twenty-five years ago. I was fifteen. He was kind, strong, fair, and very funny. When I was a young musician, he was my biggest fan. I played my violin for him when he visited, and he loved everything, but each time he had one request. "Could you play 'Amazing Grace'?" he asked, full of hope and with a twinkle in his eye, because he knew my answer was always, "I don't know that one!" We went through this routine at every major holiday, and I always figured I'd have time to learn it for him later. About the time I entered high school and started guitar, Grandpa got cancer. The last time I saw him alive was Thanksgiving weekend in 1985. My mom warned us that Grandpa didn't look the same anymore and that we should prepare ourselves. For a moment I didn't recognize him. He looked so small among all the white sheets. We had all gathered in Ohio for the holiday, and I'm sure we all knew we were there to say good-bye. I can see now that Grandpa held on long enough to see us each one more time. I remember how we ate in the dining room and laughed and talked while Grandpa rested in his hospital bed. I wonder if it was sad for him to be alone with our voices and laughter. _ The next morning I found my moment alone with him. I pulled out my guitar, tuned to his appreciative gaze, and finally played for him "Amazing Grace." I had worked on it for weeks, knowing it never mattered whether I actually played it well and choosing not to believe as I played that it was my last concert for my biggest fan. The cancer had stolen his smile, but I saw joy in his eyes. He held my hand afterward, and I knew I had done something important. I argued with people all through college about my music major. I was told by strangers that music wouldn't make me any money and it wasn't useful like being a doctor. But I know firsthand that with music I was able to give my grandpa something at a point when no one else could. Question: At first the author didn't play 'Amazing Grace' for Grandpa because _ . - her grandfather was just joking. - she found it difficult to play - she disliked playing it. - she hadn't learned it yet
she hadn't learned it yet
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: More people speak English than any other language except Chinese .English is the main language spoken in the United Kingdom,Ireland,Australia,New Zealand,Canada,the United States and some other countries. Altogether more than 450 million people speak English as their everyday language .Another 100 million or more speak at least some English. Most English words come from old Anglo Saxon,French,or Latin words. Modern English developed through the efforts of literary and political writings .Modern English was influenced by old English,the beginning of the university educated people,Shakespeare,the common language found in the middle of presentday England and an effort to show and standardize English. British English,known as Standard English or Oxford English,underwent changes during the colonization of North America and the creation of the United States .British English words changed into American English words,such as centre to center,metre to meter,theatre to theater and so on. Until the 18th century,British and American English were very similar with almost no difference .Immigration to America by other English peoples changed the language by 1700.Noah Webster,author of the first authoritative American English dictionary,created many changes. Question: British English was almost similar to American English until the _ century. - 20th - 19th - 18th - 17th
18th
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Father Maurice Chase used a special way to celebrate his 90th birthday. The Catholic priest took $ 15,000 in cash to Los Angeles' gutter and gave it away. Twenty wheelchair-bound people received $100 bills, while the rest received $1to $ 3 each. "I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them and that someone is concerned about them," Chase said. Chase has given away cash and blessings every Sunday at the same corner for 24 years. Several hundred people wait for him every week. He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on dirty sidewalks. "It's the place that makes me the happiest.I just love it," said Chase. "I look forward to coming here." The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his work as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University. The crowd broke into choruses of "Happy Birthday" several times. Some people presented him birthday cards, to his delight. Travis Kemp, a 51-year-old disabled man with long black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive $ 100. He said he had no special plans for spending the money. "He has a lot of respect from me," Kemp said. "I know I couldn't do it." Question: Which of the following makes Chase feel the happiest? - Celebrating his birthday with his neighbours. - Working in Loyola Marymount University. - Celebrating Christmas with the people he has helped. - Going to Los Angeles' gutter to help people there.
Going to Los Angeles' gutter to help people there.
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