Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Have you ever listened to young children talking in the playground? They are always boasting. They say things like, "My Dad's car is bigger than your Dad's," and "My Mom is smarter than yours." They particularly like to boast about their families. There were three little boys, Harry, Ted and Gavin, who were always boasting. Gavin was the worst. Everything about his family was always the best or the biggest or the most expensive. Whatever the others said, he could always go on better. One day when they were walking to school, Harry said, "My father had a bath twice a week," Ted spoke next. "That's nothing," he said. "Having a bath twice a week is dirty. My father has a bath every day, sometimes twice a day." Ted looked at Gavin. Now it was his turn. But what could he say? "This time," Ted thought, "I'm going to win." Gavin didn't know what to say. He couldn't say that his father had a bath three times a day. That was silly. He walked on in silence. Ted smiled at Harry, and Harry smiled back. They were sure that for once they had beaten Gavin. They reached the school gates. Still Gavin said nothing. "We've won," Ted said to Harry, but he spoke too soon. On the way home, Gavin said, "My Dad is so clean that he doesn't have to bathe at all." Question: According to the passage, the meaning of the word "boast" is _ . Options: A: to sing a nice song B: to talk big C: to go on better D: to have a bath three times a day
Ans: B

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: "Well, we're in our new house. Let's get a new pet to go along with it," Mrs. Brown said to her husband. "That sounds like a very good idea," he answered. "Do you want to see the ads in the newspaper?" "Let's go to the animal _ . Many pets there need homes. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we can both go." she said. The next morning the Browns met Mr. Snow at the animal shelter. "We want to be sure that the pets here go to good homes," Mr. Snow said, "So I need to ask you some questions." After they talked for a while, the Browns decided to get a small dog. It wouldn't need a big house or a big yard. A small dog would bark and warn them if someone tried to break into their house. After Mr. Snow gave the Browns a book on pet care, they chose one and wanted to take her home right away. But the animal doctor hadn't examined her yet. So Mr. Snow told them to return on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon the Browns went to the animal shelter. The animal doctor said, "Shadow has had all of her shots . She will be healthy." The Browns thanked the doctor and took Shadow home. Question: The Browns think that a small dog _ . Options: A: doesn't need any room to keep B: can help them watch their house C: eats less food than a bigger one D: usually has a beautiful name
Ans: B

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The popular college rankings focus primarily on prestige as measured by the SAT scores of incoming students and how many applicants are turned away. An initiative started last fall by the Obama administration could help families go beyond these limited, and far too easily exploited, indexes to learn quickly and easily how a college is compared with its competitors nationally on important criteria like graduation rates, what a degree actually costs and how much debt a student can expect to run up by graduation day. If the federal government makes it legally necessary to disclose this information in a clear and consistent way, as it should, families will be better able to make informed college choices. And this will help put pressure on colleges that perform poorly to improve. Critics may regard this initiative as an example of government overreach. But given that the federal government spends nearly $190 billion a year on higher education aid to students, it has a legitimate interest in making sure that the money flows to the schools that best meet their responsibilities to families and students. Congress has taken some steps to require greater transparency from colleges. The 1990 Student Right to Know Act, for example, required colleges and universities that receive federal aid to disclose graduation rates. And the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act required schools to offer a way for consumers to determine actual costs after student aid is taken into account. But many colleges have done a poor job of obeying federal disclosure rules, and much of the available information is not in one place. The administration's new efforts would enforce reporting requirements and provide some new tools. President Obama wants to expand campus-based aid to about $10 billion from the current $2.7 billion. He has proposed moving money away from colleges that fail to control tuition increases or provide good value to others that do a better job. That is a worthy idea in principle, but he will need strong data-based evidence... Question: Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? Options: A: Critics agree that the government should require colleges to obey the disclosure rules. B: Congress has approved and made the transparency initiatives a law. C: SAT scores alone do not determine one's choice of college. D: Students and families find it very difficult to choose their ideal colleges now.
Ans: D

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Have you ever picked a job based on the fact that you were good at it but later found it made you feel very uncomfortable over time? When you select your career, there's whole lot more to it than assessing your skills and matching them with a particular position. If you ignore your personality, it will hurt you long-term regardless of your skills or the job's pay. There are several areas of your personality that you need to consider to help you find a good job. Here are a few of those main areas: 1) Do you prefer working alone or with other people? There are isolating jobs that will drive an outgoing person crazy and also interactive jobs that will make a shy person uneasy. Most people are not extremes in either direction but do have a tendency that they prefer. There are also positions that are sometimes a combination of the two, which may be best for someone in the middle who adapts easily to either situation. 2) How do you handle change? Most jobs these days have some elements of change to them, but some are more than others. If you need stability in your life, you may need a job where the changes don't happen so often. Other people would be bored of the same daily routine. 3) Do you enjoy working with computers? I do see this as a kind of personality characteristic. There are people who are happy to spend more than 40 hours a week on a computer, while there are others who need a lot of human interaction throughout the day. Again, these are extremes and you'll likely find a lot of positions somewhere in the middle as well. 4) What type of work environment do you enjoy? This can range from being in a large building with a lot of people you won't know immediately to a smaller setting where you'll get to know almost all the people there fairly quickly. 5) How do you like to get paid? Some people are motivated by the pay they get, while others feel too stressed to be like that. The variety of payment designs in the sales industry is a typical example for this. Anyway, these are a great starting point for... Question: This passage mainly talks about the importance of _ . Options: A: different jobs B: personalities C: personal skills D: job's pay
Ans:
B