Langston Hughes was born in prefix = st1 /Joplin,Missouri, in 1902. His parents got divorced. He spent most of his childhood with his grandmother inLawrence,Kansas. She told him stories about their family and their fight to end slavery. Her storytelling filled him with pride in himself and his race. He first began to write poetry when he was living with her. In 1919, he moved to Cleveland,Ohio, to stay with his mother. He attended Central High School inCleveland. Langston was named Class Poet one year. He published his first short stories while still in high school. Langston Hughes struggled with a feeling of loneliness caused by his parents' divorce. He developed a love for reading books as a way to deal with the lack of time his parents spent with him. His love for reading grew into a desire to write. He wanted to reproduce the powerful effect other writers, like Walt Whitman, had made upon him. After graduating from high school in 1920, Langston moved to Mexico Cityto live with his father for one year. His father did not offer much warmth to him. Yet, Langston turned the pain caused by his family problems into one of his most famous poems," The Negro Speaks of Rivers." In this poem, he speaks of the strength and pride of black people in ancient African civilizations and inAmerica. Langston arrived in New Yorkat 19. Later, he left school, broke with his father, and began traveling. Traveling was a lifelong love that would take him throughout the world before he died. In 1922, Hughes took a job on a ship and sailed to Africa. He wrote poems and short stories during his travels. His experiences while traveling greatly influenced his work. He sent a few of his writings back home. They were published, and readers found a totally new and fresh style in his poems. Langston got his first short stories published when he was in _ . A) Joplin B) Cleveland C) Mexico City D) New York
B
When I was sixteen years old, I made my first visit to the United States. It wasn't the first time I had been abroad. Like most English children I learned French at school. And I had often been to France, so I was used to speaking a foreign language to people who didn't understand English. But when I went to America I was really looking forward to having a nice easy holiday without any language barriers. How wrong I was! The misunderstandings began at the airport. I was looking for a public telephone to give my American friend Penny a call and tell her that I had arrived. A friendly old man saw me looking lost and asked if he could help me. "Yes," I said, "I want to give my friend a ring." "Well, that's nice," he said. "Are you getting married? But aren't you a bit young?" "Who is talking about marriage?" I replied. "I only want to give my friend a ring to tell her I've arrived. Can you tell me where there's a phone box?" "Oh!" he said, "There's a phone downstairs." When at last we met, Penny explained the misunderstandings to me. "Don't worry," she said to me. "I had so many difficulties at first. There are lots of words which the Americans use differently in meaning from British. You'll soon get used to all the funny things _ say. Most of the time British and American people understand each other!" Penny will agree with the idea that _ . A) Americans use words entirely differently from British B) Americans speak in a funny way C) It will be hard for the author to get used to American English D) Americans and British can understand each other in most cases
D
Q: An artist in Oakland, California is using his skills to help the homeless. Greg Kloehn builds very small shelters that make life on the streets more comfortable. The structures offer the homeless some safety and protection from bad weather. Each little house also has wheels on the bottom so it can go wherever its owner goes. Greg Kloehn has given away at least 20 tiny houses to the homeless on the street. On a recent day, Mr. Kloehn stops to visit his homeless friends. One of them is Oscar Young. The two men hug when they see each other. Inside his little shelter Mr. Young gets relief from cold nights on the streets. Mr. Kloehn also visits Sweet-Pea, another friend who also lives in one of the little homes the artist built. She says it keeps her safe and protects her belongings. In the mornings, Mr. Kloehn searches the streets for building materials. He gathers what he can and takes it to his studio. There, he puts the houses together. Empty coffee bags become roof material. A washing machine door and refrigerator part become windows. Nails, screws and the sticky glue hold all the pieces together. The artist also attaches a small electrical device to the house. The device is powered by the sun. Some of the people living on the streets once had normal houses of their own. But some of the people say they have learned to live with less and they are thankful to that man. Mr. Kloehn says his work is not a social project. He says he is just someone using his skills to help his homeless neighbors. The followings are the advantages of the small shelters EXCEPT _ . A) saving power and energy B) protecting belongings of the homeless C) decorating the streets where they are D) keeping the homeless safe and comfortable
A: C
*Question*
Oprah Winfrey,born in 1954,is all American talk show host,best known for her multiawardwinning talk show. She is also,according to some assessments,the most influential woman in theworld. It's no surprise that her endorsement can bringovernight sales fortune that defeats most,if not all,marketingcampaigns .The star features about 20 products each year On her"Favorite Things" show.There's even a term for it: the Oprah Effect. Her television career began unexpectedly. When she was 16 year old,she had the idea of being a journalist to tell other people's stories in a way that made a difference in their lives and the world.She was on television by the time she was 19 years old. And in 1986 she started her own television show with a continuous determination to succeed at first TIME magazine wrote,"People would have doubted Oprah Winfrey's swift rise to host of The most popular talk show on TV .In a field ruled by white males,she is a black female of big size. As interviewers go,she is no match for,say,what she lacks in journalistic toughness.She makes up for in plainspoken curiosity,rich humor and,above all understanding Guests with sad stories to tell tend to bring out a tear in Oprah's eye .They,in turn,often find themselves exposing things they would not imagine telling anyone,much less a national TV audience." "I was nervous about the competition and then I became my own competition raising the bar every year,pushing,pushing,pushing myself as hard as I knew. It doesn't matter how far you might rise. At some point you are bound to fall if you're constantly doing what we do, raising the bar. If you're constantly pushing yourself higher,higher the law of averages,you will at some point fall. And when you do I want you to know this,remember this:there is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction"as Oprah addressed graduates at Harvard on May 30,2013. Which of the following best describes Oprah Winfrey? A) Dull and pushy. B) Honest but tough. C) Caring and determined. D) Curious but weak.
**Answer**
C