Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Technology is changing our lives. Our present aerospace companies are gradually disappearing as private space concerns are being born every day. I'm going to discuss three spacebased businesses that are sure to soon influence us all. First we have to make space travel cheaply and safely. Engine design is the main challenge. To make money in space, the cost of space travel will have to diminish . This problem will be the most difficult to solve. Liquid fueled rockets are the only way to get out of Earth's orbit. Finding new ways to power the flight to space is also another big challenge. Finding the key to cheap space travel might be the biggest story of our times. There are a lot of great minds working on this problem. And companies are pouring money into research and development. In the next few years we'll see the first suborbital tourist. And not long after that we should really start to see new and exciting things as competition heats up. Spacecraft design and production will naturally follow rocket technology. All sorts of crafts will be needed for the wide uses they'll be tasked with. Several companies in the United States have already made small, lowcost test vehicles. Resources in space will provide great mining profits to those who can afford the cost of setting up such a huge operation. Can you imagine finding a huge asteroid of pure gold? The benefit to mankind is limitless. Mining on other planets, like Mars, also adds CO2 into the very thin atmosphere. Over time this can lead to the formation of an atmosphere similar to Earth's. Space is going to offer us untold opportunity and wealth. But this is only going to occur if wealthy investors step forward and fund the first steps forward. It is certain that technology will take us to worlds we could never have imagined. Question: The passage is mainly about _ . - the future of space travel - the cost of space travel in the future - the development of spacecrafts - cheap travel in the future
the future of space travel

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Children at a school in Italy have today begun an experiment to replace all their books with personal computers. The pupils involved will each be given a special laptop that contains their entire courses. Until today, the Don Milani di Rivoli elementary school in central Turin was like any other. Children turned up, got out their books and pens and began the process of learning. But now, in what's being described as a unique experiment, 60 fifth-grade pupils and a number of third-graders, will start using computers only. The mini-laptops, which run Windows software, all have a full curriculum programmed into them. The pupils will use the computers to do all their reading and writing. Security systems within the laptops mean the children's access to the Internet is strictly controlled. The machines weigh less than a kilogram, can be dropped from a height of 1.5 metres and are waterproof. Instead of spending 700 dollars a year on books, the laptops, built by the Italian company Olidata, cost less than 400 dollars. One of the teachers involved in the scheme says that, for the first time, schools will be able to verify in a scientific way how a computer alone can improve the learning process. The experiment, which has the backing of parents, is due to last a year. In other countries, such a programme is also being carried out. Venezuela is ordering one million low cost laptops for its school children. The machines will be based on the Intel Classmate laptop that has been designed for school children. Many see the deal as a blow for the One Laptop Per Child organization that has also been introducing its child- friendly machine to developing nations. Question: Which of the following is TRUE about the mini-laptop? - It is heavy for pupils to carry. - It can't be damaged by water. - It is one and a half meters high. - It is easily broken or damaged.
It can't be damaged by water.

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Marriages improve after children grow up and move out,according to an academic study, which suggests an "empty nest" is not always a bad thing. Popular wisdom has it that parents' relationships may suffer once their young fly the coop, because they feel they have lost their purpose in life.However, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that many couples actually feel happier when their children leave home because they are able to enjoy spending time together. In total,123 American mothers born in the 1930s were tracked for 18 years and asked to rate their satisfaction levels shortly after marrying, when they were bringing up babies, once their children reached their teenage years and finally at age 61, when almost all had "empty nests". Although not all said they were happier in general, most claimed their marriages had improved since their children had left home. Researchers believe this is not just because the spouses were spending more time together, but because they were able to enjoy each other's company more. One of the participants in the study,which is published in the journal Psychological Science,said:"Once the kids grow up...there's some of that stress removed...that responsibility removed,so things are a little more relaxed." Psychologist Sara Gorchoff,who carried out the investigation,said: "The takehome message for couples with young children is 'hang in there'." Her coauthor Oliver John added:"Don't wait until your kids leave home to schedule quality time with your partner." However, Dr Dorothy Rowe,from the British Psychological Society,said the effects of living in an "empty nest" will depend on the parents' relationship with their children."If you're just waiting for them to leave home so you can get on with your life,then of course you'll be pleased to see them go," she said, "But if you've built your life around your children you'll be terribly lonely.For some parents,their world falls apart when their children leave." Question: When did many couples feel happier according to the study? - At age 61, when almost all had "empty nests". - Shortly after marrying. - Once their children reached their teenage years. - When they were bringing up babies.
A: At age 61, when almost all had "empty nests".

Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Many countries follow special customs when a child's baby teeth fall out. Many of these customs tell stories about animals taking the teeth. For example, Koreans have the custom of throwing the fallen tooth onto the roof of a house so that a magpie can take the tooth away and bring a new tooth for the child. This custom is also followed by some other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam. Other countries, though, have tooth customs about other animals. In Mexico and Spain, for example, it is thought that a mouse takes a fallen tooth away and leaves some money. But in Mongolia, it is dogs that take children's teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture. It is believed that the new tooth will grow strong if the baby tooth is fed to a dog, so parents in Mongolia will put their children's fallen teeth in a piece of meat and feed it to a dog. In France and the USA, a child will put a fallen tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. It is thought that in the early morning, when the child is still sleeping, the Tooth Fairy will take the tooth away and leave something else under the pillow. What she will leave is hard to know. It is said that in France the Tooth Fairy may leave some candies; however, in the United States, she may leave money. Question: Koreans throw a tooth onto the roof of a house in order to _ . - get money - feed magpies - get candies - get a new tooth
get a new tooth