Do you have bright ideas? Ideas or inventions that change society or, at least, make life easier for somebody? Perhaps we all do sometimes, but we don't often make the idea a reality. Recently, in Britain, there was a competition called British Designers for Tomorrow. The competition encourages young people to carry out their bright ideas. There were two groups in the contest: Group One was for schoolchildren under 16; Group Two was for schoolchildren over 16, and there were eleven prize-winners altogether. Neil Hunt, one of the prize-winners, was called "Sunshine Superman". It's important when people study the weather to be able to record sunshine accurately. We need to know how many hours of sunshine we have and how strong it is. Most sunshine recorders only record direct sunlight. Neil's is more accurate and this is very important for research into the way of using solar power. You can do so much with animated cartoon. Look at Simon West's idea for animated road signs. He uses pictures which appear to move as you go nearer to or farther from them. This isn't a new idea. But it is new to use these pictures on road signs. "We found that people were more likely to see moving signs," said Simon. So now, you can really see rocks falling, trains moving, horses running or a car falling over the edge of a cliff. Quite a warning! The ideas in the competition were so inventive that we are surprised that British industry doesn't ask more schoolchildren for suggestions. Perhaps this will be the start of "pupil power!" The organizers of the competition hoped the schoolchildren would _ . . A) become good designers for future Britain B) win as many prizes as they could C) design something useful for the next day D) invent something for immediate use
A
(Question)
Although the New Year is already here, the great moments of the past year are still in the memory. Let's look back at some of them. United States One of the world's largest New Year's Eve parties was held in Times Square, New York. The festival attracted hundreds of thousands of people to watch a brightly-lit ball drop on a landmark building at the stroke (, ) of midnight. A great amount of confetti was released from the sky at zero o'clock. Britain Painted in shinning colors, blowing whistles, 50,000 party-goers arrived in London's Millennium Dome to dance in the New Year. The Millennium Dome came to life at midnight as 50 DJs started up, competing on five separate dance floors to warm the crowd into the party mood. Russia New Year is the biggest holiday in Russia. It is traditional to put up a tree for celebrations with family and friends. On the very last day of last year, Russians with a taste for a very cold swim braved freezing temperatures to plant traditional, festival trees on the bed of the Northern Ocean and at the bottom of Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake. Malaysia Brave skydivers threw themselves off the world's tallest building near midnight and floated towards the New Year. The jump from the 452-metre Petronas Twin Tower was called a real leap from one year to the next since the group took off in the last second of the old year and landed a minute later in the New Year. "That was really cool," said Roland Simpson, "over crowds of onlookers to the landing spot." The passage mainly shows that _ . A) New Year has been the starting point for people to have dreams. B) people in different countries welcomed New Year in different ways. C) people's ways of celebrations are exciting. D) the New Year is better than the old year.
(Answer)
B
Ques: Believe it or not, you can't escape Disney World. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Winnie the Pooh look out from T-shirts, school bags and lunch boxes. Cartoons such as "Snow White" and "The Lion King" shape the childhoods of countless kids. While Disney's products might have been your favorites as a child, you may not have realized that Disney has tried to shape your imagination. "The Little Mermaid" (<<>> ) is a good example. The lesson of the original tale was the evils of lust . In the original story, the mermaid lusts after the prince, but the prince does not choose her. In the end, she dies while the sea witch lives. In Disney's film, the lesson is completely lost because the mermaid lives. The prince picks her, and the sea witch dies. Disney completely leaves out the destructive nature of lust. According to US writer Elizabeth Bell, Disney tries to keep its innocence by taking violence, sex, and race struggles out of the movies. However, these are all real-life problems that children must face. While "family-friendly" treatment is the way Disney has dealt with classic fairy tales, its films spread American values. Aladdin and the Lamp (<<>> ) is a well known story. Although the film is set in an Arabian city, its treatment of romance is very much American: young people choose their own mates and recognize the right person right away. Even their parents accept the love when they see their children's happiness. Aladdin and heroine Jasmine have physical contact during their first meeting. The common American advice "be yourself" works. What's more, some critics have pointed out that Disney visually makes fun of Arabian culture in the film. For example, a holy man hurts himself playing with fire, and thieves with scimitars run through the streets. Disney is called the top promoter of Americanization. "It is a danger to our cultural diversity ," said Akio Igarashi, a professor in a Japanese university. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A) Disney deals with classic fairy tales in a family-friendly way. B) Disney films try to avoid violence, sex and race problems. C) The Disney "The Little Mermaid" does not show the evils of lust. D) Disney films are not loved by many children any longer.
Ans: D
Question: Spending beyond one's means is becoming a national problem for Americans.Borrowing has become so easy that it takes great willpower for people to refuse it."I received a number of gold MasterCard and gold Visa card offers in the mail during the past two months,"said one computer engineer at AT &T Bell Laboratories in Chicago."I got three of them in one day last week." Lenders are providing easy credit for borrowers.Many banks now offer every borrower a great variety of credit,a service once offered almost only to big companies.Norwest Bank Minneapolis offers lending programs for cars and boats that can cut monthly payments nearly m half .Carmakers,too,are lengthening easier terms.Ford Motor Credit states that 45 % of its recent lendings has been for sixty months,rather than the sixty-six-month period that was usual before. The total consumer debt in the United States rose 73 percent between 1974 and 1984,as the debt for each man,woman,and child increased from $10,264 to $26,566.Huge debt now is present in our economy at all levels.As a nation,we are more than $7 trillion in debt,and the total keeps increasing astonishingly. As we have over borrowed,so have we overspent.In late 986,the share of after-tax income that Americans saved sank below 2 percent for a short time,less than half the figure at which we saved only 10 years ago.Americans now are buying from foreigners between about $50 and $100 billion more Mercedes and Toyotas, Paris fashions,and tours to Europe than the Boeing 747s, agriculture machinery , or Kansas wheat that the foreigners bought from America. The country could not produce and pay for all the things it wanted. To make a long story short, we Americans have serious problems in keeping down spending and keeping up personal savings.It is high time for us American people to learn the basics of long-term money management. What does the author suggest as a way to deal with over borrowing? A) Teaching people how to manage money. B) Advising people on what to buy. C) Limiting the use of credit cards. D) Reducing average incomes.
Answer:
A