Anne Sanders was practicing soccer moves, which was not normal. Usually, Anne only plays basketball. She wins every basketball game she plays, and she loses at any other game. "Anne", I waved to her. "Why are you playing soccer?" "Well, the gym teacher is doing something different," she said. "There are teams of four and partners of two.We get to pick our partners, and I want someone to pick me. "Anne held up a list. "It looks like I'm on a team with you, Stacey, and Paul," I said. "Stacey is my best friend.Maybe we can be together: " Just then, Stacey and Paul came over. They had heard of the teams. "Do you want to be partners, Stacey?" I asked. "Well, I was going to be partners with Paul," she claimed. I didn't blame her. Paul was as fast as a rocket, and my nickname was "Snail". "But we are best friends," said Stacey. "So I guess I'II be with you. " It was our first game. Stacey went to talk to some other friends afterwards, and Paul and Anne were talking about winning their game. I was sipping on my water, when I overheard Stacey, "She's worse than I thought; if I played the team alone,, I would have won easily. She's worse than a snail. She's more like a statue. " That night, I felt terrible for losing and mad at Stacey for calling me a statue. After all, she was my best friend and my only friend. Anyway, the phone rang, and it was Stacey. At first, I thought she might apologize, but no such luck. "Allison, the game tomorrow is canceled, " she said. "Okay," I replied. "Sorry about the game today", Stacey hung up on me. The next day, I went over to the soccer field. I knew the game was canceled, but maybe I could help clean up.But instead of a mess, I saw a soccer game in progress. Stacey and were playing, and Anne was hiding in the corner. "Paul made me pretend to be sick, " she whispered. "He wants to play with Stacey because she's so fast. " So Anne and I went to get ice cream. Even if I lost Stacey ,I just created a lifelong friendship. Allison went to the soccer field to _ A) watch a soccer game B) keep the soccer field clean C) find out Why the game was cancelled D) make preparations for another game
B
(Question)
A Samoan airline says that it is the world's first carrier to charge passengers by their weight. Samoa Air, which opened in 2012, asks passengers to give their personal weight during booking, which is then charged according to the length of a flight. The customers will also be weighed just before they board the plane. "It is believed that all people throughout the world are the same size," Samoa Air CEO Chris Langton said. "Airplanes always run on weight, not seats." "There is no doubt in my mind that this is the concept of the future. This is the fairest way of your travelling with your family or yourself." Though the airline introduced the plan last November, it caught people's attention last week when the carrier began international flights to neighboring American Samoa. Almost at the same time, a Norwegian economist, Bharat Bhatta, published a report suggesting that airlines should charge obese passengers more. The Pacific Islands contain some of the world's most common countries for obesity, many ranking in the top 10, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Samoa is ranked number four, with 59.6 percent of the population considered obese, said the most recent WHO report. According to Samoa Air's latest schedule, the airline charges up to $0.57 per kg for flights in Samoa and $1.03 per kg for its only international flight to American Samoa, around 250 miles. Children under 12 are charged 75 percent of the adult rate, with fares also based on weight. Any overweight baggage is calculated at the same rate as the passenger's personal weight. The plan could actually prove cheaper in some cases, such as for families travelling with small children, and Langton said customer reaction has mainly been "amazingly positive". The idea of charging passengers by weight has been hotly discussed before, and in the US some airlines require those who do not fit into a seat comfortably to buy a second seat. In Bharat Bhatta's eyes, Samoa Air's plan might be _ . A) funny B) acceptable C) strange D) disappointing
(Answer)
B
Ques: It is difficult for doctors to help a person with a damaged brain. Without enough blood, the brain lives for only three to five minutes. More often the doctors can't fix the damage. Sometimes they are afraid to try something to help because it is dangerous to work on the brain. The doctors might make the person worse if he operates on the brain. Dr. Robert White, a famous professor and doctor, thinks he knows a way to help. He thinks doctors should make the brain very cold. If it is very cold, the brain can live without blood for 30 minutes. This gives the doctor a longer time to do something for the brain. Dr. White tried his idea on 13 monkeys. First he taught them to do different jobs, and then he operated on them. He made the monkeys' blood go through a machine. The machine cooled the blood. Then the machine sent the blood back to the monkeys' brains. When the brain's temperature was 10degC, Dr. White stopped the blood to the brain. After 30 minutes he turned the blood back on. He warmed the blood again. After their operations the monkeys were like they had been before. They were healthy and busy. Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had taught them. The biggest difficulty in operating on the damaged brain is that _ . A) the time is too short for doctors B) the patients are often too nervous C) the damage is extremely hard to fix D) the blood-cooling machine might break down
Ans: A
If you are in a town in a western country, you'll often see people walking with their dogs. It is still true that a dog is the most useful animal in the world. But the reason why one keeps a dog has changed Once upon a time, a man met a dog and wanted it to help him in the fight against other animals, and he found that the dog listened to him and did what he told him to. Later people used dogs for hunting other animals, and the dogs didn't eat what they got until their master agreed. So dogs were used for driving sheep and guarding chicks. But now the people in the towns and cities do not need dogs to fight other animals. Of course they keep them to frighten thieves, but the most important reason is that people feel lonely in the city. For a child, a dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with. For a young wife, a dog is her child when she doesn't have her own. For old people, a dog is also a child when their real children have grown up and left. Now people do not have to use a dog, but they keep it as a friend, just like a member of the family. Now people keep dogs in the cities because dogs _ . A) fight other animals B) are lonely C) are like their friends D) are afraid of the thieves
C