Read the following article and answer the question. Article: When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not.He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work. After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself.He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote.But Alex determined to put his dream to the test--even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure.This is the shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there. One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year." $ 6,000 was real money in 1960.It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more.Besides, he could write in his spare time.As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses.He had dreamed of being a writer ?full time."Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I'm going to stick it out and write." After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents.Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far.I'm not sure I ever felt so low." Finally his work was published in 1970.Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience.The shadows had turned into focus of attention. Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before.Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents.Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room.It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland. Question: Which of the following can summarize the passage best? Answer:
OPTIONS:
- Look before you leap.
- Two heads are better, than one.
- Hold on to your dream, and it will come true.
- A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
Hold on to your dream, and it will come true.
--
Read the following article and answer the question. Article: The report came to the British on May 21, 1941. The German battleship Bismarck, the most powerful warship in the world, was moving out into the Atlantic Ocean. Her task: to destroy the ships carrying supplies from the United States to war-torn England. The British had feared such a task. No warship they had could match the Bismarck in speed or in firepower. The Bismarck had eight 15-inch guns and 81 smaller guns. She could move at 30 nautical miles an hour. She was believed to be unsinkable. However, the British had to sink her. They sent out a task force headed by their best battleship Hood to hunt down the Bismarck. On May 24, the Hood found the Bismarck. It was a meeting that the German commander Luetjens did not want to see. His orders were to destroy the British ships that were carrying supplies, but to stay away from a fight with British warships. The battle didn't last long. The Bismarck's first torpedo hit the Hood, which went down taking all but three of her 1,419 men with her. But in the fight, the Bismarck was a bit damaged. Her commander decided to run for repairs to France, which had at that time been taken by the Germans. The British force followed her. However, because of the Bismarck's speed and the heavy fog, they lost sight of her. For two days, every British ship in the Atlantic tried to find the Bismarck, but with no success. Finally, she was sighted by a plane from Ireland. Trying to slow the Bismarck down so that their ships could catch up with her, the British fired at her from the air. The Bismarck was hit. On the morning of May 27, the last battle was fought. Four British ships fired on the Bismarck, and she was finally sunk. Question: The Bismarck sailed into the Atlantic Ocean _ . Answer:
OPTIONS:
- to sink the Hood
- to gain control of France
- to cut off American supplies to Britain
- to stop British warships reaching Germany
to cut off American supplies to Britain
--
Read the following article and answer the question. Article: They can be seen more frequently than ever before on college campuses, wearing flannel and thickframed glasses while listening to music. One might find them playing unusual musical instruments, shopping at secondhand stores or expressing themselves in other unique ways. They call themselves hipsters. Being "hip" used to mean following the latest fashion. But gradually the word has become a sign of "being cool, unique and unusual". Hipsters value independent thinking, progressive politics, an appreciation of creativity and intelligence. Hipsters take pains and pride in not being mainstream. However, their culture has become quite trendy. This irony is central to their culture and offers an interesting conflict. "I do take things in the mainstream with a positive attitude," says Ben Polson, a college student at Brown University. "But sometimes I also question what determines popularity, especially regarding music." Polson represents many hipsters. When lessknown bands become popular, they often lose their former fan base in exchange for a new one. There is a famous hipster saying that goes, "I used to like that band before it got popular," Polson quoted. According to Polson, bands' music changes when they go mainstream. They become less experimental, doing things just to save popularity and fans. The original elements that we were drawn to slowly disappear for the sake of popularity. Many young adults have started to view hipsters' outlook as cool and they are adopting hipsters' antimainstream culture mind to themselves. This has led to specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster consumers. But on the other hand, some such stores, including clothing labels Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, have gained mainstream popularity. This has seemingly made the antimainstream culture become weaker. "A lot of people that are selfdefined hipsters aren't really hipsters. They're just trying to act as hipsters to seem cooler," says Amanda Leopold, a college student from Oberlin College, US. Although Leopold... Question: When describing hipsters, the author speaks _ . Answer:
OPTIONS:
- in an ironic voice
- in an objective voice
- in an angry voice
- in a funny voice
in an objective voice
--