Read the article and select the best answer. Article: No one knows how man learned to make words. Perhaps he began by making sounds like those made by animals. Perhaps he grunted like a pig when he lifted something heavy. Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round him--water splashing, bees humming, a stone falling to the ground. Somehow he learned to make words. As the centuries went by, he made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language. People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. Each contains four or five hundred thousand words. But we do not need all these. Only a few thousand words are used in everyday life. The words you know are called your vocabulary . You should try to make your vocabulary larger. Read as many books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy language. Your dictionary is your most useful book. Question: What do we mean by language? Options: A: Sounds made by man. B: All the words made by man. C: Different kinds of sound. D: The way man learns.
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: About five states in Nigeria will experience a total eclipse of the sun on March 29, 2006, according to a forecast by the Ministry of Science and Technology this week. An eclipse occurs in one of two ways: when the moon passes between the earth and the sun so that all or part of the sun cannot be seen for a time, or when the earth passes between the moon and the sun so that you cannot see all or part of the moon for a time. The first case is a solar eclipse or eclipse of the sun, which occurs as the earth enters the shadow of the moon. The second describes a lunar eclipse or eclipse of the moon, which happens when the moon enters the shadow of the earth. More than 60 percent of Nigerians are uneducated, and eclipses in some parts of the country in the past have caused commotions in which people have been killed and property destroyed. Some Nigerians believe an eclipse is punishment from the gods for evil doing. The March 29th eclipse would be the fifth in prefix = st1 /Nigeria's history, and it is expected to last for 30 minutes -- 9:15AM to 9:45AM, according to the official prediction.Nigeriawitnessed eclipses in 1898, 1947, 1959, and 2001. The shadows in an eclipse have a central dark part called umbra, and a less dark external section called penumbra. In the umbra, all the sun's light is cut off, and this is called total eclipse; while in the penumbra, only a part of the light from the sun is cut off from the moon, and it is called partial eclipse. Five Nigerian states -- Oyo, Kwara,Niger, Zamfara, and Katsina -- are expected to have total eclipse, while other parts of the country will experience partial eclipse. Question: This passage is mainly written to _ . Options: A: predict a eclipse of the sun in Nigeria B: compare a eclipse of the sun with a eclipse of the moon C: provide information on a coming eclipse of the sun in Nigeria D: show that people in Nigeriareceive little education
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy. Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn't care. I loved him beyond all reason. I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy's looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses. When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly _ . No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race. One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn't feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn't need to. I came in next to last. The stinging memory of Becky's smirks made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena . We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted. All of our hard work didn't make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place. My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy's neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line. As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds! I gained much more than a blue... Question: What did the writer learn from his experience? Options: A: Life can sometimes be unfair. B: Anything is possible if one tries hard enough. C: A positive attitude will bring success. D: One should not make judgments based on appearance.
B