Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Welcome to the future. It's year 2050 and Scotland is now powered completely by"clean"energy. Homes have entire roofs made of solar materials, rooms are kept warm by wallpaper, and people go to and from work in electric and hydrogen( ) cars. Oil is still being found in the North Sea, but it's not now only used to keep aircraft flying. And a new 500---mile underwater link with Iceland has been built to catch heat from the hot springs. There's still a role for king coal--but _ are now environment---friendly. People will be able to import the electricity they need and export any excess they make through rooftop windmills . New technology will store electricity better and provide it on demand. Heat exchangers will provide heating and hot water. Harmful carbon dioxide waste is being piped offshore to St Fergus and from there into some of the remaining oil--producing fields to be stored safely without entering the atmosphere. Gas remains the preferred energy source of industry and is now shipped in liquid form. But hydrogen is imported through pipelines from France and from a geothermal plant in Iceland. Hydrogen--fuelled cars have become popular. Electric bikes are common in cities using the new urban two--wheel network. Electric vehicles have become common, and their performances have been improved because of the developments in electrical drive technology like high--temperature super conducting motors. Many people leave their vehicles in a giant park where they can be recharged from the national electrical system . Oilseed rape is widely grown to fuel some motors . Question: The means of transport people use in 2050 do not include _ . Options: A: windmills B: electric bikes C: hydrogen--fuelled cars D: aircraft
A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Decreasing grain prices along with growing costs of production means Chinese farmers are unlikely to see a significant rise in income next year. [:ZXXK] China's economic planning chief Ma Kai expressed the concern as the government undertakes an ambitious program to improve rural people's lives. Grain prices have been dropping since April; and prices of wheat, corn and rice fell 5 per cent from August to October compared with the same period last year, Ma, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told an annual meeting on development and reform held over the weekend. Meanwhile, prices of production materials rose 9.1 per cent year on year during the first 10 months. The situation makes it difficult to achieve a "new socialist countryside," which was last week highlighted as a new concept and "common action" of the whole Party and nation. Vice-Minister of Agriculture Yin Chengjie also said China's entry to the World Trade Organization also creates _ for income rises for the country's 780 million farmers. Farmers' income is expected to increase by 5 per cent this year, hitting the target set by the central government at the beginning of this year. Last year, per capita net income of Chinese farmers reached 2,936 yuan (US$362), up 6.8 per cent year on year, and the highest increase since 1997. Ma also said China would continue to seek fast, steady economic growth in 2012 but more efforts will be made to deal with the challenges brought about by overheating in some industrial sectors . (from China Daily, December 5, 2011) Question: The writer thinks it difficult to achieve a "new socialist countryside" because _ . Options: A: grain prices decrease and production costs grow B: "new socialist countryside" is a new concept C: prices of production materials rose 9.1 percent D: many farmers are working in industrial sectors
A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion. Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of , infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary societies, people feel a moral to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often "go on welfare" if they have a serious illness. When older people become or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet , a great many nursing homes and hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit... Question: The author believes that the increased size of the human population results from _ . Options: A: an increase in birthrates B: the industrial development C: a decrease in death rates D: childhood diseases
C