Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: This might not sound so extraordinary, but I didn't just read a book in print, on an e-reader or even on a mobile phone. Instead, I read a book on dozens of devices . I was not trying to set a Guinness world record. I wanted to answer a question I often hear: which e-reader or tablet is the best for reading books? So I set out to try them all, reading a chapter on each: the Amazon Kindle, the first and second generation Apple iPads and mobile phones. To be fair, I also read a chapter in that old-fashioned form -- an old print paperback. The book I chose was The Alienist. For the first chapter, I turned to an Amazon Kindle. Shopping on Amazon for the Kindle is simple; you go to Amazon's Web site and buy the book, which is then sent to any devices with Kindle software installed . Reading on the Amazon Kindle is a joy in many aspects. The Kindle is light.Its six-inch screen is the perfect size for reading, and reading on its black and white E Ink display doesn't harm your eyes. Battery life is outstanding; on average you charge the device only once a month. My only complaint with the Kindle design is the placement of the keyboard at the bottom of the device. Amazon's CEO has noted during past product announcements that the keyboard is there to help people take notes or search. But to me,it seems like a waste of space. Despite the small screen on a mobile phone, I find reading on one to be simple and satisfactory. All of the mobile phones on which I read chapters felt somewhat similar; although screen brightness and the size of the phone's screen did vary. If I had wanted to, I could have bought my book through dozens of e-book apps in the Apple App Store. Most are free and offer access to thousands of free e-books or paid versions. But the big downside for many is that you can read them only on Apple devices. Both iPads 1&2 offer an immersive reading experience. I found myself jumping back and forth between my book and the Web, looking up old facts and pictures of New York City. I also found myself being... Question: If the writer were short of money, he would prefer _ . Options: A: a print paperback B: an Apple iPad C: a mobile phone D: an Amazon Kindle
Ans: A

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: You may think that an underground town of 3,500 people is something out of a science-fiction film. You may not believe that such a town has shops car parks, hotels, restaurants, cafes and much more. Well, Coober Pedy in Australia is just such a place. Miners and their families choose to live like this, hoping to get rich looking for the precious stones that Australia is famous for --- opals . Living underground is the only way to be away from the sandstorms and the high temperatures above ground. Deep down in the town far below the desert surface, the temperature is between 19degC and 20degC and life is cool. Mary Deane and her husband Jim are among the lucky ones. They live in a home, built with money from the opals Jim has found. "Whenever people hear we live underground, they always imagine a dusty cave," says Mary, "but they are amazed at my clean kitchen, our furniture and electrical appliances in here." However, not everything is perfect in Coober Pedy. Mary has a tiny garden that she is very proud of, but the grass is not real. Plant life is rare. Water is five times more expensive underground than it is overground. Recycling is a way of life, so Jim usually washes his car with bath water and they have a special system to reuse the water from the dishwasher and washing machine. Even so, most families enjoy life in Coober Pedy. The children can make as much noise as they want and there are no complaints from the neighbors because the thick walls stop sounds from traveling. Adults enjoy the peace and quiet away from the world above. Question: Which is the biggest problem people in Coober Pedy have to face? Options: A: High living expenses. B: The awfully dusty environment. C: Shortage of water and greenery. D: The extremely high temperatures
Ans: C

Ques: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Poems are essential to human beings. We can't live without them. We need poems, and the fact that we consider them not worth our time, is something that leaves us impoverished . If we don't read poems we are denying ourselves something important. Poems can help us get in touch with our- selves. In one of those fragments of poetry which many people know, John Donne wrote " No man is an island". He means we all live connected to one another. But, at the same time, we all actually are islands, each occupying a consciousness different from everyone else. How do we really know what someone else is thinking or feeling? And, to turn it around, we should keep most of what we think and feel deep inside us, away from the scrutiny of others. This is the province of poetry, for it reveals what is inside a fellow human being's heart and mind. In some cases what they have to say will be important, maybe so important that it will alter your life or transform your sense of who you are and what you are capable of. But poems are not infallible : sometimes they can seem silly or just plain wrong. We don't have to bow down in reverence to a poem: if we don't like what the poet is saying or how he or she is saying it, there is no reason to hide our own feelings. If a poem doesn't seem to speak to you or me -- and we have made a serious attempt to listen -- then we are surely justified in deciding you have better things to do than to read that poem again. Question: What kind of attitude should we have towards poems? Options: A: We should always read poems with respect. B: We should only read poems that speak to us. C: We should point out the silly mistakes in poems. D: We should put other important things above poems.
Ans:
B