Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Charles Dickens was one of the most beloved storytellers in the English language. His novels made him famous in his own time, and continue as classics in ours. Dickens began his literary career with almost no formal education. He was born in Landport, on Feb. 7, 1812, the second of eight children. When he was 12, his father was sent to debtor's prison. Dickens was forced to quit school and work in a London blacking factory. He would rework that terrible experience into his fiction for the rest of his life. "He was a social reformer," says actor Simon Callow, author of a new biography called Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World. "He knew what poverty was. He knew what it was to be rejected, to be cast aside, to live in squalor ." And so Dickens wrote with great sympathy for the suffering of innocent and vulnerable children - characters like David Copperfield, Little Dorrit and the orphan, Oliver Twist: With his slice of bread in his hand, and his little brown parish cap on his head, Oliver was now led away from the wretched home, where one kind word or look never lighted the gloom of his infant days. Yet he burst into an agony of childish grief as the cottage gate closed after him. Wretched as were the little companions in,misery he was now leaving behind him, they were the only friends he had ever had. His first book Sketches by Boz came out in 1836. With the appearance of Oliver Twist in London periodicals in 1837, the 25-year-old Dickens became the most popular writer in England. But his first love was theater, and he considered becoming an actor. "When he was actually writing, he became his characters," says Peter Ackroyd, author of Dickens: Public Life and Private Passion. "He would get up from his desk, go over to the mirror and mouth the words - do the expressions, grimaces , whatever, and then laugh, chuckle to himself, then go back to his desk and write it down." Dickens created 989 named characters, which increased his popularity.... Question: What can probably be reflected in Dickens' works? Options: A: His love for his family. B: His childhood sufferings. C: His desire for formal education. D: His reason to choose literary career.
B

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A good joke can be the hardest thing to understand when studying a foreign language. As a recent article in The Guardian newspaper noted, "There's more to understanding a joke in a foreign language than understanding vocabulary and grammar." Being able to understand local jokes is often seen as an incredible ice-breaker for a language learner eager to form friendships with native speakers. "I always felt that humor was a ceiling that I could never break through," Hannah Ashley, a public relations account manager in London, who once studied Spanish in Madrid. Told The Guardian, "I could never speak to people on the same level as I would speak to a native English speaker. I almost came across as quite a boring person because all I could talk about was facts." In fact, most of the time, jokes are only funny for people who share a cultural background or understand humor in the same way. Chinese-American comedian Joe Wong found this out first-hand. He had achieved huge success in the US, but when he returned to China in 2008 for his first live show in Beijing, he discovered that people didn't think his. Chinese jokes were as funny as his English ones. In Australia, meanwhile many foreigners find understanding jokes about sports to be the biggest headache. "The hardest jokes are related to rugby because I know nothing about rugby," said Melody Cao, who was once a student in Australia. "When I heard jokes I didn't get, I just laughed along." In the other two major English-speaking countries, the sense of humor is also different. British comedian Simon Pegg believes that while Britons use irony-basically, saying something they don't mean to make a joke-every day, people in the US don't see the point of using it so often. "British jokes tend to be more subtle and dark, while American jokes are more obvious with their meanings, a bit like Americans themselves," he wrote in The Guardian. Question: The writer quoted the sentence, "There's more to understanding a joke in a foreign language than under standing vocabulary and grammar." to show that _ . Options: A: making jokes can help you make friends with native speakers B: local jokes can help you to understand the local culture better. C: understanding jokes requires a good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. D: to understand its jokes, you'd better lean the culture.
D

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Bali Beach Resort has plenty of attractions. It is a holiday paradise . The self-styled 'Ultimate Island' certainly has plenty for everyone. Where in the world ? Bali is located just off the eastern edge of the main Indonesian island of Java. To the east is the neighboring island of Lombok. To the south of Bali lies the expanse of the Indian Ocean, while to the north is the Bali Sea. The most popular resort with holidaymakers is Ubud north of Sanur. When to go? Bali has a tropical climate year round with an average daily temperature of 31degC(87degCF). The wet season is between October and April. The dry season is between May and September, and is the busiest time to visit the island as travelers take advantage of the long hot days and little rain. Beach Bali has a string of beaches, mainly in the south of the island. Head away from Bali's beaches and a totally different world awaits you. Ubud is an easily accessible jungle resort town with a good range of hotels, shops and restaurants. The active volcano of Mount Batur is a highlight and so are the mountain lakes. Family fun All of the resorts have plenty of facilities for families. In Ubud there is a monkey park, where young ones can see monkeys that are not kept in tiny cages and an elephant park where holidaymakers can ride an elephant. Eating out All of Bali's holiday resorts offer international cooking to suit every tourist's taste, with most of the better hotels having excellent restaurants. Indonesian Bintang beer is very popular. Getting around There are a limited number of local buses. The other public transport is to take the local "bemo" minibuses. These colourful little minibuses speed around the winding roads with fares negotiated on board, so it helps to speak a little of the local language. There are also taxis and both electric bikes and cars can be hired. Question: From the passage we learn that Bali is _ . Options: A: on the east of the Lombok Island B: to the west of the Lombok Island C: off the north of Bali Sea D: surrounded by the Indian Ocean
**Answer**
B