Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. Now this is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters who have never been close by during of the birth a baby and have never experienced the death of a family member. Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we send them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit terminally in patients-- even when those patients are their parents. This deprives the dying patient of family members during the last few days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience. Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed about 500 terminally in order to find out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential outcome. It is important for family members, and doctors and nurses to understand these patients' communication in order to truly understand their needs, fears and fantasies . Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them shared with us their great need to be informed, to be kept up - to - date on their medical condition and to be told when the end was near. We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were better able to cope with the coming of detach and finally to reach a true stage of acceptance before death. Question: Children in America are deprived of the chance to _ . Options: A: visit a patient at hospital B: visit their family members C: learn how to face death D: look after the patients
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Sales of electric bicycles, or e-bikes, a hot item in consumer green tech, are expected to grow by more than 50% in North America during 2013. Actor William Shatner, who is no stranger to futuristic tech, recently purchased two e-bikes for him and his wife. I've been shopping for an e-bike now for a few weeks, and I've had my eye on the folding electric bike. I've had folding bikes in the past and love the convenience of being able to throw my bike into my car. The e -bike market is ready to go mainstream in the U.S. The price for e-bikes has come down greatly in recent months. At one time, most e-bikes with good components and proper weight were in the $3,000range. Now you can find reasonable quality e-bikes in the $1,000range. With gas prices at all-time highs, e-bikes are an attractive, low-cost option to gas efficient vehicles. E-bike owners are finding that they are great for commuting to work, as traditional bikes can be a problem with office dress and sweat. People who use e-bikes range from commuters to casual cyclers who like a little help with hills and wind,to those who decided to save money on buying a motor bike.These are not for the serious road cycler or professional mountain biker. If you're considering all e--bike, it pays to do some research first.Cheaper e-bikes are going to be heavier and have less battery--power.Higher priced bikes will be made from lighter materials and have better batteries. Another consideration is local motor vehicle laws.For example,according to US federal law,as long as your electric bike is under 750 watts and does not go over 20 MPH then it is a bicycle and not a motor vehicle.Most consumer e--bikes in the $1,000 range don't fit the motorized vehicle description. Question: According to the text,e--bikes are practical for _ . Options: A: serious road cyclers B: couples spending a holiday C: people commuting to work D: professional mountain bikers
C

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The United States economy has dipped into economic recession . This caused discomfort and hardship in every level of society; but for many of the nation's poor, discomfort and hardship turned into misery . An increase in homelessness is probably the worst result of a nation's financial disaster. About 3 million Americans were homeless because of a lack of affordable housing. Experts suggest that a family should spend no more than 30 percent of its income on housing. In fact, in some families housing costs make up 50 percent or more. An unexpected event, such as losing work or illness, can quickly push a family into homelessness. An article in Time magazine tells a story of one such family. A young couple and their three children rented a two-bedroom apartment for about $350 a month. They could hardly go on with the husband's $920-a-month take-home pay; so when their rent was raised to $500 a month, they could no longer make ends meet. Another woman was found dead on a street in Washington D.C., the capital, and she died at a bus-stop across the street from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. People become homeless for different reasons. Some may not be able to pay for housing, because they have lost their job and cannot find another place they can afford. Others have mental diseases, or are addicted to drugs or alcohol, many of whom do not live with their family. And what's more, there are not enough centers for shelter as the government doesn't pay enough attention to this social problem. People are making efforts to solve the problem. However, it will not be easy, because it is a personal and economical problem as well as a social problem. Question: The passage is mainly about _ in the US. Options: A: ways of solving economic problems B: homeless people being taken good care of C: different reasons for economic recession D: economic recession leading to social problems
A: D

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Before the law sits a gatekeeper.To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law.But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at the moment.The man thinks about it and then asks if he will be allowed to come in sometime later on."It is possible," says the gatekeeper,"but not now." 1The gate to the law stands open,as always,and the gatekeeper walks to the side,so the man bends over in order to see through the gate into the inside.When the gatekeeper notices that,he laughs and says: _ The man from the country has not expected such difficulties: the law should always be accessible for everyone,he thinks,but as he now looks more closely at the gatekeeper in his fur coat,at his large pointed nose and his long,thin,black Tartar's beard,he decides that it would be better to wait until he gets permission to go inside.The gatekeeper gives him a stool and allows him to sit down at the side in front of the gate.There he sits for days and years.He makes many attempts to be let in,and he wears the gatekeeper out with his requests.The gatekeeper often interrogates him briefly,questioning him about his homeland and many other things,but they are indifferent questions,the kind great men put,and at the end he always tells him once more that he cannot let him inside yet.The man,who has equipped himself with many things for his journey,spends everything,no matter how valuable,to win over the gatekeeper.The latter takes it all but,as he does so,says,"I am taking this only so that you do not think you have failed to do anything." 2 During the many years the man observes the gatekeeper almost continuously.He forgets the other gatekeepers,and this first one seems to him the only barrier for entry into the law.He curses the unlucky circumstance,in the first years thoughtlessly and out loud; later,as he grows old,he only mumbles to himself.He becomes childish and,since in the long years studying the gatekeeper he has also come to know the fleas in his fur collar,he even asks the fleas... Question: Which can best describe the man from the country? Options: A: Brave but innocent. B: Loyal but ridiculous. C: Tolerant but stubborn. D: Trustworthy but childish.
C