Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In New Britain, Connecticut, a new official in charge of schools named Kelt Cooper wants to end high truancy rates among public school students, and he's suggesting financial punishments to get job done. A plan to fine students up to $75 for each day they skip school is now being considered by New Britain authorities. The concept of fining kids for skipping school may come as a shock, but it's not new. In Ohio, the parents responsible for a student guilty of habitual truancy can be fined up to $500 and/or be required to perform up to 70 hours of community service. Until recently, students in Los Angeles could be hit with a $250 punishment for each count of truancy; in early 2012 the law was changed and the heavy fines were removed, though a $20 punishment may still be handed out if a student truants for the third time. Fines for truancy are also in effect overseas. In the UK, The Guardian reports, parents can be fined PS50 (about $80) per skipped school day. The punishment doubles if it's not paid within 28 days. The question is: Do fines like this work? The vast majority of authorities in the UK said that, indeed, they do. The fines were believed either "very successful" or "fairly successful" by 79% in reducing truancy, according to a survey. If the plan is passed in Connecticut, it's unclear how effective the law might be, how to make parents and students obey the law and what might happen if they refuse to pay. However, local officials seem to be willing to _ . According to the Hartford Courant: "The mayor agrees that truancy is a real issue in New Britain schools, and what's been done in the past hasn't been working to reduce truancy." said Phil Sherwood, assistant to Mayor Timothy O' Brien. And what do the students think? In the New Britain Herald, one 17-year-old entering her senior year called the plan "ridiculous" and predicted that the punishments will bring about negative effects on the court system. Besides, "I don't see the point," she said. "Kids will just try harder not to get caught." Question: The passage mainly discusses whether _ . Options: A: schools have the right to punish students B: authorities should consider protecting kids C: students should be fined for skipping school D: parents are responsible for children's truancy
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: In Greek mythology , fire is a gift form God, stolen from Zeus by Prometheus and handed over to humans suffering from cold. What could be more natural than sitting around a beautiful fire on a winter night, at a campsite in the Berkshires? Hard as it may be to believe, the fireplace--long considered a trophy , particularly in a city like New York--is acquiring a social shame. Among those who desire to be environmentally responsible, it is joining the ranks of bottled water and big houses. Sally Treadwell, a 51-year-old public relations executive in Boone, N.C., said nothing makes her happier than building a fire on a cold winter night. But most of the time she doesn't, because she feels too guilty about the damage it may do to the environment. Every time she builds a fire, it causes " _ ," she said. "It's a guilty pleasure". "The smoke from a fire smells very nice," said Diane Bailey, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. "But it can cause a lot of harm. The tiny particles can cause illness, and can cross into the bloodstream, causing heart attacks as well as worsening other conditions." Growing concerns about the air pollution and health problems caused by smoke from wood fires are urging a number of areas across the country to pass laws regulating them. Idaho offers a tax cut to people who replace uncertified wood stoves with "greener" ones; San Joaquin County in California forbids selling a home unless its wood stove is replaced with an E.P.A. certified one;and Palo Alto and other governments in California forbid wood-burning fireplaces in new construction. Certainly, many think otherwise. In any case, most fireplaces are used far too infrequently to cause any real damage to the environment, said Stephen Sears, the vice president of the Brick Industry Association, voicing an opinion shared by some. Perhaps not coincidentally, sales of wood-burning equipment dropped to 235,000 in 2009 from 800,000 in 1999, according to the Brick Industry Association. It also... Question: In terms of the regulations about wood fires we can learn from the passage that _ . Options: A: uncertified fireplaces are forbidden in Idaho B: some people are against the woodfire controlling regulations C: only energy-efficient wood stoves can be used in the US D: all the people support measures taken to control the use of fireplaces
B

*Question*
Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Is any economist so dull as to criticise Christmas? At first glance,the holiday season in western economies seems a treat for those concerned with such vagaries as GDP growth.After all,everyone is spending;in America,retailers make 25% of their yearly sales and 60% of their profits between Thanksgiving and Christmas.Even so,economiwsts find something to worry about in the nature of the purchases being made. Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others.At the simplest level,giving gifts involves the giver thinking of something that the recipient would like-he tries to guess her preferences,as economists say-and then buying the gift and delivering it.Yet this guessing of preferences is not easy;indeed,it is often done badly.Every year,ties go unworn and books unread.And even if a gift is enjoyed,it may not be what the recipient would have bought if they had spent the money themselves. Interested in this mismatch between wants and gifts,in 1993 Joel Waldfogel,then an economist at Yale University,sought to estimate the difference in dollar terms.In a research,he asked students two questions at the end of a holiday season:first,estimate the total amount paid (by the givers) for all the holiday gifts you received;second,apart from the sentimental value of the items,if you did not have them,how much would you be willing to pay to get them? His results were gloomy:on average,a gift was valued by the recipient well below the price paid by the giver. In addition,recipients may not know their own preferences very well.Some of the best gifts,after all,are unexpected items that you would never have thought of buying,but which turn out to be especially well picked.And preference can change.So by giving a jazz CD,for example,the giver may be encouraging the recipient to enjoy something that was ignored before.This,a desire to build skills,is possibly the hope held by many parents who ignore their children's desires for video games and buy them books instead. Finally,there are items that a recipient would like to... Question: Which of the following statements can be inferred from the text? Options: A: The gift-giver tries to neglect the actual needs of the receiver. B: The best gifts are well picked by the givers. C: In gift-giving,guessing preference is often a failure,so it's the thought that counts. D: You have to take money into consideration when giving a gift.
**Answer**
C