*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The oldest and hardest cow beef may be made as tender and tasty as young and choice met. "This declaration was made by the French physicist Denis Papin in book published in 1681, which described his "New Digester" or pressure cooker. It was a cast iron pot with an air-tight lid, which allowed liquids to boil at a higher temperature than usual, and so it cooked food in a quarter of the time. The food was cooked by pressurized steam being forced through it at about 121degC. All pressure cookers were made of cast iron until 1905, when the first aluminum model was made in America. In 1938, Alfred Vischer, a man from Chicago, U. S. A., designed a simple interlocking pan and lid, and an improved pressure-tight seal --a replaceable rubber sealing ring. When Vischer's patent expired in 1954, many companies entered the field, and the rapid pressure cooker became popular with people with people who had little time to cook or had to supply food for unexpected guests. Question: The best title of this passage may possibly be _ . - New Digester - Pressure Cooker - Favorite Cook - The History of Cooker
**Answer**
Pressure Cooker

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The New York Times' Room for Debate blog has a panel considering the pluses and minuses of summer homework. This has been the subject of debate in our house. Our 11th-grade daughter's summer assignments were very challenging, to the point where I sometimes wondered if more of her time would have been better spent just riding a bicycle or swimming around a pool. Here are some opinions from the panel: Harris Cooper, psychologist, Duke University: "The long summer vacation disrupts the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting and requires time be spent reviewing old material when students return to school in the fall. My advice? Teachers, you need to be careful about what and how much summer homework you assign. Summer homework shouldn't be expected to overcome a student's learning deficits ; that's what summer school is for. Parents, if the assignments are clear and reasonable, support the teachers. " Nancy Kalish, co-author of the Case Against Homework: "Schools should rethink summer homework, and not just because it stresses out kids (and parents). The truth is, homework doesn't accomplish what we assume it does. According to a Duke University review of more than 175 studies, there is little or no connection between homework and standardized test score or long-term achievement in primary school." Mark Bauerlein, professor of English at Emory University: "To the general question of whether or not schools should assign summer homework, the answer is 'Yes.' The reason comes not only from the brain drain of summer. It relates also to an attitude young people take toward education. They tie knowledge to the syllabus , not to themselves. They read and study to write the paper and score highly in the test, not to furnish their minds. In a word, they regard learning as a classroom thing. That's all." It seems to me that summer homework is a good idea to keep the brain cells moving, but like everything else it should be given in moderation. Question: Harris Cooper seems to believe that _ . - more summer homework causes students' learning difficulties - students should go to summer school if they have no homework - teachers should give careful consideration to summer homework - parents should tell teachers how much homework their kids need
**Answer**
teachers should give careful consideration to summer homework

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: It's a too long story -- 17 months to be exact -- with an ending that's short and sweet. Ruthie has, finally and happily, been reunited with her family. The story goes back to October, 2005. Ruthie, 8 months old, was sitting on the back seat of the family car when her owner walked hurriedly into a Long Island store. When Nancy Noel returned a few minutes later, Ruthie was nowhere in sight. Nancy Noel and her husband, Lincoln Werden, got in touch with Nassau County police, put up flyers around their Manhasset neighborhood. But no sightings of Ruthie were reported. Until last week, that is, someone sent Ruthie to a Manhattan shelter after finding her walking slowly around the Bronx -- 25 miles from where she was taken on that fateful October day. And then, shelter workers searched Ruthie for a possible microchip -- she had one fixed under her skin. It showed her family's name and address. Ruthie was immediately reunited with Nancy Noel and her daughter, Sara Werden. "We never thought we would see her again," said Sara Werden. "We were just amazed." She's no longer the tiny pup they last saw. In fact, Ruthie gained 10 pounds during her months away from home. She's on a diet now, and has already lost one and a half pounds. Ruthie also has a new friend to play with. The family had got another dog, named Holly, after losing the hope of ever finding their beloved Ruthie. Question: Which of the following can be inferred according to the passage? - Ruthie was stolen by a thief. - Ruthie had enough food during the days when she was lost. - Nancy Noel never lost the hope of finding Ruthie. - Ruthie had to put on weight after she was found again.
**Answer**
Ruthie had enough food during the days when she was lost.

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Can people change their skin color1 without suffering like pop king Michael Jackson? Perhaps yes. Scientists have found the gene that determines skin color1. The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 percent of Europeans. The other is found in 93 to 100 percent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of science. Scientists have changed the color1 of a dark-striped zebrafish to uniform gold by inserting a version of the pigment gene into a young fish. As with humans, zebrafish skin color1 is determined by pigment cells, which contain melanin . The number, size and darkness of melanin per pigment cell determine skin color1. It appears that, like the golden zebrafish, light-skinned Europeans also have a mutation in the gene for melanin production. This results in less pigmented skin. However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in human and zebrafish genes. Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about 1.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra-violet rays of the sun , which can cause skin cancer. But when modern humans leave Africa to live in northern latitudes, they need more sunlight on their skin to produce vitamin D. So the related gene changes, according to Cheng. "Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the action of some other gene that affects skin color1," said Cheng. The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer. It also could lead to research into ways to change skin color1 without damaging it like chemical treatment did on Michael Jackson. ks5u Question: The reason why Europeans are light-skinned is probably that _ - they are born light-skinned people - light-skinned Europeans have mutation in the gene for melanin production - they have fewer activities outside - they pay much attention to protecting their skin
**Answer**
light-skinned Europeans have mutation in the gene for melanin production