*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Most people today think of chocolate as something sweet to eat or drink and can be easily found in stores around the world. It might surprise you that chocolate was once highly treasured. The wealthy people of Spain first enjoyed a sweetened chocolate drink. Later, the popularity of the drink spread throughout Europe. Chocolate remained a drink that only wealthy people could afford to drink until the eighteenth century. During the period known as the Industrial Revolution, new technologies helped make chocolate less costly to produce. Farmers grow cacao trees in many countries in Africa, Central and South America, but these trees are difficult to grow. They require an exact amount of water, warmth, soil and protection. After about five years, cacao trees start producing large fruits called pods, which grow near the trunk of the tree. The seeds inside these pods are harvested to make chocolate. Growing cacao is very hard work for farmers. Today, chocolate industry officials, activists, and scientists are working with farmers. They are trying to make sure that cacao can be grown in a way that is easy for the farmers and safe for the environment. The market value of the yearly cacao crop around the world is more than five billion dollars. Chocolate is especially popular in Europe and the United States. Each year, Americans eat an average of more than 5 kilograms of chocolate per person. Specialty shops that sell costly chocolate are also very popular. Many offer chocolate lovers the chance to taste chocolate grown in different areas of the world. Question: What should ideal cacao farming be like? - Simple and time-saving. - Safe and labour-saving - Easy and labour-saving - Easy and environment-friendly.
**Answer**
Easy and environment-friendly.

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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Chinese writer and translator Yang Jiang died early on May 25, 2016 in Beijing at age 104. The longest-living Chinese woman writer, she was known for her modest, subtle and witty writing style. Yang became a household name in China for her novels, essays, plays and translated works. Her most popular novel, Baptism, describing a group of intellectuals adjusting to a new society in the early 1950s, has been translated into French and English. Yang began learning Spanish in 1959 at age 48, and started to translate Don Quixote in 1962. She was the first to translate Don Quixote into Chinese. The work was stopped twice due to the "cultural revolution". She completed it in 1976, and the Chinese edition was published in 1978 and has sold more than 1 million copies. In that year, the Spanish king and queen visited China, and then-leader Deng Xiao-ping gave the royal couple Yang's translation as a gift. Yang was received by Deng at the Great Hall of the People. While shaking hands, Deng asked her when she had completed the translation. "It's just published," she replied, having no time to tell the full story. She was married to Qian Zhongshu, a well-known scholar and author of the best-selling novel Fortress Besieged. Yang's _ about her family, The Three of Us, written after her husband and daughter died, in 1998 and 1997 respectively, was translated into German. Yang never stopped writing. At 94, she started writing the book Walking onto the Edge of Life to reflect on her life. It won China's top book award in 2007. At 100, she was still writing articles for newspapers. Question: What can we infer from the passage? - Yang has two daughters with her all her life. - Her husband Qian Zhongshu is a well-known play writer. - Yang's books have been translated into French, German and English. - Yang finished translating Don Quixote without any difficulty and trouble.
**Answer**
Yang's books have been translated into French, German and English.

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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Five Things You Should Know About Adult Asthma About 44 million people in Asia Pacific suffer from asthma. The numbers are on the rise especially in China and India where there is rapid industrialization and urbanization. Dr Mariko Koh, Director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory and Asthma Programme at Singapore General Hospital, tells us more about adult asthma: 1. Chronic inflammation of the airways When the airways are inflamed, mucus forms, blocking airflow, causing breathlessness, wheezing and tightness in the chest. 2. Common triggers Exposure to allergens such as mites, cockroaches, pets and pollen can trigger asthma. Tobacco smoke, respiratory infections, exercise and some medications like aspirin and beta blockers are also possible triggers. 3. Effective treatment Asthma can be controlled with medication. The main treatment of asthma is inhaled corticosteroids to reduce inflammation and block of the airways. Reliever medications may be used to treat acute symptoms. Take note: it is not too late to take medication after an asthma attack. 4. Take medication daily To ensure good control over asthma, medication must be taken daily on a long term basis to prevent attacks. Also, go to your doctor for regular checkups. 5. Quality of life Asthma sufferers can lead normal active lives as long as the symptoms are well controlled. Taking medication as directed and avoiding triggers can make a big difference to the quality of life. Question: What is the purpose of this passage? - To explain the cause of asthma - To stress the importance of keeping away from asthma - To confirm a successful research about asthma - To inform readers several aspects about asthma
**Answer**
To inform readers several aspects about asthma

*Question*
Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: I'm walking along a riverbed in California. The future stretched out ahead, in the valley, hills and mountains. The past is there too, but today I prefer to walk forward, to live "in the now", and truly see all the good things in the world. Light clouds float high in the bright blue sky, and the sunlight shines off the house in the distance, People ride bicycles on the bike path that follows the river. They talk and laugh together. What a beautiful and peaceful scene it makes! My heart is suddenly full of joy as I remember it is New Year's Day. A day to start afresh and I feel overwhelming gratitude for the gift of life God has given me. I pass by a man holding his son, on rot two years old, whose face is a study in pure joy and wonder, as he looks out over the green hills and towering mountains. Tears gather in my eyes with the sweetness of this simple thought. A man sits gazing into the distance. In this lonely scene, I'm reminded of other days in the past when sadness and hopelessness were my only companions. I say a silent prayer for him, and thanks to God. Then I walk on. A young couple crouch next to a bicycle that has thrown its chain. As they look up, I smile and say "Happy New Year." They smile and wish me the same. It is a simple thing, but for a moment _ have become one with the world and a sudden joy takes my breath away. An old woman leans on a fence post. She doesn't seem either happy or sad, just gazes into the past, or maybe the future. A feeling of timeless peace flows through me and all fear of what the future may bring disappears. I thank her with my thoughts, and move on. I walk by a stand of young trees. A loud burst of cheerful chirping from the little woods, and I can't help but laugh out loud. As I reach home, I say another thanks to God for the gift "now". It has taken a long time to find it, and although I can't keep it with me all of the time, I know that whatever the New year will bring, there will be joy and enough love of "now" to help me through the hard times that we all must... Question: How does the writer feel after he sees the old woman? - Fearful. - Hopeless. - Thankful. - Regret.
**Answer**
Thankful.