Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: The nuclear leak at the Fukushima power plant in Japan, which followed the deadly earthquake two weeks ago, has caused an unexpected reaction in China. A sudden panic buying of salt occurred in many areas of our country about a week after the disaster. Salt in these districts was almost bought up overnight. Some sellers wanted to make a fortune by raising the price. The panic buying was caused by two major rumors on the Internet: First, iodized salt can protect against radiation. Second, there might be a fall in sea-salt production following the nuclear pollution of the ocean. Such fears are not new. The same kind of panic happened with vinegar during the SARS outbreak and garlic in the time of the influenza period. How can rumors like this spread in such a large country as China? Chen Fang, a reporter with the China Youth Daily said that many Internet users say there is a "crisis of trust" in today's China. "Experts don't have enough credibility and people don't trust all government announcements, either." Chen said. However, Chen added that the rumors should not be exaggerated . Many salt-buyers didn't care; others simply failed to understand what experts and governments were talking about. They just did as their neighbors and friends did. It was a case of the blind following the blind - that was the real reason behind the big increase in the demand for salt. On March 20, the Ministry of Commerce said: "The panic buying of salt has stopped and the market is back to normal." He also said China has enough salt to satisfy demand. Now everything is back to normal, many want to return the salt they bought. But in the view of the Xinhua Daily Telegraph, "It is true that these people paid extra money to buy the salt, but they created the crisis in the first place and caused the price to rise." The newspaper continued: "So there is no reason why they should get the money back." Perhaps consumers should keep the salt to remind themselves that often rumors are without foundation. Question: What is the tone of the writing? - Considerate. - Persuasive. - Doubtful. - Objective.
A: Objective.

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Juanito Estrella has been a housekeeping manager on the US-based large passenger ship Carnival Spirit for 18 months and feels he has found the suitable position in his career .He has always wanted to travel. "I guess I am a really restless spirit. I like traveling, so when the chance came, I jumped at it," he says. The chance came in the form of a newspaper advertisement for work on cruise ships .At the time Estrella was the housekeeping manager at a Melbourne hotel. He applied and, after two interviews, a medical check and police clearance, the job was his. Estrella is responsible for the cleanliness of the ship, making sure that 160 crew work properly. "I enjoy it because there is no other work-you wake up each day in a different place and a different culture. It's exciting when you go to the next country and you don't understand the language," he says. Estrella likes being busy and getting to know people from all over the world. The 1,000 crew come from 94 countries, and Estrella has learnt Spanish and a little Croatian. But there is a downside ."You cannot get really drunk...because you have safety responsibilities to yourself and others," he says. "You don't really think about home. You start to think about home only when you get closer to your vacation and wonder what you'll be doing." Life on the ship is anything but cruising. Estrella and his fellows work at least 10 hours a day, seven days a week. He warns the job is not for everybody. "You have to love being busy and be prepared to work every day-and to give up drinking too much alcohol." In his spare time, if the ship sails into a port, Estrella explores it, otherwise he works out in the crew's gym, goes on the internet or calls home. Question: What do we know about Estrella? - He is very fond of traveling. - He doesn't drink wine now. - He cannot speak a foreign language. - He used to be a housekeeping manager.
A: He is very fond of traveling.

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: An exercise method (Gyrotonics) designed to stretch muscles and improve strength and balance is becoming popular in the United States. Here's more about Gyrotonics and the man who invented this special form of exercise. Gyrotonics is a kind of exercise that combines the movements of dancing and swimming with the mental and physical practice called yoga. It helps lengthen muscles, improve balance, and exercise the joints, the parts of the body where bones are joined. A Hungarian dancer named Juliu Horvath developed this special form of exercise. After he was injured in dancing, Mr. Horvath studied yoga intensely. In the 1980s, he developed a new exercise method as a special kind of yoga to strengthen dancers. According to Mr. Horvath, his method was based on the octopus ,monkey and cat. He says these animals have no restrictions. They can move in any direction the Gyrotonic movements to help the human body move more freely. A special machine made of wood and weights helps guide the body through the Gyrotonics exercises. You sit or lie on a flat board. You put your legs or hands through special cloth handles attached to a line with weights. With the tension created by the weights, you must try to move through the exercises. Seven kinds of backbone movements form the base of Gyrotonics. For example, you can stretch your back to the left and right or forward and backward. While moving your back, you can also work on arm or leg motions. These movements must be done in a smooth way. Often the motions are circular . When Juliu Horvath first developed Gyrotonics, he was the only teacher. Since then, he has taught almost 70 trainers. Now, there are more then 800 official schools in the world where you can learn Gyrotonics. Question: This passage mainly focuses on _ . - A successful life of Horvath - A popular kind of exercise - Some advice on health care - Some uses of a special machine
A: A popular kind of exercise

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Bottled water is a _ on the environment: The US public goes through about 50 billion water bottles a year, and most of those plastic containers are not recycled, according to Elizabeth Royte's bookBottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. Transporting the bottles and keeping them cold also burns fuels, which give off greenhouse gases. And groundwater pumping by bottled water companies draws heavily on underground aquifers and harms watersheds , according to the Sierra Club. And some studies suggest it takes up to three liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water. Yet more than $100 billion is spent every year on bottled water globally. In many cities in developing countries where there is not a safe source of tap water, bottled water becomes a trusted choice. In the US, tap water is controlled by the government and often examined for dangerous polluted substances. Each American drinks 79 liters of bottled water per year on average, according to the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University's Earth Institute in New York. The bottled water industry is so successful that it has outpaced milk, coffee, and juice in the number of gallons of drinks sold -- putting it behind only beer and soda. Though the sale and consumption of bottled water is still on the rise, certain policymakers have taken steps to reduce it and encourage people to drink tap water. In September 2009, the Australian town of Bundanoon became the first town in the world to completely ban bottled water from its stores' shelves, building water fountains around the town instead. Among US cities that have taken action are San Francisco and Seattle, which no longer buy water for city use, and Chicago, which added a five-cent tax on each bottle. Several restaurants in those cities have also given up bottled water for tap water. Other cities are also considering taking action. Question: According to the passage, what drink sells best in the USA? - Beer - Bottled water - Coffee - Milk
A: Beer