Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Ms Tan,you've referred to your new novel as your eighth book. That's because it took me six or seven attempts at a second novel before I started and completed this one. *Why do you think you had so many false starts? I would say that my reasons were wrong:I was trying to prove that I wasn't just a mother-daughter storyteller,or I was trying to prove that I didn't just have to write about things that were strictly Chinese or Chinese-American.Those were never the right reasons for writing those early stories.And I could never come up with other,better reasons for continuing them. *What kept you going on this book? This book was different because it was based on my mother's real life.The reason for writing it became more personal and emotional.After The Joy Luck Club came out,my mother was always explaining to people that she wasn't any of the mothers in that book.And at one point she said to me,"Next book tells my true story."And then she started telling me things I never knew before.She also told me many,many stories,because my mother doesn't generalize.The book really grew out of that. *Have you ever visited China? Yes.I've been there twice:about three years ago and then again last November,both times with my mother and my husband. *Was it difficult to capture the Chinese-American dialect without sounding like a parody ? No,because it's the language I've heard all my life from my mother.She speaks English as it's direct translation from Chinese.But it's more than that:Her language also has more imagery than English. *Can you think of an example? Somebody might say to me,"Don't work so hard.You'll kill yourself."My mother will say to me,"Why do you press all your brains out on this page for someone else?"So it's very vivid.That's the way she talks. *Have many readers told you that the Chinese mother in your book reminded them of the typical Jewish mother? Many people have told me that.I think the mother-daughter relationship is very intense in both cases.Culturally there is an acceptance that mothers have the... Question: What's TRUE about Tan's second book? Answer:

OPTIONS:
- It's about her real life in America.
- The name of the book is The Joy Luck Club.
- It is the result of many times of careful thought.
- It includes many works of her mother.

A: It is the result of many times of careful thought.

Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: As a professor at a large American university,there is a phrase that I hear often from students:"I'm only a 1050."The unlucky students are speaking of the score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test(SAT),which is used to determine whether they will be admitted to the college or university of their choice,or even if they have a chance to get a higher education at all.The SAT score,whether it is 800,1100 or 1550,has become the focus at this time of their life. It is obvious that if students value highly their test scores,then a great amount of their self-respect is put in the number.Students who perform poorly on the exam are left feeling that it is all over.The low test score,they think,will make it impossible for them to get into a good college.And without a degree from a _ ,they fear that many of life's doors will remain forever closed. According to a study done in the 1990s,the SAT is only a reliable indicator of a student's future performance in most cases.Interestingly,it becomes much more accurate when it is set together with other indicators-like a student's high school grades.Even if standardized tests like the SAT could show a student's academic proficiency ,they will never be able to test things like confidence,efforts and willpower,and are unable to give us the full picture of a student's potentialities .This is not to suggest that we should stop using SAT scores in our college admission process.The SAT is an excellent test in many ways,and the score is still a useful means of testing students.However,it should be only one of many methods used. Question: "A prestigious university" is most probably _ . Answer:

OPTIONS:
- a famous university
- a technical university
- a traditional university
- an expensive university

A: a famous university

Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Riding was the favourite activity of Thomas Jefferson, who was the third President of the United States. He usually rode good horses. One day, he was riding outside Washington, when a jockey came near. He did not know the President, but his professional eye was attracted by Mr. Jefferson's horse. He stopped and said that he wanted to buy the horse, but Mr. Jefferson politely refused his offer. The jockey offered more money for the horse, because the closer he looked at the horse, the more he liked it. All of his offers were refused, which made him angry. He then became rude, but his rudeness left as little an impression as his money, for Jefferson had a very good temper. At last, he hit Mr. Jefferson's horse with his whip, getting it to run suddenly. This would have thrown a less skillful rider to the ground, but Jefferson stayed on his seat, and controlled his horse well. The jockey then gave up. He rode with Mr. Jefferson side by side and began to talk with him about politics. Jefferson joined in the conversation. When they got into the city and came close to the gate of the presidential mansion , Mr. Jefferson stopped, and politely invited the man to enter. The jockey was surprised and asked, "Why? Do you live here?" "Yes" was the simple reply. "Why, stranger, what's your name?" "My name is Thomas Jefferson." Embarrassed, the man quickly left, while the President looked at him with a smile and then rode through the gate. Question: Which word can best describe the jockey? Answer:

OPTIONS:
- Professional.
- Skillful.
- Impatient.
- Impolite.

A: Impolite.

Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: A new era is upon us. Call it what you will: the service economy, the information age, the knowledge society. It has changed the way we work. Already we're partly there. The percentage of people who earn their living by making things has fallen dramatically in the Western World. Today the majority of jobs in America, Europe and Japan (two thirds or more in many of these countries) are in the service industry, and the number is on the rise. More women are in the work force than ever before. There are more part-time jobs. More people are self-employed. But the breadth of the economic transformation can't be measured by numbers alone, because it also is giving rise to a basic new way of thinking about the nature of work itself. Long-held concepts about jobs and careers, the skills needed to succeed, even the relation between individuals and employers -- all these are being challenged. We have only to look behind us to get some sense of what may lie ahead. No one looking ahead 20 years possibly could have foreseen the ways in which a single invention, the chip , would transform our world thanks to its applications in personal computers, digital communications and factory robots. Tomorrow's achievements in biotechnology, artificial intelligence or even some still unimagined technology could produce a similar wave of dramatic changes. But one thing is certain: information and knowledge will become even more important, and the people who possess it, whether they work in manufacturing or services, will have the advantage and produce the wealth. Computer knowledge will become as basic a requirement as the ability to read and write. The ability to solve problems by applying information instead of performing routine tasks will be valued above all else. If you cast your mind ahead 10 years, information services will be predominant . It will be the way you do your job. Question: The future will probably belong to those who _ . Answer:

OPTIONS:
- have more brains
- are involved in the service industries
- cast their mind ahead instead of looking back
- possess and know how to make use of information

A:
possess and know how to make use of information