Problem: OPTIONS:
- is only preferred by the rich
- is intended for wealthy people
- is far away from the poor area
- is popular only with Londoners
Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: London's newest skyscraper is called the Shard and it cost about 430 million pounds to build. At a height of almost 310 metres, it is the tallest building in Europe. The Shard has completely changed the appearance of London. However, not everyone thinks that it is a change for the better. The Shard was designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. When he began designing the Shard for London, Piano wanted a very tall building that looked like a spire * He wanted the glass surfaces to reflect the sky and the city. The sides of the building aren't regular. So the building has an unusual shape. It looks like a very thin,sharp piece of broken glass. And that is how the building got the name: the Shard. Piano says that the spire shape of the Shard is part of a great London tradition. The shape reminds him of the spires of the churches of London or the tall masts of the ships that were once on the river Thames. The Shard has 87 floors. At the top, there is an observatory. At the moment the building is empty, but eventually there will be a five-star hotel. There will also be top quality restaurants, apartments and offices. Before building work began, a lot of people didn't want the Shard though the plans were approved. Now they are still unhappy about the Shard. Some critics say that such a tall skyscraper might be good in a city like New York, but not in London. They say that the best thing about the Shard is its spire shape. But that is the only thing. There is no decoration, only flat surfaces. The Egyptians did that 4,500 years ago. They also think the Shard is too big for London. It destroys the beauty of the city. Other critics don't like what the Shard seems to represent. They say that the Shard shows how London is becoming more unequal. Only very rich people can afford to buy the expensive private apartments and stay in the hotel. But the people who live near the Shard are among the poorest in London. So the Shard seems a symbol of the division in society between the very rich and the poor. The... Question: The critics who refer to social division think the Shard _ . Answer:
Answer: is intended for wealthy people
Problem: OPTIONS:
- Changes Brought by E-books
- The E-book-- an Extra Income Stream
- An Economic Rise from E-books
- The E-book-- a New and Big Challenge
Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Electronic book publishing has many of the same risks and opportunities as electronic music publishing. By delivering text direct to the user's computer screen, the e-book could cut down costs, and allow creators to deal directly with their audience, bypassing traditional publishers and readers. But it also raises the possibility of mass piracy . Phil Rance, founder and managing director of Online Originals, a London-based e-book publisher, sums it up. "No one wants Napster to happen to books." Indeed, the most popular MP3 have put the frighteners on an industry that generally operates some way behind the "bleeding edge". The Mata Group, a leading US-based market researcher, says publishers are far too concerned about protecting their rights, "We believe all the recent legal control over Napster is like putting a finger in a river that is already overflowing. Publishers need to deal with reality and come up with new ways to develop wide electronic distribution , asking the question: 'How can we use the certainty of wide distribution to our advantage?'" At the moment, most publishers would like to limit the use of e-books to the person who bought them, or to the computer used to download them. If that can be done, e-books become just an extra income stream in a publishing industry that would continue to operate the way it does today, according to Terry Robinson, business manager for Adobe's e-paper group. "If you've cracked digital rights aspect, you've cracked the market," he says. Robert Nichols, Books Director at BOL agrees, "Rights management is absolutely important. Publishers just say that 'until copyright is secure, we're not going to talk'." Question: Which of the following can be the best title for this text? Answer:
Answer: The E-book-- a New and Big Challenge
Problem: OPTIONS:
- The differences between men and women.
- The reasons why men do no better than women.
- The social status of men and women.
- The reasons why men fail compared with women.
Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: You're probably aware of the basic trends. The financial rewards to education have increased over the past few decades, but men fail to benefit. In elementary and high school, male academic performance is lagging. Boys earn three-quarters of the D's and F's. By college, men are clearly behind. Only 40 percent of bachelor's degree go to men, along with 40 percent of master's degree. Thanks to their lower skills, men are dropping out of the labor force. In 1954, 96 percent of the American men between the ages of 25 and 54 worked. Today, that number is down to 80 percent. In Friday's jobs report, male labor force participation reached an all-time low. Millions of men are collecting disability benefits. Even many of those who do have a job are doing poorly. According to Michael Greenstone of the Hamilton Project, annual earnings for average prime-age males have dropped by 28 percent over the past 40 years. Men still dominate the top of the corporate ladder because many women take time off to raise children, but women lead or are gaining nearly everywhere else. Women in their 20s outearn men in their 20s. Twelve out of the 15 fastest-growing professions are dominated by women. Over the years, many of us have employed a certain theory to explain men's economic decline. It is that the information-age economy rewards qualities that women are more likely to possess. To succeed today, you have to be able to sit still and focus attention in school at an early age. You have to be emotionally sensitive and aware of context. You have to communicate smoothly. For genetic and cultural reasons, many men are not good at these. But, in her fascinating new book, The End of Men, Hanna Rosin suggests a different theory. It has to do with adaptability. Women, Rosin argues, are like immigrants who have moved to a new country. They see a new social context, and they flexibly adapt to .new circumstances. Men are like immigrants who have physically moved to a new country but who have kept their minds in the old one. They speak the... Question: What is the passage intended to convey? Answer:
Answer:
The reasons why men fail compared with women.