Read the article and select the best answer. Article: It's hard to believe how times have changed since the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, on 6th April 1896. Over one hundred years ago, there was very little reliance(dependence)on modern technology. There were no landing mats , no stopwatches and no photo finishes. In fact, cameras and stopwatches were not used until the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the USA. Today technology has completely revolutionized(changed) sports. Take sports equipment for example. Starting blocks are now equipped with electronic pressure sensors , which provide exactly correct race time and also help to catch runners who "jump the gun". As athletes cross the finishing line, special digital cameras can also easily decide the winner. The clays of " _ " are gone. Athletes have also benefited from technological developments. Body-hug-ging suits, which reduce wind drag, can help cut up to one-tenth of a second from runners' race times. Top athletes are even provided with tailor-made sports shoes. These shoes are made to fit the athlete exactly--and there are even air compartments in the shoes that can be filled to meet each runner's individual needs. Technology has also changed the way that many sports are performed. Take one example--the pole vault . The inclusion of a landing mat obviously made a big difference to the vaulting style as athletes no longer needed to worry about hurting themselves as they fell. Without these worries, athletes could obviously jump higher. These days, polevaulters do not even need to worry about the crossbar as the uprights are now fitted with light-emitting diodes(LEDs) that measure how high the athlete vaulted. Technology has even been to the advantage of swimmers. New pools have been designed to reduce wave interference and sports scientists have even developed a new style of swimming that increases buoyancy and reduces drag in the water. The increasing importance of these technological developments has led many sportsmen to suggest that the "Olympic spirit" is being lost in a... Question: The purpose of the writer in writing this article is _ . Options: A: to suggest we should keep up with the times B: to show us the future of modern Olympics C: to prove that the athletes have done better D: to introduce high-tech sports equipment
A

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Balzac was a great French writer. But he was very poor before he became famous. He lived in a dirty, wet room and was often worried about food. All his friends were very poor and they could not help him. One night it was very cold. The wind blew and it was snowing heavily. Balzac went to bed early but couldn't fall asleep. He didn't get any food before he went to bed. He thought and thought, but he couldn't have a good idea. At midnight he saw a man climb in through the broken window. The man began to steal something on his bookshelf. Balzac got up quietly and said, "Don't waste time, my friend! I couldn't find any money in the daytime. How can you find some in the dark?" Question: Balzac was a _ . Options: A: worker B: writer C: doctor D: cleaner
B

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: We were standing at the top of a church not far from my home. I didn't know why. "Look down," Father said. I tried and saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the streets to the square. "See, Elsa," Father said. "There is more than one way to the square. If you can't get where you want to go by one road, try another." Earlier that day, I asked Mother to do something about what we had for lunch at school. But she didn't think the food was as bad as I said. When I turned to Father for help, he brought me to the church. At school the next day, I filled a bottle with the soup for our lunch and took it home. I told the cook to pour the soup in a plate and bring it to Mother. She drank it and cried out, "What's the matter with the soup today?" I at once told her what I had done , and Mother said that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day . Now I really understood why Father had taken me to the church. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn't stop working until I tried every way to my goal. Question: Elsa really wanted her mother to. Options: A: cook something better for her lunch B: have lunch with her at school C: take up the matter over with the teachers D: tell the cook to work harder
A: C

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: We've talked about snails and their slow move. But much of the time snails don't move at all. They are in their shells --sleeping. Hot sun will dry out a snail's body. So at the least sign of hot sun, a snail draws its body into his shell. A snail will die in a heavy rain. So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too. A snail can sleep for as long as it needs to. It spends all the winter months in its shell, asleep. In the spring the snail wakes up. Its body, about three inches long, comes out from the shell. When hungry, the snail looks for food. Its eyes, at the end of the top feelers, are very weak. But its sense of smell is very strong. It helps the snail to find food and the new greens. A snail's mouth is no bigger than the point of a pin. Yet it has 256,000 teeth! The teeth are very small, and you can't see them. If you put a snail in a hard paper box, it will eat its way out! And if a snail wears out its teeth, it will grow new ones. Question: A snail goes to sleep when _ . Options: A: it feels hungry B: it is put into a paper box C: spring is coming D: it rains heavily
Answer: D

Q: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: People have strange ideas about food. In the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous . They called tomatoes "poison apples." President Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way, for a cream of tomato soup . This beautiful pink soup was served at the President's next dinner party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their President would sever his dinner guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his guests about the fact. Question: Jefferson was a president of _ . Options: A: an African country B: the United States C: England D: France
A: B