Ques: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: No one knows exactly when jazz was invented, or by whom. But it is said that it began in the early 1900s. Jazz was a new kind of music, for America and the world, and New Orleans was its birthplace. Who were the jazz pioneers? Most were blacks. This music was not written down, and at first only blacks played it. It was hard for white musicians to learn the new style. But soon they, too, were playing jazz. The popularity of this music spread. From New Orleans, it traveled up the Mississippi to Chicago, then to Kansas City and New York. By the 1920s, there were many jazz musicians, both black and white. Many of them were famous. One man was better than the rest. His name was Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong was a born musician. He was not only talented but also hard-working. He also had a good sense of humor and a big, good-natured smile. These personal qualities were valuable in his rise to fame. After he became famous, he traveled around the world. It seemed that everyone wanted to hear Louis play. But life was not always easy, especially at the beginning. Louis Armstrong was born in 1900 in New Orleans. His father never went to school and his mother could hardly read. When Louis was still a kid, his parents separated, and Louis lived with his mother. How hard their life was can readily be imagined. And yet Louis smiled through everything. He later wrote, "My whole life has been happiness. Life was there for me and I accepted it. Whatever happened has been beautiful to me. I love everybody." Question: What made Louis Armstrong become the best jazz musician? - His family background. - His talent and hard work. - His good sense of humor. - His big, good-natured smiles.
Ans: His talent and hard work.

Ques: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Does being rich make you happy? Many studies on happiness give negative answers. Here are some points in being happy. Basic Human Needs Must Be Met People whose basic needs for shelter, clothing and food are not met will find it very difficult to feel happy. Of course, there are exceptions, but for most of us, we can only be happy once our basic needs are met. The Joneses Cannot Be Escaped People's happiness is not determined by how much they have, but by how much people around them have. So, we tend to feel happy once our basic needs are met and we have more than the people surrounding us. This means that while keeping up with _ could be destructive if we let it go too far. It is also part of humana nature to want to feel at least on the same level, financially, as those surrounding us. You Should Escape The Rat Race We should know the importance of staying out of the rat race. So yes, you need to work hard, get the education you need to land a good job and work long enough and hard enough to get to a place where you can easily meet your basic needs. What are basic needs? For most middle or upper middle class Americans, basic needs are not very basic anymore. For most of us, once our basic needs have been met, happiness is achieved when we engage in activities we like, spend time with friends and family and stay active. Making money for the sake of making money does not make people happy. Ideally, these questions should be answered when you're still young and just starting out. Don't wait until your midlife crisis to realize that half your life has passed you by and you're still unhappy. Question: From the passage, what is the purpose of people probably to do in "the rat race"? - To enjoy their life with family. - To get high education for better jobs. - To work too hard for money only. - To work hard for basic needs.
Ans: To work too hard for money only.

Ques: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth. Until now,it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience--what psychologists call fluid intelligence--is innate and cannot be taught(though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing). But in the new study,researchers describe a method for improving this skill,along with experiments to prove it works. The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory--the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it.This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence,so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence. First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests.Then they trained each in a complicated memory task--the child's card game,in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard.During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items, monitor ongoing performance,manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time. The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8, 12, 17 and 19 days, respectively.To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills,the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training. The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,were striking.Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater.Moreover,the longer they trained, the higher their scores were.All performers,from the weakest to the strongest,showed significant improvement. "Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training." said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper."No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops," he added, "and the experiment's design did not allow the... Question: .The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was _ . - memorizing telephone numbers - improving working memory - training in concentration - recalling a card
Ans: improving working memory

Ques: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: As I sit at home thinking about my upcoming adventure and the things I need to bring, it makes me even more excited to begin my travel. I will be making my way around the world. The first places on the list are Andalusia and Africa in the book The Alchemist. I will need to pack a lot of things and make sure I have enough money to provide myself with food and enough to drink. The Sahara desert is always hot and requires plenty of water. Next I will head to Mexico in the bookBorn to Run, where I will meet the Tarahumara Indian tribe . I will need to get into shape and do some jogging if I want to keep up with them. I will have to pack my running shoes, though, because the Tarahumarans have mastered the art of running on the tough land. After Mexico, my journey takes me to the Egyptian desert in the novelThe Paris Vendetta. There I hope to help uncover an ancient conspiracy that goes back centuries. Just like my trip to Andalusia, I will have to make sure I have plenty of water. Packing the Camelbak products seems like the best idea, so I will have enough on hand at all times. I expect this adventure to be quite interesting, and I am very excited about it. Lastly, I will make my way back to America in the bookShattered: Struck Down, But Not Destroyed. This makes me feel excited because like the main character in the book, I also wanted to become a professional athlete when I was younger. For this trip, I will go with an open mind and hopefully meet some friends along the way. I am ready to _ my adventure of traveling, and I cannot wait any longer! Question: According to the passage, the Tarahumaras _ . - come from India - are good at running - need running shoes - own amounts of land
Ans:
are good at running