US President Barack Obama is asking Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work together on efforts to create jobs. The president hosted a meeting with top lawmakers from both parties at the White House on Tuesday. President Obama says Republicans and Democrats can work together to improve the economy, even though they disagree on many issues. "And although the parties are not going to agree on every single item, there should be some areas where we can agree." He said. With the US unemployment rate at 9.7 percent, President Obama hopes Congress will agree to incentives for small business to add workers. "A good place to start, and what I hope to spend a lot of time on these discussions today is how we can move forward on the job issue." President Obama said. Mr. Obama also said he hoped for an agreement on ways to reduce the US debt and budget deficit, which are at record highs. He met with House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the top House Republican, House Minority Leader John Boehner, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other lawmakers. The president said he looked forward to having more such meetings in the future. "My hope is that this is not going to be a rare situation," he said. "And I'm very thankful that everybody here has taken the time to come. I'm confident that if we keep in mind what's best for the American people, we should be able to achieve a lot." Mr. Obama's approval ratings average just below 50 percent in recent polls, down sharply from this time last year. Approval ratings for Congress are much lower, averaging just over 22 percent. According to the passage, Republicans and Democrats _ . A) often worked together in the past. B) have never agreed on one issue before. C) are unwilling to work together this time. D) often have disagreement on some issues.
D
(Question)
A man called Greedy Black loved nothing but old things. He was so crazy about everything that was old and out of fashion because he was convinced that the older, the better. Always worried about losing his treasures, he kept all he had collected in an old room. It had no windows, so it was very dark, and of course, it was full of old things. One day Greedy Black went into this room to get a ladder, as he had often practiced, but slipped on something and fell against a big garden fork. The fork hit him on the head and knocked him down. Then it fell on top of him and hit him hard on the left leg. The ends of the fork then went into his long beard. He fought with the fork fiercely, and at last threw it off him, jumped up and ran out of the room. He was very angry. He had an old sword under his bed, and he now ran and got this. Then he ran back to the room, opened the door suddenly and shouted in a terrible voice, "All right, come out and fight, you and all the other forks in the world! I'm not afraid of you!" But there was no response for his challenge. So in great _ , he turned on the electric light, only to find that there was no other fork but the one that had repeatedly troubled him. After reading this story, what reflections have you got for yourself? Do you still think that keeping old things in a private place sounds sound? Or don't you believe that you have to be far away from forks because forks are the most powerful? Or what else.....? Which of the following is true according to the story? A) The man believed that he could win the game. B) The man became mad after he was in the room. C) The man mistook one fork for more than one. D) The man was wondering how to kill thieves.
(Answer)
C
Ques: One summer my friend and I decided to go to Italy for a holiday and we decided to travel there without going through a travel agency. You know, you would be submerged in crowds of tourists and lose lots of opportunities to get familiar with the country more closely. We started to think over our trip and managed to come up with a free tour of Italy. The trip was not very long but it was still very impressive. We look forward to going there again! Of course, we spent lots of time arranging the trip, but it was well worth it! Of course I was afraid that something would go wrong and I was especially anxious about my visa, but everything went quite smoothly in the end. ks5u The most difficult part was getting a visa without an invitation. In the Italian consulate , one must hand in some official paper proving that one has a hotel booked for oneself in order to get the visa. Then we had to solve the ticket problem. Airlines often sell cheap tickets and we bought ours far in advance. The next step was to book a hotel. We finally booked a hotel about thirty km away from the heart of Rome and it was the perfect choice for our trip. Every day we took a train that carried us to the heart of Rome. Our big house, which was surrounded by the forest, was a rare girl for the fresh air and silence, beautiful views, hospitable hosts, comfortable living conditions delighted us to no end. Besides this, we were very lucky that our mistress was Russian. She gave us a lot of advice that was of great use. She told us what transport to choose and where the best places to go. Don't be afraid to arrange your trip by yourself. It's not difficult! The only thing I'll say right now is that we really enjoyed traveling by ourselves. We walked with a map and a guide-book to wherever we wanted and we even met some of our fellow countrymen on the way just two or three times. So, if you're also planning a "single" trip, don't forget to take a Russian-Italian phrasebook as people in Italy prefer to speak in their native tongue. What does the author think was the hardest in preparing for his Italian trip? A) Buying cheap airline tickets to Italy before the traveling B) Getting a visa without an invitation from the Italian consulate. C) Booking a comfortable hotel on his own in Rome. D) Solving the ticket problem far in advance.
Ans:
B