It was a sunny holiday Monday. Olivier Ferrante was cooking sausages on the barbecue and entertaining friends in his garden north of Paris when the phone rang. The call came from the BEA, France's air accidents investigation bureau , where the 38-year-old former football player and driver was an investigator. The news was grim. "An Airbus is missing over the Atlantic: we need you." As a safety investigator,Ferrante and his teams had participated, directly and indirectly,in the recovery of crashed planes from the Red Sea, the Black Sea,and every ocean. But this investigation would be his toughest ever: the plane had disappeared without a witness, or a trace on radar . At least eight ships and a dozen military aircraft gathered on the plane's last known position, about halfway between Brazil and Western Africa. After six days the aircraft's tail fin and 50 bodies were spotted on the surface and the first burning questions were answered. The plane wreckage and passenger injuries indicated the doomed Airbus was unbroken when it hit the water. It was not exploded apart by a bomb or lightning, now broken up by violent weather. Strangely, no mayday message had been sent by its pilots. Ferrante worked energetically with his team:collecting offers of help from around the world, consulting navy ministries and research organizations in France and elsewhere, and contracting suitable ships and high-tech equipment. He would not return home for another 29 days. His team used the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle(AUV) operated around the clock, searching about 400 square kilometers a day. But the race against time was lost and no signals were heard and no more wreckage was found. Day after day, the screen remained bare except for objects that turned out to be stones or garbage from ships. Stressed by media attention and painful meetings with victims' s,Ferrante went jogging one day to clear his head. Then he had an idea. He decided to look at what had happened to nine other planes that crashed after something abruptly... What made it take so long a time to find the missing Airbus? A) The investigators were not working hard as it was holiday time. B) No mayday message was sent by its pilots before crashing. C) Not enough investigating force was put into the searching work. D) The strategy used in the first stage of the search was not effective.
D
It has been two years since I published my first article on Yahoo!Contributor Network.I was very excited when I saw that what I had written was published on the Internet. I recognized that the content sites such as Associated Content can provide a fertile ground for learning how to become a writer.I was thrifty --I could see that this was an open door for systematically learning some basic writing skills without paying college tuition for classes,all to be finished at my own speed and without leaving the comfort of my own home. During these past few years I gained enough experience and understanding of using Associated Content to try writing.I found writing for that site was not my cup of tea.However,my experience there was positive as I was rewarded with even more learning opportunities just by giving it a try.Through Associated Content I was introduced to the world of bolgs .I decided to learn how to set up a blog myself.Now I'm interested in blogs and continue to work as a writer. Writing for the content site Yahoo!Contributor Network gives me a chance of trying creative writing--news,reviews and numerous lifestyle issues.And all of these topics are my own choices.Then there is an opportunity to meet other writers.Yahoo!Contributor Network has a wonderful in-house messaging system that allows its writers to communicate easily with one another.Not all your tries are satisfactory and easy when you write for a content site,but the benefits are many if you try it. My teacher once said,"If you don't quit,you will win."I have no desire to quit writing as I really enjoy it.My thanks go out to Associated content and yahoo!Contributor Network for all my progress in writing!And to my fellow writers--thank you so much for your support and friendship.May we continue in our efforts of inspiration for many years to come! In the author's eyes,writing for Associated Content was not _ . A) a job he can deal with B) his favorite thing C) a difficult task for him D) meaningful work for him
B
(Question)
Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between the ticket office and us. This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn't have a lot of money. _ The children talked excitedly about the clowns. It was clearly a very important day out for them. The father and mother seemed happy as they could be. The tickets lady asked how many tickets the father wanted, he proudly answered, "Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adults' tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady told him the price. The man's wife lowered her head. There was no longer a smile on the man's face. He quietly asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again told him the price. The man obviously didn't have enough money. But how could he tell his kids the bad news? Seeing what was happening, my dad took a $20 note from his pocket and dropped in on the ground. (We were not rich ourselves at all!) He then tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, you dropped this." The man understood my father was helping him. He picked up the money, looked straight into my dad's eyes, and in tears replied. "Thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family." Although we did not go to the circus that night, we didn't go without. Which of the following statements is probably true according to the passage? A) The poor mans saw the circus that night. B) The two families became close friends. C) The writer's father earned some money. D) The writer saw the circs that night.
(Answer)
A