Nickname: Hawaii's Island of Adventure Size: 4,028 square miles Population: 148,677.The most heavily populated areas are Hilo on the east side and Kailua-Kona on the west. Temperature: Averages between 71degF and 77degF year around . Beaches: 47 ; Golf Courses: 20 ; Highest Peak: Mauna Kea, 13,796 feet. Agriculture: The bulk of Hawaii's farming products are grown and processed on the Big Island, including coffee, macadamia nuts and papaya. Hotels: 9,655 rooms total; Nightly rates range from $ 35--$ 5,000. Airports: Hilo International Airport on the east side and Kona International Airport on the west side. Rental Cars: All of the nationally known rental car companies have locations at Hilo International and Kona International Airports as well as many resorts.In addition, Hilo, Kona and the major resort areas are serviced by taxi. Resources: Call (800) 648--2441 to order a video, poster, brochures and maps from the Big Island Visitors Bureau.See www.bigisland.org for updated information. Shopping: The large shopping centers are in Hilo, Kona, Waimea and the Kohala Coast. The passage is intended to be read by _ . A) students B) businessmen C) tourists D) immigrants
C
Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes , Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance. After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back. He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar , and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones--a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources. Jason Swencki"s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six. Father and son visit the online children's forums together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. "They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone." Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages. These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people--225 to date--who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses. Fight-it.org has raised about $23,000--in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean. Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar one of Rockstar's original members. "But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now." According to the text, Kody _ . A) feel lonely because of his illness B) benefits from diabeticrockstar.com C) helps create the online kid's forums D) writes children's stories online
B
Q: "Mom, I have cancer." These four words catapulted my son and me on a journey that lasted two years. On that day I felt a wave of paralyzing fear. Scott was the oldest of my four children. He was 33 years old and a successful assistant principal at SamRayburn Hifht School in Pasadena, Texas. He and his wife Carolyn were busy raising four active children. Scott was 6'2'', weighed 200 pounds and had never been sick a day in his life. A few month earlier a mole on his neck had changed color. "Dr.Warner called," Scott said that spring morning. "It's melanoma. " I tried to comfort him, naming all the people I knew who had survived skin cancer. Yet, I felt small tentacles of fear begin to wrap around my chest. Our next stop was MDAnderson, the famous cancer hospital in Houston. Scott had surgery at the end of May and was scheduled for radiation treatments over the summer recess. "There is an 80 percent chance it won't reoccur," the doctors said. At the end of summer, all his tests came back negative and Scott was back at school in the fall. However, in December, Scott discovered a lump on his neck. It was examined and the result came back "malignant. " We now realized that Scott fell into the 20 percent category. I could feel the tentacles tightening around my chest. He entered the hospital for an aggressive treatment, a combination of interferon and interleukin. After five months of treatment, he had radical surgery on his neck. The test results were encouraging, only three of the 33 lymph nodes removed were malignant. We were very hopeful. For the next six months, Scott's follow-up visits went well. Then in October, X-ray revealed a spot on his lung. The spot was removed during surgery and the doctors tried to be optimistic. It was a daily battle to control the fear and panic each setback brought. In January, he was diagnosed as having had a "disease explosion." The cancer had spread to his lungs, spine and liver and he was given three to six months to live. There were times during this period when I felt like I... What might be the best title of the passage ? A) Life is valuable B) Grieving and Recovery C) Love and sorrow D) Alive or dead
A: B
Q: Like many other small boys, I was fascinated by cars, not least because my oldest brother was a bit of a car guy and subscribed to cool magazines like Car and Driver and Motor Trend. Every so often, one of those magazines would run an article on the "Car of the Future". They featured unconventional styling and things like small nuclear reactors as power sources. Yet, frankly, my car doesn't do anything that my brother's Studebaker didn't do. It goes, it stops, it burns gasoline, it plays music. I still have to steer it, and it still runs into things if I don't steer it carefully. But guess what? All of these things are subject to change in the not-so-distant future. It will still go and stop, but it may not burn gasoline, I may not have to steer it, and it may be a lot better at not running into things. Airbags aren't the be-all and end-all in safety. In fact, considering the recent news about people occasionally being killed by their airbags in low-speed collisions ,they obviously still need some development. But they aren't going away, and in fact, you can expect to see cars appearing with additional, side-impact airbags, something some European car manufacturers already offer. Better than systems to minimize injury in the event of an accident, however, are systems that minimize the likelihood of an accident happening in the first place. Future cars may be able to eliminate many of the major causes of accidents, including drunk-driving, tailgating and sleepiness. Cars could be equipped with sensors that can detect alcohol in a driver's system and prevent the car from being started, for example. Many accidents are caused by people following the car in front too closely. As early as next year, you'll be able to buy cars with radar-equipped control systems. If the radar determines you're closing too quickly with the car in front, it will ease up on the throttle . For city streets, expect other radar devices that will give advance warning that the car in front of you has slowed abruptly and you should... Why was the author fascinated by cars? A) Because other small boys liked to own a car of their own, too. B) Because he read exotic things about cars in his brother's magazines. C) Because his oldest brother loved to take him to places in his car. D) Because he subscribed to cool car magazines.
A: B