Nature is full of color, from rainbows and roses to butterfly wings and peacock tails. Even the fruits and vegetables you eat have different colors: blue blueberries, red strawberries, green broccoli, and orange carrots. Plant and animals often use color to attract attention. The substances responsible for these colors belong to a class of chemical called antioxidants . Plants make antioxidant to protect themselves from the sun's ultraviolet(UV) light. Ultraviolet light causes chemicals called free radicals to form within plant cells. They can destroy parts of plant. Free radicals also have damaging effects on human beings. Some of these effects like wrinkled skin can be seen. The damage is caused by the free radicals attacking cells in our bodies. Certain cancers and heart disease are linked to free radicals. Our bodies have natural defences for fighting off free radicals. While we are young, our defences are pretty strong. However, they get weaker as we get older. The body's built-in defences can only go so far without extra help. The key to fighting free radicals with fruits and vegetables is to mix and match colors. It's like sunscreen for the inside of your body. Go for a range of very bright colors. Colorful foods contain hundreds of healthy chemicals not found anywhere else. Research into how chemicals in blueberries affect the brain's function in rats suggests that these chemicals may help our own brains work more efficiently. Don't just blame the sun. Ultraviolet light isn't the only source of free radicals. If you breathe polluted air such as smog, automobile exhaust , or wasted gas from a factory, you take in chemicals that also cause such damage. And, the body itself produces free radicals as it processes food. Which of the following not true? A) Antioxidants are responsible for plant colors B) Plants use color to attract attention C) Antioxidants can protect plants from UV light D) Antioxidants help free radicals to attack plants
D
(Question)
Two sculptures of life-size lions, each weighing about 5 tons in ancient times, have been discovered in what is now Turkey. The discovery of the massive lions, along with other pieces such as a large stone basin about 7 feet in diameter, left the archaeologists with a mystery ----what were they intended for? A search of the surrounding area revealed no evidence of a Hittite settlement dating back to the time of the statues. Also, the steep size of the sculptures meant that the sculptors likely did not intend to move them very far. Summers assumes that, rather than being meant for a palace or a great city, the lions were being created for a monument to mark something else- water "I think it's highly likely that that monument was going to be associated with one of the very abundant springs that are quite close," he said in the interview, "There are good parallels for association of Hittite sculptural traditions with water sources" Indeed one well-known monument site, known as Eflatun Pnar, holds a sacred pool that "is fed by a spring beneath the pool itself," write Yiit Erbil and Alice Mouton in an article that was published in the most recent edition of the Journal of Near Eastern Studies. The two researchers were writing about water religions in ancient Anatolia (Turkey). "According to the Hittite cuneiform texts, water was seen as an effective purifying element," Erbil and Mouton write, "used in the form of cleaning or even full baths during ritual performances, its cleaning power is self-evident." To the Hittites the natural world, springs included, was a place of great religious importance, one worthy of monuments with giant lions. "These things (water sources) were sacred, just as their mountains were sacred," Summers said. According to the text ,how did the two life-size lions impress the archaeologists? A) Very massive B) Well-constructed C) Unbelievable D) Mysterious
(Answer)
D
Ques: Scientists who try to predict earthquakes have gotten some new helpers recently--animals. That's right, animals. Scientists have begun to understand what farmers have known for thousands of years. Animals often seem to know in advance that an earthquake is coming, and they show their fear by acting in strange ways. Before a Chinese quake in 1975, snakes awoke from their winter sleep early only to freeze to death in the cold air. Cows broke their halters and tried to escape. Chickens refused to enter their cage. All of this unusual behavior, as well as physical changes in the earth, warned Chinese scientists of the coming quake. They moved people away from the danger zone and saved thousands of lives. One task for scientists today is to learn exactly which types of animal behavior predict quakes. It's not an easy job. First of all not every animal reacts to the danger of an earthquake. Just before a California quake in 1977, for example, an Arabian horse became very nervous and tried to break out of his enclosure. The Australian horse next to him, however, remained perfectly calm. It's also difficult at times to tell the difference between normal animal restlessness and "earthquake nerves". A zoo keeper once called earthquake researchers to say that his cougar had been acting strangely. It turned out that the cat had an upset stomach. A second task for scientists is to find out exactly what kind of warnings the animals receive. They know that animals sense far more of the world than humans do. Many animals can see, hear, and smell things that people do not even notice. Some can sense tiny changes in air pressure, gravity, or the magnetism of Earth. This extra sense probably helps animals predict quakes. A good example of this occurred with a group of dogs. They were shut in an area that was being shaken by a series of tiny earthquakes. (Several small quakes often come before or after a large one.) Before each quake a low booming sound was heard. Each boom caused the dogs to bark wildly. Then the dogs began... Which of the following is one of earthquake nerves according to the passage? A) An Arabian horse tried to escape from his enclosure. B) A cougar had an upset stomach unexpectedly. C) An Australian horse was perfectly calm. D) A cat acted very strangely in a zoo.
Ans: A
Frank W. Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York, in 1852. His family was very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be a farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city. Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for displaying goods to arouse people's interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said: FIVE CENTS EACH. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared. Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store, selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half. By 1919, Woolworth had over 1,000 stores in the USA and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always ran his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: "THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT." The belief that "The customer is always right" suggests that _ . A) Whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customer is always right B) shop assistants should always show respect for and be polite to their customers during business hours C) stores must always follow the customer's wishes if they want to make more money D) stores should do their best to meet the customer's needs if they want to be successful
D